Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

Current Opinion in Cardiology was launched in 1985. It is part of a successful series of review journals whose unique format is designed to provide a systematic and critical assessment of the literature as presented in the many primary journals. The field of cardiology is divided into 14 sections that are reviewed once a year. Each section is assigned a Section Editor, a leading authority in the area, who identifies the most important topics at that time. Here we are pleased to introduce the Journal's Editor and Section Editors for this issue. EDITOR Robert RobertsRobert RobertsDr Roberts is an Executive Director of the Heart and Vascular Institute for Dignity Health at St Joseph’ Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. He is Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona School of Medicine Phoenix and holds the Chair in ISCTR. He was the President and CEO of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Canada, (2004–2014) and the Founder and Director of The Ruddy Canadian Cardiovascular Genetics Centre, Canada. He received his M.D. from Dalhousie University, Canada, and completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in cardiology at the University of Toronto, Canada. Funded by a Canadian Heart Foundation Scholarship, he pursued research in heart disease at the University of California, USA, followed by a faculty position at Washington University and Director of the CCU at Barnes Hospital, St Louis, USA. In 1982 he became Chief of Cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, USA. Dr Roberts developed the MBCK Test, the standard used to diagnose heart attacks for three decades. Dr Roberts’ research led him to molecular biology and genetics, during which time he discovered many genes responsible for single gene disorders of the heart including FHCM, FDCM, atrial fibrillation, WPW and ARVG. In the past 10 years, he has pursued a major effort, which resulted in discovery of 9p21, the first genetic risk variant for CAD. In collaboration with an international consortium he has been involved with the discovery of over 100 genetic risk variants for CAD. Dr Roberts is generally regarded as one of the founders of molecular cardiology. He has been the Associate Editor of Hurst's the Heart for more than two decades and co-authored the section on Cardiovascular Genetics. He is Senior Guest Editor for JACC: Basic Translational Science and Section Editor for Genomics and Genetics for the parent journal, JACC. He is Associate Editor of Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine, authors Gene of the Month for Cardiology Today and is on the Editorial Board for multiple other cardiovascular journals. Dr Roberts has had a distinguished and prolific career as a Cardiologist, Educator and Scientist having published over 960 scientific articles. In recognition of his scientific contributions he was elected a Fellow of Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada in 2013, received the Distinguished Scientist Award of the American College of Cardiology in 1998 and the Award of Meritorious Achievement from the American Heart Association in 2001. He has received many other awards including the 2012 Research Achievement Award from the Canadian Cardiovascular Society; the 2012 Distinguished Fellowship Award from the International Academy of Cardiology; the McLaughlin Medal from the Royal Society of Canada; the Albrecht Fleckenstein Memorial Award from the International Academy of Cardiology in 2008; Citation for Highly Cited Researcher from ISI Thomson Scientific in 2002. SECTION EDITORS Wilber W. SuWilber W. SuDr Wilber W. Su is the Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology Banner-University Medical Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona, USA, as well as Stanford University Medical Center, USA. He has a biomedical engineering degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and received his training at Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minnesota, for medicine, cardiology, clinician investigator fellowship and cardiac electrophysiology. He has been a high-volume operator and has served as a training physician in both implantable cardiac devices and complex ablation, notably in atrial fibrillation. He is also active in research with multiple important clinical trials and is the national primary investigator for several research trials. He is recognized as a key opinion and thought leader around the world in cryoballoon ablation and has personally performed over 3000 cryoballoon ablation procedures for atrial fibrillation, the highest volume world-wide. He has also taught, presented, and published on various cryoballoon techniques. His latest publication highlights his leadership in the field of cryoballoon ablation, and is titled “Best Practice Guide for Cryoballoon Ablation in Atrial Fibrillation: The compilation experience of over 3000 Procedures” as well as “Best Practice Guide II-Focus on Dosing” and book chapters on Cryoballoon Ablation. He is also a member of the writing committee for the American Heart Association and Heart Rhythm Society national guidelines. Mitchell I. CohenMitchell I. CohenMitchell I. Cohen MD FACC FHRS is the current Co-Director of the Heart Center and Chief of Pediatric Cardiology at Inova Children's Hospital. Dr Cohen graduated from Temple University School of Medicine, USA, and then completed a pediatric internship, residency, cardiology fellowship, and subspecialty training in pediatric electrophysiology at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, USA. Dr Cohen remained on faculty at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA. In 2017, Dr Cohen relocated to Northern Virginia and became the Co-Director of the Heart Center and Chief of Pediatric Cardiology at Inova Children's Hospital. Dr Cohen's clinical and research interests address long-term outcomes of children with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices, genotype specific therapies for patients with channelopathies, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, and late arrhythmic outcomes in adults with congenital heart disease. Dr Cohen has lectured at over 280 national and international scientific meetings and has over 1000 published papers and book chapters. He has been a visiting professor at Primary Children's Hospital, Children's Mercy Hospital, and Duke Children's Hospital. Dr Cohen's advocacy interests extend to sudden cardiac death prevention and awareness for all high-school students. He is the Past-President of the Pediatric and Congenital Electrophysiology Society (PACES) and is a scientific advisor to the Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes Foundation (SADS). Dr Cohen served on the Scientific Clinical Documents Committee for the Heart Rhythm Society and been the lead or co-author on more than 5 nationally published guidelines by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. He is the current pediatric representative of the Clinical Arrhythmia Committee for the American College of Cardiology. He is the current pediatric program representative for the 2021 Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) scientific sessions and the Scientific Program Chair for the 2023 World Congress in Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery. Dr Cohen is board certified in pediatric cardiology and adult congenital heart disease. He is certified in electrophysiology, pacemakers, and defibrillators by the International Board of Heart Rhythm Examiners (IBHRE). Dr Cohen is currently Professor of Pediatrics at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine, USA.

Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy: Review of the Neuropsychiatric Manifestations and Cognitive Outcome

Current Opinion in Critical Care was launched in 1995. It is one of a successful series of review journals whose unique format is designed to provide a systematic and critical assessment of the literature as presented in the many primary journals. The field of critical care is divided into 13 sections that are reviewed once a year. Each section is assigned a Section Editor, a leading authority in the area, who identifies the most important topics at that time. Here we are pleased to introduce the journal's Editor and Section Editor for this issue. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jean-Louis VincentJean-Louis VincentDr Vincent is Professor of intensive care at the University of Brussels, Belgium, and Head of the Department of Intensive Care at the Erasme University Hospital in Brussels, Belgium. He earned his medical degree from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, with magna cum laude, with a specialty in Internal Medicine and Intensive Care Medicine. His training included two years of fellowship in critical care medicine at the University of Southern California, USA with Prof. Max Harry Weil. Dr Vincent has signed more than 700 original articles, more than 280 book chapters and review articles, and around 800 original abstracts. He has edited 86 books including 63 in his own series Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine and Yearbook in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine published by Springer-Verlag (Heidelberg, Berlin, New York). He is co-editor of the Textbook of Critical Care (Elsevier Saunders, 5th Edition). He has also written a French Manual of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Springer, France), and is the co-editor of the series Le point sur… (Springer, France). Dr Vincent is the editor-in-chief of Critical Care, Current Opinion in Critical Care, and ICU Management. He is member of the Editorial Boards of about 30 journals including Critical Care Medicine (senior editor), PLoS Medicine, Lancet Infectious Diseases, Intensive Care Medicine, Chest, Shock, and Journal of Critical Care. Dr Vincent is presently Secretary General of the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine. He is a Past-President of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the European Shock Society, and the Past-Chairman of the International Sepsis Forum. For 31 years he has organized an International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine which is held every March in Brussels. This symposium, which gathers 5,000 participants, has become one of the largest meetings in the field. He received the Foundation André Loicq award in 1986, the Foundation De Kerckheer award in 2000, the Distinguished Investigator award of the Society of Critical Care Medicine in 2001 and the College Medalist Award of the American College of Chest Physicians in 2003. He was the Recipient of the "Society Medal” (lifetime award) of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine in 2009 and he received “ Prix Scientifique Joseph Maison-Sciences biomédicales cliniques” (scientific award of the FRS-FNRS) in 2010. SECTION EDITOR Arthur P. WheelerArthur P. WheelerArthur Wheeler is a Professor in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Vanderbilt University, USA, and serves as the Director of the Vanderbilt ICU. He is a graduate of the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine, USA, then completed training programs in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care at Vanderbilt University. Dr Wheeler's research interest in severe sepsis, acute lung injury and thromboembolic disease has resulted in more than 100 publications. He is also the co-author of a successful textbook of Critical Care Medicine now in its fourth edition. He has delivered hundreds of national and international lectures and is the recipient of numerous teaching awards. Most recently Dr Wheeler has been developing and testing the effectiveness of alternative care delivery models in critical care including the use of nurse practitioners.

