GSA Journals Support Those Adapting and Innovating to Advance Aging Research

By CEO James Appleby, BSPharm, MPH

While the COVID-19 pandemic has upended virtually every aspect of our personal and professional lives, I am amazed at how the research community has adapted and innovated to continue its pursuit of new scientific insights during this period. While many are impacted by research losses due to interrupted studies and missed opportunities, it’s impressive to see how individuals have adapted to continue their current research and innovated to pursue projects related to COVID-19.

As you know, the National Institutes of Health has allocated significant resources to addressing the pandemic, including regularly appropriated funds and emergency funding for COVID-19-related activities. If you haven’t studied it yet, please be sure to check out the National Institute on Aging COVID-19 Response page. A collection of frequently asked questions is provided to help you understand these opportunities.

GSA is seeing dozens of articles related to COVID-19 through our submission channels, and a dozen have already been published. The editors of both The Gerontologist and The Journals of Gerontology, Series B have issued calls for more papers on the topic.

Of course, the broad spectrum of aging scholarship beyond the ongoing COVID-19 response continues as researchers adapt their routines to be successful during this extraordinary time. And the work of GSA’s journals is continuing uninterrupted as a result of the collective efforts of authors, reviewers, and editors. I appreciate their dedication and willingness to tirelessly contribute their time to see that this science is released in a timely fashion.

In 2020, scholars have increased opportunities for publishing in GSA’s journals as The Journals of Gerontology, Series B has increased its annual issue count from eight to 10 and The Gerontologist has jumped from six issues to eight this year.

The Journals of Gerontology, Series A and Series B are both continuing their rapid publication model, which allows GSA to publish papers online soon after they have been accepted for publication. The Gerontologist and Innovation in Aging will soon incorporate rapid publication as well. Further, all journals continue to accept preprints, as outlined in each journal’s author guidelines.

And while some may be temporarily cut off from their personal print copies of the journals, you have free online access to all of GSA’s titles as a benefit of membership in the Society. (Be sure to log in first at geron.org.)

Thank you for everything you’re doing to ensure the field of gerontology responds to the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to advance under the most challenging of circumstances.

On a final note, GSA's Program, Publications, and Products Committee is conducting searches for the position of editor-in-chief for The Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences (nomination/application deadline: May 31), The Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences (nomination/application deadline: May 31), and Innovation in Aging (nomination/application deadline: June 30). These four-year contract terms will become effective January 1, 2021. Give it some consideration!