Introduction to Kidney360

We are delighted to launch Kidney360, the first online-only, open-access nephrology journal sponsored by the American Society of Nephrology. We have assembled an outstanding group of deputy editors, associate editors, and statistical editors. Our two deputy editors are Luis Juncos and Mark Perazella. Our associate editors are Nisha Bansal, Arlene Chapman, Steven Coca, Deidra Crews, Steven Crowley, Arjang Djamali, Jennifer Flythe, Reiko Inagi, Shuta Ishibe, Timmy Lee, Samir Parikh, Michael Romero, and Prabhleen Singh. Our statistical editors are Heather Philbrook and Rebecca Scherzer. Each of these individuals has a stellar record in research and publication, and will be invaluable in providing critical oversight of submitted manuscripts in their areas of research expertise. We will greatly benefit from an enthusiastic cohort of international kidney experts who contribute to an extensive pool of reviewers. Finally, we are fortunate to have the expert assistance of Shari Leventhal, our Executive Editor, and Virginia Ramsey, our Managing Editor, in processing and editing the manuscripts.

Our goal is that Kidney360 will become a well regarded and high-quality nephrology journal that authors will submit to and, in turn, readers across the world will want to read. Our intent is to appeal to a global audience of nephrologists, renal pathologists, scientists with an interest in kidney disease, and other individuals who care about kidney disease. Unique to Kidney360, articles will be available on the Kidney360 website within 48 hours of acceptance. In addition, because there is no added cost for color figures, authors will be able to include unlimited color figures, without incurring additional publication costs. An open-access journal enables readers worldwide to download full-text manuscripts at no charge, without requiring society membership or affiliation with a medical library that has a subscription to the journal or access to interlibrary loans. In other words, anyone in the world will have free access to the entire contents of Kidney360.

Our goal is to provide authors with a timely and high-quality review process. If we determine that a manuscript will not go out for external peer review, authors will receive an editorial decision within 1 week. For manuscripts sent out for external review, we plan to notify authors within 1 month in most cases. In addition, authors of manuscripts that are not of high-enough priority for publication in JASN or CJASN may request that their article be considered for publication by Kidney360. In those cases, we will review the manuscript and the reviewers’ comments in an expedited fashion, and let authors know within 10 business days whether we would like to see a revised version of the manuscript.

Kidney360 will provide a broad spectrum of manuscript types, including original investigations in clinical nephrology, basic science, and epidemiology; invited reviews and perspectives on timely topics; debates on controversial issues; patient perspectives; and policy discussions (Figure 1). Because reproducibility is a critical element of science, we welcome high-quality studies that confirm novel observations. In addition, we will consider well designed studies with negative findings. Finally, we plan to include regular educational articles directed at junior physicians and scientists to stimulate their interest in pursuing a career devoted to kidney disease.

Figure 1.: Why submit to Kidney360?

We would like to highlight several unique features that will be included in Kidney360. First, we will introduce a regular feature, entitled “Global Perspectives,” which will provide detailed information about how various kidney diseases, including CKD, AKI, dialysis, hypertension, transplantation, and other areas in clinical nephrology are managed in different countries across the world. This feature will provide readers with an appreciation of the global diversity of healthcare models. Understanding differences in the medical management and financing of kidney disease will help all of us provide better care, and promote innovative policy initiatives.

A second feature will be “Basic Science for the Clinical Nephrologist.” At present, many clinicians fail to appreciate the relevance of basic science research to the care of their patients with kidney disease. These articles will help clinicians understand how basic science knowledge can enhance the understanding of disease processes, facilitate their diagnosis, improve treatment strategies, and help to develop new pharmacologic therapies.

Third, we will launch a “Patient Perspectives” section. Medicine in the United States has made huge strides in involving patients as decision makers and participants in their care. Patient priorities often differ from those of their physician and nurses. This section will help professionals and patients understand diverse perspectives about care. We hope to learn more about how people with kidney disease view current management of CKD, home dialysis, in-center hemodialysis, and kidney transplants. Because all content in Kidney360 is freely available to the public, we are proud to present patients and their families with information that is highly credible and easily accessible. Likewise, medical caregivers will benefit from improving their understanding of patient viewpoints.

We would also like to increase author and reader engagement by leveraging a broad range of social media tools. For example, we will have a monthly “Clinical Images in Nephrology and Dialysis” educational feature, which will present pictures of physical, radiologic, urinary, or pathologic findings of both “bread and butter” and unusual clinical complications, in which we solicit the readers to answer questions and identify the diagnosis. The answers will be provided in the monthly issue of Kidney360. Additional information about this feature is described in an introductory article for the feature in this month’s publication. For original investigations, readers will be able to engage with the authors of these articles by providing questions and comments, which can be addressed by the authors and other readers. We will also provide podcasts related to selected original investigations and debates. Readers will be able to vote “pro” or “con” about certain debate questions, with a graphic tally of the answers provided online.

We welcome feedback from authors and readers about what they like about Kidney360, as well as their suggestions for improvements.

Disclosures

M. Allon, L. Juncos, and M. Perazella have nothing to disclose.