Much has happened since the January 1 relaunch of the Journal! In addition to the Journal’s new, cleaner look, which you can observe at the Journal’s website, we’re also working with other societies and organizations to create a broad, global base of support for the Journal. Potential partners will join the esteemed ranks of  the International Intradiscal Therapy Society, TURKMISS, the World Federation of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, the Pittsburgh Spine Summit, and the Büttner-Janz Spinefoundation. ISASS, of course, is still the home of the Journal and the best global voice out there for spine surgeons.

While the Journal chugs toward its inclusion in PubMed Central, we’re also working on making sure we’ve got the best platforms available for both authors and reviewers. We’re accepting submissions now and we’d love to see your work! As we expected, after going Open Access and no longer requiring a subscription to view the scholarship published in the Journal, we’re seeing a dramatic uptick in submissions. It’s a good thing we’ve got a world-class Editorial Board and top-flight Peer Reviewers who are dedicated to providing useful feedback in a timely fashion (average time from submission to first decision is only 54 days, compared to three months or more in many other spine publications).

In addition to carefully creating and configuring platforms for authors and reviewers, we’re also aiming to please readers and researchers who want to use our material. The International Journal of Spine Surgery website is mobile- and tablet-friendly so you can consume it on the go—and speaking of travel, you won’t have to futz around with paywalls, subscription barriers, library proxies, or pay $30 for a PDF of an article if you’re away from your home institution. Just go to the website and download the PDF. It’s a hassle-free way of getting to the research you need (not to mention a hassle-free way for authors to show off their hard work to the world!).

It’s a new year and we’re starting a new day at the Journal—one where we’re creating a new publication from the ground up for the benefit of authors, reviewers, and researchers rather than publishers. We’re staying agile and flexible in ways most medical journals simply can’t be, so keep looking forward to new and greater things from us.

The Journal relies heavily on the work of volunteer reviewers who work tirelessly to make sure that the scholarship published therein is of the highest caliber, both by means of gatekeeping and by means of providing constructive criticism and relevant, timely feedback to authors. We’d like to take a moment to thank our Editorial Board for their extremely limited time and very nearly unlimited expertise:

Editor-in-Chief:

• Hansen  Yuan, MD, SUNY Upstate/Syracuse

Associate Editors:

• Paul Anderson, MD, University of Wisconsin
• Boyle Cheng, MD, Drexel
• Jack Zigler, MD, Texas Back Institute

Special Deputy to the Editor-in-Chief:

• Donna D. Ohnmeiss, DrMed, Texas Back Institute

Deputy Editors:

• Neel Anand, MD, Cedars Sinai Medical Center
• Ali Araghi, DO, Texas Back Institute
• Hyun Bae, MD, Institute at St. John’s Health Center
• Frank Cammisa, MD, Hospital for Special Surgery
• Edmund Chao, PhD, John Hopkins University School of Medicine
• Federico Girardi, MD, Hospital for Special Surgery
• Vijay K. Goel, PhD, University of Toledo
• Larry Khoo, MD, University of California, Los Angeles
• Choon-Sung Lee, MD, Assan Medical Center
• Mohamed Maziad, MD, Maziad Orthopedic & Spine Associates
• Frank Phillips, MD, Rush University Medical Center
• Luiz Pimenta, MD, University of California San Diego, Universidade Federal de São Paulo
• John Regan, MD , FACS, D.I.S.C. – Sport and Spine Center
• Alejandro Reyes-Sánchez, MD, National Orthopaedic Institute, Mexico
• Harvinder Sandhu, MD, Hospital for Special Surgery
• Matthew Scott-Young, MD, Pacific Private Clinic
• Bjorn Stromqvist, MD, Lund University
• Wei Tian, MD, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, China
• Hee-Kit Wong, MD, National University Hospital Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Singapore
• Huilin Yang, MD, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University
• Dewei Zou, MD, 306 Hospital of PLA

Associate Editor, MIS Section:

• Choll Kim, MD, PhD, University of California, San Diego

SMISS Editor:

• Bill Taylor, MD, UCSD Neurosurgery

Managing Editor:

• Jonny Dover, BA

Peer Reviewers:

