Meet the Editor-in-Chief: Why Spine Open is revolutionizing spinal research

About the Editor-in-Chief

Dr. Andrew Schoenfeld, the Editor-in-Chief of Spine Open, is a professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where he has worked for the past decade. Dr. Schoenfeld has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, and the Spine family of journals. With over 460 published articles and research funded by leading organizations, he brings extensive publishing expertise. Meet Dr. Schoenfeld to gain insights into Spine Open and tips for successful publishing.

The vision behind Spine Open

The launch of Spine Open addresses a critical need in the spine research community. While the Spine journal has maintained its reputation as a legacy publication in the spine field since 1976, the volume of submissions often exceeds its publishing capacity. This limitation meant that valuable research struggled to find an appropriate home.

"Spine Open will allow a space within the Spine family of publications for more cutting-edge, thought-provoking, and hypothesis-generating work to appear under the aegis of Spine," explains Dr. Schoenfeld. "We are particularly interested in novel surgical techniques and interesting case reports that will have the ability to influence patient care and clinical practice in a granular way."

Distinguishing Spine Open from its legacy sibling, Spine

While both publications maintain the same rigorous review standards and publish similar categories of research, Spine Open offers something unique: space for experimental thinking. "Spine Open's focus and outlook do allow for more experimental, thought-provoking, and exploratory work to appear under the umbrella of the Spine brand," Dr. Schoenfeld explains.

The journal encourages submissions that challenge conventional thinking, address emerging trends, and drive progress, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes and shaping the future of clinical practice.

Open access publishing paves the way for the next decade

When asked about the evolution of the field over the next decade, Dr. Schoenfeld emphasizes the revolutionary impact of open access publishing. "The growth of open access publishing is a real game changer as far as I am concerned. The rapidity with which experimental, hypothesis-generating, and thought-provoking research can get into the hands of the end-user is revolutionary to say the least and is creating a sea change in the field," he notes.

This transformation improves accessibility by removing subscription barriers and paywalls. Spine Open ensures that essential research is freely available to researchers and practitioners globally, regardless of their institutional affiliations.

Key factors to increase authors' chances of acceptance

According to Dr. Schoenfeld, a successful manuscript must fulfill three essential criteria: it should present novel ideas, demonstrate significant impact, and employ methodology relevant to the problem it seeks to address. "Most articles that do not see success usually fail on one of these fronts," he observes.

Additionally, authors should clearly communicate the need for their research and their intended goals. This clarity helps reviewers understand the work's significance and potential impact on clinical practice.

Why choose Spine Open for your research?

Dr. Schoenfeld highlighted several compelling advantages the journal offers to authors looking to publish their spine-related research:

• Expedited review process: Spine Open leverages the refined methodological expertise and efficiency developed over decades at journal, ensuring rapid turnaround times without compromising quality.
• Expert reviewer pool: Experienced and dedicated reviewers bring their expertise to the evaluation process, providing valuable feedback to enhance manuscript quality.
• Broader accessibility: As an open-access publication, accepted articles are immediately available to the global spine community without subscription barriers. This maximizes research impact, as statistics show that open-access articles receive twice the number of citations on average.

Spine Open is dedicated to advancing the field and empowering the global spine community through innovation and support. Browse the journal’s latest articles and get inspired for your next research.

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