The Journal of Medical Laboratory Science & Technology of South Africa welcomes submissions on its new AOSIS platform

The open-access The Journal of Medical Laboratory Science & Technology of South Africa (JMLSTSA), the official journal of the Society of Medical Laboratory Technology of South Africa (SMLTSA), is proud to announce its new partnership with AOSIS.

This change marks an important step in the journal’s evolution, aimed at enhancing its accessibility and global reach while continuing to serve as a platform for advancing medical laboratory science and technology. Please read the initial communication about the journal’s transfer to AOSIS.

To provide insight into this transition and the journal’s future, we spoke with the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Francois Smit. In this interview, Dr. Smit reflects on the journal’s history, its multidisciplinary focus, and the opportunities presented by its partnership with AOSIS.

Below is the full conversation with Dr. Francois Smit:

About the journal’s history:

1. Can you share a brief history of The Journal of Medical Laboratory Science & Technology of South Africa (JMLSTSA) and its evolution since its inception?

The Journal of Medical Laboratory Science & Technology of South Africa (JMLSTSA) is the official publication of the Society of Medical Laboratory Technology of South Africa (SMLTSA), founded in 1951 to advance medical technologists’ qualifications and status. Established as a key initiative to promote scientific growth and professional development, the journal supports Continuing Education Units (CEU) and publishes research across pathology fields such as microbiology, chemistry, and molecular biology. Reflecting advances in medical laboratory science from diploma courses to the Bachelor of Health Science (BHSc), JMLSTSA began publishing around 1955, with Volume 4, Issue 1 appearing in March 1958.

2. What prompted the name change from the Journal of Medical Technology South Africa to JMLSTSA in 2018, and how has this rebranding shaped the journal’s identity?

The name change from the Journal of Medical Technology South Africa to The Journal of Medical Laboratory Science and Technology of South Africa (JMLSTSA) in 2019 was primarily prompted by the professionalization and modernization of the field of medical laboratory science in South Africa.

The change was driven by several strategic goals:

• Reflecting the Full Scope of the Profession: The new name incorporates “Laboratory Science” to more accurately represent the multi-disciplinary pathology disciplines it covers, such as Haematology, Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology, and Virology, rather than just the technical aspects.
• Alignment with Professional Standards: It aligns the publication’s identity with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and its specific recognition of “Medical Laboratory Science” as a formal profession.
• International Visibility: The rebranding was part of a broader effort to modernize the journal’s scholarly profile, facilitating better indexation in international databases and increasing its visibility in the global scientific market. Furthermore, SMLTSA is an affiliated with The International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science (IFBLS) and this name change was to align with their publication named: International Journal of Biomedical Laboratory Science (IJBLS) of which I am also on the editorial board as section editor for clinical chemistry.
• Support for Research and Diagnosis: The name change emphasized the journal’s role as a platform for both diagnostic practice and high-level scientific research, supporting primary articles, technical reports, and review articles.

3. What were some of the key milestones or achievements of the journal before joining the AOSIS collection?

• DHET Accreditation and Subsidization: The journal is formally accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). This recognition is a major achievement as it allows academic and clinical researchers to receive government subsidies for their publications, incentivizing high-quality local research.
• Professional CEU Status: It is an officially recognized source for CEU points. This is critical for medical technologists and scientists in South Africa, who must earn these points to maintain their professional registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).
• Independent Practice Advancement: Through the scientific dissemination of standards and ethics, the journal (under the SMLTSA) supported the 1991 amendment of ethical rules, which achieved a milestone achievement by allowing medical technologists to enter private practice and practice independently for the first time.
• Successful Rebranding (2019): The journal successfully transitioned from a technical “Medical Technology” focus to a “Medical Laboratory Science” identity. This modernization was achieved to better reflect the multi-disciplinary pathology fields it covers, including Molecular Biology and Cytogenetics.
• Open Access: The journal has always been open access to promote the growth of medical laboratory science in Africa and globally to share the pertinent research work of our colleagues globally.
• Multidisciplinary Research Platform: It has established itself as the primary South African platform for peer-reviewed technical reports and original research in specialized fields such as Immunohaematology, Virology, and Chemical Pathology.

About the journal’s focus:

4. The journal covers a wide range of Pathology disciplines and related fields. How does this multidisciplinary approach contribute to advancing medical laboratory science and technology in South Africa and beyond?

The multidisciplinary approach of the journal contributes to the advancement of the field by integrating diverse pathology disciplines into a single collaborative platform.

