• Mayo Clinic names Dr. Karl Nath editor-in-chief of medical journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Mayo Clinic Proceedings cover

ROCHESTER, Minn.­ — Mayo Clinic has named Karl Nath, M.B.,Ch.B., editor-in-chief of its peer-reviewed medical journal, Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Dr. Nath succeeds William Lanier, M.D., who has served as editor-in-chief since 1999 and is retiring from the role. Proceedings circulates worldwide and is among the most widely read and frequently cited scientific publications for physicians.

Dr. Nath will be responsible for setting the journal’s editorial direction and working with the editorial board, associate editors, managing editor, publisher and administrative leadership to establish the publication’s strategic goals, policies and practices. He will report to Fredric Meyer, M.D., Juanita Kious Waugh Executive Dean of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.

“I am pleased to announce Dr. Nath’s appointment to lead Proceedings, Mayo Clinic’s premier peer-reviewed scientific journal for physicians,” Dr. Meyer says. “Dr. Nath brings a wealth of editorial knowledge and expertise to his new role. He has served on the editorial boards of numerous publications and has extensive experience with scientific peer review.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Sharon Theimer, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu

Dr. Nath, a nephrologist, has been editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology since 2013; his appointment ends Feb. 28. For the past three years, Dr. Nath has served as medical editor of Discovery’s Edge, Mayo Clinic’s research magazine.

Dr. Nath received his Bachelor of Science degree and degrees in medicine and surgery from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He completed his internal medicine residency and renal fellowship at the University of Minnesota before joining Mayo Clinic in 1996 as a nephrologist.

Dr. Nath is a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. He is an active researcher with several National Institutes of Health grants. Dr. Nath has mentored residents and trainees for the past 15 years as program director of the Clinician Investigator Training Program, the principal research training program in Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education.

He holds a joint appointment in physiology and biomedical engineering at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Nath this year received the Research Career Achievement Award from the Department of Medicine and Mayo Clinic’s Distinguished Investigator Award.

Dr. Lanier, an anesthesiologist, will work closely with Dr. Nath to transition editor-in-chief duties.

“I am grateful to Mayo for identifying such a strong and well-regarded editor as Dr. Nath,” Dr. Lanier says. “He brings significant expertise and leadership to the role.”

Proceedings’ print circulation is more than 127,000 per issue, making it the world’s third-largest print circulation scholarly biomedical journal. Proceedings receives submissions from around the U.S. and dozens of countries.

A scientific journal’s impact factor is a key measure of its value; it is calculated by dividing the number of times its articles were cited by the total number of articles published in the previous two years. During Dr. Lanier’s tenure, Proceedings’ impact factor rose from 2 in 1999 to a high of 6.26 in 2014. The current impact factor is 5.92, placing Proceedings 12th among 151 general/internal medicine journals, or among the top 8 percent.

“Our sincere appreciation and gratitude go to Dr. Lanier for his distinguished service and stellar oversight of Proceedings over the past 18 years,” Dr. Meyer says. “His outstanding efforts as editor-in-chief have substantially enhanced the standing of the journal to a world-class publication devoted to quality health care. Under his skillful leadership, Proceedings has seen submissions from outstanding researchers and  opinion leaders increase in number and quality, contributing to the journal’s high impact factor and other metrics of success.”

Proceedings marked its 90th year last spring. The first issue was published April 21, 1926.

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About Mayo Clinic Proceedings
Mayo Clinic Proceedings is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal that publishes original articles and reviews dealing with clinical and laboratory medicine, clinical research, basic science research and clinical epidemiology. Proceedings is sponsored by the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research as part of its commitment to physician education. It publishes submissions from authors worldwide. The journal has been published for more than 80 years and has a circulation of 130,000. Articles are available online at www.mayoclinicproceedings.org.

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to clinical practice, education and research, providing expert, whole-person care to everyone who needs healing. For more information, visit mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic or newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org