A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With a Single Step, and Then Another . . .

Welcome to the second issue of Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology (CMGH). On behalf of the Board of Editors, the American Gastroenterological Association, and Elsevier, I would like to thank the gastrointestinal, liver, and pancreas research community for their strong support of this enterprise. We began accepting submissions June 1, 2014, and the response has grown each week. Ultimately, 70 original manuscripts were submitted in 2014. On average, we were able to notify authors of editorial decisions within 3 weeks of submission for work that had not been previously reviewed. The authors of revised manuscripts received decisions within 10 days.

As part of our continuing efforts to be author friendly, we also have a “fast-track” process, by which manuscripts reviewed and rejected by Gastroenterology on the basis of priority or scope can have their files and reviews transferred directly to CMGH, further accelerating the peer review process. Several outstanding fast-track submissions have been positively received and ultimately accepted by CMGH. Fast-track is by invitation only, but most manuscripts that were submitted to, but not externally reviewed by, Gastroenterology can also be transferred to CMGH.

This extremely rapid review process would not be possible without the efforts of our dedicated reviewers. We offer our sincere gratitude to those who helped provide fair and timely reviews in 2014 (listed herein). As part of our commitment to author service, Associate Editors Rebecca Wells, Jim Goldenring, and I have also regularly corresponded with authors to provide specific guidance as they revise their work for ultimate publication in CMGH.

While CMGH strives to be author friendly, the journal is also scientifically rigorous. This is consistent with our goal of creating a forum for presentation of impactful basic research. We also welcome translational studies, but there is no expectation of or requirement for translational relevance. Overall, the scientific rigor of papers accepted by CMGH is on a par with our sister journals Gastroenterology and Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, as is clear upon reading the 9 original articles published in our first two issues. These exemplary studies address fundamental problems and provide novel mechanistic insight into the pathobiologies of mucosal immunity, host-microbiome interactions, intestinal motility, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, pancreatitis, pancreatic development, and fibrosis. In addition, the pages of CMGH include editorials and review articles intended to spark thought, discussion, and advances in the science of gastroenterology, hepatology, and pancreatology.

Finally, many have asked us about PubMed. CMGH is currently applying for early admission to PubMed. Once the journal is indexed, all articles will be fully searchable, beginning with the first issue. We will also continue our practice of posting all articles online as articles in press within 3 to 5 days of acceptance, which allows other investigators to benefit from the work weeks before formal publication.

Thank you again for your continued support as we work to make CMGH a premier venue that will benefit the entire gastrointestinal, liver, and pancreas research community.

Thank You to Our 2014 Reviewers!

Jeffrey AlbrechtClaudia D. AndlMinoti V. ApteKim E. BarrettR. Daniel BeauchampYan BiL. Ashley BlackshawJames CasanovaEugene B. ChangKyong-Mi ChangJohn Y.L. ChiangRobert J. CoffeySean P. ColganFabio CominelliBryan L. CoppleHoward CrawfordNicholas O. DavidsonLee A. DensonMark DonowitzAdi DubashPradeep K. DudejaMichael B. DwinellPeter B. ErnstB. Mark EversGianrico FarrugiaAriel FeldsteinMercedes FernandezJennifer Foulke-AbelIvan J. FussNan GaoChristoph Gasche

Andrew T. GewirtzKalpana GhoshalFred GorelickKathleen J. GreenAntonio GriecoGrace GuoPing HeCourtney Wayne HouchenChantal HoussetRalph H. HrubanJulie InKlaus H. KaestnerSeth J. KarpCalvin KuoAndrew B. LeiterWayne I. LencerRohit LoombaJohn P. LynchFabio MarraAras MattisBeth A. McCormickAnna L. MeansJuanita L. MerchantDidier MerlinJason C. MillsRandall J. MrsnyLewis Charles MurtaughCathryn NaglerHiroshi NakagawaJames P. NataroMarkus Neurath

Halima Ouadid-AhidouchMichael A. PackUtpal B. PajvaniStephen J. PandolPankaj Jay PasrichaRichard M. PeekGeorge PeridesTheresa T. PizarroAlexander PlossCharalabos PothoulakisVictoria PrinceSang Hoon RheeAshok K. SalujaLinda SamuelsonRobert SchwabeEkihiro SekiFlorin SelaruVijay ShahNoah ShroyerVijay P. SinghSilvia C. SookoianWarren StroberSachiko TsukitaMatthew J. TyskaSelwyn M. VickersMatam VijaykumarJohn W. WileyJennie L. WilliamsKeith T. WilsonNicholas A. WrightShu-Yuan Xiao