Passing the Torch

Abstract

After a 14 year tenure, my predecessor, Carleton Stewart, transferred the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology (JLB) to me [1]. That was 15 years ago. In point of fact, we are both indebted to the founders of the Society, who initiated JLB as the Journal of the Reticuloendothelial Society in 1964. I am particularly grateful to Carleton Stewart for initiating the invaluable pyramid-structured review system that remains in use today. Among the most notable features of JLB, our use of a panel of selected expert section editors ensures the identification of fair, knowledgeable, and conscientious reviewers—a feature that sets us apart from other journals of our size and scope. I am honored to note that our current editorial board includes five of the original members who have served JLB along with me for all these years: Craig Reynolds, Alan Kaplan, Alan Landay, Philip Murphy, and Wayne Smith. I am even more indebted to Carleton Stewart as well as to Council Members, Carol Nacy and Monte Meltzer, who, in 1984 had the foresight to change the name of the society and the journal to cover the field of “Leukocyte Biology.” This has provided a crucial focus leading to progressive improvement of JLB, because it broadened the scope of the journal to cover biological and molecular aspects of leukocytes in host defense, chronic disease, restoration of homeostasis, and tissue repair. Consequently, JLB then began publishing papers focused on leukocyte receptors, signal transduction, gene regulation; cell development, growth, differentiation, and function; extracellular mediators and effector molecules; pathogenesis and host defense; and translational and clinical reports. Concomitant with my appointment, Craig Reynolds was selected as Associate Editor. He has invited outstanding leukocyte biologists to publish scholarly reviews in JLB, which has contributed to marked improvement in our impact factor, from 2.7 to ∼4.5. This increase in citation rate has been accompanied by a fourfold increase in manuscripts submitted per year, from fewer than 200 to the current number of about 750. The acceptance rate has also increased, from 25% in 1995 to about 37% at the present time. Consequently, this has led to an increase in the number of journal pages from 1700 to over 3200 annually. This increase can also be attributed to the inclusion of 3 to 5 sets of invited meeting overviews each year. These shorter reviews based on meeting presentations have proven to be quite popular and have citation rates approximately midway between those of the lengthier reviews and original research papers. I would also like to thank Associate Editor, Helene Rosenberg, for arranging and carrying out published interviews with the corresponding authors of Pivotal Advance manuscripts and, more recently, for assistance with the winners of the Dolph Adams Awards. As I reread my editorial as the incoming editor from 14 years ago [2], I am grateful that I have not made too many enemies, and likewise to have survived my time as Editor-in-Chief without any major disasters. We have been very fortunate to have made the profound change from paper to online submission and review with the invaluable assistance of Managing Editor, Amy Huter-Imming. The journal is now published online as well as in print, a feature which has been handled admirably by the FASEB Office of Publications. These developments have enabled us to manage the increase in manuscript submissions with ever greater speed and efficiency. I am happy that, thanks to our team of editors, we have been succeeded in slowly changing the scientific community’s perception of JLB to an appreciation of it as a commendable repository for scientific achievements. More changes are in store in the future, as JLB will be required to find its place in competition with the increasing number of newly minted online journals and to comply with government stipulations and requirements for open access. I am therefore delighted that the Council of the Society for Leukocyte Biology has chosen one of our able and experienced section editors, Luis Montaner, to become Editor-in-Chief. With the help of my many colleagues and coworkers, I am pleased to have been able to facilitate scientific communication and to strengthen the Society during my tenure. I am confident that Luis Montaner will further improve the record and strength of JLB. Finally, I would like to extend my most sincere and heartfelt thanks to all JLB authors, reviewers, and readers who have contributed to the ongoing success of our journal.