LAUSR

A new year, and we wish it to be a good year for all of our readers. Although there seems little need to be exuberant about global and political developments, looking back at 2016 for the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, the total number of submissions was over 1200, and approximately 28% of these were published. This number of submissions has been consistent for the last 10 years, showing that the field is doing well. But this is no reason to be complacent, which is why the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis is highly active in promoting awareness of thrombotic and bleeding disorders through all possible channels. Under the charismatic leadership of our Executive Director Tom Reiser, the team in Chapel Hill is always active for the good cause. We recommend that you take a look at the website, and sign up as a follower to the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis twitter account. Recently, headquarters, along with several Council members, have started exploring ways to professionally increase awareness of thrombotic disorders among grant agencies, in order to increase the likelihood of funding in our field. These are long-term goals aimed at maintaining the prominent position of coagulation research for many years to come. Sometimes, the opportunities for performing research are so limited – owing to scarcity of time and funding – that one almost wonders why people choose a career in research at all. For most, it will be out of honest curiosity, mixed with a healthy degree of competition. While in art, every contribution is unique, since the imaginary world is infinite, one might argue that the physical world is not, and therefore every scientific fact will become known sooner or later. Hence, the competitive spirit in the make-up of a researcher: if everything will be discovered eventually, science is about who discovers it first. Still, this view underestimates the beauty of science, both of the discovery itself, and of the elegance of experiments. Some enter into science out of noble motives to try and improve people’s lives. Arguably, all knowledge increases the well-being of humankind, but it is in biomedical sciences that this motive seems most prevalent. This impulse may be general and rather vague, or very concrete, as with the young physician who studies coagulopathies and their treatment because his younger brother suffered from hemophilia. The rewards of science are rarely in the form of riches. Although there is great satisfaction in a clear finding from a study or series of experiments, and in the thrill of seeing one’s own name in print that never quite goes away, scientists are just like everyone else and enjoy praise. Quite possibly, the need for appreciation and acclamation lies slightly above the population mean. In science, this praise is, besides the usual shoulder-clapping by the department head or dean, translated into prizes, of which there are many, with the Nobel Prize at the top of the range. We wish to praise our authors, and therefore the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis and the Editors have instituted the JTH Editors’ Award. This will be a travel award handed out annually to the best publications in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis by a first author under 36 years old at the time of submission. The jury will consist of the Editors in Chief and Associate Editors. At the annual International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Congresses, several awards will be given, distributed over the various research areas. If we were to start accumulating articles over the next calendar year, the first award would be presented in 2018 at the Dublin meeting. As that is quite far away, we have decided to make a jumpstart by going back to authors published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis from 1 May 2016 and up until 1 May 2017 in order to make a first selection for the 2017 Berlin meeting. We are looking forward to the new JTH Editors’ Award, and to greeting the first winners at the 2017 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Congress.