10 minute read
The Story of JMIRO
from Inside News September 2021
by RANZCR
Integral to medicine is the continual research and development of advancements to help patients. The Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology (JMIRO), RANZCR’s peer reviewed journal, is committed to this life-long learning through publishing articles of scientific excellence in clinical radiology and radiation oncology.
The outstanding services of voluntary peer reviewers to assess and judge the contribution of original data, ideas or interpretation reflect the commitment of the College in making invaluable contributions to medical literature.
Established in 1957 as the Journal of Australasian Radiology, it was later renamed the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology (JMIRO). Initially two issues of the journal were published per year.
Today JMIRO is an internationally respected journal with plans by its Editorial Board and publisher Wiley to publish eight issues in 2022. It attracts submissions from around the world and publishes articles of scientific excellence, case studies, original papers and commissioned reviews in radiology and radiation oncology.
In 2020, the journal was widely read with more than 300,000 article downloads from 185 countries around the world. The journal reflects the commitment of the College to the dissemination of excellence in medical research and ideas.
This could not happen without the dedicated team of committed member volunteers. The Editor in Chief, Deputy Editor Clinical Radiology and Deputy Editor Radiation Oncology, Associate Editors, Social Media Associate Editors and 14 Trainee Reviewers volunteer their time and expertise to rigorously assess submitted manuscripts that showcase original ideas, data, or interpretation.
There are also several thousand reviewers from different disciplines and around the world registered to review submissions to JMIRO.
Dr Munish Verma, the College's Head of Member Engagement and Services Unit highly commended the work of the Editorial Board and all reviewers.
In the past year, JMIRO’s Editorial Board introduced new initiatives supporting timely reviews and launching the exciting Trainee Reviewer program, a pathway for trainees to be involved in research while studying.
Dr Verma also highly commended new initiatives of learning.
The 2020 Journal Citation Report (JCR) announced the 2020 Journal Impact Factor score of 1.735, an increase from 1.283 (2019). The Impact Factor is the average number of times articles from the journal published in the past two years have been cited in the JCR year. The score marks not only the critical role research plays to shape the future of medicine but also attests to the quality of JMIRO.
Q&A with Editor in Chief, Professor Michael Barton
JMIRO’s Editor in Chief, Professor Michael Barton, was asked what makes JMIRO different to other scientific journals.
What do you admire about JMIRO?
JMIRO is a volunteer enterprise. I admire the commitment of the Deputy Editors Dr Gabes Lau and Associate Professor Belinda Campbell to deal with more than 600 submissions each year. I am very grateful to the Associate Editors and reviewers who work so diligently to ensure excellence in JMIRO. I value the innovative ways the Editorial Board have broadened our reviewer pool and provided incentives for timely review. It is satisfying to see our growing presence on social media and the broader reach of the medical knowledge of the journal.
What makes it different to other scientific journals?
JMIRO is unique in providing a publishing platform for medical imaging and radiation oncology. It has successfully met the challenge for these two disciplines of working together to provide content that is of interest and importance to College members.
What is next for JMIRO?
We have brought in important innovations this year; registrar reviewers, a reviewer incentive scheme and launched our first two special issues. We plan two special issues each year and I am very interested in proposals for upcoming issues. Next year we will have feature special issues on quality and on immunotherapy.
QUICK FACTS ABOUT JMIRO
1. An international journal, with more than 70 per cent of the online readership from outside of Australia and New Zealand
2. More than 300,000 article downloads from 185 countries around the world in 2020
3. 6,592 articles published over 64 years
4. 253 editions published since 1957 (excludes supplemental issues)
5. 2020 Impact Factor 1.735 (Highest to date. Up from 1.283 in 2019)
6. Ranked 106/134 from 110/134 in 2019
7. 32 Associate Editors in 2020
8. Two Social Media Editors in 2020
9. 14 Trainee Reviewers in 2020
10. Available in print, online and via the Wiley Online Library app.
GET FREE ACCESS TO JMIRO
College members receive full free access to JMIRO. It is one of your membership benefits accessible in print, online and via the Wiley Online Library App.
Twitter: @JMIRO_Journal
Q&A with JMIRO Deputy Editor Radiation Oncology, Associate Professor Belinda Campbell
Associate Professor Belinda Campbell
What do you love about JMIRO?
