Catherine Otto, who is the J Ward Kennedy-Hamilton Endowed Chair in Cardiology, and Professor of Medicine at the University Of Washington School Of Medicine in Seattle, Washington, USA, will be the new editor in chief of Heart, starting in December.
Professor Otto is the first woman to take the helm since the title, which is co-owned with the British Cardiovascular Society, began publishing in 1939. She succeeds Adam Timmis, Professor of Clinical Cardiology at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, who has held the post for seven years.
Professor Otto is a renowned expert on aortic valve disease. Her pioneering research has transformed our understanding of valvular disease, by showing that it is an active process that may be amenable to treatment, rather than an inevitable consequence of ageing.
Her landmark study, showing that even mild valve thickening (aortic sclerosis), is associated with a heightened risk of death, was recognised by the prestigious American College of Cardiology, which gave her its Distinguished Scientist Award (Clinical Domain) in 2011.
Other awards include the 2008 University of Washington School of Medicine Award for Excellence in Mentoring Women and Minorities, and the 2013 University of Washington School of Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award.
Professor Otto is also a prolific author, having written several books on echocardiography, and most recently added to her titles with the publication of the Otto Companion Series, which includes books on intraoperative echocardiography, congenital heart disease, heart failure, and advanced echocardiography.
Professor Otto plans to give Heart a new look and feel in the run up to the publication of the title’s 100th volume in 2014.
The title will have a new cover from next year, and will include new features, such as Cochrane Corner, which will comment on important reviews produced by the Cochrane cardiology group; Heart Beat, an editorial summary of the papers included in each issue; and an online only educational Image Challenge to test readers’ knowledge.
Her intention is to help improve the care of patients with cardiovascular disease by increasing the publication of high-impact, innovative, and clinically relevant original cardiovascular research, particularly in areas that are currently poorly served, such as valvular heart disease and inherited cardiac conditions, as well as newer research areas, such as computer simulation and genomics.
And she intends to boost the global focus of the title by appointing a more international editorial board and shortening time to publication of accepted articles.
The plans will be complemented by an open access sister title, Open Heart, which is gearing up for launch next year. Open Heart, which will be edited by Pascal Meier, consultant interventional cardiologist at The Heart Hospital, UCLH, London, and Assistant Adjunct Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale Medical School, will be an online only publication.
Commenting on her appointment and the new developments, ahead of the start of the annual European Society of Cardiology meeting this weekend, Professor Otto offered her sincere thanks to Adam Timmis for his “outstanding leadership in increasing the international scientific profile of Heart.”
And she added: “I am eager to foster advances in the care of patients with cardiovascular disease by publishing high impact, clinically relevant, original cardiovascular research, and to provide a forum in print, online, and with social media that integrates this information into evidence-based patient care guidelines and points researchers towards emerging areas of scientific inquiry.”
