In January, 2015, I became the new Editor-in-Chief for the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Taking over for Julie Schachter, who had been the Editor for 25 years, was a daunting task. He rescued the journal, nurtured it, and established it as a leading journal in our field. My job, simply put, is to maintain and strengthen it. Simultaneously, I will work to ensure that the high quality science in our field gets the attention it deserves.

What do you need to do to get your research published in Sexually Transmitted Diseases? First and foremost, do good research. That is the key for publication in any journal. Second, communicate that research clearly and succinctly. Many of us do not write as clearly as we think we do. Third, be responsive to the reviewers. Our reviewers do their best to provide meaningful comments that will strengthen the communication of your work. Respect them. Respond to them. And only rarely should your response be a rebuttal. The best way to ensure that your paper is not accepted, even when it was close, is to dismiss the reviewers’ comments.

Going forward, you can expect to see a few minor changes in the journal. We will publish more program-oriented papers, including some from workers in the field who are not necessarily “scientists”. We will also expand our coverage of HIV infection, focusing on HIV transmission, diagnosis, prevention, and monitoring, and excluding purely treatment studies. Generally, we will work to identify papers that will be difference-makers in the field of sexually transmitted diseases.

We also will be increasing our focus on young investigators. We hope to facilitate the growth of the type of people attending this meeting – encouraging bright, talented scientists to choose sexually transmitted diseases research as their career.