Genes & Diseases: Moving molecular and translational medicine forward.

Welcome to the inaugural issue of Genes & Diseases, a peerreviewed international journal that aims to facilitate a rapid dissemination and exchange of scientific advances about human diseases between basic science investigators and physicians worldwide. Genes & Diseases focuses on publishing investigations on the molecular bases and experimental therapeutics of human diseases. Human medicine is undoubtedly a rapidly evolving field. The journal’s emphasis is placed on hypothesis-driven, mechanistic studies relevant to the pathogenesis and/or experimental therapeutics of human diseases. Thus, Genes & Diseases has a broad scope in basic and translational biomedical research related to molecular biology, molecular genetics, cell biology, and experimental medicine. The current publication formats include full length research article, review article, short communication, correspondence, perspectives, commentary, views on news, and research watch. As Genes & Diseases is devoted to publishing articles pertaining in the broad context to human diseases, our goal is to make the journal into one of the preeminent repositories of knowledge and platforms for basic and translational research in medicine. The peer review process will match knowledgeable reviewers with submitted manuscripts to produce high quality articles of interest and scientific merit. We are guided by the conviction that the ultimate goal of biomedical research is to prevent and treat human diseases. Thus, the highest priority will be given to publishing studies that may significantly advance human health. We are experiencing an era of rapid change and transformation in human medicine, driven mostly by new technological advances. Since the completion of the human genome sequencing project in the early 2000’s, next-generation sequencing technologies and the big data era have emerged, and have had a major impact on understanding the pathogenesis and developing innovative therapeutics for