In Memoriam: Dr. Frank Davidoff: Leading Annals as It Entered the 21st Century

Abstract

In Memoriam18 April 2023In Memoriam: Dr. Frank Davidoff: Leading Annals as It Entered the 21st CenturyFREEChristine Laine, MD, MPHChristine Laine, MD, MPHEditor in Chief, Annals of Internal Medicine Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M23-0946 SectionsAboutVisual AbstractPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail In early April 2023, the internal medicine world lost a special person—Frank Davidoff, MD.Following years as a distinguished clinician, researcher, and educator, Frank Davidoff spent nearly 15 years in the service of the American College of Physicians (ACP). In 1987 he left University of Connecticut to become the ACP's Associate Executive Vice President for Education and was promoted to Senior Vice President for Education in 1989. In 1995 he became the Editor of Annals of Internal Medicine, building on the journal's strength while adding his own unique personality to it until he retired in 2001 (1, 2). In “retirement,” he remained active in medical policy, health care improvement, and humanitarian efforts. He served as Executive Editor at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and on the editorial board of Quality and Safety in Health Care. Reflecting his fervor for justice for all, he was Vice President of the Board of Physicians for Human Rights for 12 years and was its interim CEO from April 2011 through January 2012.While medicine was Frank's passion, it was one of many, including his family, cooking, music, and reading. He loved talking about his family and always asked about the families of others. His sourdough bread was a treat. He forged friendships with colleagues by sharing music, found lessons for medicine in music, and became a serious student of the piano after he left ACP (3). I have many unread books on a long list of “books recommended by Frank” that I look forward to reading. In conversation, he was as likely to drop a line from a Bob Dylan song as a line from a Russian novel. The person who introduced me to Frank described him as having a marvelous, ever curious, and always open mind and being impossible to dislike. There is no better way to describe Frank Davidoff.Frank nurtured Annals through a time of massive change in medical research and scholarly publishing. Annals.org was born under his leadership, and a few years later he declared the digital journal the journal of record (4). Manuscript submission and processing transitioned from paper and the postal service to computers and the internet. Early on, he recognized the important role that systematic reviews and meta-analyses would have in guiding clinical practice (5). He brought the patient perspective to the journal by adding On Being a Patient essays to the popular On Being a Doctor feature (6). Annals was one of the first clinical journals to have statisticians on the editorial team, but Frank was concerned that the methodological approach Annals recommended often varied depending on the specific statistical editor who handled the manuscript. Consequently, he instituted a regular “statistical meeting,” where physician deputy editors and statistical editors discussed as a group the methodological issues of manuscripts being considered for publication. This process continues today, and authors regularly express appreciation for the detailed guidance that Annals provides to improve articles before publication. Along with colleagues in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, Frank was instrumental in developing new policies on issues such as authorship and conflict of interest disclosure (7). He strengthened an already strong journal as it entered the 21st century and set in motion changes that have enabled Annals' continued success.Those fortunate enough to have known Frank describe him as a stellar clinician, educator, researcher, and leader. Frank was certainly all of these. Yet, I treasure his memory most as my mentor. When I was a few years out of fellowship training in general internal medicine and epidemiology, Frank gave me the opportunity to try my hand as the first general internal medicine (and first female) Annals Associate Editor. Being a medical editor had not been on my professional radar, but Frank thought it might be a good fit for me. It seems that Frank was right. Two decades later, I am still at Annals and am humbled to be working in the office that was once his.Annals and the American College of Physicians are grateful for his many years of service. Personally, I am grateful for all that Frank taught me about medicine, about editing, and about life. From him, I learned that shortening will improve any piece of writing. More important, I learned that integrity is the greatest feature of scholarly work. Above all, his example has taught us that kindness, humility, and humor are the keys to effective leadership.Frank Davidoff, MD Download figure Download PowerPoint