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It is with a great level of commitment and energy that we, the Editorial Board, accept the responsibilities of the Heart and Circulatory Physiology section of the American Journal of Physiology. Dr. Harris Granger and his Associate Editors have established a tradition of excellence from which we can grow into the next millennium. Our role is to build on this base. Toward this end, the Journal will embark on a number of new initiatives to expand its scope and optimize its usefulness to our readership in a way that enhances the impact of the American Physiological Society within the scientific community. The Associate Editors and I met in Bethesda in October 1998 to discuss the mission and structure of the Journal under its new leadership. Below are some of the topics discussed and changes recommended.

The most notable change will be the establishment of a Board of Medical Editors. The charge to this board will be to contribute editorials on the clinical impact of selected manuscripts grouped around specific mechanistic themes. The goal of these editorials is to enhance the Journal's impact in the clinical arena and to serve as a tool in designing clinically relevant experimental protocols. Initially, the themes selected will be based on manuscripts accepted for publication; however, from time to time there will be a call for manuscripts on topics related to cardiovascular control, which will be published under separate headings. We hope that as a consequence of these editorials, a portion of the manuscripts submitted to this journal will translate basic science data into clinical applications aimed at treating cardiovascular disease.

Another change will be the elimination of headings that group manuscripts under cardiac, vascular, and integrative topics. These will be replaced by specific mechanistic headings (i.e., mechanisms of cell-to-cell coupling, signal transduction, apoptosis, angiogenesis, etc.), which will change from issue to issue. The topics to be highlighted will be selected from input of the Associate Editors and the Editorial Board at large. Similarly, invited reviews and tutorials will be solicited based on input from the Editorial Board with the goal of enhancing the usefulness of the Journal as a tool to stay current.

The last major addition to the Journal will be the inclusion of editorials periodically from Dr. Claude Lenfant, Director, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. In a recent letter to me from Dr. Lenfant, he stated "We appreciate the opportunity to work with the Society and look forward to this new partnership." The purpose of these editorials is to open a dialog among the NIH, NHLBI, and the readership of AJP: Heart and Circulatory Physiology. It is too early to determine the direction such dialog will take; however, our hope is that it will enable the readership to define the priorities of NIH and, in turn, provide input in establishing these priorities.

From a personal perspective, I am totally committed to the American Physiological Society and to the continuing advancement of this outstanding Journal. The only way we can make AJP: Heart and Circulatory Physiology the premier cardiovascular journal in the world is by convincing investigators to send their best work to our Journal and by maintaining the highest possible levels of scientific excellence in the articles that are published. Toward this goal, I am delighted that some of the most noted scientists in their areas of research have accepted the responsibility to serve as Associate Editors. Convincing investigators to send their best work to AJP: Heart and Circulatory Physiology begins with a timely and fair review. Editorial Board members and reviewers must take their responsibility seriously by reviewing manuscripts based on the contribution to science, originality, and content. The Associate Editors and I are committed to accepting only those manuscripts that make a contribution to our base of knowledge in any given discipline. To understand normal physiology and what has gone wrong in disease, we must examine phenomena from a variety of perspectives and points of view. Defining mechanisms at all levels of function ranging from the cellular, molecular, whole organ, and animal levels are necessary to understand organismal function and dysfunction. We encourage submission of studies over this broad range of investigation. AJP: Heart and Circulatory Physiology will present the best format in which to define normal cardiovascular physiology and what has gone wrong in cardiovascular disease.