JADA Foundational Science to highlight how basic research applies to oral, craniofacial health

The American Dental Association's new journal, JADA Foundational Science, is open for submissions, providing a forum for researchers in basic and applied sciences to make their work visible to experts in clinical dentistry and medicine.

The cross-disciplinary, open-access journal is currently accepting original research articles and reviews in the areas of biology, chemistry, engineering, materials science, computer science and informatics, advanced imaging and processing, and other technologies — the sciences foundational to new theories of disease, new approaches to diagnostics, and new tools and technologies for clinical use.

Jack L. Ferracane, Ph.D., chair of the department of restorative dentistry and director of the division of biomaterials and biomechanics at Oregon Health & Science University School of Dentistry in Portland, Oregon, is the first editor of the journal.

"My overall goal as editor-in-chief is to shepherd the new journal to a position of prominence among dental journals through the publication of high-quality science that is interesting and pertinent to both researchers and clinicians," Dr. Ferracane said. "We want to create a journal that recruits innovative, timely and outstanding scientific articles, with elements such as graphical abstracts and expanded significance sections that make each manuscript’s content accessible and interesting to both the trained scientist and practitioner."

He said the journal will aggressively seek out new scientific work to bring to a wide and diverse audience and use a rigorous peer review process.

"The goal will be to recruit timely and innovative work of high scientific rigor that is applicable to many of the health sciences and presented in a way that is engaging and instructive to both research scientists and clinicians," Dr. Ferracane said.

Aside from its emphasis on preclinical sciences, JADA Foundational Science differs from The Journal of the American Dental Association in that it will be entirely online and open access. As an open-access journal, JADA Foundational Science breaks down the barriers to access for scientists of all disciplines who have work relevant to the oral health sciences and aims to create a forum for collaboration and interaction among investigators and clinicians in all disciplines.

"Whereas there will undoubtedly be some overlap with JADA, JADA FS will focus much less on clinical studies and clinical implementation and instead on the foundational science that leads to or contributes to such work," Dr. Ferracane said.

The editor-in-chief served as president and vice president of both the American Association for Dental Research and the Academy of Dental Materials. He also is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and an honorary member of the American College of Dentists and Oregon Dental Association.

To learn more about JADA Foundational Science or to submit an item for publication consideration, visit ADA.org/jadafs .