Kindling the Fire

It is my great pleasure to present a commentary on Nucleic Acid Therapeutics as 2014 comes to a close. Firstly, I must thank our contributing authors. As our regular authors will confirm, we have a rapid review time, with an average first decision time of 21 days. This combined with the healthy jump in our impact factor and our willingness to promote our authors' papers with global press releases and e-promotions affirms our position as a key outlet for researchers using nucleic acids as therapeutic agents or in modifying nucleic acids for therapeutic purposes. Secondly, I must thank our readers! Our readership in 170 countries and 3,500 full-text downloads per month confirms that our “footprint” continues to grow with the quality of the work we are privileged to share with the clinical research community. In collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. provides the journal free online in 108 developing nations, and we were proud to accept their recent request to make Nucleic Acid Therapeutics available as a key online resource to the WHO staff in their fight against the Ebola virus.

On behalf of the board and the publishers of Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, I express our heartfelt thanks to Cy Stein, MD, PhD, Arthur and Rosalie Kaplan Chair and Professor, Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, for his service to the journal. Dr. Stein retires from the mast having held the post of co-editor-in-chief for 21 years! He oversaw the evolution of the title and content from Antisense Research and Development, to Antisense and Nucleic Acid Drug Development, to Oligonucleotides, and of course the transition to its present incarnation. His current research in medical oncology sees him as a much referred-to opinion maker in that field. It is of course natural that over time people's responsibilities or research interests can result in their contribution changing and evolving away from the core interests of the journal.

In keeping with the evolving nature of the field it is only right we add new names to the board, and it gave me great pleasure to have Annemieke Aartsma-Rus, PhD, of the Leiden University Medical Center; Said Ismail, PhD, of the University of Jordan; and Jonathan Watts, PhD, of the University of Southampton accept my invitation to join our board, as well as promoting David Corey, PhD, of the University of the Texas Southwestern Medical Center to our Senior Editorial team. We look forward to their vibrant contributions.

Those of you who were fortunate enough to attend this year's Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society meeting in San Diego will be familiar with my views on the importance of mentorship in the field. You will undoubtedly have recognized the title of this editorial as a snippet from Plutarch: “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” It was my deep pleasure to present on the final day of the meeting the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., Young Investigator Award to Michael P. Gantier, PhD, an Australian Research Council Future Fellow at the Monash Institute of Medical Research-Prince Henry's Institute, nominated by his mentor Prof. Bryan Williams, PhD. I can honestly remark that of the various research fields it has been my privilege to be associated with, the nucleic acid therapeutics research community has to be the most nurturing and mindful of the importance of mentorship. This respect and consideration is rightly rewarded and reflected in the huge advances we were privileged to witness being presented at the event. This issue of Nucleic Acid Therapeutics contains a thoughtful meeting report compiled on behalf of the society by Keith Gagnon, PhD, of Southern Illinois University, and Jonathan Watts, PhD, last year's Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., Young Investigator Award recipient. I hope you find it as inspiring and as encouraging as I do, and I look forward to our sharing the associated advances with the wider research community in 2015, long may we kindle the fire!