Passing the baton

Anderson Publishing acquired Applied Radiology in 1989. At that time, Byron G. Brogdon, MD, (Gil) was already planning to step down as the journal’s Editor-in-Chief. Before Gil left, however, we asked him who we might engage to continue the journal’s editorial mission. “Get Ted Keats,” was his quick but simple recommendation. As longtime readers may know, Theodore (Ted) Keats, MD, the longtime Chairman of Radiology at the University of Virginia, went on to serve as our Editor-in-Chief for 12 years, carefully overseeing its evolution into a well-respected, clinical-review journal before his retirement in the year 2001.

And just as we asked Gil to recommend his successor, we asked Dr. Keats who he would recommend, to continue growing Applied Radiology’s reputation for clinical and editorial excellence. “Get Stu Mirvis” was his own reply. Indeed, Stuart E. Mirvis, MD, a Fellow of the American College of Radiology and Professor of Radiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, graciously accepted our offer and joined as our Editor-in-Chief in 2001.

During his tenure, “Stu,” as we fondly refer to the good doctor, has streamlined our editorial board; established pipelines for editorial dialogue among practicing radiologists, administrators, and industry leaders; grown our domestic and international readership; and added educational content that now includes CME, SA-CME, and CE-accredited articles, all of which have played a critical role in Applied Radiology’s ranking among the top-read journals in radiology.¹ Indeed, in these past 18 years, Stu has placed the journal on solid footing to address the practical needs of the radiology community well into the future; his commitment and value to this journal simply cannot be overstated.

Yet, as with Dr. Brogdin and Dr. Keats, we were recently faced with asking Dr. Mirvis for his own recommendation for a successor. Alas, it is true: Stu and his wife, Linda, whose own administrative skills have been equally vital in so many ways to the success of Applied Radiology, will be venturing into the freedom of retirement as of August 2019. It is a bittersweet time for all of us, yet Stu has been quick with his own recommendation to carry on the journal’s editorial mission: “Get Erin Schwartz.”

Erin Simon Schwartz, MD, whom you may recognize as a longtime member of the Applied Radiology Editorial Advisory Board, serves as an Associate Professor of Radiology at The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, Dr. Schwartz serves as a Pediatric Neuroradiologist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Medical Director of the Lurie Family Foundations’ Magnetoencephalography Imaging Center in Philadelphia.

Indeed, Dr. Schwartz is well poised to continue the mission—and tradition—that Gil, Ted, and Stu all set out to help us achieve with Applied Radiology; that is, to simply publish the most credible and relevant journal for today’s practicing radiology community.

We invite you all to join us in thanking Dr. Mirvis for his many years of service to Applied Radiology and in welcoming Dr. Schwartz to her new role as our journal’s Editor-in-Chief.

Reference

1. Kantar Media Radiology Readership Study 2018.