Global publication coordinated in Luxembourg: threads of online journal Free Neuropathology come together at LNS since 2022

Every new finding in medical research is also good news for patients. To ensure that as many people as possible worldwide can benefit from the best possible treatment, it is important that research results are communicated quickly and easily. Prof. Dr Michel Mittelbronn, head of NCP has been elected editor-in-chief of Free Neuropathology since 2022, an online journal launched in 2020 to facilitate communication.

Entirely run and designed by international scientists

Free Neuropathology is an online journal run by neuropathologists and other neuroscientists that publishes articles on human and experimental neuropathology. According to Michel Mittelbronn, the name says it all: “Free Pathology is freely accessible to all interested parties and is published and designed entirely by scientists. We also have no financial interests whatsoever and take over activities usually performed by commercial publishers.”

The aim of the creators of Free Neuropathology is to promote the exchange of opinions and scientific, peer-reviewed papers on their core topic, continues Michel Mittelbronn. In doing so, they attach importance to the broadest possible range of topics as well as a comprehensive approach: “We define neuropathology as the analysis of neurological diseases with the help of morphological or molecular techniques based on biospecimens. In addition, however, contributions on controversies, everyday practice, and the history and training in neuropathology are also welcome.”

Official journal of neuropathological associations

To achieve such diversity, it is essential to have as many experts as possible who contribute in a variety of ways to the sustained success of Free Neuropathology. Currently, the editorial team consists of more than 60 members, who are spread all over the world, just like the readership. In addition, the journal has already achieved recognition at international association’s level – also around the globe: the neuropathological societies of Germany, France, Canada, Scandinavia, India, as well as Australia and New Zealand have made Free Neuropathology their official organ.

In a next step, the coverage by indexing services such as PubMed and Web of Science is to be further promoted, says Michel Mittelbronn: “This is an indispensable step for a high-quality journal, but it takes time. Here, too, we are working very closely with the other editor-in-chief, Prof. Werner Paulus from the Institute of Neuropathology at the University Hospital Münster, which launched Free Neurology in spring 2020, and can also rely on the support of our authors and readers. In addition, we once again benefit here from the particularly international Luxembourg environment, which stands for worldwide networking.”