• Samy Abdou, MD, Dept of Neurological Surgery, Kaiser Hospital
• Celeste Abjornson, PhD, Hospital for Special Surgery
• Demetrius Kasak Abrahao, MD, Eco Center – Cambuí
• Kuniyoshi Abumi, MD, DMSci, Hokkaido University Health Admin Center
• Edward Ahn, PhD, Pioneer Surgical Technology, Inc.
• Michael Ahrens, MD, Strandweg 4
• Todd Albert, MD, Thomas Jefferson University
• Matthew Allen, DVM, PhD, Orthopedic Surgery, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ohio State University
• Greg Anderson, MD, The Rothman Institute, Thomas Jefferson University
• Gunnar Andersson MD, PhD, Midwest Orthopaedics, Rush Med School
• Farbod Asgarzadie, MD, PhD, Loma Linda University Medical Center
• Joshua Auerbach, MD, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center
• Koang Hum Bak, MD, Loma Linda University Medical Center
• Massimo Balsano, MD, Spine Universe
• Chip Bao, PhD, Pioneer Surgical Technology
• Gamal Baroud, PhD, Sherbrooke University
• Thomas Bauer, MD, Cleveland Clinic Foundation
• Stephan W. J. Becker, MD, BEFOT, Orthopaedic Hospital Vienna
• William Beutler, MD, Pennsylvania Spine Institute
• Fabien Bitan, MD, Lenox Hill Hospital
• Scott Blumenthal, MD, Texas Back Institute
• Chris Bono, MD, Brigham and Young Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
• David Bradford, MD, University of California Medical Center
• Dahari D. Brooks, MD, University of Massachusetts
• Courtney Brown, MD, Panorama Orthopedics & Spine Center
• Rudy Buckley, MD, Slocum Dickson Medical Group
• Josip Buric, MD, Unita Funzionale di Chirurgia Spinale c.d.c.
• John Kenneth Burkus, MD, The Hughston Clinic
• Karin Buttner-Janz, MD, Vivantes Klinikum im Friedrichshain
• Abbott Byrd, MD, Atlantic Orthopedic Specialists
• Andy Cappuccino, MD, Buffalo Spine Surgery
• Tony Castellvi, MD, Florida Orthopedic Institute
• Frank Chan, PhD, Medtronic
• Wayne Cheng, MD, Loma Linda University School of Medicine
• Pil Sun Choi, MD, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine
• Ki-Hong Cho, MD, PhD, Chief of Medical Staff Ajou University Hospital
• Kyoung-Suok Cho, MD, PhD, Uijongbu St. Mary’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine
• Hun Kee Chung, MD, Seoul National University Hospital
• Patrick Connolly, MD, University of Massachusetts
• Domagoj Coric, MD, Carolina Neurosurgery and Spine Associates
• G. Bryan Cornwall, PhD, PEng., NuVasive
• Bryan Cunningham, MS, Union Memorial Hospital
• Bambang Darwono, MD, PhD, Kelapa Gading Hospital
• Girish Datar, MBBS, MS, Sushruta Hospital for Orthopaedics and Traumatology
• Reggie Davis, MD, Baltimore Spine Center
• Rick Delamarter, MD, The Spine Institute
• Wenyuan Ding, MD, 3rd Hospital of Hebei Medical University
• Michael Dohm, MD, Western Slope Study Group
• Emad Elmehy, Tanta Faculty of Medicine
• P. Richard Emmanuel, MD, Southern California Orthopedic & Musculoskeletal Association
• Thomas Errico, MD, Spine Surgery Division, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases
• Antonio Paolo Fabrizi, MD, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases
• Amir Fayyazi, MD, VSAS Orthopaedics Institute for Advanced Healthcare
• Zsolt Fekete, MD, Roland Klinik Bremen
• Lisa Ferrara, DEng, OrthoKinetic Technologies
• Rick Fessler, MD, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
• Kevin Foley, MD, Image-Guided Surgery Research Center
• Bruce Fredrickson, MD, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse
• Rolando Garcia, MD, Orthopedic Care Center
• Steven Garfin, MD, Orthopedic Care Center
