Former ImmunoHorizons Editor-in-Chief Mark Kaplan has penned a final editorial title ‘Oh, The Papers We Publish’ about his experiences with the journal. AAI thanks Kaplan for guiding IH through the last five years. For more of his thoughts about his time as EIC, read our recent Q&A with him.
Oh, the Papers We’ll Publish — An Ode to ImmunoHorizons
At the end of his term, the Editor-in-Chief
Managed a grin and breathed a sigh of relief.
The journal had grown, it had been a success,
But after five years it was time for rest.
Over the years, during pandemic’s rage,
The EIC worked hard to fill every page.
He helped optimize transfers so decisions were fast,
Sometimes so quick that authors were aghast.
The journal called for submissions through land, sea, and air,
They promised reviews would be thorough but fair,
They said mechanism lacking was really okay,
And if your story was descriptive, that made their day.
If you had bioinformatics? Well, they loved a heat map,
And promised decisions would not feel like crap.
If you had a mouse with no phenotype, it was a plus,
If experiments were done well, it would all be no fuss.
For On The Horizon commentaries, we then sent out a call,
Junior investigators summarized their opinions for all.
Soon the pages were filled with rigorous science,
And ImmunoHorizons knew they had readers and clients.
But still something’s missing, thought the EIC one night,
Maybe something humorous would be a delight.
If the EIC could talk to the audience-at-large,
They could see what kind of guy someone had put in charge.
So, he wrote about submissions and ChatGPT,
And how some editors are just not into you or to me,
He highlighted AI images that seemed a bit obscene,
All while wearing sunglasses that were the brightest of green.
Success was accomplished with an editorial staff,
Who were tremendous, outstanding, and knew when to laugh.
Director Catherine, the wisdom, was in charge of it all,
To make sure it somehow ran, behind the paywall.
And Ellen, the manager, who left and returned,
She gathered some skills, so a promotion was earned.
And Nikki, so great, she made it all work,
Her transfer notices were an on-the-job perk.
Karen, Hahn, and Kimberly all played a part,
And Marissa who tweeted with all of her heart!
Emily and Adri both embraced each submission,
Making sure that IH could achieve its main mission.
The Editorial Board never had to ask for forgiveness,
Because they were the most reasonable in all of the business!
Luc and Robert remained from the previous team,
And as editorial partners, they were a dream.
With the additional expertise of Henrique and Jie,
The journal would soon be on a publishing spree.
Katherine and Booki soon joined the board,
With reasonable decisions that prevented discord.
Then with some turnover we had Bonnie and Jess,
Both natural editors, if I had to confess.
And then to add papers and make a sensation,
Heather was appointed to foster immuno-education.
With all of that done, the journal was set,
The EIC watched as submission goals were met,
The submissions came in, though one thing still lacked,
The coveted prize of a factor impact!
Oh, the papers we’ll publish, we’ll publish for all,
Write your report and respond to our call,
We’ll take your descriptive work, you only have to commit,
So now take my hand, and then press submit!
