I was surprised recently to learn that the premier The Endocrine Society journals Endocrinology and Molecular Endocrinology will be merged into a single comprehensive journal beginning January 2017. Although I understand that the motivation for consolidating the journals is to broaden their scope and increase their impact and value to the community of endocrine scholars, I worry that many of the unique contributions of Molecular Endocrinology will be diluted and perhaps lost. My concern may be best explained by looking back at my tenure as Editor-in-Chief.
John Nilson, PhD
What will we remember the most? The professionalism, courtesy, respect, and support offered by our authors, reviewers, and readers.
I became Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Endocrinology in 1998, as the journal completed its 10th anniversary year. I was honored by and excited about the opportunity and was joined by 5 new editors, John Cidlowski, Olli Jänne, Kelly Mayo, JoAnne Richards, and Jeffrey Rosen, all well known for their scientific accomplishments. Managing Editor Kathryn Schultz and Editorial Assistant Leslie Switalski completed our team. We dedicated ourselves to working with our authors and reviewers in a timely, courteous, and professional manner.
We wanted Molecular Endocrinology to partner with its contributors and readership to form a dynamic journal that would build upon the tradition of excellence established by the founding Editor-in-Chief, E. Brad Thompson, and Tony Means, the second Editor-in-Chief. We felt this could be achieved through a partnership that extended from the editors and members of the editorial board to the readership. We wanted Molecular Endocrinology to be viewed as responsive, as well as responsible, to its constituents. We hoped that this dynamic partnership would allow the journal to continue evolving and remain dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of scholarly science.
One fruitful avenue involved the design of a web-based submission/review process that was a product of an active collaboration between our redactor, Cadmus Journal Services, and the editorial staff of all 4 The Endocrine Society journals. Although the development process was arduous and took a few years, Molecular Endocrinology was the first of The Endocrine Society journals to beta test the submission/review product in June, 2000. Later that year, the system was implemented by our 3 sister journals and subsequently refined, evolving into the sort of system that most journals now use.
In 1999, The Endocrine Society journals were asked to link their June issues to the theme of the Annual Meeting. The 1999 annual meeting focused on the basic and clinical advances relevant to women's health, including topics such as reproduction, contraception, menopause and hormone replacement, and breast cancer. To meet this challenge, we solicited several minireviews that highlighted 6 women's health-related themes: steroid receptors and breast cancer, polycystic ovarian syndrome, pregnancy and the role of the prolactin family of hormones, interactions between growth factors/cytokines and steroid hormones that impact the skeleton, regulation of angiogenic growth by steroids, and the genetic basis of fertility and infertility.
Diabetes was the thematic focus of the 2000 annual meeting. Our June issue that year featured 7 articles that together expanded our understanding of the insulin signaling pathway and genes that genetically define functional cells in pancreatic islets. Subsequent functional genomic and genetic studies of diabetes have revealed even more complex molecular and genetic networks that underscore the relationship between diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. These types of studies were early examples of the power and translational value of functional genomics.
Given the positive response to our call for minireviews pertinent to women's health and diabetes, we decided to devote the March 2001 issue to papers that explored the interface between structural biology and molecular endocrinology. With the emergence of structural biology as a discipline, our goal was to broaden the scope of Molecular Endocrinology by showing how work in this area could expand our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying hormone action.
The June 2002 issue of Molecular Endocrinology once again mirrored the theme of the year's Annual meeting: “The Impact of the Human Genome on Endocrinology.” The 10 articles in the special section of this issue described several types of genomic approaches, ranging from gene expression arrays to in silico analysis and data mining. Each article addressed the mechanism of hormone action, and some included analysis of genomic features of both normal and disease states. Together, these articles clearly indicated the rich future of genomic studies, especially their potential for providing new mechanistic insights into hormone action.
My tenure as Editor-in-Chief ended in 2003 as Molecular Endocrinology entered its 18th volume. Our contributions included broadening the scope of the journal while still retaining the emphasis on molecular signaling pathways that form the hub of the endocrine system. Minireviews became one of our mainstays along with the June issues that reflected the theme of the Annual Meetings. We were also excited to have the opportunity to collaboratively develop and initiate the electronic submission and review process later used by all The Endocrine Society journals.
I ended my last editorial with the following: “Were we successful? We think so, but you the readers will be the best judge. Did we enjoy what we did? Most of the time, but after six years of effort we are ready to pass the torch. What will we remember the most? The professionalism, courtesy, respect, and support offered by our authors, reviewers, and readers. I know I speak for our entire team in expressing thanks for this opportunity and for the trust it entailed. We are confident that, in passing the torch to John Cidlowski and his new group of editors (Mariel Birnbaumer, Donald DeFranco, Mary Hunzicker-Dunn, Donald McDonnell, Paul Pilch, and Ming-Jer Tsai), the journal will remain in good hands and will rise to even higher levels of accomplishments.” I still feel the same way today. Moreover, Don DeFranco and Stephen Hammes deserve kudos, as the stature and integrity of the journal have grown under their successive periods of leadership.
In 2017, Molecular Endocrinology will be merged into a single comprehensive journal that will carry the name Endocrinology, with Molecular Endocrinology disappearing from the masthead (although a new tag line, Molecular and Physiological Basis of Endocrine Health and Disease, preserves the term “molecular”). I suspect that many former Editors-in-Chief share my disappointment. But change can be good, and I am confident that the 2 joint Editors-in-Chief of the new Endocrinology, Andrea Gore and Stephen Hammes, will be more than up to the challenge of keeping the merged journal nimble and responsive to its readers and contributors. Although consolidation carries the risk of diluting the impact of the individual forerunner journals, creative approaches can be developed to keep the journal vibrant, timely, and reflective of its predecessors. This is my hope, and I suspect the hope of the Society at large, as I bid Molecular Endocrinology a fond farewell.
Acknowledgments
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Endocrine Society, 2055 L Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036. E-mail: molendo@endocrine.org.
