Journal of Clinical Investigation
The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) is a peer-reviewed, open access medical journal that publishes original research articles, reviews, and commentaries on basic and clinical biomedical sciences, with a focus on advancing the understanding of human disease mechanisms and therapeutic strategies.[1] Published semi-monthly by the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), a nonprofit organization founded in 1908 to honor physician-scientists, the JCI serves as the society's flagship publication and has been a cornerstone of clinical research dissemination since its inaugural issue in October 1924.[2][3] Established by ASCI members to provide a dedicated outlet for rigorous investigations bridging laboratory discoveries and patient care, the journal emphasizes high-quality studies in diverse biomedical specialties, including immunology, oncology, metabolism, neuroscience, and vascular biology, while prioritizing phase I/II clinical trials and mechanistic insights into disease processes.[4][5] Its content has historically evolved to reflect advancements in medical science, from early 20th-century physiological studies to contemporary translational research on topics like inflammation, genetics, and novel therapies.[6] The JCI has maintained its status as a premier venue in biomedicine, achieving an SJR ranking of 4.721 (Q1) and an h-index of 558 as of 2024, underscoring its influence through over 100 years of contributions to fields like autoimmunity, gastroenterology, nephrology, and pulmonology.[5] Since 1996, the journal has provided free access to its research articles, transitioning to full open access under a CC BY license in 2022, which has broadened its global reach while upholding strict ethical standards for authorship, peer review, and data integrity.[7][8] With an acceptance rate historically around 8-10%, it continues to foster innovation by featuring in-press previews, review series, and multimedia content like videos on key medical topics.[9]History
Founding and Early Years
The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) was established in 1924 by the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), a nonprofit honor society founded in 1908 to foster physician-scientists and advance medical research. Amid a scarcity of dedicated publication venues for clinical studies in the United States, the ASCI initiated the journal to provide a rigorous outlet for original investigations aimed at understanding and controlling human diseases, thereby elevating standards in clinical research and supporting active clinicians in disseminating innovative findings.[10] G. Canby Robinson, dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, served as the inaugural editor-in-chief from 1924 to 1927, emphasizing the journal's role in integrating basic scientific principles with practical clinical applications to elucidate disease mechanisms. The first issue appeared on October 24, 1924, marking the launch of an initially irregular publication that became bimonthly in 1925 and covered key areas such as metabolism, cardiology, and physiological processes underlying human pathology, with contributions from leading ASCI members to establish a foundation for translational research.[11][4] In its formative years during the 1920s and 1930s, the JCI encountered substantial hurdles, including sparse submissions—exemplified by just 10 out of 57 papers from the 1925 ASCI annual meeting being offered for publication—and chronic underfunding that threatened sustainability. Initial financial aid from the Rockefeller Institute provided $3,000 annually for three years starting in 1924, yet ongoing deficits, exacerbated by the Great Depression, necessitated additional backing from the Chemical Foundation beginning in 1931; these constraints occasionally resulted in irregular production schedules until the journal stabilized and became self-supporting by the early 1940s.[10]Evolution and Milestones
Following World War II, the Journal of Clinical Investigation underwent substantial expansion, driven by a surge in federal funding for biomedical research through the National Institutes of Health and other agencies, which fueled a postwar boom in clinical investigation. This period marked a shift toward greater emphasis on translational research, integrating basic scientific discoveries with clinical applications to address human disease mechanisms. Under editorial leadership including James L. Gamble (1941–1946) and subsequent editors, the journal adapted to the increasing volume of high-quality submissions by transitioning from bimonthly to monthly publication in 1950, enabling broader dissemination of emerging findings in fields like endocrinology and metabolism.[11][10] In the 1970s, the journal significantly increased its coverage of immunology and genetics, reflecting rapid advancements in these disciplines and their relevance to clinical practice. Seminal publications during this era included studies on genetic disorders such as familial hypercholesterolemia, which elucidated molecular mechanisms underlying inherited diseases and paved the way for targeted therapies. This evolution aligned with broader scientific trends, positioning the JCI as a key venue for interdisciplinary work that bridged laboratory insights with patient-oriented outcomes.