This approach advances medical laboratory science in the following ways:

• Comprehensive Problem-Solving: By combining perspectives from different disciplines, the journal facilitates a more holistic understanding of complex health issues. This is particularly vital in South Africa for managing “syndemics,” such as the TB-HIV co-infection, where pathological features must be understood across multiple laboratory specialties simultaneously.
• Strengthening Diagnostic Accuracy: Diagnostic inaccuracies are a significant challenge in resource-limited regions. A multidisciplinary research platform allows for the sharing of technical reports and “best practices” that help standardize results across various pathology departments, reducing misdiagnosis and wasting fewer resources.
• Fostering Innovation: The intersection of different fields—such as the integration of Bioinformatics with traditional genetics or the use of Artificial Intelligence in laboratory testing—creates “hybrid” knowledge that drives technological innovation and the development of more efficient testing techniques.
• Informing Public Health Policy: The journal provides a unified voice for medical laboratory professionals, ensuring that multi-disciplinary findings are presented when national policies are shaped. For example, research into mucosal environments and inflammatory responses helps inform HIV vaccine trials and broader public health decisions.
• Improving Patient Outcomes: Multidisciplinary collaboration has been linked to improved patient safety and reduced mortality. By disseminating research that encourages teamwork across the laboratory and clinical interface, the journal supports more coordinated and effective patient care.
• Professional Development (CEU): Because the journal covers all disciplines registered under the HPCSA, it serves as a central hub for laboratory practitioners to maintain their multi-disciplinary competency through mandatory CEU points.

5. What types of research or diagnostic studies are you particularly excited to see published in the journal?

As Editor-in-Chief, I am particularly excited to see research that translates laboratory science into real-world clinical and public-health impact. This includes high-quality diagnostic accuracy studies, method validation and verification research, and implementation studies that improve laboratory quality, efficiency, and patient outcomes. One of my interests is artificial intelligence (A.I.) in medical laboratory science and I am yet to see submissions in emerging and transformative areas such as digital pathology, A.I. and automation in laboratory workflows, molecular and genomic diagnostics, and novel biomarkers, especially those relevant to the South African and African healthcare context. We are equally keen to publish research addressing antimicrobial resistance, infectious disease surveillance, quality management systems, point-of-care testing, and cost-effective diagnostic solutions for resource-limited settings. Importantly, JMLSTSA seeks interdisciplinary and translational research that bridges laboratory science with clinical decision-making, health systems strengthening, and workforce development, reinforcing the central role of medical laboratories in equitable, modern healthcare.

6. How does the journal support the professional development of medical laboratory scientists and technologists in South Africa?

The publication actively supports the professional development of medical laboratory scientists, technologists and technicians by serving as a platform for lifelong learning, skills advancement, and scholarly engagement. One of these support systems is to give our peers and readers the opportunity to achieve CEU points which is a statutory requirement of the HPCSA when registered as a medical laboratory professional. The journal prioritises applied, practice-relevant research, technical reviews, and case-based studies that enhance diagnostic competence, quality management, and laboratory leadership. By encouraging early-career professionals to publish, promoting ethical research practices, and providing constructive peer review, JMLSTSA helps build research capacity and scientific writing skills within the profession. In addition, the journal supports continuing professional development by disseminating evidence-based innovations, emerging technologies, and best practices tailored to the South African healthcare environment, ensuring that laboratory professionals remain adaptable, informed, and integral to patient-centred care.

About the future of the journal:

7. What does joining the AOSIS journal collection mean for JMLSTSA, and how do you envision this partnership enhancing the journal’s reach and impact?

Joining the AOSIS journal collection marks a significant milestone for the journal. This partnership strengthens the journal’s publishing infrastructure, editorial governance, and alignment with international best practices, while preserving our strong focus on locally relevant, high-quality medical laboratory science. Through AOSIS’s established open-access publishing platform, JMLSTSA will benefit from improved digital visibility, discoverability, and indexing support, enabling South African and African laboratory research to reach a broader national and international audience, something a researcher always strives for to ensure your work is read by other researchers globally. We envision this collaboration enhancing the journal’s academic credibility, citation impact, and engagement with researchers, clinicians, educators, and policymakers. Ultimately, this partnership supports our strategic goal of positioning JMLSTSA as a leading voice for medical laboratory science and technology in Africa, contributing meaningfully to evidence-based healthcare and health systems strengthening.

8. What are your goals for the journal in the next five years, particularly in terms of expanding its readership, submissions, or influence in the field?

Over the next five years, our goal is to position the Journal of Medical Laboratory Science & Technology of South Africa as a leading, internationally recognised open-access journal for applied medical laboratory science, firmly rooted in the South African and African healthcare context while engaging a global readership.

