image: The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is pleased to announce the launch of PNAS Nexus, a highly selective, open access journal with a focus on innovation and rapid publication. PNAS Nexus will publish innovative and multi-, trans-, and interdisciplinary work across the biological, physical, and social sciences, particularly encompassing engineering and health sciences.
Credit: J. Craig Venter Institute
Washington, DC - The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is pleased to announce the launch of PNAS Nexus, a highly selective, open access journal with a focus on innovation and rapid publication. PNAS Nexus will publish innovative and multi-, trans-, and interdisciplinary work across the biological, physical, and social sciences, particularly encompassing engineering and health sciences. The journal will be published under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Karen Nelson, president of the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), and in partnership with Oxford University Press (OUP).
"I am delighted to serve as the inaugural editor-in-chief for PNAS Nexus," says Karen Nelson. "I believe this new journal creates a great opportunity for rapid review and publication of new findings across several key scientific disciplines. I look forward to working with OUP and the new Editorial Board on this exciting open access platform."
In late summer 2021, PNAS Nexus will begin considering new submissions along with manuscripts rejected after review from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)--the flagship journal of the NAS--that authors wish to transfer. PNAS Nexus will publish its first issue in early 2022. PNAS Nexus will play a key role in rapidly disseminating research findings in a broad range of fields, with an emphasis on studies spanning multiple disciplines. The journal will provide researchers with an open access platform that encourages transparency and speed in the publication of cutting-edge research.
"The most exciting new developments in research are happening between or across traditional disciplines. Authors pursuing this vital work are seeking high-quality and discerning open access platforms to disseminate their findings. PNAS Nexus fills that need," says NAS President Marcia McNutt. "I am particularly pleased that a scientist of the caliber and energy of Dr. Nelson has agreed to become the inaugural editor-in-chief and set the journal on a path to success."
The Editorial Board of PNAS Nexus will include members of the NAS, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine. Fundamental to the journal's principles is the belief that multidisciplinary research should be made freely and publicly available to read and reuse.
May Berenbaum, editor-in-chief of PNAS, says, "At PNAS, we're thrilled at the prospect of forging connections with the National Academy's new journal, PNAS Nexus, which, as the name suggests, is all about connections--it will be a new venue for connecting the frontiers of science, medicine, and engineering and a vehicle for connecting rapidly with the global scientific community via streamlined review and immediate open access publication."
Alison Denby, vice president of journals publishing at OUP, adds, "PNAS has been at the forefront of scientific publishing for more than a century, and we are excited to build PNAS Nexus into a highly respected, well-cited journal in its own right. OUP is the largest university press publisher of open access research, publishing more than 1,250 open access articles every month, and we are delighted to be working with the National Academy of Sciences to ensure the important research published in PNAS Nexus reaches the widest possible audience."
###
About Karen Nelson
Karen E. Nelson, PhD, is the president of JCVI. She was elected to the NAS in 2017 in recognition of her groundbreaking work in microbial genomics and metagenomics. She was named ARCS Scientist of the Year in 2017, elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, inducted into the Indian National Academy of Sciences, and is an Honorary Professor at the University of the West Indies as well as a Helmholtz International Fellow. Dr. Nelson received an undergraduate degree from the University of the West Indies and a PhD from Cornell University.
About OUP
OUP is the largest university press publisher of open access research. OUP publishes over 80 fully open access journals and more than 100 open access monographs, and offers an open access publishing option on over 400 journals. Since 2004, OUP has published over 80,000 open access papers across all major subject areas and publishes more than 1,250 open access articles per month. OUP has been publishing journals for more than a century and has more than 500 years of publishing expertise.
About PNAS
PNAS is one of the world's most widely cited and comprehensive multidisciplinary scientific journals, publishing more than 3,500 research papers annually. As the official journal of the NAS, PNAS is an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans the biological, physical, and social sciences. The journal is global in scope, and submission is open to all researchers worldwide. Since its establishment in 1914, PNAS has worked to publish high-quality scientific research and to make that research accessible to a broad audience.
For more information, contact the PNAS News Office at PNASNews@nas.edu.