Steve Warren’s tenure as editor of The American Journal of Human Genetics is at an end, and he’s penned an interesting ‘letter from the editor’ in the December issue of the journal. Here’s an excerpt:

Being editor has developed into a very enjoyable activity. It is a singular opportunity to learn in depth all the diverse scientific disciplines that actually compose what we refer to as “human genetics.” I came to enjoy not only population genetics, particularly those studies linking molecular data with historical accounts of population movement and/or dynamics, but also, surprisingly to me, the intricacies of statistical genetics.

I know what he means. Being an editor is like getting another graduate degree, without the experiments, but with several exams every day. And the joys of statistical genetics are indeed underappreciated. He goes on, commenting on the problem of receiving more good papers than the journal can publish:

Being unable to publish all these papers, then, requires decisions resting upon the editor’s perception of widespread interest, utility to the field, and general impact. This is a problem, since any practicing scientist has inherent biases, likes, and dislikes. If someone stays in the position too long, the journal begins to take on these personal attributes and morphs into the editor’s weekly reader…

That’s another good point, which also suggests a need for editors to solicit advice from a broad range of people in the community, rather than just a select few. At NG, we have five manuscript editors, which helps to prevent one person’s view of the field from taking hold, and we do try to bring new referees into the fold all the time. At the AJHG, Cynthia Morton will be the new editor. Dr. Morton is a distinguished cytogeneticist whose interests range from uterine fibroids to hereditary deafness to chromosomal rearrangements that cause disease.