Quantum Leap and Future Contribution of Annals of Laboratory Medicine.

Annals of Laboratory Medicine (Ann Lab Med), the official journal of Korean Society of Laboratory Medicine (KSLM), contributes to the development of public health care systems and medical science by publishing the latest scientific discoveries on laboratory medicine. Our editorial board members and contributors continuously work towards improving the quality of the articles such that they meet global standards for research ethics. Ann Lab Med started as the Korean Journal of Clinical Pathology in 1981, and the name was changed to Korean Journal of Laboratory Medicine (KJLM) in 2002. In 2007, KJLM was indexed in MEDLINE®/PubMed® and Science Citation Index Expanded® (SCIE), and the first Journal Citation Reports® (JCR®) impact factor (IF) of 0.626 was recorded in 2009 [1]. Since its conversion to an English journal in January 2012, Ann Lab Med has steadily internationalized in terms of authorship and readership [2]. Thanks to many Korean and international contributors including the past Editors-in-chief, Prof. Junghan Song and Prof. Jeong-Ho Kim, the influence of Ann Lab Med has grown steadily over the last decade and recorded a JCR IF of 3.464 in 2020. We believe that efforts to publish high-quality articles and increase in the readership have been the most effective strategies. We appreciate all contributors, including authors, reviewers, and former and current editorial board members.

Laboratory medicine meets the needs of the continuously changing clinical environment with new biomedical science and information technology. To that end, Ann Lab Med has published articles containing latest experimental results as well as review articles and guidelines. In particular, since 2020, publications related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in biomedical journals have greatly increased, and laboratory medicine is playing an important role in the fight against COVID-19 [3]. KSLM and Ann Lab Med quickly released COVID-19 laboratory testing guidelines and contributed to the disease control through testing [4, 5].

Despite the advances in impact indicators of Ann Lab Med, improving our review process more quickly in response to the growing volume of submissions remains a challenge. The number of papers submitted to Ann Lab Med increased from 122 in 2009 to 647 in 2020. We will strive to publish manuscripts on time to ensure that the authors’ achievements can be effectively recognized by readers.

Ann Lab Med will continue to contribute to the advancement of medical science and public health by publishing high-quality articles in the field of laboratory medicine. We look forward to receiving and publishing well-written manuscripts communicating high-level research.