International Journal of Andrology: New Editorial Team

Abstract

We are entering 2010, the 33rd year of the International Journal of Andrology. During 2009, some changes have occurred in the journal. As of April 2009, I have taken over as the editor-in-chief from Jorma Toppari, who completed his tenure after 8 years of tireless and very successful service. The fruits of his labour still filled the issues in 2009, so it is fitting that I introduce myself only now, when the first papers processed under my supervision begin to appear on the pages of the journal. Jorma Toppari has elevated the journal to new heights. The Impact Factor for 2008 has increased to a very impressive 4.021, thus consolidating IJA as the top journal in the field of andrology. International Journal of Andrology was founded in 1977 by Rune Eliasson (Stockholm), one of the fathers of European andrology, with the help of Fundacion Puigvert. In 1992, the journal moved under the aegis of the European Academy of Andrology. The consecutive chief editors included prominent andrologists and experts in reproductive biology: Frank H. Comhaire (1978–1981), Niels E. Skakkebæk (1981–1989), Mikko Niemi (1990–1993), Richard Sharpe (1994–2001) and Jorma Toppari (2001–2009). I am honoured but humbled to be selected as their successor, the first female editor of this quintessentially male journal. I hope that despite the female touch the journal will remain at the top of this male field. I was lucky to find a very efficient and experienced editorial assistant, Andy Beare, who understands the intricacies of online manuscript processing. During the transition period, we have received a great deal of help from Jorma Toppari and his assistant Leena Karlsson. We were also assisted by managing editors at Wiley-Blackwell, Judith Barback and Leila Mills (the latter during the transfer negotiations), Scholar One support, Michael Willis, and production editors, Simon Tan (until May) and Jane Rochstad Lim (since May 2009). I take this opportunity to sincerely thank them all for this great support. The increasing Impact Factor of the journal and the rising interest in male reproductive health attracted an ever-increasing number of submissions. To deal with the increasing workload, the Publication Committee of the European Academy of Andrology led by Ilpo Huhtaniemi has kindly agreed to expand the Editorial Board from 10 to 12 associate editors; these high-calibre experts include six editors who had started with Jorma (Csilla Krausz, Rodolfo Rey, Wolfgang Weidner, Niels Jørgensen, Masaru Okabe and Wayne John Hellstrom) and six newly appointed in 2009 (Sophie Rousseaux, Robert John Aitken, Michael Zitzmann, Rafael Oliva, Gert Dohle and Peter O’Shaughnessy). Four editors have completed 8 years of tenure and on behalf of Jorma Toppari and myself; I thank Drs W.C.L. Ford, Barry Hinton, Robert McLachlan and Philippa Saunders for their great service. A problem caused by the avalanche of submissions was a backlog of accepted papers. The temporarily increased page budget in 2009 did not completely solve the problem, so we begin this year with an experiment suggested by Judith Barback. We present to our readers an unusual bi-monthly issue, which consist of an online-only January issue and a regular printed February issue. I thank all authors who opted for the online-only publication of their work. In any case, scientific publishing is quickly turning into electronic media and this form is inevitable in the future; so, we are planning more experiments of this kind. Thanks to the brilliant work of Jorma Toppari and his team, I have inherited the journal in a great standing. My overall mission as the new chief editor is to maintain the high quality of the journal by publishing the best possible studies in andrology, male reproductive biology and related areas, reflecting the increasing impact of this field in medicine and biology. From my end, I promise an impartial and constructive review process and as speedy as possible processing and publication of manuscripts. I am acutely aware that this process is critically dependent on the dedication and hard work of the reviewers. We shall put efforts into building up our reviewer resources and wish that many of you would continue to serve the scientific community in this pivotal peer-review process. I sincerely thank you all! I hope that the international community will continue to support our journal and warmly invite you to submit your best work to the International Journal of Andrology. On behalf of the new editorial team I wish all our readers a very successful New Year!