[12] The turn of the 21st century brought major digital advancements, with the journal launching online access to its content in 1996, allowing global researchers to retrieve articles electronically for the first time. Building on its early adoption of open access for primary research articles since 1996, the JCI has broadened its global reach while upholding strict ethical standards for authorship, peer review, and data integrity. In the 2010s, these efforts culminated in the launch of JCI Insight in 2016 as a companion open access journal, expanding the portfolio to include more clinically focused studies while maintaining rigorous peer review.[13][7][2] To mark its centennial in 2024, the JCI organized a series of commemorative events and publications, including a Viewpoints collection that retrospected landmark papers and underscored the journal's enduring role in advancing clinical investigation from basic mechanisms to therapeutic innovations. Throughout its evolution, the journal has adapted to ethical imperatives, notably integrating principles from the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki into its peer review protocols during the 1960s to safeguard human subjects in research.[2][12][14]Publisher and Organization
American Society for Clinical Investigation
The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) was founded in 1908 as a nonprofit honor society dedicated to recognizing and supporting physician-scientists in their efforts to advance clinical research and medical knowledge.[10] Initially established as the American Society for the Advancement of Clinical Investigation, the organization changed its name in 1916 to reflect its focus on clinical investigation.[15] By 2025, ASCI membership had expanded to more than 3,500 elected individuals, selected for their outstanding contributions to biomedical research.[16] The society's mission centers on promoting the discovery and application of medical knowledge to benefit patients, by fostering the scientific endeavors, educational development, and clinical goals of physician-scientists.[17] It achieves this through rigorous selection of members based on research excellence and by providing platforms for collaboration and knowledge exchange among leaders in the field.[18] In 1924, ASCI established the Journal of Clinical Investigation to publish and disseminate the innovative work of its members.[2] ASCI's organizational structure is overseen by a governing council and specialized committees that manage its programs, awards, and strategic initiatives.[19] The society hosts annual meetings that bring together members to present and discuss groundbreaking research, including key findings from its publications.[2] As a nonprofit entity with no commercial ownership, ASCI sustains its operations through member dues, philanthropic contributions, grants, and revenue from journal activities.[20][21]Role in Journal Operations
The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) maintains complete publishing oversight for the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI), handling all aspects of journal production from manuscript submission and peer review to final distribution and online hosting, without involvement from any external commercial publisher.[22] As a nonprofit organization, ASCI owns and operates the JCI, ensuring direct control over its editorial and operational processes to align with the society's mission of advancing clinical investigation.[19] Funding for the JCI primarily derives from article processing charges (APCs) under its gold open-access model, where authors pay fees upon acceptance—typically around $5,700 for full research articles—to support publication without subscription barriers.[23] These revenues cover essential costs such as editorial evaluation, peer review, copyediting, figure production, printing for any physical copies, and online hosting, while also allocating a small portion to broader ASCI programs that promote physician-scientist training and research. Advertisement and royalty income remains minimal, reinforcing the journal's financial independence from commercial influences.[24] Strategic decisions for the JCI are governed by ASCI's elected Council and executive leadership, who oversee overall operations and approve key editorial policies, including a strong emphasis on translational science that bridges basic research and clinical applications to advance medical practice.[19] This governance structure, supported by the Publications Committee, ensures the journal's content prioritizes high-impact, clinically relevant discoveries while maintaining independence from advertisers or external pressures.[19] ASCI provides dedicated support services through its administrative staff, who manage manuscript tracking via an online submission system, handle author inquiries, and coordinate production tasks such as figure preparation and layout to streamline the publication workflow.[25] Contact with this staff is facilitated through centralized channels like [email protected], enabling efficient author services from initial submission to post-publication support.[26]Scope and Content
Research Focus