I genuinely love the peer review and editorial processes for me, it has become a passion! As Deputy Editor at JMIRO, I truly enjoy reading the manuscripts that cross my desk: they cover a broad range of topics within radiation oncology, which makes for fascinating reading (and learning!). I am extremely fortunate to work alongside a fantastic crew on the JMIRO Editorial Board who generously share their time and expertise with genuine enthusiasm. And I sincerely admire the innovative, dedicated and encouraging leadership of our past and present Editors in Chief, Prof Michael Barton and Prof David Ball. Being part of the JMIRO team has been a brilliant experience and is undoubtedly one of the most favourite parts of my career to date.
What makes it different to other scientific journals?
JMIRO is now an international journal but has also managed to retain a unique flavour that appeals to our Australian and New Zealand readers.
How do you determine the quality of a journal article?
A very important question! For advice and hot tips, I encourage readers to look up the fantastic webinar that JMIRO hosted earlier this year entitled "How to be a Good Reviewer", and please check out the JMIRO training scheme for new reviewers.
Five Minutes with Kat Robison, PhD
Dr Kat Robison
We welcome Dr Kathryn (Kat) Robison to the role of Project Officer, Grants, Awards & Prizes and Research, Kat will be working closely with the JMIRO team.
What’s your background, what are you bringing to the role?
I am from North Carolina in the United States. I came to Australia in October 2020 and spent hotel quarantine watching the US election and answering all my friends’ questions about politics. I have a PhD in Political Science, along with a MA in Political Science, a MA in American Studies, and BA in Near Eastern Studies and Anthropology (Biological), so I would say my educational background is quite diverse! I also ran a mentoring program for my graduate school during my doctoral studies.
What are your priorities in STEM and science communication?
I think it’s important that STEM professionals can clearly and concisely communicate what they do and why it is important to colleagues, supervisors, policymakers and the public. Often, communication is seen as less of a priority in the STEM fields, or something better left to professional communicators. While there is value to engaging scicomm experts, it shouldn’t replace the need for everyone to develop basic scicomm skills. When we learn to communicate effectively about our expertise, it empowers us to be better advocates for our own work and its importance.
What does your own research focus on?
I focus on the role of political communication in the formation and dissemination of space policies at the domestic and international level. This includes everything from what the public thinks about spending money to go to the moon to what happens to our political systems back on Earth when we start mining valuable space resources. Basically, politics make the rockets go boom, but what ripples do those booms have on our lives? Recently, I’ve been focusing on just and equitable access to space, and the potential consequences of un/ underregulated activities in space by private actors. This includes investigating issues such as the impact of mega-constellations of small satellites on ground-based astronomy and the night sky as a cultural resource or what happens if we don’t get control of the space debris issue and lose access to low Earth orbit.
What are you looking forward to in Sydney?
I’m excited to be starting this role at the College, and glad to no longer have to worry about finishing a dissertation during a pandemic (or defending it on Zoom at 4am!). I bring a lot of experience with research, publishing, and working with committees and can’t wait to get to know more about the College and its members.
Ethics and standards in the use of artificial intelligence in medicine on behalf of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists
The above article, recently published in JMIRO by Prof Lizbeth Kenny, Mark Nevin and Kirsten Fitzpatrick, highlights the efforts undertaken by the College to develop principles and standards of practices for the ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in radiology practice and research. The College developed, in consultation with clinicians, researchers, and others, two key documents: The Ethical Principles of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, and the Standards of Practice for Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Radiology. These guidelines considered the implications of the use of readily available and digital radiological data and makes recommendations to ensure their use takes into account that big data, without context, can lead to harmful outcomes for vulnerable or traditionally ignored populations. As with any rapidly developing technology, good intentions can lead to negative outcomes, so the importance of early and clear ethical guidelines for their use in the discipline is of utmost importance. The College sits in a unique position to lead these conversations around ethical use of AI and ML in medicine and medical research. The foundation built with these key documents will allow the College to ensure its clinicians and researchers can ethically access, use, and understand the limitations of AI and ML as the technology continues to be more widely available and utilised in diagnosis, treatment, and research.
The College’s CEO Mark Nevin tells us a little bit more about writing and publishing his first journal article
Who was involved?
The core project team who developed the Ethical Principles and AI Standards.
How long did it take to write?
A bit over twelve months, but it was stop-start due to COVID disruption and its impact on our day jobs.
Why did you want to publish in JMIRO?
Basically, we thought there was an interesting scientific story to tell which others could learn from. Although our ethics and AI standards were available on the College website, they were not being picked up in other academic publications. JMIRO would allow our work to reach a different audience and therefore plug that gap.
How did this idea come about in the first place?
Various conversations between the three authors about promoting the work of the AI Committee after we had published the Ethical Principles and AI Standards.
Can you share a hot tip for someone submitting a journal article for the first time?
Set aside time to complete from start to finish, particularly for the rigorous peer review.
