International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care, February 2000 Journal
José M. Zuniga

Maintaining a quality publication in a competitive market is tough. Raising the quality is even tougher. Since 1995, the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (IAPAC) has published a monthly journal aimed at offering our members and non-member subscribers access to cutting-edge clinical and public policy information in a digestible format. In the past five years, the Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (Journal) has grown in international prominence, thanks in large measure to a talented and enthusiastic team of editors and authors.

As IAPAC undergoes an association-wide re-organization to better meet the evolving needs of a growing membership, one of the immediate goals is to re-tool our most visible educational vehicle--the Journal--to provide greater opportunities for professional development and, thus, ensure that patients benefit from care provided by healthcare professionals armed with the latest clinical information and, as important, informed about pressing public policy issues of our time.

While the Journal will continue to feature the comprehensive conference coverage and analysis that has attracted tens of thousands of readers each month, in the coming months our editorial staff will work to expand the publication to include, among several new innovations, a peer-review section of clinical experience papers (with an emphasis on papers from developing countries), HIV/AIDS-specific and -related abstracts from other peer-reviewed journals, and a classified ad section. Also this year IAPAC will be credited to afford continuing medical education (CME) credits through the Journal.

Helping to forge a new direction for the Journal is Richard Marlink, MD, who will became Editor-in-Chief effective March 1, 2000. A medical oncologist and hematologist, Dr. Marlink's research initially involved collaborative clinical trials of new anticancer agents and, subsequently, antivirals used in HIV infection. Part of the team that initially identified HIV-2, he became involved in laboratory research at the Harvard School of Public Health and in epidemiologic and clinical studies in Senegal, West Africa. There he helped coordinate studies concerning the clinical and biologic characteristics of both HIV-1 and HIV-2. In addition to serving in various teaching and clinical capacities, Dr. Marlink has directed an effort at the Harvard School of Public Health that provides laboratory training and support to investigations involving intravenous drug users in the United States and other populations in Mexico, Senegal, and Thailand.

In 1994, as executive director of the Harvard AIDS Institute, Dr. Marlink initiated a university-wide evaluation of the institute's mission and a restructuring of its programs. With the largest concentration of AIDS researchers in the nation represented among the Harvard-affiliated faculty, the Harvard AIDS Institute is partnering with institutions such as IAPAC to promote research to curb the HIV epidemic and to help those most affected by the epidemic, nationally and internationally. Dr. Marlink also helped spearhead a national re-evaluation of the US AIDS research agenda via a program called "The Madison Project." He is a participant on the US Public Health Service's "Panel on Clinical Practices for the Treatment of HIV Infection," which has produced the most recent clinical guidelines concerning antiviral treatment of HIV/AIDS for adults in the United States. In addition, Dr. Marlink is the principal investigator of the Enhancing Care Initiative, which has as its mission the creation of multi-disciplinary AIDS care teams in various developing countries to determine ways to enhance the clinical care of HIV-infected individuals.

I am also pleased to announce that Mark Mascolini, whose outstanding conference coverage and analysis is relied upon by countless physicians worldwide and will continue to be featured in our Journal, is now serving as Acting Managing Editor. We also continue to count on the dedication and talent of our award-winning graphic designer, Holly Emanuelson, and other Journal contributors who have been instrumental in creating a high-caliber publication worthy of a professional membership association. I am certain that together these individuals will help grow IAPAC's flagship publication and thus expand our ability to deliver timely and relevant information critical to the health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of patients living with HIV disease and its associated complications.

José M. Zuniga is executive director of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care.

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