A Fond Farewell

In 2010, I became the Founding Editor-in-Chief of Eye and Brain, an unpaid position that I served for the past 14 years with joy, diligence, and perseverance. I am gratified that it has become a respectable international journal today. It is now time for me to hand the “gavel” to another dedicated individual who will carry the journal to a greater height. I am delighted to introduce to you, our readers, our new EiC and my colleague, Rustum Karanjia, MD/PhD, a neuro-ophthalmologist and Vice Chair in Research in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Ottawa, Canada. He is an excellent clinician and researcher with extensive publications and ample experience in section editorship for various journals.

What makes Eye and Brain unique is that it bridges the gap between the Eye and visual centers of the Brain, two regions whose spatial separation and respective complexity necessitate specialized attention that often precludes each other. This journal offers a fertile ground where state-of-the-art research and review articles on topics ranging from the cornea to association visual cortical areas are brought together, and vital connections between and among them are highlighted. This is one journal that encourages cross-pollination and cross-communication between the retinal and visual cortical as well as other neuroscience communities at the national and international levels.

Over the years, Eye and Brain has gone from an infant journal to achieving PubMed and Scopus status to attaining a journal impact factor of 4.4 in 2022 (with a 4.8 JIF over 5 years as of 2022). The parent publisher, Dove Medical Press, became part of Taylor & Francis in 2017. In addition to impactful articles covering topics from molecular to behavioral, two thematic series have made major contributions. One was on the Organization and function of the visual system in primates (2014), guest edited by the eminent Jon Kaas, PhD and Pooja Balaram, PhD, and the other was on Retinopathy of Prematurity (2016), guest edited by the renowned Mary Elizabeth Hartnett, MD and Antonio Capone, Jr., MD. In 2021, an article by Yu et al on Neuro-ophthalmic complications of immune checkpoint inhibitors: a systematic review (2020) was chosen by The American Board of Ophthalmology for their Continuing Medical Education (CME) activities. A current Thematic Series is on Neurodegenerative Diseases: Link between Eye and Brain, guest edited by Aroucha Vickers, DO and Andrew G. Lee, MD. More thematic series are on the way.

The success of a journal is vitally dependent on good teamwork. It has been a distinct honor and pleasure for me to work with an outstanding Editorial and Production Team at Dove’s New Zealand office. My deep felt thanks and appreciation go to a host of individuals: from the talented General Manager Angela Jones, through the Production Manager Tania Olliver, the Consulting Editors Dr Colin Mak and Dr Justinn Cochran, the Editorial Development manager Dr Sandra Le, the Commissioning Editor Vicky Ship, the Revised Manuscript Manager Robert Irvine, the Peer-review Manager Sandra Walters, the Quality Control Coordinator Adrian Bell, the Editor Liaison Amy Crocome, to the many competent Editorial Team staff members. More recently, I have the pleasure of working with the Portfolio Manager Shaun Duffy and the Commissioning Editor Krista Thom of Taylor & Francis, both of whom are dedicated to expanding the journal. Our journal is honored to have a preeminent group of Editorial Board members who are committed to excellence. Finally, the quality of the journal ultimately reflects the valuable contributions of many researchers true to their discipline. Our goal has always been to serve the research and clinical communities, and we have our faithful readers to thank for their abiding interest and support.

There is much more to discover and to report on our two vital organs, the Eye and the Brain. With your support and valuable contributions, the future will continue to be bright. Thank you all for making this possible.