The past year has represented a lot of change for Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology (JESEE). Along with a new title, a new cover style, and a new Editor-in-Chief, we witnessed many other changes in the journal. Thanks to work achieved by our Editor Emeritus, Edo Pellizari, PhD, our online submission system has increased our submission rate by about 55%. Since going online in 2004, we have received more than 400 manuscripts for review. In addition, Dr. Pellizari's hard work helped to increase our ISI impact factor by over 10%, which indicates that the journal has garnered more interest in the field of environmental science and our quality articles are cited more frequently. Our impact factor has consistently increased over the past several years and we expect it to keep moving upward.

Of interest to those of you submitting manuscripts, the average reviewer turnaround time was reduced to about 3 weeks allowing for a more timely decision on each manuscript submitted. Review times had taken, on average, about 6 weeks for a first decision on a manuscript. Since streamlining the revised manuscript review process, a final decision is usually made within 1 week of resubmission. Furthermore, the average time to online publication has decreased by about 1 month and the average time it takes for manuscripts to reach print publications has decreased by about 6 weeks. These are all very positive changes making our journal more competitive in the field of environmental science.

Other positive changes have occurred as well. We updated our reviewer database to allow selection of the most qualified reviewers for each manuscript ensuring that only the highest quality manuscripts are accepted. In addition, we completed a reviewer survey intended to help us improve the overall quality and utility of our journal in which over 500 people responded.

Behind the scenes, more productive changes have occurred. We have created a larger Editorial Board to replace the Associate Editors of the journals. The Editorial Board will be fully operational in January 2007. The current Associate Editors are among those selected for the Editorial Board, but we have added seven scientists to cover the areas in which we receive the most manuscript submissions. This larger Editorial Board will allow us to more evenly distribute the manuscripts for review, which, in turn, should allow for more comprehensive reviews in shorter periods of time. The end result should be faster publication.

Finally, we have many new items in store for 2007. You can expect to read timely review articles on such topics as forensic science, terrorism, and emerging environmental contaminants that should be published soon. In addition, we have several special issues in progress including one on the European REACH legislation, indoor air quality, and underserved (primarily tribal) populations. We also have a special issue debating the important topic of interpreting bio-monitoring data.

As you can see, 2006 was a productive and positive year for the journal. It has been both a privilege and an honor to serve such a quality journal that is steadily growing in readership and importance in our field. My first year as Editor-in-Chief of JESEE has been an amazing experience. I look forward to an even better 2007, as I hope you do as well. With your continued input, quality reviews, and excellent manuscripts, JESEE will continue to have an important and positive impact in environmental science.