Ann Murphy
Cover of the first issue of Stem Cells and an early cover of International Journal of Cell Cloning
Established in 1981 by scientists in the service of science, the Journal's founding editors were the late Donald Metcalf, the late Laszlo G. Lajtha, and Fumimaro Takaku, with Martin J. Murphy, Jr., its Founding Editor-in-Chief. This was at the dawn of the stem cell field in which hematopoietic stem cells were confined to the laboratory bench, far from the clinic. STEM CELLS was first published by the Swiss publisher Karger from 1981 to 1983. AlphaMed Press was created so that it could publish the Journal in 1983, under the pro tempore title, International Journal of Cell Cloning, until the Journal reclaimed its founding name, STEM CELLS, in 1993 with its trademark on the Primary Register.
The Journal's founding editorial board were all pursuing research that was fraught with controversy. Indeed, one prominent critic proclaimed, “The presence of ‘stem cells’ is a matter of religious belief.” No wonder the founding editors were having difficulty getting their papers published. Believing that a new horizon of opportunities for future clinical medicine was emerging, they banded together in the service of science.
Peer-reviewed publication is the “currency of science,” and this fledgling field of stem cell researchers needed “currency” and they needed it in a hurry. One of the problems was that they had no “currency” of any kind with which to start a novel scientific journal, but what they lacked in money, they made up for with drive and ambition. Marty pledged to seek a donor for enough paper for a few issues so they could then approach a friendly printer for an “in-kind” ink and press contribution.
A.D. “Pete” Correll, the heir apparent at the paper giant Mead, Inc., agreed to a half-hour meeting with Marty, during which he asked plenty of tough questions and then said to Marty, “I'll give you paper for three years. By that time, you and your buddies will either have proven that these so-called ‘stem cells’ are real and important, or you'll know it was a flop. Either way, it's worth knowing.” Thus Marty and I started AlphaMed Press in Dayton, Ohio, in 1983 with me its full-time volunteer publisher. When we moved 22 years later, to Durham, North Carolina, we moved AlphaMed Press with us.
AlphaMed's flagship journal, STEM CELLS, was definitely not a “flop”! As we celebrate its 40th year in 2022, we remain forever grateful to visionaries like the late Pete Correll who bet on the future … a future in which stem cells are no longer considered to be a “matter of religious belief”.
During the Journal's first decade, hematopoietic stem cells were being characterized, concentrated and transplanted, manipulated and genetically engineered—in short, a new horizon of opportunities had emerged.
In 2000, Curt Civin was appointed the Journal's second Editor-in-Chief, and for the next eight years, the Journal enjoyed unprecedented growth in the number of submitted manuscripts, number of peer-accepted articles published, and in its ever-escalating impact. During these years we were also joined by new Senior Editors: Alan Gewirtz, Robert Hawley, and Margaret Goodell. With the benefit of their cumulative 26 years of expertise in the field, they instilled rigorous review of original articles and the concise reviews for which the Journal had become prized. The Journal also provided a forum for young investigators to present provocative proposals for new research directions. This has been fostered by Lucy Rasmussen, who became our science editor in 2006, a position she holds to this day having painstakingly screened thousands of submissions.
Jan Nolta
Editor-in-Chief
In 2008 AlphaMed was joined by Wiley as our co-publisher of STEM CELLS, and in 2009 Miodrag Stojković became our Editor, working with Associate Editors Nolta, Lako, and Pittenger to 2011.
Terry Lappin created the new role of STEM CELLS Concise Review Editor in 2010, a position he holds to this day, identifying “hot topics” and brilliantly recruiting experts to address issues and advances in the field and whose expertise places them at the cutting edge of stem cells research.
In January 2012, STEM CELLS celebrated its 30th anniversary with the promotion of Jan Nolta as our Editor. Jan is the Director of the Stem Cell Program and Institute for Regenerative Cures at UC Davis. In 2014, she was promoted to Editor-in-Chief of the Journal. Noel Buckley (2012) and Toru Kondo (2014) joined Jan as Associate Editors.
As Jan wrote in her 2021 editorial1: “It truly takes careful detailed research to produce the key data that move studies forward, careful attention to detail to write them up for our peers in the field, and then dedication and altruism to review them and provide comments that further polish and improve the work prior to final acceptance and publication. This represents a high degree of teamwork at each step of the scientific and publication process, and we are very happy to bring the resulting excellent manuscripts to the field.”
It has been a great honor to have worked closely with each of our editors, beginning with my husband, Marty who recruited me four decades ago to help found the Journal and its publishing company, AlphaMed Press.
I am grateful to the Journal's editors, reviewers, board members, authors, and loyal readers for whom we have published impactful advances in the field of stem cells. I am also grateful to our wonderful AlphaMed staff, Tina Belle, Suzanne Watters, Sharon Lee, Chelsea Kekahuna, Duane Beaudot, and Matt Kenney, who have carefully helped to build the infrastructure for our flagship journal. I am especially thankful to my partner-husband, Marty, our children, Siobhan, Deirdre, Marty III, Sean, and Brendan, and our grandchildren, Alice, Paul, Liam, Fiona, Keegan, Katelyn, Colin, Ben, Connor, and Clare for their sacrifice, inspiration, and great humor.
A favorite passage of founding editor Donald Metcalf, whose autobiography, “Summon up the Blood: In dogged pursuit of the blood cell regulators”, was published by AlphaMed Press in 2000. Donald Metcalf and Ann Murphy are pictured here, holding a copy of the page proofs.
Fare thee well!
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