This post was authored by Douglas L. Mann, MD, FACC, editor-in-chief of JACC: Basic to Translational Science.

Since the launch of its namesake, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) family of journals has set a high standard for excellence. Today, as we launch the first JACC open-access journal, JACC: Basic to Translational Science, my fellow editors and I are determined to hold ourselves to the same standard of excellence.

JACC: Basic to Translational Science is dedicated to bringing the fruits of fundamental scientific discoveries to patients. The time has come for a journal that focuses on the critical interface between laboratory and clinical science. There has never been a scientific literary home for cardiovascular “translationalists” who wish to publish research that stands firmly at the crossroads of basic and clinical research. JACC: Basic to Translational Science will endeavor to publish those scientific studies that will lead to new therapies. More established journals often quickly dismiss translational studies for perceived lack of mechanistic depth and/or because they involve too few patients to engender confidence that phase III clinical trials will validate the findings. New ideas cannot grow to become new therapies unless they see light of day. Smaller clinical trials merit expeditious publication by a balanced and rigorous editorial process, and editors unafraid to publish these studies or innovative concepts, despite their exploratory nature.

Translational science exemplifies “big science,” as it requires effective cooperation between basic and clinical investigators in academia and industry, patients and their families, patient advocacy groups, and governmental funding and regulatory agencies to evaluate and develop new therapies. JACC: Basic to Translational Science seeks to become both a forum and a learning center for cardiovascular investigators in academia and industry, patients and families impacted by heart disease, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to help advance translational cardiovascular medicine.

To build JACC: Basic to Translational Science into a valuable resource, we welcome submissions of original research and state-of-the-art reviews that span all areas of cardiology. Experimental and pre-clinical work that directly relates to diagnostic or therapeutic interventions is encouraged. Cardiovascular research representing new and novel approaches from the first and second phases of translational research is of particular interest.

As the Journal grows, we welcome comments and suggestions from investigators in academia and industry, patients, societies, and all of the governmental regulatory agencies to assist us as we endeavor to guide the Journal toward fulfilling its promise of improving outcomes for patients afflicted with cardiovascular disease.

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