The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) centers its research focus on biomedicine, with a strong emphasis on advancing understanding of human biology and disease mechanisms across diverse disciplines. Core areas include immunology, genetics, cardiology, metabolism, autoimmunity, gastroenterology, nephrology, neuroscience, oncology, pulmonology, and vascular biology. These fields are explored through original investigations that elucidate pathophysiological processes and their implications for human health.[5][27] A defining characteristic of JCI's scope is its translational emphasis, prioritizing studies that bridge basic science discoveries to clinical applications. The journal favors hypothesis-driven research that integrates mechanistic insights with early-stage human studies, such as phase I/II clinical trials, observational analyses, epidemiological investigations, health disparities research, outcomes studies, and implementation science. It particularly highlights novel tools and techniques that enhance disease diagnosis, treatment, or prevention, ensuring contributions have direct relevance to medical practice.[5][27] JCI maintains a rigorous focus on original, clinically oriented work, excluding submissions that are purely theoretical or confined to animal models without demonstrated human applicability. This selectivity underscores the journal's commitment to impactful, translational biomedicine that addresses real-world health challenges.[5][27] In the 2020s, JCI's coverage has evolved to include cutting-edge topics such as the role of chronic inflammation in disease progression and mechanisms of vascular dysfunction in conditions like atherosclerosis and endothelial injury. These areas reflect the journal's ongoing adaptation to emerging biomedical priorities.[28]Article Types
The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) primarily publishes original research articles that report novel findings from clinical investigations, emphasizing mechanisms underlying human disease and potential therapeutic implications. These full-length articles have a recommended length of 9,000 words and a maximum of 12,000 words (including title page, main text, references, and figure legends), typically including sections on methods, results, and discussions, allowing authors to present comprehensive data supporting their conclusions.[25] Authors must adhere to strict formatting guidelines, such as typically up to 8-10 display items (figures or tables) in the main text, with supplemental material limited to a maximum of 4, to ensure clarity and conciseness in conveying complex scientific information.[29] In addition to original research, JCI features reviews and commentaries that provide expert perspectives on key developments in clinical science. Reviews are often invited as part of series like "In Review," offering in-depth overviews of emerging topics in areas such as immunology or oncology, while commentaries consist of shorter, invited pieces—typically editorials—addressing policy, ethical issues, or interpretations of recent studies.[30] These non-research formats are generally unsolicited submissions are not considered, ensuring a curated selection that complements the journal's research-focused mission.[25] Other article formats in JCI include Concise Communications, which deliver succinct accounts of preliminary or focused findings suitable for rapid dissemination (4,000 words), in-press previews that highlight forthcoming research, and Research Letters for concise updates on novel observations (1,200 words). Unlike some journals, JCI explicitly excludes case reports and opinion pieces, maintaining a rigorous emphasis on evidence-based contributions over anecdotal or speculative content.[31][32] Word limits for these shorter formats are enforced to prioritize impactful, streamlined communication.[32]Publication Practices
Frequency and Format
The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) has published semi-monthly since 1996, publishing 24 issues annually within a single annual volume.[11] This schedule supports the timely dissemination of biomedical research, with articles appearing in dedicated issues while maintaining rigorous peer review. Prior to 1996, the journal operated on a monthly basis from September 1977 to 1995, and bimonthly (every two months) from its founding in 1924.[33] Articles are released online-first through the "In-Press Preview" mechanism, allowing immediate access shortly after acceptance, followed by assignment to a formal issue.[28] Formats include high-resolution PDF and HTML versions, each with a unique DOI for citation and linking; the print ISSN is 0021-9738, and the online ISSN is 1558-8238.[28] Production emphasizes high-quality color figures, videos, and supplementary materials hosted on the journal's platform to enhance data presentation and reproducibility. The journal adheres to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines for authorship, conflicts of interest, and ethical reporting, ensuring transparency in contributions and funding disclosures.[32] Print publication continued alongside digital until volume 130 in 2020, after which the JCI transitioned to fully digital output in 2021.[34]Access and Peer Review
