Introductory editorial to 30th anniversary edition

We are highly privileged to write this editorial at such a significant moment for the Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran (MJIRI) as this journal celebrates its 30- year tradition as an accessible source of scholarly articles on the basic and clinical medical sciences, rigorously edited, and progressive.   The MJIRI was launched by Iran National Center for Scientific Research in 1987. However, later, Iran University of Medical Sciences sponsored the journal, and the continuous publication of the MJIRI has been made possible by the University’s support ever since.    The first volume of the MJIRI was published in November 1987 and it included 17 articles, which were mainly case reports and clinical trials. In those early years, the journal’s policy was to include papers in all research fields, involving clinical and basic sciences, by publishing 4 issues annually up to year 2014. Then, based on the journal’s new policy, the editorial team decided to stop publishing print edition after nearly 28 years, however, e-print publishing was replaced as an alternative.    At this time, we are pleased to announce that all original research articles published by the MJIRI are now accessible online immediately upon publication without any restrictions. The number of submissions has increased continuously over the past 3 years since Iran University of Medical Sciences Press has sponsored the open access platform. In addition, the MJIRI received almost 1000 papers for consideration last year after being indexed in the PubMed.  However, to maintain the high scientific quality of the journal, nearly 16% of the submitted articles were accepted.    Notably, the MJIRI contributors are from around the world, reflecting the journal’s policy to gain international reputation as a country blind scholarly journal. Moreover, the MJIRI’s editorial team highly encourages authors and scholars from around the world to contribute to the journal either as a writer or as a reviewer.   The MJIRI will try to keep current and bring its readers as many “hot” topic papers as possible. To do so, apart from regular research articles, we welcome systematic reviews, meta-analysis articles, and encourage contributors to submit clinical trials for speedy dissemination.    We expect a continuing growth of papers with high quality and impact, influential, and highest caliber in the field of medical sciences. The important factor of determining the quality of papers published in the MJIRI remains in the capable hands of our editorial board and reviewers. We would like to thank all those who have contributed their time and expertise over the past 30 years to help make the MJIRI the journal as it is today.