This paper examines the functional positioning of editorial boards in scientific, technical, and medical (STM) journals at regional universities, revealing prevalent challenges in their operational mechanisms, member structures, and functional fulfillment. It introduces a "discipline-region-service" trinity approach to editorial board development. The research indicates that STM journals at regional universities must fully activate editorial boards' effectiveness in topic planning, academic oversight, and resource integration through improved operational mechanisms, optimized organizational structures, digital tool integration, and enhanced regional collaboration. These measures support the distinctive development of local journals and enhance regional innovation service capabilities. Editorial boards of STM journals at regional universities serve as crucial intermediaries between academic rigor and local service orientation. The enhancement of academic value and social influence requires focus on core functions: building journal brand through quality control, supporting discipline construction through academic leadership, and fostering regional development through resource integration. Furthermore, the new era, characterized by big data and artificial intelligence, presents new demands for STM journals at regional universities. This necessitates a paradigm shift in functionality, including the adoption of open science practices and engagement in new media dissemination. However, these journals face significant challenges in editorial board construction due to publication environment and academic ecology factors, including inadequate assessment, incentive, and management mechanisms; suboptimal structure of members, human resources, and experts; and insufficient digital literacy and service capabilities. Addressing these challenges requires aligning editorial board construction with journal development objectives and establishing a sustainable development framework encompassing system optimization, structural reform, and capacity enhancement. This transformation aims to shift from "formal existence" to "functional effectiveness," enabling editorial boards to fulfill their core role in developing high-quality journals. This paper recommends implementing policies and guidelines for high-quality journal development, establishing clear directives, and structuring editorial boards appropriately across disciplines, regions, functions, and international distribution to enhance the domestic and international influence of these journals. Additionally, strengthening digital capabilities and collaborative innovation is essential to address technological challenges and meet open science requirements. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of STM journals at regional universities, fully responding to the challenges and opportunities brought by digital technologies and adapting to the new requirements of open science. It enriches the research on the governance system of scientific journals at regional universities at the theoretical level, while providing strategic guidance for overcoming development bottlenecks and enhancing regional innovation service capabilities.