Abstract
Beginning in January, 2005, CROBM will merge with the Journal of Dental Research (JDR), it will retain its identity as a separate section, and I will serve as the Editor of this section. Thus, with this issue, CROBM will cease to exist as we have known it, but as it moves into the merged format there is promise and hope of the emergence of a journal that will have quality attributes of both CROBM and the JDR.
Back in the late 1980s, I felt a sense of intellectual uneasiness because of my increasing ignorance of the exponential advances that were occurring in molecular biology. That uneasiness was the genesis for launching CROBM; indeed, authors would be sharing their wisdom and creativity with members of the scientific community but in the process would unwittingly foster and nurture my own selfish yearning for lifelong learning. Up to that point, as far as the written word was concerned, I always enjoyed writing letters but had not the slightest clue of what being an Editor entailed. But this much I knew: If I failed, I would fail daringly, knowing that my place would not be with the timid souls who knew neither the taste of victory nor the pangs of defeat.
Over these past fifteen years, I had the good fortune of crossing the paths, however briefly, of some of the brightest minds in biomedical research—a realization that induces a great deal of personal satisfaction and, at the same time, a sense of humility because of how much I stood to learn from these individuals. The excellent and sustained scientific impact of CROBM notwithstanding, one of the goals I had hoped I would achieve was that CROBM would serve as a valuable resource for teachers at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. I will never know if and to what extent I achieved that goal.
If CROBM attained some measure of success, it was largely, if not almost entirely, due to the assistance I received from so many sectors. What matters greatly to publishers is, of course, to have a good subscription base. In the infancy stage of the journal, the American Association of Oral Biologists stepped forward and made it compulsory for its members to subscribe. To this day, I remember what a morale-booster that was for me. I also don’t know what I would have done without the unreserved support of my Chairman, Dr. David Cochran, whose middle name is “leave Olav alone”. There were folks in the trenches who served as Editorial Assistants in my department who provided me with a security blanket and gave of themselves so proficiently. All these years CROBM struggled to develop a strong subscription base, but it stayed alive thanks to the former IADR Executive Director, Dr. John Clarkson, and subsequently, Dr. Christopher Fox, Dr. “Skip” Collins, and the many members of the IADR/AADR Boards of Directors. I will always remember with a special fondness and immense gratitude Linda Hemphill, Director of Publications, IADR, and her wonderful and hardworking staff for all of their support and for kindly overlooking all of my blunders. While it is true that I will continue to work with these individuals in the merged format, somehow it will not be the same. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the members of the Editorial Advisory Board for their invaluable assistance in identifying authors/topics for possible publication in the journal. And there were individuals outside the EAB, such as Chuck Shuler, whose input was much appreciated. Last, my sincerest thanks to the authors and peer reviewers associated with the journal for providing me with an invaluable educational experience as I edited each and every one of the articles.
So, somehow, it does not seem appropriate to say “Farewell”, but rather it’s time for a reincarnation and to move on...