Developments at The JEM

1131 What does The Journal of Experimental Medicine look for in a paper? As the new Executive Editor of the Journal , I expect to be asked this question repeatedly. The Journal is known for its strengths in specific arenas, including immunology and inflammation, microbial pathogenesis, oncology, stem cell biology, hematopoiesis, as well as connective tissue and vascular biology. However, we welcome the submission of any biomedical research paper that meets our essential criteria—that is, the findings must be of broad interest and provide important insight into the mechanisms of a pathological process or potential new approaches to the diagnosis , prevention, or treatment of disease. Biological and physiological significance has always been emphasized in The JEM , and as one of the Journal's new advisors recently said, " The JEM has a history of publishing top quality science, even though it may not be fashionable. The papers set trends rather than follow them. " Editorial board The JEM is perhaps unusual in that its 10 academic editors are all located in three New York City research institutes: The Rockefeller University, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Not only are these institutes centers of excellence in diverse areas of experimental medicine, but also they are in close proximity, making possible weekly editorial meetings in which papers are discussed openly. I believe this discourse among editors has been pivotal to The JEM 's long-standing position as a leading biomedical journal. Despite its base in New York, The JEM is truly international in its perspective, and I look forward to interacting with the scientific community at meetings worldwide. Given that infectious disease remains the single biggest cause of global morbidity and mortality, the cellular and molecular aspects of host–pathogen interactions are an obvious area of focus for The JEM. Remarkable progress is being made in the fields of microbial genomics and innate immunity , and we are seeing more and more groundbreaking work that may ultimately lead to the development of new vaccines and therapies targeting human pathogens. Thus, we are delighted to welcome Dr. Charles Rice of The Rockefeller University and Dr. Eric Pamer of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to our editorial board. Drs. Rice and Pamer are leading figures in the fields of molecular virology and antimicrobial immunity, respectively, and will help us continue The JEM 's strong tradition in microbial pathogenesis and immunity to infection. On …