We are very pleased to present the first issue of Pediatric Research put out by Nature Publishing Group (NPG). We sincerely hope that you will find the Journal improved in a variety of ways. The issue in your hands is the result of many months of hard work, both on- and offline, and we are quite proud of the result.

Now that this step has been accomplished, we will continue on our three missions, stated at the beginning of our tenure. The first was to internationalize the Journal in working with editors and publishing papers from outside North America and Europe. We are well on our way to accomplishing this goal: we have editors from almost all continents (still working on South America and Africa), and we have published papers from all over the world. We also plan further activities to showcase pediatric research across the globe until the Journal represents a truly international scientific community.

Our second goal was to expand the Journal’s scientific scope and impact. This is clearly a long-term goal, but we have made certain advances. To the categories of research—basic, translational, and clinical—we have added that of “population,” and we ask authors to pinpoint the category into which their paper most closely fits. We have seen an increase in submissions from oncology, rheumatology, epidemiology, and public health, and we continue to encourage such submissions.

Finally, we have taken important steps toward the achievement of our third goal, which was to encourage young investigators to submit their work to the Journal. We announced the idea for a Young Investigator’s Best Paper travel award last October; the recipient will be chosen by an international jury on the basis of the paper’s quality and expected impact. An award announcement is printed elsewhere in this issue.

As with most transitions, there may be bumps and bruises along the way. All the editors, section editors, reviewers, and authors have been learning their way around the new manuscript-management software. We hope that everything goes smoothly and according to plan, but some errors may be unavoidable. We apologize in advance and in retrospect for all inconveniences, and we ask for your continued patience.

We are grateful to everyone who worked so tirelessly on the Journal’s transition to NPG. With your help, Pediatric Research will continue to evolve into a publication covering all corners of the world and all kinds of research designed to improve children’s health.