JAMA Editor-in-Chief Leaving the Journal in 2011CHICAGO – The Editor-in-Chief of JAMA, Catherine D. DeAngelis, M.D., M.P.H., will be leaving her position as of June 30, 2011.
“All good things must come to an end and so, this must, too,” Dr. DeAngelis has told staff and colleagues of her decision to leave after serving as Editor-in-Chief since January 2000. She also oversees the nine Archives specialty medical journal publications.
Dr. DeAngelis has been a leader among journal editors to increase the integrity and ethics of medical journal publishing. Working with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), she encouraged other editors to agree to a requirement for all clinical trials to be registered as a condition of publication and to strengthen conflict of interest guidelines. In one of her most courageous stands as a journal editor, she instituted the requirement that industry-sponsored clinical trials must have an independent academic statistician to review all data before a manuscript can be accepted and published in JAMA. No other journal has this stringent requirement to ensure the integrity of data.
During her tenure as editor, JAMA’s Impact Factor has risen dramatically from 11.4 in 2000 to 28.9 in 2009, the most recent year for which figures are available. The journal impact factor is a measurement of citations that is used to help evaluate a journal’s relative importance when compared to other journals. JAMA is consistently listed as one of the top three general medical journals in the world and highest for integrity.
“Cathy DeAngelis has made a tremendous contribution to the profession of medicine through her leadership as Editor-in-Chief of JAMA,” said Michael D. Maves, M.D., M.B.A., the Chief Executive Officer of the American Medical Association. “JAMA’s reputation for quality and integrity is known throughout the world.”
Not one to retire, Dr. DeAngelis will be heading back to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, where she will be developing a Center for Professionalism in Medicine and the Related Professions, including nursing, public health, business and law. “This program, based in ethical professional conduct, will be a culmination of education, training and experience. It is the logical next step for me based back in my academic home,” said Dr. DeAngelis. She was vice dean for Academic Affairs and Faculty at Hopkins School of Medicine before her appointment with JAMA and is a Professor of Pediatrics there.
Search Begins for New Editor
With the announcement of Dr. DeAngelis’ departure, the AMA has started the search for a new Editor-in-Chief for JAMA and the Archives journals. Russell Reynolds Associates has been retained to assist with the search. “Dr. DeAngelis has set high standards for JAMA and the Archives as well as the peer reviewed medical community at large. We need to find the right person to carry on with this and the rich history of JAMA into the next decade and beyond,” said Elizabeth A. Jones, Senior Vice President, Periodical Publications for the AMA.
The search committee will be headed by JAMA Editorial Board member Ronald G. Evens, M.D., from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. Other members of the search committee include representatives from the Journal Oversight Committee, the AMA’s Board of Trustees, AMA senior management, and JAMA/Archives. The AMA plans to have a new editor in place by July 1, 2011.
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Published continuously since 1883, JAMA is one of the most widely circulated, peer-reviewed, general medical journals in the world. Together with the specialty Archives Journals, also published by the American Medical Association, the JAMA & Archives family of journals is committed to promoting the science and art of medicine and the betterment of public health.
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