- Email: [email protected]
Progress and change
Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications 29 (2015) 1
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications journal homepage: WWW.JDCJOURNAL.COM
Progress and change
Another year has passed and Journal of Diabetes and its Complications continues to make progress, with significant increases in the number of articles submitted. More importantly we believe that the quality of articles has improved tremendously and are confident that the impact of the journal will continue to grow, as we fight the global battle against diabetes and its complications. Diabetes and its co -morbidities continue to have a major public health impact across the world, and we should be proud of our contributions in addressing it. It is with much sadness that we announce the recent resignation of our Associate Editor Steven Kahn. Steven resigned in protest following the publication of a politically motivated letter and an editorial discussing the Israeli–Palestinian Fighting in Gaza, in The Lancet, which is also published by Elsevier. We respect Steven's resignation on principle and wish to thank him for his service over the last 3 years that has had a significant impact on the quality and reach of the journal. We will miss his sharp insight into the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. In this context, we strongly endorse the statement issued by several organizations including the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, and The Endocrine Society in response to letter and editorial in the The Lancet: “We, as representatives of scientific organizations devoted to improving health care and advancing research, reaffirm that it is the mission of our respective medical journals to report and disseminate data from scientific investigation, evolving medical care, and innovative treatments. We believe these reports serve to unite basic scientists, clinical investigators, and medical professionals regardless of their country of origin, ethnic group, or
Conflicts of interest: No conflict of interest.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2014.11.004 1056-8727/© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
political leaning. We believe that these efforts achieve the common goal of advancing scientific discoveries that lead to improved health of people worldwide. On the basis of our goals and principles, our respective journals will refrain from publishing articles addressing political issues that are outside of either research funding or health care delivery.” Importantly, the authors of the letter in Lancet did not disclose their conflicts of interest (in this case their political affiliations). We strongly urge full transparency of all conflicts related to the subject of any article—not just financial dualities of interest (which in our opinion may be less treacherous). In addition, we strongly support editorial freedom from undue influence from publishers and other political issues. However, with that must come editorial responsibility. We call upon organizations such as the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, World Association of Medical Editors, and the Council of Science Editors to develop clear guidelines to deal with this issue and suggest safeguards to ensure that this type of controversy does not occur again. We hope that other organizations and medical journal editors will endorse these principles, which will move us forward toward a goal shared by most people— a more peaceful world.
Vivian Fonseca Stefano Del Prato Raghavendra G. Mirmira E-mail address: [email protected]
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications journal homepage: WWW.JDCJOURNAL.COM
Progress and change
Another year has passed and Journal of Diabetes and its Complications continues to make progress, with significant increases in the number of articles submitted. More importantly we believe that the quality of articles has improved tremendously and are confident that the impact of the journal will continue to grow, as we fight the global battle against diabetes and its complications. Diabetes and its co -morbidities continue to have a major public health impact across the world, and we should be proud of our contributions in addressing it. It is with much sadness that we announce the recent resignation of our Associate Editor Steven Kahn. Steven resigned in protest following the publication of a politically motivated letter and an editorial discussing the Israeli–Palestinian Fighting in Gaza, in The Lancet, which is also published by Elsevier. We respect Steven's resignation on principle and wish to thank him for his service over the last 3 years that has had a significant impact on the quality and reach of the journal. We will miss his sharp insight into the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. In this context, we strongly endorse the statement issued by several organizations including the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, and The Endocrine Society in response to letter and editorial in the The Lancet: “We, as representatives of scientific organizations devoted to improving health care and advancing research, reaffirm that it is the mission of our respective medical journals to report and disseminate data from scientific investigation, evolving medical care, and innovative treatments. We believe these reports serve to unite basic scientists, clinical investigators, and medical professionals regardless of their country of origin, ethnic group, or
Conflicts of interest: No conflict of interest.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2014.11.004 1056-8727/© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
political leaning. We believe that these efforts achieve the common goal of advancing scientific discoveries that lead to improved health of people worldwide. On the basis of our goals and principles, our respective journals will refrain from publishing articles addressing political issues that are outside of either research funding or health care delivery.” Importantly, the authors of the letter in Lancet did not disclose their conflicts of interest (in this case their political affiliations). We strongly urge full transparency of all conflicts related to the subject of any article—not just financial dualities of interest (which in our opinion may be less treacherous). In addition, we strongly support editorial freedom from undue influence from publishers and other political issues. However, with that must come editorial responsibility. We call upon organizations such as the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, World Association of Medical Editors, and the Council of Science Editors to develop clear guidelines to deal with this issue and suggest safeguards to ensure that this type of controversy does not occur again. We hope that other organizations and medical journal editors will endorse these principles, which will move us forward toward a goal shared by most people— a more peaceful world.
Vivian Fonseca Stefano Del Prato Raghavendra G. Mirmira E-mail address: [email protected]