Coming of age
Evert Nieboer
Department of Biochemistry, McMaster University, 1200 Main St. West, Hamilton, ON Canada, L8N 3Z5 and Institute of Community Medicine, University of Troms, Troms, N-9037, Norway. E-mail: nieboere@mcmaster.ca
Since some of the articles published in JEM have focused on biomarkers of exposure and effect in relation to toxicological and human health outcomes, we are pleased to announce that JEM is now abstracted by the US National Library of Medicine's Index Medicus/Medline/Pub Med, retroactively to Issue 1, Volume 1. This will make publishing in JEM more attractive for health specialists and toxicologists.
The Editorial Board and RSC publishing staff have had some concern that the ‘Environmental Monitoring’ phrasing in JEM's title does not convey the cross-disciplinary scope of the journal adequately. Consequently, readers will notice that the cover of the current issue has been modified to make room for the by-line: “Promoting physical, chemical and biological research relating to the measurement, pathways, impact and management of contaminants in all environments”.
Three new Editorial Board members have been appointed to fill the vacancies left by retiring members. A perusal of the biographies of Drs. Donaldson, Feldman and Monks on the web page (www.rsc.org/jem) clearly indicates that the research interests of these eminent scientists strengthens the link to research specialties that encompass, respectively, impact of breathing fine particles and their mode of action, biotransformation of metals in the environment in particular organometallic compounds and atmospheric science.
Our declared intention to appoint an Advisory Board with membership of distinguished international researchers has been implemented as of January 1 of this year. Members were invited based on their subject-specific expertise, geographical location and scientific eminence. The Advisory Board's role is to augment and expand JEM's scientific scope and international profile. The RSC Management, the Managing Editor and the JEM Editorial Board are delighted by the outstanding membership of this august body, and look forward to their advice and help in further developing the span, quality and recognition of JEM. A review of the short biographies that are provided indicate that the Advisory Board members represent the following diverse research areas: environmental chemistry; quality assurance of environmental analyses; measurement/monitoring contaminants in surface and potable waters, and in food; environmental geochemistry; specimen banking; global atmospheric science; biomarkers of human exposure and effect; and aerosol science, especially quantitative aerosol measurements. Evidence that the appointment of the Advisory Board will reap extensive benefits is provided by the series of papers in this issue on the characterization and measurement of contaminants in potable and oceanic waters. They were assembled by Advisory Board member Edward T. Urbansky, as detailed in the accompanying guest editorial.
Stimulation of research and its publication is inextricably linked to the promotion of related educational programmes. To encourage training in the subject areas related to the mission, scope and content of JEM, the Editorial Board encourages submissions for the news section or refereed articles that describe unique courses, educational programmes, or reports of relevant student projects. Since environmental issues are included in many undergraduate and graduate curricula, this invitation is extended to faculty members and students within departments or faculties of analytical, natural, engineering, life or health sciences in colleges and universities. The first of such educational contributions appears in the current issue and describes a problem-based, self-directed course in environmental and human toxicology in a pharmacology/biology programme.
The coming of age of JEM is reflected in the departure of three Editorial Board members who have recently completed their terms, namely Richard Brown, Emile de Saeger and Jan-Olof Levin. Furthermore, the DG Research Liaison Member of the Board (Philippe Quevauviller) and the US Associate Editor (James Vincent) now serve on the Advisory Board. The personal commitments and team effort required to launch the first issue of JEM molded the Managing Editor, the Editorial Board and the Production Manager into an effective, collegial team. Feelings of pride and ownership accompanied the appearance of Issue 1, Volume 1 in February 1999. It is with deep appreciation that we acknowledge the efforts of the parting inaugural Board members in the launching and development of JEM over the span of the last four years. We know that they will continue to contribute to JEM and encourage their colleagues to do so. We wish them well-being and continued success.
On behalf of the Board,
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