AACR Announces Official Call for Papers for New Open Access Journal, Cancer Research Communications

PHILADELPHIA — The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) today announced the opening of the submission site for its new open access journal, Cancer Research Communications, signaling the official call for papers. This new journal is the 10th in the AACR’s prestigious portfolio of scientific publications, adding an open access publishing option to this high-quality, trusted journal collection.

Cancer Research Communications welcomes research spanning the full breadth of cancer science and medicine. In addition to expanding the AACR’s portfolio of peer-reviewed publications, the new journal will further stimulate the exchange of innovative ideas and approaches in cancer research and will provide a rapid publication outlet that serves the cancer field. Cancer Research Communications will focus on meritorious studies that contribute to the expanding body of knowledge that nourishes cancer research. In addition to submissions of new insights, the journal seeks original contributions that robustly support or refute previously published findings or report thought-provoking negative results. This journal will also include studies from disciplines such as computational biology, engineering, mathematics, and physical sciences to highlight the increasing importance of these areas to preventing, understanding, detecting, and treating cancer. The journal is committed to fairness in its peer review, and articles will be selected based on the rigor and quality of the research.

Elaine R. Mardis, PhD, FAACR, and Lillian L. Siu, MD, FRCPC, will serve as the founding Editors-in-Chief. Mardis and Siu will work with an editorial board comprised of world-renowned experts in the scientific areas represented in the journal. Together, they will encourage high-quality submissions covering the full spectrum of the field of cancer research. 

“We are absolutely delighted that Dr. Mardis and Dr. Siu have agreed to lead the AACR’s newest journal, Cancer Research Communications, which we are confident will be an exciting forum for discovery science and medicine, collaboration, and sharing of knowledge, with the goal of driving scientific breakthroughs and technological innovations that will help advance patient care throughout the world,” said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), chief executive officer of the AACR. 

Mardis is co-executive director of the Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine and holds the Rasmussen Nationwide Foundation Endowed Chair of Genomic Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. She is also a professor of pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and co-leader of the Translational Therapeutics Program at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. She was elected as a Fellow of the AACR Academy in 2019 and became a member of the National Academy of Medicine that same year. She served as the President of the AACR from 2019-2020. She is currently chair of the AACR Education and Training Committee (2019-2022) and has previously served as a member of the AACR’s Board of Directors (2015-2018); chair (2018) and cochair (2011-2013, 2015-2016) of the Annual Meeting Program Committee; and as a member of the Writing Committee (2013) and Steering Committee (2013-2014) for the AACR Cancer Progress Report. She has served in senior editorial roles for two AACR journals, Cancer Discovery and Molecular Cancer Research, and is a member of the AACR Project GENIE Advisory Board. Mardis’s trailblazing work developing and applying next-generation sequencing technologies to the characterization of cancer genomes has helped to define the landscape of germline and somatic alterations, driving new cancer treatment strategies. Mardis has authored over 380 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has been listed since 2013 as one of the most highly cited researchers in the world by Thomson Reuters.

“I’m very honored and excited at the opportunity to serve as Editor-in-Chief along with Dr. Siu for the AACR’s new open access journal,” said Mardis. “In particular, I look forward to welcoming manuscripts submitted across the breadth of cancer research, which will engage the range of expertise in our readership, provide new insights, and present opportunities to explore and learn.”

Siu is a senior medical oncologist, director of the Phase I Clinical Trials Program, co-director of the Robert & Maggie Bras and Family Drug Development Program, clinical lead for the Tumor Immunotherapy Program, and holds the BMO Chair in Precision Genomics at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. She is also a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. Siu is the 2021-2022 scientific committee cochair for the International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics hosted by the AACR, the National Cancer Institute, and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer. She is also cochair of the AACR Annual Meeting Program Committee and chair of the AACR Annual Meeting Education Committee for the 2022 meeting. Previously, Siu served as a member of the AACR’s Board of Directors (2017-2020), cochair for the AACR Annual Meeting Clinical Trials Committee (2015-2017), member of the Nominating Committee (2014-2016), chair of the Research Grants Review Committee (2012-2013), chair of the AACR Annual Meeting Education Committee (2012), cochair of the AACR Annual Meeting Scientific Committee (2012), and in a senior editorial role for the AACR journal Cancer Discovery. Siu has published over 350 articles in peer-reviewed journals and is an internationally recognized expert in anticancer drug development and clinical trials whose major research interests include experimental therapeutics, precision medicine, and head and neck malignancies.

“I look forward to working with Dr. Mardis, our Senior and Associate Editors, and the entire editorial team on this exciting new venture,” said Siu. “Cancer Research Communications offers a broad scope that not only encompasses basic and translational scientific investigations, but also extends to early- and late-phase clinical trials, epidemiologic studies, and health services and outcomes research from researchers and clinicians around the globe.”

Cancer Research Communications will be published exclusively online, thus making the research available to the broadest possible audience. To submit your research to Cancer Research Communications, please go to crc.msubmit.net.

To learn about the AACR’s publications program, which spans the spectrum of cancer research, please visit www.AACRjournals.org.