From the Editor's Desk

With this issue we welcome Dr. Jim Vaught as the new Editor-in-Chief of Biopreservation and Biobanking. Jim is well known in the biobanking community for his dedication and expertise in the field and as Deputy Director of the Office of Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research at NIH's National Cancer Institute. Jim has served as an innovative Associate Editor for the journal and is a Past President of ISBER. I am pleased to pass the proverbial baton to a most qualified individual and hope that each of our readers will extend their support both personally and with the submission of a manuscript. One of Jim's first changes is to bring on two Associate Editors, Dr. Allison Hubel of the University of Minnesota and Peter Watson of the British Columbia Cancer Agency, a very competent team.

I might be expected to express some degree of remorse in retiring from the editorship, but I am actually pleased that our successes over the past decade will no doubt be magnified by this new leadership. When we founded the journal ten-years ago, first as Cell Preservation Technology, which morphed into Biopreservation and Biobanking, I held the view that an Editor-in-Chief ought to step aside after a period of seven to ten years to make way for the next generation. I am holding true to that position.

The continued success of Biopreservation and Biobanking is due to the dedication and hard work of many. Our Editorial Board members have provided prompt, quality reviews. Our contributors have submitted a diverse array of manuscripts, brief reports, and commentaries that address leading issues in both the science and practice of biobanking. My special thanks are extended to the journal's long-time Editorial Assistant, Sheryl Nale. Sheryl has been dedicated and provided exemplary service to the Journal as have the various individuals in the offices of the publisher. It has been my pleasure to serve as founding Editor-in-Chief, and I offer the journal and its new management team best wishes for future success.