The column in this issue is supplied by Anita Shah, M.D., and Juan Jose Olivero, M.D. Dr. Shah is a first-year nephrology fellow at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She earned her medical degree from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and completed an internal medicine residency at Houston Methodist Hospital. Dr. Olivero is a nephrologist at Houston Methodist Hospital and a member of the hospital's Nephrology Training Program. He obtained his medical degree from the University of San Carlos School of Medicine in Guatemala, Central America, and completed his residency and nephrology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

Current Opinion in Ophthalmology was launched in 1990. It is one of a successful series of review journals whose unique format is designed to provide a systematic and critical assessment of the literature as presented in the many primary journals. The field of Ophthalmology is divided into nine sections that are reviewed once a year. Each section is assigned a Section Editor, a leading authority in the area, who identifies the most important topics at that time. Here we are pleased to introduce the Journal's Section Editors for this issue. SECTION EDITORS Alex V. LevinAlex V. LevinDr Levin is the Chief of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Ocular Genetics at Wills Eye Institute, Philadelphia, USA. After graduating from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA, and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, USA, Dr Levin completed a pediatric residency at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, USA and continued on there as a staff child abuse pediatrician. He then completed an ophthalmology residency at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. This was followed by a pediatric ophthalmology fellowship at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada, where he continued as a staff ophthalmologist and Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Genetics and Ophthalmology and Vision Science at the University of Toronto, Canada, for over 16 years. He was the Director of the Pediatric Ophthalmology Fellowship program and Co-Director of their Ocular Genetics program. He completed a MHSc in Bioethics at the University of Toronto and was the university's Director of Postgraduate Bioethics Education. In 2008 he relocated back to Wills where he is also Professor of Ophthalmology and Pediatrics. He holds US Board certification in pediatrics, ophthalmology, and child abuse pediatrics. Dr Levin has a long-standing interest in ocular manifestations of child abuse, pediatric cataract, pediatric glaucoma, ocular genetics and the ophthalmic manifestations of pediatric systemic disease. Richard C. AllenRichard C. AllenRichard C. Allen MD PhD attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina USA and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a BS in Chemistry where he received the Departmental Award in Chemistry. He was accepted into the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas USA where he received his MD and PhD degrees. His dissertation was under the direction of John W. Belmont MD PhD in the Dept. of Human and Molecular Genetics. His dissertation “Molecular Genetics of X-linked Immunodeficiencies Affecting B Lymphocyte Function” was awarded the Sigma Xi Thesis Excellence Award. Other awards included first place for basic sciences for the MSTP class entering 1987 and the Medical Student Research Award from the Society of Pediatric Research. Dr Allen completed an internship in Internal Medicine at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA and residency in ophthalmology at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa, USA. Under the mentorship of Edwin M. Stone MD PhD and Thomas A. Oetting MD MS, he completed a fellowship in molecular ophthalmology and comprehensive ophthalmology at the University of Iowa. In 2000, Dr Allen joined the faculty in the Dept. of Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine where he was Chief of the Ophthalmology Service at Ben Taub General Hospital. In 2002, he joined the faculty in the Division of Ophthalmology, Dept. of Surgery at the University of New Mexico, School of Medicine. From 2004 to 2006, he completed additional fellowship training in oculoplastic surgery at the University of Iowa under the direction of Jeffrey A. Nerad MD and Keith D. Carter MD, sponsored by the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS). In 2006, Dr Allen returned to New Mexico where he rejoined the faculty at the University of New Mexico and also built a substantial oculoplastics practice at Eye Associates of New Mexico. Upon the departure of Dr Jeffrey Nerad from the University of Iowa in 2009, Dr Allen returned to Iowa City where he is currently an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and the Dept. of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. His practice is limited to ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery. Dr Allen is a member of ASOPRS and the American Eye Study Group, among others. He has published numerous peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. He is a reviewer for multiple medical journals and is a member of committees in ASOPRS, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), and the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO). He is an active lecturer for many universities, hospitals, and medical societies worldwide. His research interests include genetic diseases of the eyelids, orbit, and lacrimal system. He lives in Iowa City with his wife Missy, son Gus, and daughter Sophie.

