Welcome to the new protagonists of the Journal of Periodontal Research: Our Associate Editors and Editorial Board members!

Abstract

As one of the most historic dental journals, the Journal of Periodontal Research is now undergoing a revolutionary era aimed at repositioning it as one of the top-ranked journals in dentistry with a global impact. As with any successful plan, the talent and motivation of the people involved make the difference. This is why the first step of this new growth phase has been focused on building a new top-class editorial team.

Rather than adhering to conventional cooptation approaches, we embarked on a path by issuing an international call for the selection of our new team of Associate Editors and Editorial Board members. I indeed aimed to open the doors to all top scientists who were motivated to donate their precious service to the journal. The call was extremely successful, as we experienced an unprecedented number of high-quality applications, which testifies to the tremendous excitement within the periodontal scientific community about the new era of growth for our historic journal.

New opportunities to join or grow within our team will come in the future, and fair selection will always be made based on the service done for the Journal of Periodontal Research in terms of peer reviews (quantity, quality, rapidity) and successful publication of top-notch research in the journal.

In tandem with this, I proudly present the inception of our Junior Editorial Board, an initiative designed to mentor, engage, and nurture the next generation of leaders in periodontology and implant dentistry. This dynamic body will not only be the heartbeat of the new Journal of Periodontal Research but will also empower the emerging generation to take center stage within our journal. To underscore the importance of this, we have included a representative from the Junior Editorial Board among our Associate Editors.

Two words encapsulate the essence of our new team composition: quality and diversity. We were indeed able to attract most of the worldwide top scientists in all different areas of knowledge in periodontology and implant dentistry. Specifically, the heterogenous composition of our Associate Editor panel ensures that each submission is entrusted to a foremost expert in the multifaceted realm of periodontology and implant dentistry sciences, including microbiology, immunology, genetics, biomaterials, preclinical studies, epidemiology, clinical trials, and evidence synthesis. Regarding diversity, our editorial team stands as a testament to geographic inclusivity, gender balance, and representation across various career stages. Importantly, diversity here was not achieved by intentionally favoring minorities, but is a celebration of the wealth of talent that was present in all groups of applicants. Indeed, as one of my favorite non-dental authors, Stephen Covey said: “Strength lies in differences, not in similarities”. I am sure this diversity will be key for the global impact of the Journal of Periodontal Research.

As promised in my inaugural editorial,¹ it is therefore with immense pride and anticipation that I extend this formal welcome to our distinguished new editorial team members.