Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Electrophysiologist Giuseppe Boriani has been appointed as the new Editor-in-Chief of EP Europace—the official journal of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA). He succeeds Angelo Auricchio in this role and will continue to steer the publication on its mission to advance research and clinical practice in cardiac electrophysiology (Figure 1). New Editor-in-Chief of EP Europace, Prof. Giuseppe Boriani A native of Bologna, Italy and a graduate of the city’s university, Prof. Boriani was attracted to cardiology 4 years into his medical degree because of the way cardiovascular pathophysiology allows physicians to discover and explain the source of diseases. He later became a specialist in cardiology under the direction of the late Bruno Magnani and completed a PhD in cardiovascular physiopathology at the University of Milan. He enjoys clinical medicine for its mixture of knowledge base, clinical epidemiology, pharmacology, advanced biomedical technology, and its integration with health economics. In addition to these elements, he says: ‘It’s really important to build a good relationship through dialogue with the patient. When I became Director of the Cardiology Department in Modena, I saw how important it was for physicians in training to understand the importance of speaking to patients according to their individual circumstances and adapt any clinical decision to individual patient characteristics, values and expectations. The human element remains crucial in electrophysiology despite its technological focus.’ Electrophysiologists now have many options to treat both critically ill patients, as well as subjects with healthy hearts. ‘Our technologies can cure arrhythmias that impact quality of life, such as atrial fibrillation or even severe ventricular tachyarrhythmias that may cause sudden death. In our practice, we treat both patients with normal or mildly reduced cardiac function, as well as patients with severe cardiac conditions and heart failure needing defibrillators or pacemakers. Research and analysis to validate clinical practice is critical and of great importance for regulators, hospitals, and health authorities allocating resources.’ The focus on resources has shaped Prof. Boriani’s work in health economics and led to leadership roles within EHRA. The role of Editor-in-Chief of EP Europace is ‘rewarding but demanding.’ He says: ‘I review submissions from around the world and that requires careful selection. With the entry of artificial intelligence (AI) into medicine, the field is experiencing rapid innovation which has created equal amounts of enthusiasm and fear. I believe in measured progress, which is why I lead a Horizon project (ARISTOTELES) evaluating AI algorithms for atrial fibrillation patient outcomes across a series of European centres. It’s exciting, but requires rigorous data collection and patient outcome evaluation before drawing conclusions.’ Prof. Boriani says a good paper starts with a clear hypothesis, then uses methods aligned with that hypothesis to reach conclusions applicable to clinical practice. ‘Unfortunately, many papers simply gather data and apply statistics without proper methodology which is essential even in retrospective studies. Knowledge of clinical epidemiology, biostatistics, and data analysis—areas often underemphasized in medical education—are important and today's field demands large sample size studies. Whilst AI offers tools to manage vast data, we must ensure this happens correctly.’ Prof. Boriani believes AI writing tools have improved readability, but editors must remain vigilant about its proper use and monitor for misuse. Since becoming open access in January 2024, EP Europace has seen positive results despite some concerns that mandatory publication fees might reduce submissions. He says: ‘Europace was the first ESC family journal of an Association (EHRA) to become fully open access, and the shift was initially a great challenge. But now we can say that it was a good decision for us, and I think all journals will eventually go this way. Submissions continue to come from Europe and increasingly from the USA, China, Japan, Australia, and South America. So we are pleased with the global reach and a rising Impact Factor of 7.9.’ Areas to focus on include supporting younger researchers in the fields of both clinical and experimental electrophysiology, and improving scientific communication. Reviewing is a challenging and demanding role, he says, but remains the best way to understand how to prepare and evaluate a manuscript for potential publication. The journal has created awards for top reviewers to help those involved in the process. Reflecting on his own experience, Boriani says: ‘It’s not easy to get published—everyone makes mistakes. A common one is trying to say too much with too little data.’ Presenting abstracts at meetings, he says, is a good way to start because communication and evidence are of vital importance. ‘Evidence is crucial in today’s research field. It’s essential to distinguish proven therapies from theories or unproven remedies and to communicate that to patients.’ Passion and patience are essential for those wishing to publish: his advice for young researchers is: ‘Seek strong mentors and spend time in leading centres of research early in your career, as it’s difficult to move around once you’re established.’ EHRA offers fellowships for international training which he believes opens the mind to new experiences and ways of doing things. Journals remain essential for evidence-based science and medicine, he says. Unlike social media, which can often spread unverified claims, journals ensure research is rigorously reviewed and validated. ‘During COVID, we saw the chaos caused by unreliable information and journals proved their value as the final destination for sound science.’ He emphasizes that the goal for medicine remains to deliver the right treatment at the right time in a sustainable way, especially given global disparities in healthcare resources. EP Europace has built up good relationships with all the other journals of the European Heart Journal ‘family’ and respective editors share approaches to common challenges. It’s rewarding, he says, to see how the EHJ family are attracting submissions from the USA, Asia, and beyond which reflect a growing global reach. ‘Through collaboration among editors, we’re working to meet today’s publishing challenges together. Responding to demands for rapid publication is one challenge that the journals have been able to meet and simultaneous publication of papers at international meetings is now commonplace and much appreciated by readers and authors.’ Continual evolution is fundamental to the success of scientific publications, he says. ‘Introducing visual elements like graphical abstracts is essential nowadays to distil the core scientific message of a paper in a clear, accessible way, especially when sharing research via social media. Indeed, promotion with social media of the key messages of accepted articles is nowadays an absolute need for a rapid diffusion of advancements in knowledge. This marks a shift from the past, but despite all these changes and demands to do everything fast, I believe scientific journals—with an appropriate and coordinated integration with social media—will continue to play a central, authoritative role in research and science communication.’ All authors declare no disclosure of interest for this contribution.
Source: European Heart Journal
Author: Judith Ozkan
Language: English
Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,922
OpenAlex ID: W4413373209