• Daniel Gastambide, MD, Clinique de l’ Alma
• Luthfi Gatam, MD, PhD, Fatmawati General Hospital
• Fred Geisler, MD, PhD, Fatmawati General Hospital
• Zia Gokaslan, MD, Johns Hopkins University
• Jeffrey Goldstein, MD, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases
• Charles R Gordon, MD, NeuroCare Network
• Michael Gordon, MD, Newport Orthopedic Institute
• Matthew Gornet, MD, The Orthopedic Center of St. Louis
• Stanley Grabias, MD, Ridgewood Orthopaedic Specialists
• Dieter Grob, MD, Spine Unit, Schulthess Hospital
• Munish Gupta, MD, University of California Sacramento
• Rick Guyer, MD, Texas Back Institute
• Alexander G. Hadjipavlou, MD, FACS, University of Crete
• Ulrich Haehnle, MD, FCS, Linksfield Park Clinic
• Henry Halm, MD, Department of Spine Surgery and Scoliosis Center Klinikum Neustadt
• Ho Gyun Ha, MD, PhD, Eulji Medical School
• Tom Hedman, PhD, University of Southern California
• John Heller, MD, The Emory Spine Center
• Harry Herkowitz, MD, William Beaumont Hospital
• Ronald Hill, PhD, Pioneer Surgical Technology
• Richard Holt, MD, Spine Surgery PSC
• Kenneth Hsu, MD, St. Mary’s Medical Center
• Fang Hua, MD, Modesto Medical Offices
• Fang Huang, MD, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
• Paul Huddleston, III, MD, Mayo Clinic
• Serena Hu, MD, University of California San Francisco
• Manabu Ito, MD, PhD, Hokkaido University School of Medicine
• Tae-Ahn Jahng, MD, PhD, Seoul National University Hospital
• Jee-Soo Jang, MD, Wooridul Spine Hospital
• Mike Janssen, DO, The Spine Education and Research Institute
• Daniel Kim, MD, Eulji Medical University Hospital
• Whoan Jeang Kim, MD, PhD, Stanford University Medical Center
• Scott Kitchel, MD, Orthopedic Spine Associates
• Peter Klara, MD, PhD, Advanced NeuroSpine Specialists
• Martin Knight, MD, Spinal Foundation
• Nikhil Kulkarni, MS, Medtronic
• Chong-suh Lee, Samsung Medical Center
• Casey Lee, MD, Spine Care and Rehabilitation
• Jung-Kil Lee, MD, Chonnam National University Hospital & Medical School
• Sang-Ho Lee, MD, Wooridul Spine Hospital
• Jean-Charles Le Huec, MD, Spinal Foundation
• Isadore Lieberman, MD, Cleveland Clinic
• Bengt Lind, MD, Sahlgrenska University Hospital
• Morgan Lorio, MD, NeuroSpine Solutions
• Donald MacKenzie, MD, FRCSC, FACS, Medical Center of Plano
• Michael MacMillan, MD, University of Florida
• Mohammad Majd, MD, Spine Surgery PSC
• Steven Mardjetko, Illinois Bone & Joint Institute
• Catana Marius, MD, Spitalul Clinic de Urgenta “Bagdasar-Arseni” (Fostul Spital de Neurochirurgie)
• Frederic Martens, MD, OLV Ziekenhius Aalst, Belgium
• James H. Maxwell, MD, Scottsdale Spine Care
• Paul McAfee, MD, St. Josephs Medical Center
• Geoffrey McCullen, MD, St Elizabeth Regional Medical Center
• Dennis McGowan, MD, Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital
• Kevin McGuire, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Scot Miller, DO, FACS, The Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center
• Srdjan Mirkovic, MD, Northwestern University Medical School
• Dick Nasca, MD, Orthopaedic and Spine Surgery Consultant, Wilmington, NC
• Ric Navarro, PhD, Theken Disc
• Yutaka Nohara, MD, PhD, Dokkyo University School of Medicine
• Donna Ohnmeiss, DrMed, Texas Back Institute Foundation
• Nathaniel Ordway, MS, SUNY Upstate Medical University
• Virgilio Ortiz, MD, Higt Specialty Spine Center, San Javier Hospital
• Choon-Keun Park, MD, PhD, President Wiltse Mem Hosp
• Sung Choon Park, MD, PhD, Dept. of Neurosurgery, Myongji Hospital, Kwandong University College of Medicine
