Redefining JASN
Authors: Karl A. Nath, Bonnie O’Brien
Journal: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (2013)

This issue of JASN marks the transition to a new editorial team in the service of this flagship kidney journal. JASN was launched by the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) in 1990 “as a vehicle to inform and educate a growing number of kidney specialists.”1 The founding editorial team of Dr. Grantham and the successive ones led by Drs. Tisher, Couser, and Neilson have brilliantly served this mission by attracting and publishing the best available literature on the kidney in health and disease, and, in the process, have steadily steered JASN on its successful journey.1–4 Indeed, JASN’s stature is consistently recognized by its impact factor; JASN’s readership and influence extend worldwide; and JASN broadly attracts manuscripts from the global community of nephrology, the majority of submitted papers now originating from outside the United States. Transitions provide an opportunity to reaffirm one’s mission and to outline how it will be achieved. JASN, from its beginnings, has served the constituencies of both the scientist and the clinician, a commitment that recognizes the importance of the work of one in stimulating accomplishments by the other. By providing a shared forum, JASN fosters an ongoing dialogue between these constituencies and their mutual enrichment, and by surveying the broad expanse covered by scientific and clinical research, JASN can select and showcase those findings that truly advance the field of nephrology. JASN will thus continue to publish cutting-edge scientific discoveries regarding the workings of the kidney, the pathogenesis of kidney disease, and novel therapeutic strategies. JASN will also publish the very best in translational studies, clinical trials and research, epidemiologic studies, outcomes research, scholarly analyses of best practices in nephrology, practice guidelines, and novel therapies for human kidney disease. JASN will be especially attuned to certain areas that have long been within the domain of nephrology, but where the specter of subspecialty splintering may be a concern. Accordingly, JASN will seek to provide strong representation in such fields as hypertension, transplantation, critical care nephrology, kidney stones, and cardiorenal syndromes, among others, and with the same dual commitment to scientific and clinical work in these areas. Research, education, and clinical practice in nephrology in the United States face substantial challenges. The decline in support from the National Institutes of Health and other extramural agencies in the United States compromises the pursuit and promise of renal research, and any attendant loss of vigor in today’s research imperils progress and innovation in tomorrow’s practice. Fewer trainees pursue careers in nephrology, and especially so in renal research; in no more than a few decades, the physician-scientist in the United States has gone from an endangered to a vanishing species.5,6 Development of new drug therapies and devices and their introduction into clinical practice take considerably longer and are substantially more costly. Health care reform, accountable care organizations, bundling and other reimbursement policies, administrative policies that affect direct patient care—all these and other emerging issues may substantially alter the practice of nephrology. JASN will not be on the sidelines with regard to such issues that broadly influence the vitality of our discipline: Special articles in JASN will discuss and highlight these issues. To fulfill this mission, JASN is supported by a team with an encompassing range of expertise. The Deputy Editor is Dr. Anupam Agarwal (University of Alabama at Birmingham; AKI, molecular biology, and mutant mouse models), and the Associate Editors are Dr. Phyllis August (Weill Cornell Medical Center; hypertension, pregnancy-related kidney disease, epidemiology), Dr. Alfred Cheung (University of Utah; ESRD, CKD, vascular access, clinical trials), Dr. David Ellison (Oregon Health and Science University; renal physiology, tubular disease, molecular pathogenesis of hypertension, edema), Dr. Robert Gaston (University of Alabama at Birmingham; transplantation), Dr. Ariel Gomez (University of Virginia; renal development, renin-angiotensin system, renal autocoids, pediatrics), Dr. Matthew Griffin (National University of Ireland, Galway; immunology, transplant biology, AKI, regenerative medicine), Dr. Fernando Fervenza (Mayo Clinic, Rochester; human glomerulonephritides and other parenchymal diseases), Dr. Agnes Fogo (Vanderbilt University; renal pathology, mechanisms of renal injury), Dr. Peter Harris (Mayo Clinic, Rochester; molecular genetics of kidney disease), Dr. Keith Norris (Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science; CKD, epidemiology and outcomes in kidney disease, hypertension, health care disparities), Dr. David Salant (Boston University; glomerular biology and pathobiology, glomerulonephritis), and Dr. Amy Williams (Mayo Clinic, Rochester; dialysis, CKD, public policy, career development, and professionalism). Transitioning of JASN’s new team greatly benefited from helpful discussions with Dr. Eric Neilson and Dr. Gary Curhan, CJASN’s Editor-in-Chief. The advice and guidance of Ms. Adrienne Lea, Director of Communications, ASN, and Dr. Sharon Moe, President-Elect and former Chair of the Communications Committee, ASN, are much appreciated. This issue of JASN also contains the text of Dr. Ronald Falk’s presidential address at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Nephrology in 2012, the defining theme being curing kidney disease.7 This wonderful clarion call for the welfare of patients with kidney disease convincingly challenges the kidney community to strive for better therapies that promote “the restoration of health” of patients with kidney disease. JASN will continue to answer this call by publishing the very best literature regarding new and current knowledge of the kidney in health and disease, and by addressing issues that influence the vitality of the science and clinical practice of our discipline.