Dear Readers:

The title above, a (translated) quotation from the Portuguese author Agustina Bessa-Luis, appropriately reflects the phase into which the Brazilian Journal of Pulmonology will enter after the XXXV Brazilian Pulmonology Conference, to be held in November in the city of Curitiba. At that event, after having spent six years at the helm of the Journal, I will be relinquishing the post of Editor-in-Chief to my successor, Prof. Carlos Roberto Ribeiro de Carvalho. According to the norms of the organization, I could remain in my position for another two years. However, the renewed demands of my academic career have led me to conclude that now is the time for me to hand over the reins.

Revisiting my first editorial as Editor-in-Chief, written in 2005,(1) I am extremely gratified to note that the objectives I set forth at the beginning of my journey have been achieved in full. The most important achievements include the establishment of the Editor of the Brazilian Journal of Pulmonology as an autonomous member of the Brazilian Thoracic Association (BTA) Board of Directors; the full implementation of the functional regulations of the Journal; the indexing of the Journal for Medline, Scopus, and the ISI Web of Knowledge; and the attainment of an unprecedented level of international exposure for the Journal. In addition, in the year to come, the Journal of Citation Reports will issue the first impact factor for our Journal. Naturally, the satisfaction of having met these goals is shared by the other actors responsible for the success of the endeavor: the members of the last three BTA Boards, the BTA staff, the companies that provide services to the Journal, the peer reviewers, and, especially, the authors who have entrusted us with the precious products of their labors.

Any errors that occurred on my watch were committed in our quest for accuracy. However, I must emphasize that "the buck stops here", and I therefore take full responsibility for all such errors.

Prof. Carvalho certainly has all of the qualities needed in order to ensure the continued advancement of the Journal. Although the priorities now are different than they were in 2005, the new challenges will be no less difficult to meet. The Brazilian community of pulmonologists has a duty to lend its full support to the new Editor-in-Chief. That support should primarily take the form of the submission of excellent scientific manuscripts, which will result in ever higher and more impressive impact factors!

I am extremely grateful to my fellow pulmonologists for having given me the opportunity to play a role in this mission.

All that remains now is the "happy ending" of my own projects and the beginning of an era of ongoing success for the Brazilian Journal of Pulmonology!

Prof. Dr. José Antônio Baddini Martinez
Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Medicine
University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil


References


1. Martinez JA. New times, old challenges. J Bras Pneumol. 2005,31(1):1-2.