Abstract
Contact, the only journal focused exclusively on inter-organelle contact, is run by a diverse and talented team of Senior Editors. Together they manage the editorial content, coordinating peer review, working with authors, and seeking out unique voices in the field. We’ve asked them to introduce themselves and their visions for Contact.
Tell us a little bit about yourselves
Tim Levine, PhD, University College London, UK—Editor-in-Chief
I trained as a medic before switching to fundamental research into the cell biology of membrane traffic. Studies of protein targeting led me to the unexpected question of how a single protein can be on two organelles at the same time, and this generated a long-lasting interest in protein bridges that create sub-cellular domains for direct inter-organelle communication.
Jen Liou, PhD, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, USA—Senior Editor
I received my Ph.D. in Immunology at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) where I studied T and B cell receptor signaling in the laboratory of Arthur Weiss, MD. Ph.D. During my postdoctoral training with Tobias Meyer, Ph.D. at Stanford University, I identified STIM1 and STIM2, two membrane proteins at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that mediate store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) at ER-plasma membrane (ER-PM) contacts. I established my laboratory in the Department of Physiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in the fall of 2009. My lab has developed genetically encoded markers for organelle membrane contact sites. Using these markers, we have identified proteins, such as Nir2 and Nir3, that mediate non-vesicular lipid transport at organelle contacts to maintain cell homeostasis.
Shmuel Muallem, PhD, NIH, Bethesda, USA—Senior Editor
I received a PhD from the Weizmann Institute in Israel, where I studied the plasma membrane calcium pump. My post-doctoral work was first at Cambridge University, England and then at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), working on calcium signaling and epithelial transport. In 1985, I became an assistant professor at UCLA and in 1988, moved to University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center as an associate professor and then a full professor in 1994. In 2010, I moved to NIDCR where I continue my work on several aspects of calcium signaling and epithelial transport mechanism as they relate to epithelial function in health and disease.
Thomas Simmen, PhD, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada—Senior Editor
Upon completing PhD studies on the polarized sorting of furin and the characterization of AP-4 in the basolateral sorting, I did postdoctoral studies with Drs. Roberto Sitia and Gary Thomas, characterizing key regulatory proteins of mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum contacts (MERCs), the cytosolic sorting protein PACS-2 and Ero1. Since its inception, my laboratory has been studying MERC regulatory proteins. We have discovered that ER folding assistants are an important component of the MERC regulatory proteome. These chaperones and oxidoreductases control ER-mitochondria Ca2+ flux. More recently, they have also been recognized as forming a platform for lipid metabolizing enzymes. The activities of ER folding assistants on MERCs are controlled by ER homeostasis. Our studies therefore have identified ER folding assistants as sentinel proteins that connect the functioning of MERCs to ER oxidative protein folding.
Mitsuo Tagaya, PhD, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences (TUPL), Japan—Senior Editor
I trained as a biochemist, in particular enzymologist, and received my Ph.D. degree from Osaka University, Japan, in 1985. I switched to research in membrane traffic when I joined Jim Rothman's lab at Princeton University. Some time ago, my lab discovered an ER SNARE, syntaxin 18, and studied its function. Then, my lab switched to research into another ER SNARE, syntaxin 17, which led me to an exciting new research field: membrane contacts.
What was the inspiration for launching Contact?
We launched the journal to provide a single home for articles on non-vesicular communication inside cells as they did not fit the characteristics that had been set in stone 50 years earlier in the “disciplines” of vesicular membrane traffic and calcium physiology. A secondary benefit was to bring together for the first time two large communities who research membrane contact sites: membrane cell biologists and calcium physiologists.
Tim Levine
What are the goals and vision for Contact?
We want to bring together people from different backgrounds who might be working on the same thing without realizing it. Contact changes the landscape for researchers in this field by bringing many different aspects of intracellular anatomy and physiology into a single forum. This will give researchers easy access to the whole field. Our aim is to spark cross-fertilization of ideas across a wide community of researchers that crosses boundaries between traditionally separate disciplines such as calcium signaling and lipid metabolism. We are non-dogmatic and open to all ideas, including those that challenge the importance of contact.
