Editorial

Molecular Medicine begins its third year with renewed enthusiasm and a number of changes that will make this journal an even more attractive forum for communicating research to the biomedical community.

Starting with this, the first issue of Volume 3, Molecular Medicine will be published monthly. This will allow faster publication of the high quality research articles submitted to our journal. This issue also marks the beginning of a new partnership between the Editors of Molecular Medicine and Springer-Verlag New York. The new publisher is devoted to maintaining the character of the journal and placing much emphasis on its promotion world-wide. In this spirit of progress, I was delighted to be invited to act as Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Medicine. One of the objectives of the journal has always been to maintain an international focus and I hope to bring the European community closer to the editorial offices.

What has not changed? The Editorial Board continues to include the same eminent scientists, who, collectively, have been one of the great strengths of this journal from its inception. The philosophy behind creating Molecular Medicine was to provide an outlet for disseminating outstanding research in this field without the red tape that often characterizes the submission and review procedures of many medical journals. Our philosophy has been and will continue to be that an article of great scientific importance and free of technical flaws as determined by rigorous and independent peer review should be published without delay. Molecular Medicine relies heavily on the expert judgments of our Editors to make this happen.

Molecular Medicine will continue to focus on the whole of medicine. For too long, medical research has been divided into a growing number of subspecialties. Our journal, providing a forum for all of molecular science research, regardless of whether it originates from someone with a PhD or a MD degree, aims to foster the understanding and treatment of human disease. This mission was especially close to the heart of the late Dr. Ken Warren, one of the driving forces behind the establishment of Molecular Medicine and, together with David Nathan, of the Molecular Medicine Society.

It has been just over 2 years since the first issue of Molecular Medicine was printed. The journal’s contents were covered by the major scientific databases (including Medline) in a record time, as a testament to its quality and importance. Similarly, the Society has grown and will hold its second annual meeting entitled “Genetics of Common Diseases” in June (see ad at the back of this issue). As we move forward, the Editors and publisher look forward to the continued success of this exciting endeavor.

I take this opportunity to thank our readers and contributors, old and new.