CMAJ appoints ethical-issues editor

For the first time in its 89-year history, CMAJ will employ an editor who will assume responsibility for the journal's discussion of ethical issues. Dr. Peter Singer, the Sun Life chair in bioethics and director of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, joined the journal as a part-time associate editor in March. Singer, an internist who graduated from the U of T in 1984, is one of the country's best-known ethicists. A Medical Research Council of Canada scientist, he has published 100 peer-reviewed articles on medical ethics, particularly in the areas of organ transplantation, ethics education and end-of-life care, and he has an "evolving interest" in global issues surrounding bioethics. Dr. John Hoey, the editor-in-chief, said Singer has been a "series editor" at CMAJ for several years, having overseen a lengthy series of bioethics papers - Bioethics for Clinicians - that ran from 1996 to 1998. "We are now planning a new series that will include topics such as aboriginal bioethics, Islamic bioethics and the bioethics surrounding adverse drug reactions. In recognition of his role in producing this component of the journal, we are pleased that he accepted our invitation to join us as an associate editor." FIGURE