AJNR Welcomes New Editor

Robert D. Zimmerman

doi:10.3174/ajnr.A0778

Mauricio Castillo has been named Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Neuroradiology. He replaces Robert Grossman, who stepped down to devote time to his new position as Dean of the School of Medicine and Chief Executive Officer of the NYU Hospitals. The American Society of Neuroradiology is extremely grateful to Dr. Grossman for his efforts to improve the quality of the Journal. We wish him the best in his new endeavor.

Following Dr. Grossman’s resignation, I was asked as the Chair of the Publications Committee to form an ad hoc Editor-in-Chief selection committee. This consisted of myself, the Senior Editors of AJNR with the exception of Dr. Castillo, and David Yousem, President-Elect of ASNR. Dr. Grossman and Eric Russell (the Chair of the previous selection committee) acted as consultants. Applications were obtained from several highly qualified members of the Society. The applicants submitted their CVs and vision statements for the Journal and were interviewed at the Annual Meeting in Chicago. The final decision was a difficult one because of the quality of the candidates and their shared vision for the future of AJNR.

Dr. Castillo was chosen because of his academic accomplishments, long experience as an editor for AJNR, and knowledge of many of the technical aspects of scientific journal publication. He received his medical degree from the University of San Carlos School of Medicine in Guatemala in 1983 and completed a diagnostic radiology residency at the University of Miami in 1988 and a fellowship in neuroradiology at Emory University in 1990. After completion of his training and a short time spent at the University of Texas in Houston, he took a position at the University of North Carolina in 1990 where he is currently Professor of Radiology and Chief of Neuroradiology. During his extraordinarily productive academic career, Dr. Castillo has been the author of 270 peer-reviewed publications, 13 books, 66 book chapters, and 154 invited articles. This academic output has covered the entire range of neuroradiology practice including adult and pediatric brain, spine, and head and neck imaging.

He has had extensive editorial experience, having served as a peer reviewer for 27 journals and on the editorial board of 6 journals including the American Journal of Radiology where he was the Associate Editor for neuroradiology. Dr. Castillo has worked on the American Journal of Neuroradiology for more than 15 years, first as a Deputy Editor from 1995 through 1997 and then as a member of the Editorial Board from 1998 through 2006, at which point he was named a Senior Editor. The 3 Editors-in-Chief he worked with all provided unsolicited recommendations of him to the selection committee.

Dr. Castillo takes over the leadership of the Journal at a critical time for AJNR, ASNR, and individual neuroradiologists. We are being challenged by other specialists who believe they are better equipped to use neuroimaging as an investigative tool, interpret clinical neuroimaging examinations, and perform diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. When he became Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Grossman recognized that in order for the Journal to remain a major venue for scientific neuroimaging papers it would have to publish only those manuscripts that were of scientific merit and in the shortest period of time. Also, in order for the Journal to be of value to practicing neuroradiologists it would have to provide timely reviews of clinically important topics.

In his position as Senior Editor, Dr. Castillo was deeply involved in the initiatives begun by Dr. Grossman and his selection as Editor-in-Chief will ensure that these efforts will continue without interruption. In his mission statement, he emphasized the importance of transitioning the Journal from a print to an electronic format and he is extremely conversant in the challenges and rewards associated with rapid turnaround of reviews and early electronic dissemination of accepted manuscripts.

The members of the selection committee are confident that Dr. Castillo possesses the combination of skills, knowledge, and energy needed to lead the Journal.