LAUSR

The Journal of Helminthology is rapidly approaching its centenary year. It is a journal that has served the helminth community extremely well ever since it was founded by Professor R.T. Leiper way back in 1922. At that time, Professor Leiper was based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the emphasis was on the developing field of medical parasitology. Other distinguished leaders of our discipline followed as editors – Professor J. Buckley, Dr Sheila Wilmott and Dr Ralph Muller each left their mark – and the scope of the journal was expanded to cover most aspects of helminthology. In 1994, Professor John Lewis took over as the fifth editor and skilfully guided the journal for the next 22 years before recently handing over to Professor Robert Poulin. John remains active as Editor Emeritus, and contributes and advises as required. In an age when new journals and editors seem to appear and often disappear with increasing frequency, it is surprising and strangely reassuring that there have only been six dedicated editors of the journal over such a long time span. John Lewis will be known to all contributors of the journal as a most helpful and meticulous editor who has guided authors from first submission of their paper through to the publication stage. His in-depth knowledge of the subject has ensured that high-quality papers result; indeed, I am sure many authors will remain in his debt for the significant improvements to their original manuscript. He has also presented seminars on ‘Scientific writing and publishing’ on behalf of Cambridge University Press and CABI Publishing while on visits to overseas universities. Moreover, as detailed later, John has overseen and encouraged the publication of many special topics from international meetings and symposia. This appreciation looks back at John’s outstanding career both as an editor and research scientist; it highlights his many contributions to the study of parasitology, covering numerous aspects of the ecology and epidemiology of fish and mammalian parasites, as well as aquatic toxicology. Over his long and productive career John has been a teacher, mentor and friend to parasitologists around the world, and this article closes with just a few chosen comments from a small selection of his colleagues. Early career