- © 2007 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors
CMAJ has revitalized its research focus with the appointment of a deputy editor for scientific content. Dr. Matthew Stanbrook, an assistant professor, researcher and specialist in respirology at the Toronto Western Hospital, will oversee reviews and research — including his own.
“The idea is to shape and build this core component of the journal,” says Stanbrook, who is also an assistant professor of Medicine and Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. This includes encouraging publication of more randomized trials and increasing the quality of research and its relevancy to readers.
“We are very fortunate to have someone of Matthew's calibre join our team,” says CMAJ Editor-in-Chief Dr. Paul Hébert. “He will substantially enhance the science we publish.”
The move to CMAJ is a natural progression for Stanbrook whose long-time passion for publications began with the University of Toronto Medical Journal, where he was associate editor in 1992 and then editor-in-chief. “I got the bug early on,” he laughs
After completing residencies in internal medicine and respirology at the University of Toronto, Stanbrook began a doctorate in clinical epidemiology. He asked respirologist Dr. Jeff Drazen, editor-in-chief at the New England Journal of Medicine, to take him on for a year so could look at the ways medical journals influence knowledge translation and research. For Stanbrook, Drazen created the editorial fellowship, a position that continues today.
At the time Stanbrook assumed his position at CMAJ on Feb. 19, he was a peer reviewer for 5 journals, an editorial board member of Clinical and Investigative Medicine and an associate editor of ACP Journal Club. He has nearly 40 publication credits to his name and has received several awards and scholarships, including the University of Toronto's respirology teaching award (2004).
His new position with CMAJ is an opportunity to “expand on my thesis and look at how medical journals influence patient outcomes.”
Stanbrook will be looking at ways of presenting information, such as Web casts, that bolster its relevancy to Canadian and international readers.
Data show that CMAJ is increasingly used internationally, a trend that is bound to continue as it is now the world's leading open-access, general medical journal. “We are open to the world through open access and the world is coming to us,” says Stanbrook. “It's absolutely vital that we remain open access.”
The Internet has revolutionized how we present science, he explains, citing examples such as preprints online and online-only journals like PLoS Medicine. “It's a time of transition for everyone. It's like science on speed.”
To stay connected to practice, Stanbrook, like Hébert, will devote about a day a week to patient care. Stanbrook, 37, is married to general internist, Dr. Nadine Abdullah.