Tim Levine
The research field of membrane contact sites is rapidly expanding, and membrane contact sites papers tend to disappear or be missed by researchers of the field. As Senior Editor, I would like to see key review articles and significant new research in this journal that focuses on the core cell biology of membrane contact sites that would otherwise not receive the recognition of this field.
Thomas Simmen
All biological processes are under strict control to ensure high fidelity and avoid disease. In recent years it became clear that virtually all control processes occur in membrane contact sites. The study of membrane contact sites and their cellular and physiological role emerges as a field within cell biology/physiology.
Shmuel Muallem
Promoting discussion and exchanging new ideas to advance research. I hope that the journal would lead the research field of membrane contacts.
Mitsuo Tagaya
What do you think sets Contact apart?
Contact provides a platform for interdisciplinary research including calcium signaling, lipid trafficking and membrane biology. These fields typically have their own meetings and journals. Contact also has a very strong editorial board. We have expertise in this emerging field of membrane contacts.
Jen Liou
Contact is a journal run by membrane contact site researchers. The editorial board comprises all aspects and current lines of research. Our policy is to provide a thorough and fair review process that involves renowned experts of the field. Therefore, the journal board and its reviewers make sure the scientific standards of contact site science are maintained.
Thomas Simmen
The journal’s Aims and Scope notes the following: “Primary research papers do not necessarily have to present complete stories, nor is there a requirement for mechanistic insight. Instead, descriptive accounts, of any length, that raise new questions will be viewed positively for their role in provoking debate.” Can you elaborate on this?
Scientific publishing is fracturing under the huge pressure felt by researchers to publish in a small group of journals selected by their high average citation rates (the “Impact Factor”). What happens to research that does not meet this very high standard?
There should still be an outlet for publication for all the experiments that do not fit into compelling arcs that meet editorial criteria demanding the holy grail of “mechanistic insight”. Without publication, the experiments might as well never have been done. With publication, the team who did the work gains the credit they deserve. However, to disseminate such work widely, with open access to all readers, traditional journals have been a high-cost option.
Contact is a perfect place for this kind of study! Following the model of open access publishing, together with high quality peer review, we are confident that individual articles describing solid experiments in this growing field will contribute positively to the field, with the most important metric being citation at the granular level.
Tim Levine
The field of membrane contact sites is relatively novel and under constant evolution. Observations or data can be produced that would otherwise require numerous additional experiments or opposition from reviewers, but if they are novel to the field might contribute significant progress. Such studies should be submitted to the journal.
Thomas Simmen
Pioneer research often contains findings that cannot be explained by the present ideas and concepts. Breakthrough papers may be partially flawed. It is very important to encourage such papers published to advance science, in particular, research in rapidly developing fields such as membrane contacts.
Mitsuo Tagaya
Contact publishes a manuscript type called news and views. What kind of information do those provide?
Our “News and Views” are short features that describe noteworthy advances in original research in the field in an easily understood form. They offer a chance for the team that led this research (or anyone else) to add further insight or discussion points, and they also give junior group members the opportunity to gain experience writing a mini-review-like piece.
Tim Levine
Typical manuscripts have limited space for the discussion section that put the work in the perspectives, integrating the role of the study into different fields. News and Views allow authors to discuss their work, propose a model, and future directions. This can be particularly helpful to connect to seemingly unrelated work.
Jen Liou
Significant research articles of the membrane contact field are published in all kinds of publications. For researchers in the field, it can be difficult to find or recognize contributions to this topic, especially if the main scope of such papers lies elsewhere (e.g., characterization of a disease-related gene, metabolic changes, significance for a tissue or cell type), so that the importance for the understanding of membrane contact sites is lost. This is where News and Views provide short accounts of these papers and make the contributions to the field obvious.
Thomas Simmen
What is one thing you would want potential authors to know?
All kinds of cross talk between organelles, not just work on membrane contact sites, is relevant to the journal.
Jen Liou
The journal is led by an Editorial Board that understands membrane contact sites. This is where your research will find the recognition it deserves, that may not be recognized elsewhere. The board aims to attract significant research contributions and review articles alongside your contributions that will make this a good home for your membrane contact site research reports as well.
Thomas Simmen