The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) has provided free online access to its primary research articles since 1996, establishing it as one of the pioneering biomedical journals in open dissemination of scientific content.[2] This early commitment to accessibility laid the groundwork for its transition to a fully Gold Open Access model effective with the January 4, 2022 issue, under which all content—past and present—is freely available without subscription or paywall barriers to users and institutions worldwide.[1] Articles published since this date are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, enabling broad reuse, distribution, and adaptation with proper attribution, while authors retain copyright.[35] Pre-2022 articles remain freely readable but are governed by the journal's prior Copyright Transfer Agreement, which permits authors to share PDFs of final published versions.[1] To sustain its open access operations, JCI levies article processing charges (APCs) on accepted manuscripts, covering costs such as peer review, editing, production, and archiving. The APC is $5,700 for full-length Research Articles, Clinical Research and Public Health Articles, and Reviews, and $1,500 for shorter Research Letters.[35] Waivers or discounts on APCs are available for corresponding authors affiliated with institutions in low- and middle-income countries, as classified by the World Bank, to promote equitable global participation in publishing; requests are evaluated case-by-case during submission.[8] JCI employs a double-anonymized peer review process to minimize bias, where neither authors nor reviewers know each other's identities.[36] Upon submission, manuscripts undergo initial editorial triage by the Editor-in-Chief or deputy editors to determine if they align with the journal's scope and merit external review; approximately 70-80% of submissions are declined at this stage without full review. Suitable papers are then assigned to 2-3 expert external reviewers, often including associate editors, with a median time to first decision of about 3 weeks from submission.[37] Revisions may be requested, and final acceptance decisions prioritize scientific rigor, novelty, and relevance to clinical investigation. The journal upholds stringent ethical standards in line with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines, addressing issues such as authorship disputes, plagiarism, and conflicts of interest through transparent procedures.[36] JCI places strong emphasis on reproducibility, requiring authors to provide detailed experimental methods, including reagents, protocols, and statistical analyses, sufficient for replication. Data sharing is mandatory via public repositories (e.g., Figshare, Zenodo, or domain-specific databases like GEO for genomics data), with all manuscripts including a data availability statement outlining access to underlying datasets, code, and materials to foster transparency and verification in clinical research.[38]Editorial Leadership
Editors-in-Chief
The editors-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) are appointed by the council of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), the journal's parent organization, typically for terms of four to five years.[39] This leadership role oversees the journal's editorial direction, peer review processes, and strategic initiatives, ensuring alignment with the ASCI's mission to advance clinical investigation. The position has historically been held by prominent physician-scientists, often based at leading academic institutions, and selections have involved recommendations from past editors, national searches, or direct appointments by ASCI leadership.[39] The following table lists all editors-in-chief since the journal's founding in 1924, including their tenures and primary affiliations at the time of service:[39]| Editor-in-Chief | Tenure | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| G. Canby Robinson | 1924–1927 | Vanderbilt University |
| J. Harold Austin | 1928–1934 | University of Pennsylvania |
| Randolph West | 1935–1940 | Presbyterian Hospital, New York City |
| James L. Gamble | 1941–1946 | Harvard University |
| Eugene B. Ferris | 1947–1951 | Cincinnati General Hospital |
| Stanley E. Bradley | 1952–1956 | Columbia University |
| Philip K. Bondy | 1957–1961 | Yale University |
| Arnold S. Relman | 1962–1966 | Harvard University |
| Paul A. Marks | 1967–1970 | Columbia University |
| DeWitt S. Goodman | 1971–1972 | Columbia University |
| Jean D. Wilson | 1972–1977 | University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center |
| Philip W. Majerus | 1977–1981 | Washington University, St. Louis |
| Stuart Kornfeld | 1981–1982 | Washington University, St. Louis |
| Thomas P. Stossel | 1982–1985 | Harvard University |
| Joseph Avruch | 1986–1987 | Harvard University |
| Bruce F. Scharschmidt | 1987–1992 | University of California, San Francisco |
| Ajit P. Varki | 1992–1996 | University of California, San Diego |
| Paul A. Insel | 1996–1997 | University of California, San Diego |
| Martin F. Kagnoff | 1996–1997 | University of California, San Diego |
| Stephen J. Weiss | 1997–2002 | University of Michigan |
| Andrew R. Marks | 2002–2007 | Columbia University |
| Laurence A. Turka | 2007–2012 | University of Pennsylvania |
| Howard A. Rockman | 2012–2017 | Duke University |
| Gordon F. Tomaselli | 2017–2018 | Johns Hopkins University |
| Rexford S. Ahima | 2018–2022 | Johns Hopkins University |
| Elizabeth M. McNally | 2022–present | Northwestern University |