Professor Simon Cherry has today been announced as the new Editor-in-Chief of Physics in Medicine & Biology (PMB).
Published by IOP Publishing on behalf of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine, PMB covers the application of practical and theoretical physics to medicine and biology, and is especially concerned with cutting-edge research in the areas of radiotherapy physics and medical imaging.
Professor Cherry, Director of the Center for Molecular and Genomic Imaging at the University of California, Davis, has already made an outstanding contribution to PMB, publishing 40 papers in the journal, averaging over 40 citations per paper, and spending eight years on its Editorial Board.
Outside of publishing, Professor Cherry has been elected fellow of the Institute of Physics, the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and has been honoured with an Outstanding Mid-Career Faculty Research award by his university.
He said, ‘I am honoured and delighted to be taking over as Editor-in-Chief of PMB, a journal in which I have been publishing regularly for the past 22 years.’
Professor Cherry takes over the role, as of January 1, 2012, from Professor Steve Webb, who leaves the position having done an impressive job taking the publication forward, with the journal’s Impact Factor rising above 3.0 and record levels of submissions being received.
‘The journal, under the outstanding leadership of its previous editor, has been on a strongly upward trajectory.
‘My responsibility is to ensure that we continue to attract the very best papers across our broad and dynamic field, and provide the very best service possible to our authors and our readers by communicating the most important scientific advances quickly and accurately,’ continued Cherry.
The outgoing Editor-in-Chief, Professor Steve Webb, said, ‘It has been an enormous privilege and pleasure to have been Editor-in-Chief of PMB for the past six years. I have to say that to accept the post was one of the best decisions of my life. The IOP Publishing team make running the journal a very straightforward, efficient and happy process. It is a superb joint effort, together with the effort from Editorial Board members, the International Advisory Board and referees.
‘In my period we have seen the Impact Factor go above the “magic” 3.0, the journal citations and downloads have been extremely high and it is clear from comments I receive that the coverage and quality of the journal is valued worldwide. Our acceptance rate has crept downwards because we aim for the very highest standards.
‘Simon Cherry is PMB’s first Editor to be based in the USA and in a way this may put an end to any last vestiges of thought that PMB is anything but an international journal. I shall miss PMB enormously and I wish Simon Cherry and the whole team good luck for a glittering future.’
Professor Cherry’s experienced research background makes him a natural fit to lead PMB. His primary research area is the rapidly growing field of molecular imaging, with a focus on positron emission tomography (PET) and its application to small-animal preclinical imaging. He is also involved in exploring the integration of PET imaging technology with the high-resolution anatomical imaging provided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as the development of optical imaging techniques such as Cerenkov luminescence imaging.
