Introductions.

It is a great privilege to assume the role of Honorary Editor of the Ulster Medical Journal from my predecessor, Professor David Armstrong. In doing so, it is important to mark his contribution to the Journal. During his tenure, David oversaw the publication of an eclectic mix of original papers, covering history, ethics and clinical medicine. His thought-provoking and erudite editorial pieces were crafted with literary flair. As I have recently come to appreciate, the role of editor involves considerable tenacity with regards to the independent peer-review process, a careful eye for detail and the skills of a diplomat. David is a busy clinician, and it could not have been easy to juggle an additional commitment as demanding as this one. The success of the UMJ flows, in no small part, from the wisdom of its Editorial Board. My colleague, Professor Peter Maxwell, opens a series of Guest Editorials, below, with a discussion on the challenges facing clinical academics in the workforce. I hope that policy makers will give careful consideration to the solutions that he proposes. A longstanding and steadfast supporter of this Journal, Professor John Hedley-Whyte, who is the David S. Sheridan Professor of Anaesthesia and Respiratory Therapy at Harvard University, has recently stepped down from the Editorial Board. His contribution as an author, particularly to the Medical History Section of this Journal, has been immense and continues in this Issue, on the subject of Hugh Percy, 10^th Duke of Northumberland. Professor Hedley-Whyte's colleagues on the Editorial Board have asked me to thank him for his many years of service and to wish him well for the future. My satisfaction in seeing this Issue of the Journal take shape over the summer was considerably tempered by the news of Professor Barry Kelly's death, in June. To describe Barry simply as a 'former editor' of this Journal hardly does justice to his contribution. I am grateful, therefore, to Professor Patrick Morrison, who has penned a fitting and moving obituary to a great thinker, whose loss will be felt far beyond his family, friends and colleagues.