Abstract
The past year was a very busy and productive year for Biopreservation and Biobanking (BIO). As described in my June editorial in BIO, 1 we implemented a number of efforts to improve the author, review and reader experience. These include streamlining the submission, review, and editorial processes, as well as implementing some new reviewer incentives.
A useful new tool recently implemented by Mary Ann Liebert is a download and citation tracker that appears for all papers published on the BIO website. This new tool allows authors and readers to track the download and citation activity of papers in real-time on the journal’s website. See Figure 1.
Screenshot of two published Biopreservation and Biobanking articles with the Download and Citation Tracker circled. Total downloads are shown on the left, total citations on the right.
In June, new metrics were released for BIO. The 2023 Impact Factor (IF) for BIO is 1.2. The IF for 2023 is the ratio of total citations received in 2023 relative to the total scholarly content published in the journal in 2021 and 2022. The 2023 Cite Score (CS) for BIO is 3.3. The CS is the average citation count of scholarly works published and cited in the journal across the past 4 years.
The metrics for 2023 for BIO saw decreases in both the IF from 1.6 in 2022 to 1.2 in 2023 and the CS from 3.7 in 2022 to 3.3 in 2023. However, it is important to note that approximately 70%–85% of journals saw similar decreases in 2023, as they also had in 2022. The reasons for these declines across the industry include the impact of a major influx of manuscripts that were submitted and published during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as some recent changes in the way the IF is calculated. In addition, it is important to note that differences of only a small number of citations can have a significant impact on the IF.
The editorial team at BIO is continuing its efforts to maximize the quality of the manuscripts that it receives and publishes and increase the IF and visibility of the journal. These efforts include soliciting invited papers on current hot topics in the field and targeted marketing efforts to promote the journal through e-mail blasts, and social media as well as marketing at relevant scientific meetings.
One major change that we recently implemented includes a change to our author guidelines for certain paper types. In response to feedback that our word count guidelines were too restrictive for certain types of papers, we have increased our recommended word count guidelines from 3000 words for regular Research Articles to 5000 words and from 5000 words for Review Articles to 6000 words. We are also recommending abstracts for certain types of manuscripts (e.g., Brief Reports) to increase the usefulness of PubMed searches and visibility for these types of papers. While we are increasing our word count guidelines for Regular Research Articles and Review Articles, we expect that our editorial team and reviewers will continue to evaluate how tightly focused submitted manuscripts are and make recommendations back to the submitting authors as necessary and appropriate. Our guidelines for authors are available at https://home.liebertpub.com/publications/biopreservation-and-biobanking/110/for-authors.
Highlights of the past year for BIO include the publication of a Special Focus issue published in February 2024 on the Cryopreservation and Biobanking of Gametes, Embryos, and Reproductive Tissues. In addition, two new Call for Papers were issued: One on Biobanking in Latin America (https://home.liebertpub.com//cfp/biobanks-and-biorepositories-in-latin-america-challenges-and/514/) with a submission deadline of March 31, 2024 and one on Advanced Technologies in Biobanking, including artificial intelligence, with a submission deadline of December 15, 2024 (https://home.liebertpub.com/cfp/biobanking-in-the-age-of-advanced-technologies-discovery-ope/520/).
A number of important and interesting articles were published throughout the year. These include review papers on organoids as valuable resources for translational research 2 (published in this issue), the collection, handling, and preservation of wild bird semen, 3 the use of powdered milk in semen cryopreservation protocols for fish, 4 and rewarming methods for cryopreservation. 5 In the area of biobanking management and operation, papers were published regarding a biobank workforce survey in China, 6 applying the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) principles to biobanks7,8 (published in this issue) and an approach to evaluate the costs and outputs of academic biobanks. 9 In addition, updates were published regarding the Standard PREanalytical Code 10 as well as the Minimum Information About BIobank Data Sharing (MIABIS) Core Terminology. 11 Papers published on the legal, ethical, and societal issues related to biobanking include a paper describing the lack of harmonization in Canadian regulations regarding the use of biospecimens from deceased individuals 12 and a global survey of Data Access Committee members regarding genomic data access and sharing. 13 These are just a few of the interesting papers published in the journal over the past year. Many thanks to all the authors who contributed papers to the journal this past year, the individuals who reviewed them, BIO’s Associate Editors and Editorial Board. We look forward to another exciting year for the journal in 2025!