A Journal of Biomedical Science: Of Its Practitioners, by Its Practitioners, and for Its Practitioners.

Abstract

That bespoke subtitle is 10/278ths of Abraham Lincoln's iconic words at Gettysburg, borrowed here to say what is so right about The FASEB Journal. This is a publication that serves a community and has always endeavored to do so with an open mind and a spirit of egalitarianism. We seek to publish engaging work from a wide collective of scholars, with emphasis on the cogency of the work and leaving its “significance” for the sages of the future. To paraphrase an ancient physicians' oath, I have been entrusted with the care of this journal. I take the helm with both excitement and humility. Gerald Weissmann; photo courtesy of private collection. Because The FASEB Journal is in part an embodiment of its constituent member societies, it is inherently trans-disciplinary in content. I prefer that term to “interdisciplinary” because the latter, overused, implies a bimodal connectivity (often not really manifest when one drills down), whereas “trans-disciplinary” means that there is a potential action step “across” disciplines. However, we do not restrict ourselves to work from authors who are members of FASEB constituent societies, and I would like to shout that out to all prospective authors. I also would like to emphasize that, although FASEB is, by definition, a U.S. organization, The FASEB Journal is international in scope. Prospective authors will not see another new step as I take over, but it is underway and is huge. Thanks to diligent work by the editorial office, a new manuscript processing system is coming online just as I assume the position of Editor-in-Chief. We presently have a manuscript submission time to first decision that averages 27 days (at the time of this writing). Our intention, aided by this new system, is to drive this down even more. To expand the existing expertise of the Associate Editor tier, I have appointed two new members, Laura Goldsmith (Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA) and Charles Serhan (Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA), with stature in female endocrinology/reproductive biology and blood lipids/endothelial signaling, respectively. They join Helen Blau, Robert Goldman, Robert Haselkorn, and Leslie Vosshall, acclaimed in their respective fields and whom I warmly thank for agreeing to continue. I have also appointed to the Editorial Board a number of new members who will amplify the board's breadth and depth. Their prompt acceptances buoyed me, as did many editorial board members' enthusiasm to continue. Image courtesy of Robert Carlin Photography. As I lead The FASEB Journal going forward, I have the gift of a superb board and office staff, both for editorial collaboration and production. To meet our shared goals, I will be aggressively pushing the journal's current and potential new authorship community to raise their consciousness of The FASEB Journal, with our brand of holding an open mind and by our very rapid, first decision time. In addition, I am asking our superb editorial board, those continuing and newly appointed, to sense and empower The FASEB Journal to be all it can be, by deploying a shared vision of “A Statue Within” (2) as its foundation of purpose.