Respirology: Thoughts of an incoming editor

I am honoured to be taking on the role of Editor in Chief of Respirology, the official journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology, from Professor Y.C. Gary Lee. Gary has done a tremendous job over the past 2 years, growing the stature of Respirology to be a journal of international importance within our field. There is ample evidence that the international status of Respirology is on an upward trajectory. The number of manuscript submissions has increased from 687 in 2006 to 764 in 2010. Over the same time period the acceptance rate of original articles has decreased from 34 to 20%, whereas the number of citations to Respirology papers has steadily increased from 851 in 2006 to 1991 in 2010. The Journal's impact factor is currently 1.865 and expected to increase over the coming years. A key to the continued growth of the Journal's standing is its Editorial Board, who act as ‘gatekeepers’ for the Journal by ensuring that only the highest quality manuscripts are accepted. Rapid, high-quality reviewer feedback to submitting authors is essential, and it is impressive to note that the time to the first decision has decreased from 50 days in 2006 to 34 days in 2010. The current team of 20 Associate Editors and 31 Editorial Board members come from 11 countries in five continents. These individuals provide the Journal with a broad range of expertise. All are outstanding researchers in their own right, and each has a strong publication record. I would like to welcome the most recent Associate Editors: Assistant Professor Neil Eves from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Associate Professor Claire Wainwright from the Queensland Children's Respiratory Centre at the Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia; and Assistant Professor Marcos Restrepo from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Texas, USA. I would also like to welcome Associate Professor Graham Hall from the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Princess Margaret Hospital, Perth, Australia and Dr Yuan-lin Song from the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai China, who have both recently joined our Editorial Board. Professor Grant Waterer from the School of Medicine and Pharmacology at the University of Western Australia has completed his term as an Associate Editor, and I would like to sincerely thank him for his outstanding input to the Journal's activities. A full listing of the current Editorial Board can be found on the inside front cover of each issue of Respirology and on our website. I look forward to continuing many of the initiatives that Professor Lee has instituted. For example, in 2012, Respirology will continue its Review Series; each of which will consist of between 6 and 14 ‘themed’ review papers. Some of the series planned for 2012 include: ‘Obesity and Respiratory Diseases’, to be edited by Amanda Piper; ‘Translational Advances in Respiratory Diseases’, to be edited by David Lam and John Heffner; ‘Stem Cells and the Lung’, to be edited by Philip Thompson and Yuben Moodley; and ‘Air Pollution and Lung Health’, to be edited by Ian Yang and Stephen Holgate. In 2012, Respirology will also continue its Ad Hoc Reviews and Think Tank Reviews on areas of interest to the readership of the Journal that do not necessarily fit under the theme of a Review Series, as well as the successful Pro-Con Debates and Guest Editorials from invited experts on selected manuscripts from the same issue. These review articles are particularly important today, given the huge quantity and ease of access to research papers and the variable quality of them. Review series such as those published in Respirology provide an opportunity for experts to collate and summarize current knowledge of topics relevant to the Journal's readership. Although citations to these reviews are a useful marker of their impact, it is not the only one. For example, in 2010, Lange and Mori's review on Advances in the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis1 was downloaded 2064 times and Klingsberg, Mutsaers and Lasky's review on Current Clinical Trials for the Treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis2 was downloaded 1187 times, perhaps indicating that these reviews are being used as useful reference documents by clinicians. While steadily increasing its profile on the international stage, Respirology must also maintain its prominence in Asia and Australasia, as it is the official journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology, the official English journal of the Japanese Respiratory Society and the preferred journal of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand. The Journal's administrative activities remain extremely well supported by an experienced and efficient Editorial Office, including Dr Lieve Bultynck, Dr Naomi Alexander, Dr Christel Norman and Dr Neil Misso. However, it is mainly due to the remarkable efforts of the previous Editors in Chief, Professor Gary Lee and before him, Professor Philip Thompson, that I have been presented with a journal that continues to make a strong regional and international contribution in understanding and better treating respiratory-related disease. I look forward in helping the Journal continue to grow over the coming years.

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