Successful Integration of Advanced Practice Providers Into a Pediatric Academic Community Intensive Care Unit

For this issue of Clinics, I am very pleased to have two coeditors who represent different facets of a successful colorectal surgery practice. Dr. Harry T. Papaconstantinou is Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the Scott and White Memorial Hospital and Clinic in Temple, TX. Harry was born in Oak Ridge, TN and received an M.D. degree from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. His general surgery training was conducted at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, OH, and included 2 years of research at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. He then performed a fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN. After his fellowship, he joined the staff at the University of Texas in Dallas. Harry recently moved to the Scott and White Clinic, in Temple, to become the Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery. He is board certified in general and colon and rectal surgery. In his short career, Dr. Papaconstantinou has published 19 peer-reviewed articles and nine book chapters on colorectal subjects, and he is a member of multiple medical societies. Dr. Papaconstantinou maintains a very busy academic and clinical practice. He is an active researcher but still finds time to educate medical students, surgical residents, and colorectal fellows. Harry and his wife, Susan M. Pike, M.D., who is a plastic surgeon, live in Georgetown, TX. When not working, Harry enjoys traveling, gardening, cooking, wine tasting, and spending time with his wife, Susan, and dog Beau. Dr. H. David Vargas is a colon and rectal surgeon in private practice in Chesapeake, VA. Dave was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and received an M.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He did an internship in family practice at Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA, had an epiphany, and then switched to general surgery training at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, PA. He then completed a fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, LA. After his fellowship, he went into practice for 2 years in Allentown and then moved to a multispecialty group in Norfolk, VA. In 2004, he joined his cousin Ray Ramirez in a new colorectal surgery group in Hampton, VA and serves as the director of the Colon and Rectal Surgery Program at Sentara Careplex Hospital in Hampton. He is board certified in general and colon and rectal surgery. David has a busy clinical practice in which laparoscopic surgery and many difficult referral patients constitute a significant portion. He teaches hand-assisted laparoscopy on a regular basis and has produced multiple contributions to our literature. He is an active member of several surgical societies and is a fellow of the college and the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS). He also serves on several major committees of the ASCRS. His experience in several varied practices gives him a unique perspective on many of the issues discussed in this issue of Clinics. Dave and his wife, Mercedes, and their three children, Gabriella, Luke, and Marco, live in Suffolk, VA. When not working, Dave enjoys salt water fishing, coaching his daughter in soccer, and trying to maintain a reasonable body weight while enjoying his wife's spectacular cooking. On behalf of the readers and staff of Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery, I thank Drs. Papaconstantinou and Vargas for serving as Guest Editors and for providing us with an interesting collection of articles on career development in colon and rectal surgery.

