Editorial introductions

Abstract

Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine was launched in 1995. 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 pulmonary medicine is divided into nine 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 Section Editor for this issue. SECTION EDITORS Alan FeinAlan FeinAlan Fein, MD received his medical degree from the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, USA, in 1973. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx Municipal Hospital, New York, USA. From there, Dr Fein moved on to a fellowship in Pulmonary Disease at the University of California, San Francisco Cardiovascular Research Institute. He served as Division Chief for Sleep, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine at Winthrop Hospital and then for North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System. Dr Fein is a Member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the American College of Chest Physicians, the American College of Physicians, and the American College of Critical Care Medicine. He is the former President of the American Lung Association of Nassau/Suffolk and served on the national board of the American Thoracic Society and the American College of Chest Physicians. Dr Fein is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at New York University and Hofstra North Shore LIJ School of Medicine. He is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and the American College of Critical Care Medicine. He is currently Chief of the Pulmonary, Critical and Sleep division of Prohelathcare Associates. Dr Fein is on the editorial boards of Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine, The American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine, and Annals of the American Thoracic Society. Dr Fein has authored almost 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts, over 100 review articles, and book chapters on topics such as diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer, pneumonia, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. David E. OstDavid E. OstDavid E. Ost, MD, MPH is Associate Professor of Medicine at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, USA. Dr Ost is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and the American College of Physicians. Dr Ost is currently on the editorial boards of The Journal of Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology. He is a reviewer for many journals including Annals of Internal Medicine, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Chest and Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr Ost has authored over 100 manuscripts and book chapters on such topics as interventional pulmonology, lung cancer, pulmonary embolism, and ventilator associated pneumonia. Dr Ost received his medical degree from the Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, USA. He completed internship and residency in internal medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, USA. Additionally, Dr Ost was a fellow in pulmonary and critical care diseases at Northwestern. He received his Masters in Public Health from Harvard, USA, with a focus in quantitative methods. Richard LightRichard LightProfessor Richard Light is an internationally known pulmonary physician from the United States. Dr Light attended medical school at Johns Hopkins University, USA, and subsequently did his training in internal medicine and pulmonary diseases at the same institution. Dr Light is presently Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Dr Light is the editor of 16 books. The best known of these is Pleural Diseases, of which the 6th edition was published in 2013. The 3rd edition of The Textbook of Pleural Disease, which Dr Light edits in conjunction with Dr YC Gary Lee, has just been published. Dr Light is the author of more than 425 original articles in pulmonary diseases on topics which include pleural disease, sepsis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sleep disordered breathing and exercise. Dr Light is best known for his work in pleural disease. He developed Light's criteria for the separation of transudates and exudates more than 40 years ago. Since that time he has continued to do research and write extensively on pleural diseases. His key research interests at the present time include: evaluation of cytokines in the production of pleurodesis; mechanisms of eosinophilic pleural effusions; etiology and treatment of pleural effusions occurring after coronary artery bypass graft surgery; mechanisms of pleurodesis; evaluation of DNAase with or without fibrinolytics in the treatment of complicated parapneumonic effusions; and use of indwelling catheters in the outpatient management of malignant pleural effusions.