Pharmaceutical Development and Technology (PDT) announcements
Everyone was stunned to learn of unexpected death of Dr. Stanley L Hem on January 23, 2011. He was an accomplished pharmaceutical scientist, excellent teacher, mentor of dozens of graduate students and a true advocate of this Journal. Dr. Hem was Chairman of the Publications Subcommittee of the AAPS Pharmaceutical Technologies Section in 1995 when Pharmaceutical Development and Technology was formed. So he was very instrumental in the creation of this journal, on its editorial advisory board from the beginning, and a source of frequent encouragement to me personally as journal editor for the past 12 years. His enthusiasm for excellence in science and life itself was contagious. He will be missed by all who knew him.
Manuscript submissions increased 11% in 2010 over those submitted in 2009 and 71% over 2008 submissions. With the number of accepted published manuscripts remaining the same for our bimonthly publication, the percentage rejection rate grew substantially. Our 2009 impact factor decreased from 0.975 to 0.895, but with several good review articles published in 2010 we expect our impact factor to increase for 2010. More impressively, the journal’s website (http://informahealthcare.com/phd) had over 220,000 page views in 2010.
2011 marks the 16th year of publication of Pharma-ceutical Development and Technology (PDT) issues and the 12th year that I have served as editor.
Two long-time editorial advisory board (EAB) members have cycled off the board with two new members replacing them. Dr. Simon Benita of Hebrew University of Jerusalem School of Pharmacy and Dr. Atilla Hincal of Hacettepe University Faculty of Pharmacy in Ankara, Turkey are stepping down after serving as founding members of the journal and 15 years of service to PDT. Their work and support were very much appreciated and they will be missed.
The two new pharmaceutical scientists joining the EAB in 2011 are:
Dr. Stuart C. Porter, Senior Director, ISP, Wayne, NJ
Dr. Porter is well-known and established in the oral solid dosage form field, especially coating systems and excipients. He was part of the pioneering team that established the International Pharmaceutical Excipients Council (IPEC) and has been chairman of the AAPS Excipients Focus Group. Dr. Porter received his Ph.D. degree from the University of London.
Dr. Sevda Senel, Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Hacettepe, Ankara, Turkey
Dr. Senel is an expert in mucosal drug delivery, nanoparticulate systems, and applications of chitosan in human and veterinary medicine. She recently was the recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award by the Academy of Science of the Turkish Pharmacists Association. She received her Ph.D. degree in Pharmaceutical Technology from the University of Hacettepe School of Pharmacy.
Both Dr. Porter and Dr. Senel have served as referees for PDT for many years. I am happy to reward their years of service by becoming EAB members.
As I write every year, a research journal is only as good as the scientists who serve as peer referees for evaluating submitted manuscripts. I wish to thank sincerely all those whose names are listed on the following 2010 referee acknowledgement pages. Their efforts have ensured that only the best manuscripts are eventually published, evidenced by the fact that less than 30% of all manuscripts submitted over the past year were eventually accepted for publication. These scientists and especially those who serve on the EAB are appreciated so much for their time and efforts in reviewing manuscripts.
Michael J. Akers, Ph.D.
Editor