The Editorial Board of The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery

Abstract

In 2003, we received more than 1200 submissions in our office: a 10% increase over last year (and a 35% increase over 2001). Given the fact that most published articles undergo at least one and frequently two or more revisions, it is clear that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to those individuals, highlighted on the following pages, who serve so ably on our editorial board. Individuals are nominated to the editorial board by a process of consultation between the Editor and the Associate Editors that results in recommendation of names to the entire Council of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery for approval. Individuals who are asked to serve on the editorial board must have displayed competence and timeliness as a peer reviewer, evidence of important contributions to our field, and good common sense. Editorial board members may review as many as 40 manuscripts a year. Most of our board members are busy clinicians who carve time from evenings and weekends to perform this vital function. I can only state, quite simply and sincerely, the Journal and their colleagues are very much in their debt. This year we wish to note the departure from the editorial board of the following members: Ray Chu-Jeng Chiu, Lawrence Cohn, Marc de Leval, M. Erisan Ergin, Axel Haverich, Larry Kaiser, Anton Lerut, Hartzell Schaff, Willem van Oeveren, and William Williams. We would like to welcome to the editorial board George Despotis, Marc Gillinov, Alan Hilgenberg, John Ikonomidis, Walter Klepetko, Bryan Meyers, Ralph Mosca, Todd Rosengart, Hans-Hinrich Sievers, and James Tweddell. Many of you, our readers, are asked from time to time to provide peer review. In previous editorials, I1Wechsler A.S. Peer review recognition and responsibility.J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2001; 122: 419-420Abstract Full Text PDF Scopus (9) Google Scholar, 2Wechsler A.S. Fried P.W. Peer review.J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2003; 126: 1681-1682Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (6) Google Scholar defined some of the responsibilities and benefits for such endeavors. The high impact factor of the Journal and its prestigious position in the top 3.4% of all published journals are the consequence of our rigorous peer review process. For those readers who have not been called upon to provide peer review but who have contributed to the literature and would like to participate in the process, we encourage you to log on to our Web site (http://jtcvs.editorialmanager.com), register as a reviewer, and self-classify your interests. I offer you my thanks in advance for any help you provide to us in the future. Our editorial board is international in scope because we are truly a journal with international reach. One third of our submissions are from North America, roughly another third are from Asia, and another third from Europe, with a small number of papers emanating from South America. The Journal welcomes submissions from anyone who performs cardiothoracic surgery or is involved with investigational work of keen interest to cardiothoracic surgeons.