Cureus Collections are curated groups of peer-reviewed articles organized by topic, helping readers discover relevant research and helping authors and guest editors share it with the right audience.
In this guide, you'll learn:
- What Cureus Collections are
- Why Cureus created Collections
- What readers can find in a Collection
- Why Collections matter for authors
- The role of guest editors
What are Cureus Collections?
Cureus Collections are curated groups of peer-reviewed articles organized by topic, similar to special issues in other journals. The curation comes from two sources: the Cureus editorial team for some Collections, and guest editors with expertise in a specific field for others.
Collections may focus on a specialty, a clinical challenge, a research method, a public health issue, or an emerging trend in medicine. By bringing related articles together, they create a dedicated space for readers who want to explore a subject in more depth.
For example, instead of searching broadly across thousands of articles, a reader can browse a Collection centered on a specific theme and find articles that are already grouped around that area of interest.
Why did Cureus create Collections?
Cureus publishes research across a wide range of medical specialties and article types. As that body of work grows, organization becomes increasingly important.
Collections help solve a practical problem: important research can be easier to find when it is connected to the topics, questions, and communities it serves.
They also support a more collaborative model of medical publishing. A Collection can bring together authors working on related problems, readers looking for specialty-specific insights, and guest editors who want to help shape discussion in their area of expertise.
What can readers find in Cureus Collections?
Readers can use Collections to explore topic-specific medical research in a more guided way.
Depending on the theme, a Collection may include original studies, case reports, reviews, technical reports, editorials, or other Cureus article types. The variety gives readers a more organized way to discover research connected by a shared subject.
Collections can be especially useful for:
- Clinicians looking for research relevant to their specialty or practice area
- Researchers exploring current work on a focused topic
- Trainees and educators looking for teaching or discussion material
- Authors who want to understand how their work fits into a broader research conversation
Why do Collections matter for authors?
For authors, submitting work to a relevant Collection can help place an article in front of readers who are already interested in that topic.
During the submission process, authors may select a Collection they believe is a good fit for their article. If the article is accepted for peer review and ultimately approved for publication, it may then be reviewed for inclusion in the selected Collection.
Collection inclusion doesn’t replace Cureus' standard editorial and peer review process. Articles must still meet Cureus standards for publication. Collection inclusion is an additional layer of organization that helps connect published work with a focused topic area.
What do guest editors do?
Guest editors play an important role in shaping Cureus Collections.
A guest editor may propose a Collection and help define its scope. The role is intentionally streamlined: guest editors make an include-or-exclude decision for articles submitted to their Collection, while Cureus manages article processing, quality checks, peer review coordination, and publishing operations.
The streamlined structure allows guest editors to focus on what matters most: selecting relevant, high-quality articles for the Collection and helping promote the Collection within their professional networks.
For clinicians, researchers, and academic physicians, serving as a guest editor can also be a meaningful way to demonstrate leadership in a specialty or emerging area of medicine.
A more connected way to share medical research
Cureus Collections are designed to make medical research more discoverable, more organized, and more connected to the communities that need it.
For readers, they offer a more focused way to explore peer-reviewed medical literature.
For authors, they provide an opportunity to align published work with a relevant topic and audience.
For guest editors, they create a way to help guide conversation in a field without taking on the full administrative burden of managing a traditional special issue.
As medical research continues to expand across specialties and disciplines, Collections help ensure that valuable articles are not only published but also easier to find, read, and share.
Explore Cureus Collections
Browse Cureus Collections to discover topic-specific medical research, submit your work to a relevant Collection, or learn more about becoming a guest editor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do you apply to become a guest editor for a Cureus Collection?
A: Through Cureus's online application at collection_applications/new, the same page linked from the "Apply to be a Guest Editor" button on the Collections page.
Q: Can readers suggest a new Collection topic?
A: Yes. Cureus's Collections page includes a "Submit an Idea" option that leads to the same application used to apply as a guest editor, so proposing a new Collection topic and applying to lead it go through the same process.
*This post was drafted with AI assistance and edited by our team before publishing.
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