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Flagship journal meets in Cardiff

13 July 2011

Physiological Reviews’ European Editorial Committee. Professor Brown is first on the left of the back row and Professor Petersen is third on the left.

International authorities from all branches of physiological science gathered in Cardiff for the annual European Editorial Committee of the Physiological Reviews.

The publication is the highest rated physiological journal in the world for impact factor, and the 23^rd highest of all scientific journals. It has two parallel Editorial Committees, with the European board chaired by Professor Ole Petersen, Director of the School of Biosciences.

The journal publishes review articles of broad interest on all aspects of human health. The European Committee met at Cardiff to decide on which current issues the journal should cover over the next year, and who should be commissioned to write the articles.

The meeting was also attended by Professor Dennis Brown of Harvard Medical School, Chief Editor of the journal and Chair of its US Editorial Committee, which also covers South America, Japan, China and Australia. Professor Petersen’s European Committee also takes in the Middle East, India and Africa. He also takes part in the US board meeting, to help ensure smooth co-ordination between the two.

Professor Brown said: "The articles we publish are large, comprehensive and authoritative reviews of the state of the art in a particular field. We cover the whole of physiology, everything from behavioural studies to the molecular basis of disease. We also have a very broad audience, from established scientists to high school students. With this in mind, we always ask the people who write reviews to discuss how the science relates to human health, why it is important."

Professor Petersen said: "The journal has to appeal to physiologists, neuroscientists, cell biologists, biophysicists, and clinicians with special interest in pathophysiology. As a result, the Committee is made up of a wide range of leading scientific experts, each of whom has come with five or six proposals for issues we could write about. We have a very useful meeting, which should result in a series of very interesting articles for the journal over the next year."