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BioMed Central journals see growth in impact

03 Jul 2015

A total of 175 journals in BioMed Central’s publishing portfolio now have impact iactors in the recently published Journal Citation Report 2015, of which 104 journals rank in the top half of their categories.

Nine journals received their first impact factor. Biology of Sex Differences gained an impact factor of 4.84, placing it in the top quartile of both of its categories of Endocrinology & Metabolism and Genetics & Heredity. Infectious Diseases of Poverty received an impact factor of 4.11, placing it in the top quartile of the Infectious Diseases category.

Xiao-Nong Zhou, Editor-in-Chief of Infectious Diseases of Poverty from the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, China, said: “We are thrilled with the impressive success of Infectious Diseases of Poverty. Open access publishing through BioMed Central has allowed us to gain a wider global audience since the journal launched in 2012. I am particularly proud that we have provided free access to researchers from developing countries who are not able to pay for normal journal subscriptions. With collective efforts from our editorial team and BioMed Central, we believe the journal will lead to more actions that address the recommendations from the WHO’s Global Report for Research on Infectious Diseases of Poverty.”

Molecular Neurodegeneration is now the highest ranking open access journal in the Neurosciences category, with an impact factor of 6.56, and overall is one of the highest ranked journals dedicated to neurodegeneration research.

Guojun Bu, co-Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Neurodegeneration, said: “We are extremely pleased that the impact factor for Molecular Neurodegeneration has been increasing over the past several years. This trend reflects the impact and quality of the articles we publish. It also coincides with the growing interest in addressing the mechanisms and therapy of various neurodegenerative diseases by investigators and the public alike.”

BioMed Central’s flagship journals have also seen increases in their impact factors over the last year. Genome Biology now has an impact factor of 10.81. This makes it seventh out of all 167 journals in the Genetics & Heredity category and the highest ranking open access journal in both of its categories. It is also the highest ranking open access journal in the Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology category according to its Eigenfactor - a measure which takes into account how often the journal is cited in a highly-cited journal.

BMC Biology’s impact factor has grown to 7.98, making it fourth out of 85 journals in the Biology category. BMC Medicine is the second highest ranking open access journal in the Medicine, General & Internal category, with an impact factor of 7.25, and ranks 10 out of 153 journals in that category overall. The journal has also had articles with an Altmetric score of over 900 – a measure that takes into account an article’s impact in terms of news coverage and social media.

Since transferring to BioMed Central in 2008, the Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research has seen its impact factor rise each year to a current high of 4.43. This places it in the top quartile of the Oncology category.

Genetics Selection Evolution is the highest ranking journal in the Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science category, with an impact factor of 3.82. The society journal, owned by the French government agency for agriculture, has seen continuous growth in its impact factor since it transferred to BioMed Central in 2009.

Deborah Kahn, Executive Vice-President at BioMed Central, said: “The results from this year’s Journal Citation Report demonstrate the strength and breadth of BioMed Central’s portfolio. We’ve seen impressive increases across several measures for our journals in priority research areas such as neuroscience, oncology and biotechnology. We’re also pleased to see that it’s not only our more established journals that are continuing to rise the ranks, but that several of our newer journals are clearly having an increasing impact in their fields. This is a reflection of the dedication and diligence of the editors and societies working on those journals, and of all our authors.”

- ENDS –

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Joel Winston
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BioMed Central
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E: joel.winston@biomedcentral.com

Notes for editors

1. BioMed Central is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector. www.biomedcentral.com