Year: 2021
Type: editorial
Abstract: I am honored and humbled to have been selected as the new editor-in-chief for Medical Physics. I am well aware of the giant footsteps that have been left by previous editors, and I pledge to you — the readers — that we will make every effort to keep these footsteps headed in the right direction for the Journal. I am delighted that Professor Stanley Benedict, my friend and colleague at UC Davis, has joined the editorial team as editor-for-therapy. He and I are the respective chief physicists for radiation oncology (Benedict) and radiology (Boone), so we have worked together for several years on numerous joint initiatives locally at UC Davis. Like all of scientific publishing, Medical Physics has experienced a number of changes over the years; most significantly, the Journal is now published both online and in print, with the online presence starting in February 1999. There is also a new model for scientific publishing, and Medical Physics is considered a “hybrid journal,” as the Journal publishes conventional articles which are available to subscribers, and also publishes Gold Open Access articles in which the author pays for the copyright to the article (through a Creative Commons license) and it is made freely available on the web — no subscription needed to read it. Still another change in the scientific publishing landscape was required for research articles describing research that was funded by the National Institutes of Health or other federal agencies. In this case, the content of that article is embargoed for a period of 1 year (where a subscription to the Journal is required to read that article), but after that year the contents of that article are made freely available on PubMed. Along with these logistical changes in publishing overall, the sheer number of manuscripts that are submitted to Medical Physics has increased over the years. The first seven editors of Medical Physics, going back to 1972, served alone in that role as editor; however, Drs. Bill Hendee and Colin Orton did appoint two deputy editors (therapy and imaging). In the editorial team that has just retired, Dr. Jeffrey Williamson served as editor-in-chief while Drs. Mitch Goodsitt and Shiva Das served as editors for imaging and therapy, respectfully. As Professor Benedict and I assume the editorial leadership of the Journal, a new model for the editorial operation has been implemented, where 15 deputy editors now constitute a team of editors, each with decision-making authority for the manuscripts they are responsible for. More on the details of this new model will be described in an editorial next month. This important change in editorial model not only distributes the workload but it also forms a horizontal leadership team where both authority and responsibility are distributed more broadly. A key purpose of this model, beyond logistics, is to promote the individual careers of the deputy editors, as they are generally midcareer scientists and thought leaders in their subfields of Medical Physics. As the science in the field of Medical Physics expands into new niches, greater scientific breadth of the editorial team is required. The deputy editors were selected based on their scientific excellence across the scope of topics that now constitute the field of Medical Physics. With the change in editorial model, a new AAPM staff position of managing editor was created, and Ms. Elle Thomas has been hired into this role. Elle is accomplished beyond her years, with a deep background in journal editorial and publishing operations, most recently at IOP Publishing for the American Astronomical Society, a sister society of Medical Physics under the umbrella of the American Institute of Physics. She is very experienced in all aspects of publishing, and in her previous position she was a power user of eJournalPress, which is the editor/author/reviewer interface engine that contributors and reviewers to the Journal interact with. In many cases she will be the contact person for many folks as they interface with the Journal. Welcome Elle! Professor Benedict, Elle, the team of deputy editors, and I look forward to guiding the Medical Physics journal into the future, and we will endeavor to serve all journal stakeholders with humility, timeliness, and respect. Thank you for the opportunity!
Source: Medical Physics
DOI: 10.1002/mp.14662
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,950
OpenAlex ID: W3125317719