EDITORIAL

Summary of the inaugural 2-years of “Forum Dermatologicum”

Adres do korespondencji:

dr hab. n. med. Adam Reich, prof. nadzw., Katedra i Klinika Dermatologii, Wenerologii i Alergologii Uniwersytetu Medycznego we Wrocławiu, ul. Chałubińskiego 1, 50–368 Wrocław, tel.: 605 076 722, faks: 71 327 09 99, e-mail: adam.reich@umed.wroc.pl

DEAR COLLEAGUES,

It has been two years since we have decided to issue our magazine “Forum Dermatologicum”. During this time we have published almost fifty papers on different aspects of dermatology. As has been already announced in the previous issue of “Forum Dermatologicum”, Editorial Board decided to publish papers not only in Polish, but also in English language. In 2016 more than 20% of published papers were in English (Fig. 1).

Figure 1. The comparison of papers published in Polish and in English in 2015 and 2016

We would like to continue this as it will enable us to get more attention in the future and also our journal should receive more submissions from other regions of the world, which further will increase the value of our journal. Within the last two years we have tried to keep the journal well balanced between original papers, reviews and case reports to be of interest for different readers, including practicing physicians as well as those occupied predominantly with scientific area. Therefore, there is almost equal distribution between various paper categories (Fig. 2).

Figure 2. The overview of various categories of articles published in “Forum Dermatologicum” between 2015 and 2016

I would like also to emphasize the fact that the Editorial Board focused particularly on the rapid review process and publication of approved papers and we would like to keep it similar in the next years. At this point I would like to thank all reviewers for their hard work during reviewing the papers and their valuable comments which helped authors to improve their reports (Attachment 1).

Attachment 1. Reviewers of papers submitted to Forum Dermatologicum in 2016 (in alphabetical order)

Anna Baran Wioletta Barańska-Rybak Agnieszka Bożek Aleksandra Dańczak-Pazdrowska Aleksandra Lesiak Joanna Narbutt Adam Reich Radomir Reszke Dominik Samotij Michał Sobjanek Justyna Szczęch Elżbieta Waszczykowska Kalina Welz-Kubiak Anna Woźniacka Agnieszka Żebrowska

It is also a great pleasure to announce that the number of our Editorial Board members has recently increased and we widen the Editorial Board of three well-known scientists: Prof. Victoria Werth (USA), Assist. Prof. Mohammad Rafiqul Mowla (Bangladesh) and Assist. Prof. Adriana Polańska (Poland).

Vicky Werth (Fig. 3) was initially on the full-time staff at New York University until 1989, when she joined the department of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Figure 3. Prof. Victoria Werth

She has been in Pennsylvania since 1989, and has clinical and research interests in medical dermatology. This includes caring for patients with autoimmune blistering and connective tissue diseases, as well as research into the cause of photo-exacerbated skin diseases such as lupus erythematosus and dermatomyositis. She is also conducting a multicenter trial looking at the role of dapsone as a steroid-sparing agent in pemphigus vulgaris. Vicky Werth co-founded the Medical Dermatology Society and spearheaded an effort to have a 5-year combined residency program in internal medicine and dermatology, which was recently approved.

Dr. Mohammad Rafiqul Mowla is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Dermatology and Venereology at Chittagong Medical College in Bangladesh (Fig. 4).

Figure 4. Dr. Mohammad Rafiqul Mowla (right) and Adam Reich (Editor in Chief, left) at the Annual Congress of the European Academy Dematology and Venereology in Copenhagen in 2015

His major interests include sexually transmitted diseases and leprosy. Dr. Adriana Polańska (Fig. 5) works at the Department of Dermatology and Venereology of Poznan University of Medical Sciences.

Figure 5. Dr. Adriana Polańska

She is a member of the Polish Dermatological Society and the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. She focuses on skin ultrasonography, capillaroscopy and other techniques allowing the assessment of barrier function of the skin. Besides noninvasive methods Dr. Adriana Polańska is interested in autoimmune connective tissue diseases and diseases with skin fibrosis as well as in venereology. I hope that the new board members will do everything they can to increase the readership and submission rate of our journal.

Adam Reich, Editor in Chief