Proposed Special Issue

Lead a focused collection of clinical microbiology research on emerging diagnostic topics with high clinical impact.

Guest-edited special issues represent focused scholarly efforts that advance specific topics in clinical microbiology and diagnostics. These collections attract concentrated attention from the laboratory science community and provide comprehensive treatment of emerging research directions.

Strong proposals demonstrate timely relevance, clear scope, and realistic contributor recruitment strategies. We prioritize topics with active research communities and emerging clinical significance in diagnostic microbiology and laboratory medicine.

• Proposed topic and title with clear clinical microbiology focus and diagnostic relevance
• Guest editor CVs demonstrating subject expertise in proposed area of laboratory science
• Rationale explaining topic significance and timeliness for clinical laboratory practice
• Preliminary contributor list with confirmed interest from multiple clinical microbiology researchers
• Proposed timeline for submissions and publication with realistic milestones
• Target article count and types including original research, reviews, and case studies

Guest editors play active roles in special issue success. Responsibilities include recruiting contributors, coordinating peer review with IJCM editorial staff, maintaining timelines, and ensuring thematic coherence across accepted articles in clinical microbiology.

• Recruit qualified clinical microbiologists and maintain contributor engagement throughout the process
• Participate in peer review coordination and editorial decision processes for submissions
• Write introductory editorial contextualizing the special issue for diagnostic laboratory audience
• Ensure submissions meet IJCM quality standards and ethics requirements for clinical research

Proposals are typically reviewed within four to six weeks. The editorial board assesses scientific merit, timeliness, and feasibility before responding with feedback or approval. Approved proposals proceed to contributor recruitment with editorial support throughout development.