American Society For Clinical Investigation - Organization and Purpose

Organization and Purpose

ASCI is an honorary society to which more than 2,800 physician-scientists from all medical specialties belong. Prospective members are proposed by standing members of the society and elected to ASCI on the basis of an outstanding record of scholarly achievement in biomedical research. The ASCI includes physician-scientists who are active clinically, in basic research, or in teaching. Many of its senior members are widely recognized leaders in academic medicine. At present, the membership of ASCI includes 303 members of the Institute of Medicine, 155 members of the United States National Academy of Sciences, 29 Lasker Award winners and 16 Nobel laureates.

The ASCI supports the research into basic mechanisms and/or treatment of human diseases, and to the education of future generations of physician-scientists. The ASCI considers the nominations of several hundred physician-scientists from the United States and abroad each year and elects up to 80 new members each year for their significant research accomplishments. Because members must be 45 years of age or younger at the time of their election, membership reflects accomplishments by its members relatively early in their careers.

The ASCI is a member of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), which includes numerous biomedical research societies. The ASCI publishes the Journal of Clinical Investigation, a peer-reviewed biomedical research journal that is accessible online without restriction or fee. The JCI is one of the premiere medical research journals, and in 2007 was assigned an Impact Factor of 16.915 by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI).