Fixation on Histology

Since we published the first issue of the Journal of Histotechnology (JOH) in September 1977 (https://www.nsh.org/about/overview/history-of-nsh), this official journal of the National Society for Histotechnology (NSH) has continued a legacy of publishing techniques and other scientific findings for histology professionals over these 45 years. The Editor-in-Chief, Gayle Callis, and I actively discussed addressing and celebrating this milestone for the journal. We thought collecting materials for a special JOH 45^th Anniversary edition would celebrate this milestone in two ways. The aim is to collect two aspects of information for this special issue for publication in December 2022.

First, we will publish multiple editorials in this anniversary issue from interviews and written comments about JOH from NSH members, former editors and advisory members, and authors with the most cited publications in JOH and any JOH readers. An example is an editorial by Richard Cartun [1]. The editorials serve as an avenue to celebrate what made JOH a success in the past and reflect on topics the journal can address and how to improve JOH in the future. Please reach out if you are available for an interview, or you are welcome to write up something and send it by email to me, Yongfu Wang at yow@stowers.org, or Gayle Callis at gayle.callis@bresnan.net at your convenience. 

Second, we will publish the upcoming special edition focusing on ocular histology. What motivated me to choose this topic is JOH history and the popularity of NSH convention workshops about eyes. As a histotechnologist, I know achieving artifact free ocular sections from eyeball samples has been a long-standing difficulty for others in our field. Let’s continue searching and publishing findings on solving problems and improving ocular histology. As guest editors for the special ocular issue, my former colleague, Dr. Sanming Li, and I are excited to put this call for manuscripts out:  

Call for Manuscripts: Journal of Histotechnology 45^th Anniversary Special Issue on Ocular Histology 

JOH’s passion for advancing ocular histology can be dated back to its birth year, 1977 [2]. In addition to embedding medium and microtomy, many technical improvements have been made in the past half-century. However, artifacts in ocular tissue sections such as deformation, detachment from glass slides, and retinal separation are still commonly seen in recent literature. Maintaining intact morphology and tissue integrity on a glass slide for routine immuno and molecular histology studies is very challenging since the cornea, iris, ciliary body, trabecular meshwork, and lens are more susceptible. In its 45^th anniversary special issue, JOH seeks manuscripts that address scientific and technical advancements in the ocular histology field. A histological understanding of the eye helps us improve the diagnosis and enrich the therapeutic methods for ocular diseases. We are calling for detailed histopathological changes in all kinds of ocular related diseases, especially for ocular trauma, atopic keratoconjunctivitis, dye eye, glaucoma, and so on. The research on animal models is welcome, and any histopathological analysis based on clinical samples is highly expected. Particularly, JOH seeks to collect histotechnological methods such as fixation, processing, sectioning, and other treatments that preserve the structural integrity of eyeball sections from various species for routine staining, immunohistochemical and molecular assays. We invite authors to submit original research articles, reviews, technical notes, and case studies for this special issue.

Submissions are made at: http://www.editorialmanager.com/his/default.aspx. Follow Instructions for Authors, read the review policy and JOH Aims and scope. Additional information is found at Author Services: https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/.

Manuscript submission deadline: June 1, 2022

Guest Editors                     

Yongfu Wang, Ph. D

Head of Histology, Stowers Institute for Medical Research

Associate Editor, Journal of Histotechnology                

Email: yow@stowers.org 

Sanming Li, Ph. D

Huffington Center on Aging

Baylor College of Medicine

Email: sanming.li@bcm.edu

Publish Your Work on JOH!

Reference:

1. Cartun R. Editorial: Immunohistochemistry - 25 years and still going strong. J Histotechnol. 2002; 25:181
2. Fischer MW. Embedding Paraffins for Eye Microtomy. J Histotechnol. 1977; 1(2); 67. DOI: 10.1179/his.1977.1.2.67