PCCM at the Battlefront Against COVID-19 in Wuhan, China

Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology was launched in 2001. It is one of a successful series of review journals whose unique format is designed to provide a systematic and critical assessment of the literature as presented in the many primary journals. The fields of allergy and clinical immunology are divided into 14 sections that are reviewed once a year. Each section is assigned a Section Editor, a leading authority in the area, who identifies the most important topics at that time. Here we are pleased to introduce the Journal's Editors and Section Editors for this issue. EDITORS Mark BallowMark BallowDr Mark Ballow received his MD from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, USA. After a pediatric residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital, USA, he completed an immunology fellowship at the University of Minnesota Hospitals, USA. He was the Chief of Clinical and Experimental Immunology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, USA. He was then appointed as Chief of the Division of Clinical Immunology in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut, USA from 1975 to 1988, and became Chief of the Division of Allergy/Clinical Immunology and Pediatric Rheumatology, and Program Director of the Allergy/Immunology fellowship program at The Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo, State University of New York at Buffalo, USA from 1988 to 2012. He is presently Training Program Director of the Allergy/Immunology Fellowship program at University of South Florida, Allergy & Immunology Division at All Children's Hospital in St Petersburg, FL. Dr Ballow is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, American Board of Allergy & Immunology (ABAI), and in Clinical Laboratory Immunology. He was on the Board of Directors of the ABAI from 1992–1998. He has served on four editorial boards including the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (1984–1989; 1995–2000), and is an Ad Hoc reviewer for a number of pediatric, allergy and immunology journals. He has recently been appointed to the editorial board of Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. Dr Ballow has served as an ad hoc member of several NIH study sections, and was a member of the committee that published the first Allergy and Immunology Medical Knowledge Self Assessment Program (MK-SAP), and was a member of the new 3rd edition AI-MK-SAP. Dr Ballow is a Fellow of the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology, and has served on the Board of Directors of the Academy (1996–1999), and has chaired the A/I Training Program Directors, Basic Clinical immunology Interest Section, and the Post-graduate Education Program. He was President of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in 2010–2011. Dr Ballow is a member of the Clinical Immunology Society, the Florida Allergy Society, and the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. He also has served on the Blood Product Advisory Committee of the FDA. Dr Ballow's major clinical interests include chronic sinusitis, primary immune deficiency disorders, and the uses and mechanisms of action of Intravenous Immune Globulin (IGIV). His research interests include the immunology of the newborn infant and the immunoregulatory effects of IVIG, Vitamin A and retinoic acid. G. Walter CanonicaG. Walter CanonicaProfessor Giorgio Walter Canonica is Director of the Allergy & Respiratory Diseases Clinic, Genoa University, Italy, a GALEN Centre of Excellence. Professor Canonica first specialised in pulmonary diseases after having received his medical degree from the University of Genoa, Italy. He then specialised in Allergy and Clinical Immunology at Florence University, Italy. He subsequently conducted clinical immunology and allergology research in several European universities and institutes, in addition to two years at the Medical University of South Carolina, USA. Since returning to the University of Genoa in 1995, Professor Canonica has held a number of academic positions including Director of the Speciality School of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Director of the Specialty School of Pulmonary Diseases and Chairman of Chairman of the Dept of Medical Specialties (University Hospital S. Martino Genoa, Italy). He is Board Member of ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis and its impact Asthma) guidelines) and GALEN (Global Allergy and Asthma European Network). Professor Canonica's research interests include examination of the molecular events and interactions between immunocompetent cells, inflammatory cells and epithelial cells in allergic inflammation and airway remodelling. He is particularly involved in new strategies in the treatment of allergic disease, including biological response modifiers, such as specific immunotherapy (with a special focus on SLIT – sublingual immunotherapy - and Severe Asthma treatment with biologics). Professor Canonica has published extensively in international journals and acts as a referee of many immunology journals. In addition, Professor Canonica is a member of a number of societies, he was President of World Allergy Organization 2008/09. He is also currently President of Global Asthma Association - Interasma. He was President of SIMeR (Italian Society of Respiratory Medicine) 2000–2003 and he is Honorary President of this same Society since 2007. He is currently President of SIAAIC Italian Society of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology (2014–2017). SECTION EDITORS Ruby PawankarRuby PawankarProf. Ruby Pawankar MD, PhD, FRCP (UK), FAAAAI is currently the Immediate Past President of the World Allergy Organization (WAO) and was WAO President from January 2012 to December 2013, after serving as a member of the Board of Directors since 2001, as Treasurer 2008–2009 and as President-Elect 2010–2011. She is currently also the President of the Indian Academy of Allergy. She is Professor of Allergy in the Department of Pediatrics at Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan, and Guest Professor at the Kyung Hee University School of Medicine in Seoul, Korea and the Showa University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan. After graduating in medicine from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, India, Prof. Pawankar did her residency and post-graduation from BJ Medical College, Pune, India. Thereafter, she trained in Allergy & Clinical Immunology at the Nippon Medical School and Juntendo University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan from where she obtained her doctorate. Prof. Pawankar serves on numerous committees and boards of many academic organizations and grant reviews, is a Member/Fellow of organizations including the Collegium International Allergolicum, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the American College of Allergy and Immunology, the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and the Japanese Society of Allergology. She has delivered several orations/named lectures nationally and internationally including the SK Malik Oration and DN Shivpuri Oration. She is a recipient of many academic awards including the World Achievement Award in Allergy from Thailand; the International Distinguished Fellow Award from the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology; and especially the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award from the President of India for excellence in medicine. Prof. Pawankar's research has focused on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of allergy, immune cells like mast cells and T cells, epithelial cell-immune cell interactions, novel roles of IgE, mast cell-IgE cascade, environmental pollution, immunotherapy and novel therapies for respiratory allergies. In 1995, she was the first to report on the increased presence and role of gamma delta T cells in allergic rhinitis. In 1997, she was among the first to show that mast cells in perennial allergic rhinitis exhibit increased expression of the IgE receptor as well as being a major source of the obligatory pro- allergic Th2 cytokines interleukin IL-4, and IL-13 capable of driving local allergen-specific IgE synthesis by B lymphocytes and has formed the basis of the successful therapeutic targeting of these cytokines with biological therapeutics. Her research and educational activities have been strongly translational as it applies to clinical science. This has resulted in 411 publications including peer-reviewed original articles in: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Immunology, Blood, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Allergy, Clinical & Experimental Allergy, International Archives of Allergy and Immunology, Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology etc, and invited reviews and book chapters. She is an Editor/ Associate