Transition in editorship

This issue marks the beginning of my editorship of the Journal of Applied Physiology. Under the leadership of John Remmers and his capable team of Associate Editors the Journal has thrived, and its long-standing tradition of scientific excellence has been enhanced. For their tireless service, I join the members of the American Physiological Society and the many contributors to the Journal in expressing our deepest gratitude. Based on this solid foundation, my role and that of my Associate Editors is to guide the Journal into the next millennium. Toward this end, the new team of Associate Editors and I met in Bethesda, MD, in March 1999 to review the current status of the Journal and to establish goals for the future. We all agreed that the Journal has many strengths on which to build. It emphasizes diverse areas of research in applied physiology that reflect adaptive and integrative mechanisms. In the area of adaptive physiology, papers include research on both inherent adaptations related to development, aging, and pathophysiological conditions and adaptations to the external environment such as exercise, microgravity, hypoxia, hypo-and hyper-baria, and hypo-and hyperthermic conditions. In the area of integrative physiology, papers include research that examines both horizontal integration across organ systems and vertical integration, from molecule to cell to organ. In the future, we believe it is important that the Journal encourages the use of cutting-edge genetic, molecular, and cellular techniques at such adaptive and integrative levels. This is an exciting time for applied physiology, as physiologists translate the remarkable discoveries of molecular genetics and, specifically, the human genome project into an understanding of how the body works. A number of gene products have been identified, but their physiological role is as yet unanswered. We believe that identifying the physiological role of these gene products will define modern applied physiology and that, as applied physiologists, we are uniquely equipped to translate the basic observations in molecular genetics into an understanding of the human body. Therefore, applied physiologists have the opportunity to fill an important niche in the continuum defining physiological genomics. In this respect, many of us see applied physiology as a pyramid, with a broad base in fundamental physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, and molecular and cellular biology; an intermediate portion assessing organ structure and function, with a focus toward integration across physiological systems; and a pinnacle evaluating human performance. The modern physiologist integrates biological information ranging in scale …