Welcome to this first issue of Journal of Endocrinology for 2005. This year is being marked as the centenary of the first usage of the word hormone, and we will be carrying a special series of major invited review articles throughout the year, to commemorate Starling’s insights into the nature of endocrinology, as noted in the article by Steve Hillier overleaf.
As the incoming Editor-in-Chief and Deputy Editor of JOE, we feel proud to be associated with a major international journal dedicated to publishing excellent science in the field of endocrinology. We are committed to maintaining the high standards set by our predecessors, and would like to express our appreciation of the efforts of Steve Hillier as the Editor-in-Chief over the past five years. The journal now has an international team of Senior Editors, with responsibilities for different areas within endocrinology, supported by a strong editorial board of over 100 endocrinologists from around the world selected for their expertise and experience. This structure has succeeded in streamlining the peer review process, with rapid and careful decisions on submitted manuscripts. The editorial office staff have worked hard to achieve rapid publication, and the electronic submission and review process has ensured speedy decision making and responses to authors.
The journal now has an impact factor over 3, attesting to its increasing significance and importance; we publish regular high-profile review articles that are freely available to all on the web. The electronic journal is now hosted by Stanford University’s HighWire Press, which provides a host of improved features for readers, including toll-free reference linking and also ‘This article has been cited by . . .’ links to and from other major journals, such as Science, NEJM, JAMA, PNAS, JBC and the journals of the (US) Endocrine Society, together with flexible, customizable email alerting. The new platform should be a major boost to JOE’s online visibility. We are committed to publishing the best of endocrine science, and believe that the journal has a particular role in developing ‘post-genomic’ biology, integrating molecular biological insights with an understanding of physiological systems. We aim to continue the development of the journal as a premier choice for the publication of first-class scientific research in endocrinology, and look forward to working productively with our authors and readers.