Editor of peer-reviewed journals such as: International Archives of Allergy, Clinical Experimental Immunology, Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology etc., and books including the 6 volume book ‘Allergy Frontiers’, the WAO White Book on Allergy, Update on Respiratory Disorders, and is a co-author of several consensus documents. She has mentored over 30 fellows from Japan and abroad. Prof. Pawankar has chaired as President and organized several international congresses including: the 10th Trans Pacific Allergy Congress in Mumbai, India; the first and the Middle East Allergy Congress, in 2009 and 2011 respectively; the WAO International Scientific Conference (WISC) 2012, India; the World Allergy Asthma Congress 2013, Milan, Italy, as well as several educational programs and has been a visiting faculty to lecture at several institutions such as Harvard Medical School, USA; the University of Wisconsin, USA; Imperial College, London, UK; Catholic University, Argentina; the University of Sao Paolo, Brazil and Mahidol University, Thailand. At an organizational level, her vision is to create a channel of dialogue with all stakeholders to address the unmet global public health issue of asthma and allergies in the context of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) via an integrated approach that could lead to increased resources for research, improved patient care, better health care delivery, and preventative strategies. David P. SkonerDavid P. SkonerDr David P. Skoner is Director of the Division of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology in the Department of Medicine of Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He is also Professor of Medicine at the Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, West Virginia University School of Medicine, USA. Previously, he was Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, USA and has served as the Chief of the Section of Allergy/Immunology and Director of the Allergy and Immunology Training Program at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, USA. Dr Skoner received his BS degree from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, USA and his MD degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He served his residency in general pediatrics at Children's Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, and he completed his fellowship in allergy/immunology at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. His current research interests include the relationships between respiratory viruses, asthma, immunity, and stress; the relationship between viral and allergen-induced nasal inflammation and middle ear disease; and the efficacy and safety (HPA axis function and growth in children) of inhaled and intranasal steroids. Dr Skoner has received NIH funding and written more than 100 articles and given more than 200 presentations on respiratory disease. His articles and abstracts have been published in many leading journals, including Pediatrics, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Pediatric Research, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, and American Review of Respiratory Disease. Dr Skoner serves on the editorial advisory boards of the journals Current Allergy and Asthma Reports, and Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and previously served on the editorial board of the American Journal of Rhinology. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the Society of Pediatric Research, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, and the American Pediatric Society. He has been recognized as one of America's ‘Top Doctors’ (Pediatric Allergy & Immunology, Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.) from 2001 to 2014, as one of the Most Influential Doctors by USA TODAY (http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/most-influential-doctors.htm), and as a U.S. News Top Doctor (www.usnews.com/top-doctors). He was invited to join the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA) Pediatric Asthma Therapeutics Group convened by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dr Skoner co-founded the Nemacolin Asthma Conference (www.ahn.org/nemacolin-asthma), a continuing medical education (CME) program that attracts a national and an international audience and faculty, now in its ninth year. He also founded and is the President of ‘For Your Good Health’ (www.fygh.org), a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation that brings together asthma stakeholders in the development and implementation of state-of the-art programs to educate children with asthma and their caregivers about the disease and its management. The aim of these programs is to reduce asthma's impact on patients, caregivers, the community, and the healthcare system by helping the patients to lead near-normal lives. He also serves on the board of the non-profit Greater Pittsburgh Allergy Asthma and Immunology Society (GPAAIS), which serves to educate and inform physicians and other health care providers. Dr Skoner was selected as a finalist in the category of ‘Health Care Provider: Physician’ for the 2013 Pittsburgh Business Times Health Care Heroes Awards. J. Andrew GrantJ. Andrew GrantDr Grant is a native of Florida and received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University, USA, in biochemical sciences. After attending Duke Medical School, USA, he did a residency in internal medicine at New York Hospital – Cornell Medical Center in New York City, USA. He did a fellowship in immunology with Leroy Hood at the National Institutes of Health and an allergy-immunology clinical fellowship at Johns Hopkins University, USA, with Phillip Norman and Lawrence Lichtenstein. In 1973, he established the first basic and clinical research program in allergy in Texas at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, USA. Presently he is Clinical Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology-Immunology and training program Director in Allergy-Immunology at that institution. He has served as Division Director and Vice Chair for Research within the Department of Internal Medicine. He vacations during the summer months in Colorado and has been appointed Clinical Professor at University of Colorado Medical School, USA. Dr Grant has been an active member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology for over four decades. His contributions to this organization include chairing the Program Directors Assembly, Mechanisms of Allergy Interest Section, Postgraduate Education Committee, Scientific Workshops and Exhibits Committee, and Immunotherapy Committee. He served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. He founded In-training Examination for Allergy-Immunology postdoctoral fellows, the first subspecialty exam of its type. Dr Grant served as President of the Texas Allergy Asthma and Immunology Society and a Director of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology, and a member of the Residency Review Committee for Allergy and Immunology. He chaired the Pulmonary Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee of the Food and Drugs Administration and currently is a member of the Allergenic Products Advisory Committee. He was a visiting professor at the National Heart and Lung Institute with Professor Barry Kay in 1994. Dr Grant's research interests have included mechanisms of cellular activation especially the role of chemokines and novel therapies for allergic disorders. Currently he is emphasizing management of difficult patients with urticaria and angioedema. He has authored over 190 publications and chapters and 175 presentations at national and international meetings. Peter Howarth Professor Peter Howarth is Professor of Allergy and Respiratory Medicine and Honorary Consultant Physician within Medicine at the University of Southampton with a clinical and research focus on asthma, particularly severe asthma, and allergy. Professor Howarth has supervised over 20 PhD and DM students (scientists and clinicians) and his research involves Local, National and International collaboration. He has participated in EU funded collaborative programmes, such as BIOAIR and GA2LEN, focusing respectively on severe asthma and allergic diseases, and is joint work package 4 lead for UBIOPRED, the EU/EFPIA funded IMI programme on severe asthma. Professor Howarth has published over 200 peer reviewed papers and lectured extensively at National and International specialist society meetings as an invited speaker. Professor Howarth has contributed to National, European and International (World Health Organisation) guidelines on the management of rhinitis and asthma. He has been on the council of The British Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, advisor on allergy to Asthma UK and has been chairman of the board of trustees of Allergy UK. He is currently President of Allergy UK and a trustee of AAIR.

