Travis Taylor
Press Officer, Nature Research, UK
T: +44 20 7843 4658
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Consumers are increasingly able to monitor their health using a vast array of wearable devices and digital technologies, at a small fraction of the cost imposed by our modern healthcare system. This change, powered by mobile internet, is giving patients unprecedented control over their healthcare.
In support of medicine’s rapid transformation, Nature Research, in partnership with the Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI), is delighted to announce npj Digital Medicine. The new international, open-access, peer-reviewed journal will publish high-quality original papers and review articles to guide innovation in, and the transformation of, health and healthcare through enabling the incorporation of novel digital and mobile technologies.
Martin Delahunty, Global Director of Nature Partner Journals, Nature Research said: “This shift towards a democratization of medicine and an increase in citizen science heralds the beginning of a new era in medicine. While these are still early days for digital medicine, research in this field is thriving, and these pioneering studies currently lack a suitable venue for publication. With STSI as our academic partner, and guided by the direction of joint Editors-in-Chief Professor Eric Topol and Dr Steven Steinhubl, we have an opportunity to develop a leading journal that supports research in this rapidly emerging field.”
Commenting on the need for the new journal, Professor Topol, Professor of Genomics at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and Founder and Director of the STSI, said: “Medicine, as we know it, is undergoing rapid transformation with our ability to digitize the medical essence of each individual. One example is the array of wearable devices and sensors that allows individuals to monitor their own health and gather even continuous data in their real world. These tools also have the potential to dramatically impact clinical decision-making by giving physicians new insights into their patients’ individual physiological parameters.”
Dr Steinhubl, Director of Digital Medicine at STSI and a cardiologist at Scripps Health, Scripps Clinic, said: “In launching npj Digital Medicine with Nature Research, STSI is aiming to provide a platform for stakeholders within the digital medicine community to present and debate emerging topics and research findings in an academic, evidence-based environment. We see this as a service we are able to provide in order to accelerate progress in the field and engage individuals from a broad range of sectors.”
npj Digital Medicine will publish research focussed on digital medicine topics including the clinical implementation of digital and mobile technologies, virtual healthcare, data analytic methodologies and innovative sensor development to provide necessary data and longitudinal monitoring to inform the wider medical community. Each original research article will include a lay summary that will summarize the key issues being addressed within the article.
In addition to publishing original, high-quality research, the journal will also publish Reviews, Perspectives, Editorials and Commentaries. The journal will be accompanied by the npj Digital Medicine Community: a free, online forum that brings together an expert network of researchers, clinicians, engineers and industry leaders to share ideas and start collaborations in this important field.
npj Digital Medicine is now open for submissions here.
Notes to editors:
About the Nature Partner Journals
The Nature Partner Journals are an online-only, open access series of journals, published by Springer Nature in partnership with global academic institutions, centres of excellence, philanthropic funders and membership associations. Launched in April 2014, the Nature Partner Journals series is a rapidly growing program, comprising of subject specific titles covering both applied and basic science disciplines, which offer a high-quality open access option for authors within that field.
Nature Partner Journals adopt a modified set of Nature editorial standards, bringing together strong editorial leadership with world-class publication systems to deliver high-quality, peer-reviewed original research to the global scientific community. Transcending traditional research boundaries, innovative features such as lay summaries allow the Nature Partner Journals to serve as intersections for many disciplines and systems, opening up research to the wider public.
About Nature Research
Nature Research is a portfolio of high quality products and services across the life, physical, chemical and applied sciences, including journals, online databases and researcher services, which are dedicated to serving the scientific community. Nature (founded in 1869) is the leading weekly, international scientific journal and sits at the heart of the brand. Nature Research also publishes a range of Nature branded research and reviews subscription journals, alongside leading open access multidisciplinary journal Nature Communications and other open access journals, including mega journal Scientific Reports and a range of partner journals known collectively as the Nature Partner Journals. Online, nature.com provides over 8 million visitors per month with access to Nature Research publications and services, including news and comment from Nature, and the leading scientific jobs board Naturejobs. Nature Research also offers a range of researcher services, including online and in-person training and expert language and editing services.
Nature Research is part of Springer Nature, a leading global research, educational and professional publisher. Springer Nature is the world’s largest academic book publisher, publisher of the world’s most influential journals and a pioneer in the field of open research. The company numbers almost 13,000 staff in over 50 countries. Springer Nature was formed in 2015 through the merger of Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan, Macmillan Education and Springer Science+Business Media. For more information, please visit nature.com and springernature.com and follow @nresearchnews and @SpringerNature.
About Scripps Translational Science Institute
The Scripps Translational Science Institute aims to replace traditional one-size-fits-all medicine with individualized health care by leveraging the power of genomic medicine, wireless health sensors and mobile phone applications, and other digital medicine technologies. In a unique collaboration, STSI merges the considerable biomedical science expertise of The Scripps Research Institute with Scripps Health’s exceptional patient care and clinical research capabilities. STSI is supported in part by the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Award. For more information, visit stsiweb.org.