Five Years, with Thanks

Welcome to the special issue marking the fifth anniversary of the launch of Cell Stem Cell. The inaugural issue of the journal, dated July 2007, was published in early June for the ISSCR annual meeting in Cairns, Australia. We have therefore chosen to celebrate the anniversary in June, and to distribute this issue at the ISSCR annual meeting in Yokohama, Japan. We are very grateful to Stemgent, Life Technologies, Lonza, and StemCell Technologies for providing the sponsorship support that enables us to send a copy for every attendee at the meeting. For this special issue, we have focused on progress in the stem cell field over the past 5 years and outstanding issues that remain through a series of Perspective and Forum articles. For the Perspectives, we asked the authors to summarize key developments in different areas of stem cell research since Cell Stem Cell launched. The approaches they have chosen to take vary—some have focused on one or two key points and discuss them in depth, while others have provided more of an overview of major areas of progress. In the Forum section, we gave each author free rein to express their opinion on a topic that they consider important for the field. Again, the contributions in this section vary, in terms of subject covered and degree of speculation involved. We hope that all of these articles from leaders in the field will prove thought-provoking and informative, and that together they provide a snapshot of the current status and future directions. In honor of the location of the 2012 ISSCR meeting, we have also chosen to feature three research articles from Japan. These papers, from the groups of Akira Onishi, Yoshiki Sasai, and Jun Yamashita, provide a fitting illustration of the strong contributions that Japanese scientists are making to the stem cell field. The cover of the issue has a connection to Japan as well, because the winning entry from the competition we held earlier this year is from Mai Kimoto, a doctoral student at Hokkaido University. Mai's beautiful hand-drawn image depicts a broad range of tissues in which stem cells have been identified and characterized in a design inspired by marine ecosystems.As Leonard Zon discusses in his accompanying editorial, this 5 year anniversary for Cell Stem Cell coincides with the 10 year anniversary of the founding of the ISSCR. Like the journal, the society has evolved significantly since its first inception, and has become a major force within the stem cell field and beyond as society at large grapples with how to support and regulate the stem cell field. You will see a short montage depicting the society's activities in this issue, and information about the winners of the society's 2012 awards, all of whom we heartily congratulate. We at Cell Stem Cell very much appreciate the mutually supportive relationship that we have with the ISSCR, and look forward to it continuing in the future.In running a journal for the stem cell field, our primary goal at all times is to make a positive contribution to scientific progress. We are well aware that all scientists, but particularly those working in a fast-moving field such as stem cells, want the process of publication to be as rapid and straightforward as possible. There are many factors to balance, including author and reviewer time commitment and the desire to ensure that we hold papers to appropriate scientific standards without having unreasonable expectations about experimental content. It has always been our policy to take papers through just one major round of revision to avoid protracted review processes, and the supplemental material guidelines that Cell Press introduced 2 years ago have helped rein in expectations about the amount of information needed for a given publication. We strive to ensure that our consideration processes are timely and thoughtful, and that we both explain our decisions and minimize the time spent for everybody involved. We also aim to be accessible to authors and to provide appropriate advice to help navigate the publication process as smoothly as possible. We have therefore been very happy about the amount of positive feedback we have received from the community about the quality of the editorial service provided by Cell Stem Cell and the role that the journal has played in the stem cell field, both anecdotally and through a broader survey that Cell Press sent out earlier this year.Our ability to make this type of positive contribution depends on support and assistance from many different members of the scientific community, and we are very grateful to everyone who has helped Cell Stem Cell over the past 5 years. The journal would be nothing without the articles it contains, so we appreciate all of the authors who entrusted us with presenting their work to the broader community. The members of the editorial board and ISSCR advisory committee have provided valuable support and guidance as we have developed Cell Stem Cell and its coverage. Peer reviewers are also a vital component of any journal's operation. Over 1,300 individuals have acted as referees for research and review articles submitted to Cell Stem Cell since early 2007, and we are grateful to each and every one of them for the time and effort they put in. Because they are anonymous, for good reason, reviewers are often “unsung heroes” in the publication process. In an effort to redress that balance, I'd like to take this opportunity to recognize their contribution. Rapid, discerning, thoughtful, and constructive reviews help us as editors decide which papers are appropriate for publication and help the authors involved improve their work. The scientific enterprise benefits as a result.I am often asked where Cell Stem Cell, and the field more generally, will go in the future. The honest answer is that I don't know, but that is part of what makes it so exciting! All of the articles in this issue serve to illustrate the rapid pace of progress in the stem cell field, and the energy that surrounds it as it continues to grow. I personally have felt and continue to feel privileged to be part of this vibrant and fascinating area of science. I am sure I speak for Christina, Sheila, and everyone else involved in Cell Stem Cell when I say that we very much look forward to continuing to work with the research community and to doing our part in helping the stem cell field continue to succeed. Please come and visit us during the ISSCR meeting in Yokohama at booth 208 to learn more about Cell Stem Cell and the many exciting initiatives going on at Cell Press.