This month, there are some BSH news items to share with you.
Firstly, at the end of the year, we say goodbye to John Barrett after six years as Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Haematology (BJHaem). We thank John for modernising the journal, establishing new structures and support, including a large team of associate editors and international connections, and introducing new initiatives and ideas for content. He expanded the scope across the whole of haemato-oncology and medical haematology. These measures have provided a good foundation for the journal to develop further and continue its global importance.
We also say goodbye to Lorna Wycherley, the Editorial Assistant for the BJHaem. Lorna has worked tirelessly to maintain a high pace of turnaround of manuscripts and editorial decisions and has built up an international network of academics, enhancing our journal and readers. Her cheerful and familiar style always made it impossible to decline a manuscript review, no matter how little time one had to spare! The editorial team have established a donation site to contribute to a thank-you gift for her 28 years of uninterrupted service.
We will miss them both! If you wish to leave a thank-you message, please email Claire Dowbekin.
The editorial team is committed to ensuring a smooth handover. I’m delighted to introduce our two new Editors-in-Chief (EiC) appointed by the BSH and John Wiley Publishers.
Andrew Evens will become EiC for the BJHaem. Andrew has been on the editorial board of our journals since 2012 and, for the last five years, has been EiC of eJHaem, the Gold Open Access journal launched by BSH and Wiley in 2020. Andrew is the System Director of Medical Oncology for the RWJBarnabas Health System, New Jersey, and has a particular focus on lymphoid malignancies.
Dr Phil Scheinberg will take over as EiC of eJHaem, having been an associate editor for the BJHaem since 2019. He is Chief of Haematology at the Hospital A Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paolo, Brazil. Phil’s primary research focus is on bone marrow failure syndromes.
They take up their roles on 1 January 2025. Well, 2 January. Let’s give them a day to recover from the New Year’s celebrations! There will be a chance to meet them at the Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) in Glasgow, and of course, the popular journals’ session will be held again this time.
The ASM is going to be awesome! We have excellent sessional and plenary speakers lined up. Lord O’Shaughnessy will be speaking at the Presidential session on the future of healthcare research, followed by the BSH medal lecture from Professor Paul Moss, presenting some of his outstanding contributions to translational immunohaematology research. New ideas are under discussion to ensure enjoyment and interest for the wider haematology community.
We encourage you to travel to Glasgow via the most sustainable transport available - and to book early! COP29 took place earlier this month in Baku, Azerbaijan, with high-income countries pledging a greater amount to help low-income countries fight climate change. It’s a reminder that only through collaboration and commitment can we ensure a sustainable future for all.
The BSH’s sustainability agenda includes targets to achieve by 2026 across environmental responsibility, governance, compliance and operations, and income diversification. As part of our strategy, we’ll commission a green audit to measure our environmental impact and be accountable by producing an annual environmental responsibility report. We will share the results with you.
On a broader front, we need to be mindful of the environmental impact of our haematology practice, as outlined by Stephen Hibbs and colleagues in their Lancet article.
In other news, applications are now open for Cohort 4 of the BSH/NHS Clinical AI Fellowship. Find out more and apply via the CSC website.
The Crucible Prize, the Student Communication Prize and the Early Careers Achievement and Undergraduate Achievement Award are also open for submissions.
We've also recently joined Blue Sky and Threads. Follow us!
And a reminder to have your say in the Change NHS consultation. The more references to haematology, the greater the chance we stand out. We’d be interested to know the themes our members are raising. If you’d like to share them with us, email us at [email protected].