New journal to explore the ‘mysterious ecosystem’ in our gut

A new open access journal from Cambridge University Press, published in partnership with The Nutrition Society, will explore the vital interaction between people and the complex community of microorganisms that live in our digestive systems.

The journal, Gut Microbiome, will look at the factors that influence this gut microbiota and how they in turn affect our health and development.

The journal will publish research into a range of topics, including the role of different diets, pharmaceuticals and probiotics on individuals’ microbiome, and the newly emerging field of research into how the gut microbiome influences the immune and nervous systems.

Its aim is to support the development of an integrated, interdisciplinary understanding of the gut microbiome.

Editor-in-Chief – Professor Kristin Verbeke from the University of Leuven – said: “Over the past decades, we have deciphered the microbiome as a really exciting, intriguing and sometimes mysterious ecosystem. The possibilities to target and modify the microbiome have raised ambitious expectations for preventing and treating numerous disorders and diseases.

“If we want to deliver on these expectations, we need robust science and mechanistic information to fully understand the interactions between the microbiota and the host. By publishing high-quality publications in this field, I strongly believe that the journal will be extremely valuable for the scientific community.

She added: “I expect the journal will contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms by which the gut microbiota affect our health. I am proud to guide the Editorial Board in its ambitious task to serve the interests of gut microbiome scientists.”

Gut Microbiome will open for submissions at FENS 2019 – the Federation of European Nutrition Societies’ 13th European Nutrition Conference, which is being held in Dublin this week. It will publish its first volume in 2020 following an open access, continuous publication model and be free to read on Cambridge Core, the online home for books and journals published by the Press.

The journal is the first to be co-published by Cambridge University Press and the Nutrition Society. The Society’s existing journals are already published by the Press under the terms of a successful partnership, which the Society has just agreed to renew for a new term, subject to contract.

Professor Jayne Woodside, Honorary Publications Officer from the Nutrition Society, said: “The Nutrition Society is delighted to be working in partnership with Cambridge University Press to launch this Gut Microbiome, which will add to the Society’s portfolio of five scientific journals, and focuses on an area of nutrition science that we feel is currently not well served by other journals.”

Ella Colvin, Director of Publishing for the Press’s academic journals, said: “The launch of Gut Microbiome comes in recognition of and response to the exciting new areas of research in this field and the great promise they hold for improvements to people’s health and wellbeing.

“It also reaffirms the Press’s commitment to our partnership with the Nutrition Society, to open research and to making knowledge accessible to all as we transition to a sustainable, open future for journals publishing.”

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Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. Its extensive peer-reviewed publishing lists comprise 50,000 titles covering academic research and professional development, over 380 research journals, as well as school-level education and English language teaching. Playing a leading role in today’s international market place, Cambridge University Press has over 50 offices around the globe, and it distributes its products to nearly every country in the world. http://www.cambridge.org?

The Nutrition Society was established in 1941 ‘to advance the scientific study of nutrition and its application to the maintenance of human and animal health’. Highly regarded by the scientific community, the Society is the largest learned society for nutrition in Europe. Membership is worldwide but most members live in Europe. Membership is open to those with a genuine interest in the science of human or animal nutrition. Gut Microbiome will be the sixth journal that the Society publishes in partnership with Cambridge University Press. http://www.nutritionsociety.org/