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EDITORIAL Blood's major goal is to bring to its print and online
pages the best in basic and clinical investigation in the field of hematology. Blood, the official journal of the American
Society of Hematology, is international in scope and reach, as
evidenced by the geographical breadth of its authors, subscribers, and
readers. The journal seeks balance in the range of hematology subjects that it handles and in the relevance of its published papers to scientists and clinicians. Given the explosion of specialized knowledge
in the biological sciences, achieving this balance is no easy task, but
it is our raison d'être. Pessimists might doubt that such a
balance can be attained. Optimists, and we count ourselves in this
group, might argue that bringing the latest basic and clinical
investigation together in one journal is an efficient way to provide
information to a readership that is dedicated to moving discoveries
from the bench to the bedside. After all, as exemplified by the work of
the late Dr William B. Castle on pernicious anemia,1
hematologists have a long and illustrious track record in integrating
basic science with patient care. Consequently, while a particular
article in any given issue of Blood may seem to be in the
purview of but a segment of our readership, we will strive to bridge
any divide between basic and clinical hematology. This effort will be
facilitated by our Inside Blood feature and by commissioning a new
series of concise reviews highlighting recent advances in
translational hematology. Since the inaugural issue of Blood in 1946, the quality of
the journal has been maintained in large part through the vision and
commitment of its editors and editorial boards, stewards to whom the
present generation of readers owes a debt of gratitude. This issue of
the journal sees a passing of the guard from one editorial team, led by
Dr Kenneth Kaushansky, to another. Dr Kaushansky deserves great credit
for shepherding the journal in the last 5 years through an
unprecedented thicket of change and growth, resulting in increased
efficiency, quality, and impact. During his tenure and that of his
editorial team, Blood converted to self-publishing,
underwent a stylistic facelift, consolidated the editorial and
publication functions to a highly efficient central office in
Washington, DC, and moved to online review and rapid online publication
of accepted manuscripts. Submissions to the journal have increased a
remarkable 55% from 1997 to 2002, and the number of articles published
per issue has increased by 18% in this period of time. The
accelerated pace of scientific investigation and the ongoing revolution
in journal publishing promise new challenges in the next 5 years.
Fortunately, several Associate Editors from the old guard will be
staying on, and several talented new ones will be joining them to meet
the challenges. We invite feedback from our readers for suggestions on
how to continue to improve the journal, and we look forward to
participating in Blood's evolution, in the best tradition
of editorial teams past.
Sanford J. Shattil, MD
1.
Jandl JH.
William B. Castle - October 21, 1897-August 9, 1990.
Biogr Mem Natl Acad Sci.
1995;67:15-40.
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| Copyright © 2003 by American Society of Hematology Online ISSN: 1528-0020 | |||||||||
