Farewell note

Abstract

After four years of pushing the editorial cart it is time to say farewell. This farewell is said with great satisfaction and gratitude. For this and all the achievements I have to thank the team of editors, associate editors and an army of reviewers. I also thank the president, secretary and board of the International Association for the Study of the Liver for the opportunity and the trust in the editorial team and in myself. The satisfaction stems from the fact that in my opinion we have succeeded in transforming the previous journal, Liver, to our current journal Liver International from a basically pathology-oriented journal into a more general hepatology journal, accommodating both basic and clinical hepatology. The added adjective ‘International’ is not without significance; we have indeed tried to break through the usual continental barriers to become a really global journal. This is where our niche is, the world of Hepatology. We have tried to pay particular attention to the emerging countries without forgetting the more traditional contributions from Europe, Japan and the United States. However, we realize that China and Latin America are emerging as the new scientific superpowers. These are great times with many breakthroughs in particular in the fields of viral hepatitis, metabolic liver disease and liver cancer. In view of the scientific output of so many in so many countries there is place for more than one or two liver journals and this is why I felt comfortable with Liver International and why I am proud of its achievements. For these achievements, I have to particularly thank Mei-Hwei Chang (Asia), Edna Strauss (Latin America), Mike Kew (Africa), Tony Tavill (North America) and the team of associate editors for their superb contributions and efforts to put Liver International on the map and to make Liver International a truly global journal. I also thank the publishers, first Munksgaard and later Blackwell for the excellent support and friendship.