Working in partnership to support China’s academic goals
July 1, 2024
By Wenyi Zhou, Renée Chi
Celebrating the launch of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Medical and Engineering Interdisciplinary Journal Alliance.
Elsevier and Shanghai Jiao Tong University deepen cooperation to launch a collection of interdisciplinary academic journals with international influence
The research market in China continues to grow exponentially, leading to a significant rise in both article volume and quality. Recognizing the importance of Chinese research and serving this community, we were delighted to recently forge a long-term partnership with Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) opens in new tab/window — one of China’s top university and hospital institutions. The collaboration was formally celebrated during SJTU’s Medicine-Engineering Interdisciplinary Journal Alliance launch ceremony. Held at Ruijin Hospital opens in new tab/window, the Alliance recognized the importance of interdisciplinary research in medicine and engineering.
Pictured above: (front row, 5th from right), Shen Baiyong, VP of Ruijin Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; Zhao Yixin (front row, 4th from right), VP of the Institute of Science and Technology Development; Tan Yi (front row, 4th from left), Director of the Journal Center; Chen Jiangping (front row, 2nd from left), Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Biomedical Engineering; Guo Wei (3rd row, 7th from right), Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Development Department of the School of Medicine; and Louise Curtis (front row, 6th from right), Senior VP of Elsevier’s Life Sciences, Social Sciences and Economics division.
Integrating medicine and engineering
The Alliance reflects the fact that the integration of medicine and engineering has long been seen as critical for the full benefits of technological advances to be felt in medicine and medical practice. Further, SJTU has long pioneered the intersection of medicine and engineering and has cultivated a number of major national scientific research projects and achievements. In the fields of biomedical engineering, brain science and precision medicine, for example, SJTU has been involved in approximately 1,000 of the world’s leading research projects.
The Alliance fits nicely with SJTU’s broader "One Health" strategic concept that supports the practice of high-level academic journals empowering the university’s status as a “Double First-Class” university (one that is recognized by the State Council of China as a leading university).
The first batch of 36 journals selected for the Alliance cover the University’s Class A disciplines, such as clinical medicine, biology, and mechanical engineering. In addition to Translational Research opens in new tab/window — Elsevier’s proprietary journal founded in 1915 that affiliated with Renji Hospital in 2022 — there are three SJTU-owned journals published by Elsevier:
Mechanobiology in Medicine, which started publishing in 2023, publishes content that traverses field boundaries and, in doing so, builds bridges between engineers, life scientists and medical professionals. Among the journal’s initial successes: It has already been indexed by the Directory of Open Access Journals opens in new tab/window, it has published articles from authors from 20 countries (across all continents), and with the help of Elsevier’s ScienceDirect platform, its visibility has grown steadily to over 4,000 downloads per month.
Partnering for success
Reflecting on the collaboration, Dr Fei Pan opens in new tab/window, Assistant Director of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Journal Center; Secretary General of the Medicine-Engineering Interdisciplinary Journal Alliance; and Vice President of the Shanghai Association for University STM Journals, said:
Elsevier is a well-established and reputable publisher in the academic community. The partnership with Elsevier brings numerous benefits to Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Through the cooperation with Elsevier on journal publishing, knowledge resources and analysis services, we are able to serve global scientific research more efficiently and help social development and progress. We gain international recognition and collaboration. The mission of Journal Centre at SJTU is consistent with Elsevier. I hope we can continue our strategic partnership and make contributions to the scholarly landscape together.
According to Louise Curtis opens in new tab/window, Senior VP of Elsevier’s Life Sciences, Social Sciences and Economics division:
Interdisciplinary research at the intersection of medicine, engineering and biology is critical to supporting advances that translate to societal benefit. We are delighted to be partnering with SJTU to maximize global impact of the research published in the partnership titles and to ensure the journals develop in service of the author, reviewer and editor communities.
In the future, the Alliance will further promote the establishment of international high-level journals, create an international medical and engineering cross-journal brand conference, and facilitate strategic discussion and cooperation in support of SJTU and Elsevier’s collective goals — all with the end goal of advancing science and medical practice for the good of society.