Editorial introductions.

Abstract

Current Opinion in Gastroenterology was launched in 1985. It is one of a successful series of review journals whose unique format is designed to provide a systematic and critical assessment of the literature as presented in the many primary journals. The field of gastroenterology is divided into 12 sections that are reviewed once a year. Each section is assigned a Section Editor, a leading authority in the area, who identifies the most important topics at that time. Here we are pleased to introduce the Journal's Editor and Section Editors for this issue. EDITOR Don RockeyDon RockeyDr Don Rockey completed internship, residency, chief residency, and fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, USA. He is currently Director of the Medical University of South Carolina Digestive Disease Center. He has active, basic and clinical research interests in liver disease. His basic research focuses on understanding the molecular basis of fibrosis and portal hypertension. His laboratory initially demonstrated that a key player, the hepatic stellate cell, exhibits a contractile phenotype and transforms to a myofibroblast. Further, following liver injury, stellate cells not only produce increases quantities of extracellular matrix, but also exhibit exaggerated contractility, constrict liver sinusoids, and contribute to increased intrahepatic vascular resistance typical of portal hypertension. Dr Rockey also has an active clinical research program, focused on clinical management problems in gastrointestinal bleeding, drug induced liver injury, and chronic liver diseases including complications of portal hypertension. Dr Rockey and colleagues have published some 300 peer reviewed original scientific papers and over 100 editorials, reviews, and book chapters. He has served as a mentor for over 125 trainees, including students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty members - the vast majority of whom have pursued or who are pursuing careers in academic medicine. He has had a number of editorial responsibilities, including as Associate Editor for Hepatology, Liver International, and the Journal of Investigative Medicine, and has served on multiple NIH and other study sections, and editorial boards. SECTION EDITOR Anthony BuckleyAnthony BuckleyDr Anthony Buckley, PhD, is a Lecturer in Microbiology at the University of Leeds, UK, and leads the Microbiome & Nutritional Sciences group. He also holds an honorary position at the Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust, NHS, UK. Dr Buckley obtained his PhD in Molecular Microbiology at the University of Birmingham, UK, where he investigated the role of efflux pumps towards Salmonella Typhimurium in vivo pathogenicity under the supervision of Professor Laura J. V. Piddock. Dr Buckley is passionate about student education and supporting early career researchers, and he sits on the steering committees for the Leeds Biofilm Network and [email protected] Network. The research interests of his group centers on influencing disease outcome by manipulating the human microbiota through probiotics and prebiotics. His group develops novel models of the human digestive tract to study the interactions between xenobiotics, microbe, and host, and determine the efficacy of novel drugs and biotherapeutics. He is an author on over 40 primary research articles, review articles, and book chapters. Russell D. CohenRussell D. CohenRussell D. Cohen, MD. FACG, AGAF is a Professor of Medicine at the Pritzker School of Medicine, in the Department of Medicine, Section of Gastroenterology at the University of Chicago, USA. Currently he is Director of the IBD Center and the Co-Director of the Advanced IBD Fellowship Program, and serves as Illinois Governor for the American College of Gastroenterology, USA. Dr Cohen earned his BS at Cornell University, USA, his MD with honors at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, USA, and his residency in internal medicine at Beth Israel Hospital/Harvard Medical School, USA, and his fellowship in gastroenterology and senior fellowship in IBD at the University of Chicago. He has been Principal or Co-Investigator for more than 185 research projects. He is an editor of three medical textbooks, and has authored more than 200 articles, abstracts, reviews, books, book chapters, and audiotapes. He is published in prestigious journals such as Gastroenterology, American Journal of Gastroenterology, and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. He also is a reviewer for multiple journals, including New England Journal of Medicine, Gastroenterology, Gut, and American Journal of Gastroenterology, and is a member of multiple prestigious medical societies. Dr Cohen is named in Best Doctors in America, America's Top Gastroenterologists, Top Doctors in the Chicago Metro Area, and Chicago Magazine's Top Doctor in Gastroenterology.