CMAJ welcomes new senior editor
===============================

* Roger Collier

*   © 2008 Canadian Medical Association

Winter dumped a near-record amount of snow on Ottawa, Ontario, and by late February 2008 most residents would have sooner donned a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey than seen another flake. But as far as Dr. Rajendra Kale was concerned, the more snow there was on the ground, the better. Of course, he had an excuse for his enthusiasm — it was his first Canadian winter.

![Figure1](http://www.cmaj.ca/https://www.cmaj.ca/content/cmaj/178/10/1269.1/F1.medium.gif)

[Figure1](http://www.cmaj.ca/content/178/10/1269.1/F1)

After arriving in Ottawa, Senior Deputy Editor Dr. Rajendra Kale was jokingly asked to pitch in to clear the *CMAJ* parking lot. Kale forwarded this photo to former colleagues at *BMJ*, where it was posted in the servery and comments invited, prompting one wit to inquire: “Have they demoted you already?” Image by: Wayne Kondro

“For me, there's a big novelty factor,” says Kale, a native of Mumbai, India, who joined *CMAJ* as Senior Deputy Editor on Feb. 28, 2008.

Kale is a former senior editor at the *BMJ*, one of the world's most widely read medical journals. He will contribute to all parts of *CMAJ* and hopes to increase the publication's international standing.

“*CMAJ* is a very good journal but doesn't get the exposure it deserves outside of Canada.”

Kale wore many hats during his years at the *BMJ*, overseeing various sections, including editorial, clinical review and practice. His experience will prove valuable to *CMAJ*, says Editor-in-Chief Dr. Paul Hébert.

“He's adding a truly experienced voice to the journal,” says Hébert. “We're really looking forward to working with him in making this a major international journal.”

After graduating from Grant Medical College in Mumbai, where he specialized in neurology, Kale completed a research fellowship in Dublin, Ireland. After returning to India, he practised as a neurologist in the city of Pune, located 150 kilometres east of Mumbai.

“I practised for several years, and somewhere along the line I became interested in medical journals,” says Kale.

In January 1994 he began a 1-year term as editorial registrar at the *BMJ*. His duties included writing articles, editing the letters section and providing critical appraisal of scientific papers. He returned to his Pune practice the following year, maintaining ties with the *BMJ* as a visiting editor. During his days off from practising, Kale contributed to publications for The International Bureau for Epilepsy and the International League Against Epilepsy. In 2001 he returned to the *BMJ*, as a senior clinical editor, where he remained until joining *CMAJ* this year. “The difficult part of this job will be to make a good journal better.”