COUNTERPOINT: Should Interventional Pulmonology Be Given American Board of Internal Medicine Subspecialty Status? No

Lu and Dr Ronald DePinho led to the identification of prostate cancer-driver genes using high-throughput functional genomics.

On May 31 this year, James Watson received the DNA sequence of his full genome in a ceremony at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston (TX, USA). It marked the end of a two‐month project by 454 Life Sciences, a biotech company in Branford (CT, USA) specializing in DNA sequencing, which generated the raw data from a blood sample given by Watson. Baylor College then verified whether the sequence encompassed the entire genome and, on July 6, Watson posted his genome—excluding a portion including the ApoE gene, which he had asked to be redacted—online at the GenBank database maintained by the US National Center for Biology Information (Bethesda, MD, USA). Watson, the co‐discoverer of the double helical structure of DNA and the father of the Human Genome Project, must have expected to be the first person to make his genome publicly available. He was not. Nine days earlier, on June 27, J. Craig Venter, the inventor of the ‘shot‐gun’ sequencing strategy, who once acknowledged a love–hate relationship with his former boss Watson, had posted his own complete genome online prior to a publication (Levy et al , 2007). There was no official race between Venter and Watson to be the first. The timing of the publications of their genomes was the result of two unrelated projects. But what is the rationale for making the genome data of noted geneticists publicly available in the first place? Is it pure scientific research or genetic exhibitionism? Or has science finally embraced celebrity culture? The media hoopla surrounding the sequencing of Watson's genome has already had some commentators worrying that genome sequencing could become the next must‐have for the rich and privileged (Check, 2007). However, beyond the publicity, it is only a matter of time until genome sequencing will be affordable for most …

Secular Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Efficacy and Neurobiology.