One of our major goals would be to get the publication registered with SCOPUS and this would only be possible with the partnership and assistance of AOSIS. We aim to expand our readership through enhanced digital visibility, improved indexing, and stronger engagement with laboratory professionals, clinicians, educators, researchers, and policymakers. In parallel, we seek to increase the volume, quality, and diversity of submissions, with particular emphasis on emerging and high-impact areas such as artificial intelligence, digital pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, laboratory automation, quality management, and health systems innovation.

Our influence in the field will be strengthened through rigorous peer review, timely publication, and the strategic commissioning of reviews, special issues, and thematic collections that address pressing diagnostic, clinical, and public-health challenges. We are committed to building research capacity by supporting early-career authors, promoting ethical and methodologically sound research, and encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration. By improving citation impact, broadening international authorship, and fostering meaningful knowledge exchange, we envision JMLSTSA not only as a platform for publication, but as a journal that actively shapes laboratory practice, informs policy, and advances medical laboratory science over the next five years.

9. Are there any new initiatives, special issues, or collaborations planned for the journal under AOSIS that you’d like to share?

With the transition to the AOSIS publishing platform, the Journal is exploring a range of potential initiatives aimed at strengthening the publication’s relevance, quality, and engagement with the laboratory science community. No major new initiatives, special issues or collaborations were planned or discussed at this stage. Our main objective at this stage it to get the journal on par with the global publication community in the field of medical laboratory science to make out publication platform more appealing to researchers to publish their work with us.

10. How do you see the journal contributing to the global conversation on advancements in medical laboratory science and technology?

We want to provide a credible platform for high-quality laboratory research grounded in real-world healthcare settings. By publishing open-access, peer-reviewed work that addresses diagnostic innovation, quality improvement, and laboratory practice within diverse and often resource-constrained environments, the journal offers perspectives that are highly relevant to global health discourse. JMLSTSA enables the sharing of context-specific evidence, lessons learned, and scalable solutions that can inform laboratory medicine beyond South Africa. Through interdisciplinary research, thematic collections, and engagement with emerging, the journal aims to connect local and regional research with international scientific priorities. In doing so, the publication will bridge gaps between innovation and implementation, supports evidence-based laboratory practice, and ensures that African laboratory science contributes meaningfully to global standards, policy discussions, and future developments in medical laboratory science and technology.

Personal perspective:

11. As the Editor-in-Chief, what has been the most rewarding aspect of leading JMLSTSA?

When this opportunity was given to me, I could witness the incredible talent, innovation, and dedication of our medical laboratory scientists and technologists firsthand. I recall seeing early-career researchers submit their first papers and, through the journal’s supportive editorial process, grow in confidence and skill—some of these studies have gone on to influence clinical practice and laboratory workflows across South Africa. It is deeply satisfying to see research that addresses local healthcare challenges gain international visibility and recognition. Beyond the publications themselves, what I cherish most is knowing that the journal contributes not only to scientific knowledge but also to professional growth, mentorship, and the broader impact of laboratory science on patient care. These moments—when rigorous science meets meaningful real-world impact—truly make this role fulfilling.

12. What message would you like to share with researchers, authors, and readers about the journal’s mission and vision moving forward?

For me, JMLSTSA is about more than just publishing research. It is about creating a community where knowledge, innovation, and professional growth come together to make a tangible difference in patient care. I have witnessed the excitement of early-career researchers seeing their work published for the first time (myself included), and the way practical studies influence laboratory practice across South Africa. Looking ahead, we want the journal to continue serving as a platform where rigorous science meets real-world impact, where collaboration is encouraged, and where every contribution, whether a small study or a groundbreaking discovery, helps advance medical laboratory science. I invite researchers, authors, and readers to join us in shaping a journal that reflects both the challenges and the incredible opportunities in laboratory medicine today.

Call for submissions

JMLSTSA invites researchers, authors, and professionals in the field of medical laboratory science to submit their work to the journal’s new AOSIS platform. This transition provides an enhanced publishing experience, offering greater visibility and accessibility for your research.

JMLSTSA welcomes original research, review articles, case reports, case series, technical reports, correspondence, and book reviews. The journal considers submissions in the Pathology disciplines as outlined by the Health Professions Council of South Africa – that is, as Haematology, Chemistry, Histology, Cytology, Cytogenetics, Microbiology, Virology, Molecular Biology, Immunohaematology – and fields related to medical laboratory science and technology.

Join us in shaping the future of medical laboratory science by sharing your work with a global audience. Visit the AOSIS platform to learn more about submission guidelines and how to contribute to the journal.

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