In this editorial for the first issue of 2008, we would like to update our readers on several exciting developments in our Journal.
We are very proud to announce the appointment of Professor Uday Devaskar. UCLA Hospital, Los Angeles, California, USA, and Professor Umberto Simeoni of Hôpitaux de Marseille-Hôpital de la Timone, Marseille, France, as Associate Editors. Both are specialists in neonatology and have impressive accomplishments in their area of expertise. We appreciate their kind acceptance of these positions and look forward to their leadership in enhancing the Journal's contribution in promoting maternal, fetal and neonatal medicine.
The rapid development of new technologies and scientific advances in our specialties demand a dynamic Editorial Board that can help our readers stay abreast of current topics of importance in obstetrical and perinatal medicine. As leaders in our field, the knowledge and expertise of the Board members are valuable assets to the continuing success of the Journal. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome the new members of the Editorial Board and express our deepest appreciation and gratitude to the outgoing members for their invaluable support for the Journal.
We remain dedicated to continuing publication of high quality and interesting articles. We would like to remind our readers and authors that the Journal has been accepted by Thomson/ISI for coverage and is expected to receive a 2007 impact factor which will be released in the summer of 2008. The Journal continues expanding its subscription, the production schedule has remained on track and the page budget has been increased. Moreover, the Publishers have begun a project to digitize the complete backfile collections [volumes 1 to 9] of the Journal. This will ensure that the early articles in JMFNM will form part of a reliable and comprehensive archive with the ultimate goal being to increase the accessibility to this research. We are also approaching the time for initiation of online submission and peer review system of manuscripts which will immensely facilitate these processes. The publisher's in-house Manuscript Central team has been working with both editorial offices for the site configuration. We appreciate these positive developments and are pleased to share them with our readers.
We look forward to a successful and productive New Year.