• Soo-An Park, MD, PhD, SUNY Upstate Medical University
• Chun-Kun Park, MD, PhD, The Catholic University of Korea
• Avinash Patwardhan, PhD, Loyola University Medical Center
• Walter Peppelman, DO, Pennsylvania Spine Institute
• Richard Perrin, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, Diablo Neurosurgical Medical Group
• Gilles Perrin, MD, PhD, Hopital Neurologique P. Wertheimer, Groupement Hospitalier Est.
• Radu Prejbeanu, MD, PhD, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania
• Afsaneh Rabiei, PhD, North Carolina State University
• S. Rajasekaran, MD, Ganga Hospital, Orthopedic Department
• Thomas Raley, MD, Hanover Orthopaedic Assoc Inc.
• Steve Robbins, MD, Milwaukee Spinal Specialists
• Jose Gabriel Rugeles, MD, San Ignacio Hospital
• Richard Salib, Ortho Institute for Low Back and Neck Care
• Rick Sasso, MD, Indiana Spine Group
• Robert Schoenmayr, MD, Klinik Fuer Neurochirurgie Hsk
• Jim Schwender, MD, Twin Cities Spine Center
• Jonathan Sembrano, MD, University of Minnesota Medical School
• Dilip K. Sengupta, MD, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Med Center
• Hassan Serhan, PhD, DePuy Acromed
• Khalid Sethi, MD, Lourdes Hospital
• Yong Shen, MD, 3rd Hospital of Hebei Medical University
• John Sherman, MD, Twin Cities Orthopedics
• Will Smith, MD, University Medical Center, Nevada School of Medicine
• Joseph Stachniak, MD, Brain & Spine Center of Texas
• Thomas Stoll, MD, Department of Spinal Surgery, Bethesda Spital
• Jung-Keun Suh, MD, PhD, Dept. of Neurosurgery, Korea University School of Medicine
• Richard Tallarico, MD, Upstate Medical University (SUNY)
• William Tally, MD, University of Georgia/Medical College of Georgia
• Karen Talmadge, PhD, Kyphon
• Chengxuan Tang, MD, 3rd Affilitated Hospitalof Wenzhou Medical College
• Chong Tien Tan, MD, Island Spine and Scoliosis
• Tony Tannoury, MD, Boston Medical Center
• Bill Taylor, MD, University of California, San Diego Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
• Vo Van Thanh, MD, PhD, Hospital for Trauma and Orthopaedics, Ho Chi Minh City
• Tadanori Tomita, MD, PhD, Children’s Memorial Hospital
• Anthony Tsantrizos, PhD, Synthes
• Alex Vaccaro, MD, Rothman Institute
• Visit Vamvanij, MD, Vice Chancellor Mahidol University
• Rok Vengust, MD, PhD, United Medical Centre,
• Michael Wang, MD, University of Miami
• Jeffrey Wang, MD, Vice Chancellor Mahidol University
• Douglas Wardlaw, MD, Woodend Hospital
• William Watters, III, MD, Bone & Joint Clinic of Houston
• William Welch, MD, FACS, The Pennsylvania Hospital, University of Penn
• F. Todd Wetzel, MD, Dept of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine
• Douglas Wong, MD, Panorama Orthopedics & Spine Center
• David Wong, MD, MSc, FRCS, Raffles Hospital
• Hua-Zi Xu, MD, 2nd Affilitated Hospitalof Wenzhou Medical College
• Tarik Yazar, MD, University of Ankara School Ibni Sina Hospital
• John Yeh, MD, FRCS, The Royal London Hospital
• Chris Yeung, MD, Arizona Institute For Minimally Invasive Spine Care
• Tony Yeung, MD, Arizona Institute For Minimally Invasive Spine Care
• Ken Yonemura, MD, University of Utah School of Medicine
• Do-Heum Yoon, MD, PhD, Yonsei University College of Medicine
• Philip S. Yuan, MD, Memorial Orthopaedic Surgical Group
• Jim Yue, MD, Yale University School of Medicine
• Xue Li Zhang, MD, Tianjin Union Medical Centre
• Jack Zigler, MD, Texas Back Institute
• Michael Zindrick, MD, Hinsdale Orthopaedics
• James Zucherman, MD, St. Mary’s Spine Center