A Milestone in the Journey of “Genetic Clinics”

This issue of “Genetic Clinics” is a milestone in the journey of our endeavor to spread awareness about medical genetics among clinicians. “Genetic Clinics” is 16 years/67 issues old. The publication of this quarterly journal was started in July 2008, and since its inception, each of the four issues per year has been published on the 1st day of each quarter. The objective was empowering clinicians at any stage of their career and from any medical background with information about the latest developments in medical genetics. My colleagues in medical genetics in India and I have strived to write about issues at the forefront of genetics in an easy-to-understand format so that medical practitioners, scientists, and researchers alike can benefit from it, and the knowledge spreads far and wide. Complex information is presented in a simplified format to help remove the fear of genetics from their minds. This platform has brought like-minded people from basic science backgrounds and physicians together. With the expansion of the community of medical geneticists, the Society for Indian Academy of Medical Genetics (SIAMG) came into existence in January 2012, and “Genetic Clinics” became the official publication of SIAMG. The size of the publication remained small, but the quality of the content always remained high and was always appreciated by many including Dr. John Carey, past editor of the American Journal of Medical Genetics. The scope of the journal includes review articles on various genetic disorders, clinical presentations, techniques, diagnostics and therapies of rare disorders, and interesting case reports documenting rare phenotypes and genotypes in the Indian population. This has been in keeping with our objectives of creating awareness and spreading knowledge about medical genetics. Now, the number of centers of medical genetics in India is increasing and this is reflected in the research work in the area. In this issue, which is the first issue published by Wolters Kluwer-Medknow, there are original research articles representing research work in India. Basic and clinical scientists are requested to submit their research work to “Genetic Clinics” and use this open-access but free platform to publish and increase the reach of their work. The new website for the journal is also more user-friendly. The previous issues continue to remain available. The new form of “Genetic Clinics” will continue to remain freely accessible. The cover page now has a new look but is also reminiscent of the previous version. We hope that the interesting and useful articles under “GenExpress,” “PhotoQuiz,” and “HearToHearTalk” will continue to increase the popularity of “Genetic Clinics” in their different ways. GenExpress is a window to the advanced research going on in the field of medical genetics and futuristic medicine, across the world. The GenExpress in this issue highlights the role of organoids in studying the functional effects of genetic variants as well as in drug development. My colleagues and I will continue to endeavor to enhance medical genetics-related patient care and research by disseminating knowledge through the medium of this journal. This journey of one and half decades was possible and could reach this milestone because of the full support of Dr. Girisha KM, Dr. Ashwin Dalal, and Dr. Prajnya Ranganath. During the early phase of the journal, proofreading was tedious and needed many rounds, partly because of our limited experience and expertise. Dr. Girisha and Dr. Ashwin had been doing all those time-consuming jobs without complaints. Dr. Prajnya with her meticulous nature has been a big pillar of support for “Genetic Clinics” and me. All of them are very modest but strive for the best. Dr. Prajnya and Dr. Ashwin will continue in their capacities as editors. We are happy to invite two new editors into our team: Dr. Sunita Bijarnia-Mahay and Dr. Anju Shukla, who have joined us to help with the expected expansion of work. We thank our editorial advisory board members: Dr. Madhulika Kabra, Dr. Ratna Dua Puri, Dr. John Carey, and Dr. Madhuri Hegde, for their advice and encouragement to improve the level and quality of the journal. The expanded editorial board includes Dr. Neerja Gupta, Dr. Sumita Danda, Dr. Sankar V H, Dr. S J Patil, and Dr. Shagun Aggarwal, and we will continue to get their support. Hope the readers continue to enjoy “Genetic Clinics” and also contribute prolifically!