I am honoured and privileged to be taking over the role of Editor-in-Chief of Spinal Cord.

Firstly, on behalf of ISCoS, I express sincere gratitude to Professor Jean-Jacques Wyndaele who is stepping down as Editor-in-Chief to focus on his role as President of ISCoS. Professor Wyndaele has been Editor-in-Chief since 2006. Over those 10 years he has introduced many new features to the journal. Notably, he recently established Spinal Cord’s sister journal—Spinal Cord Series and Cases. As Editor-In-Chief Professor Wyndaele has overseen the publication of some 1700 papers. Last year alone he managed more than 400 manuscripts—equivalent to 8 new manuscripts per week. Professor Wyndaele deserves our utmost admiration and respect for the time and effort he has devoted to the journal and for his enthusiasm, passion and energy. He has set a very high bar for me.

Secondly, I want to briefly introduce myself and my vision for the journal. My background is in physiotherapy. I worked for over 20 years as a clinician in Sydney (Australia) spinal injury units. Twelve years ago I moved across to my current academic position and am now a professor at Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Australia. I have a very keen interest in evidence based practice and research methodology, and in finding solutions and answers to questions that are relevant to people living with spinal cord injuries. I enjoy reading about the problems of bias in research and the complexities of different research designs. I have a deep respect for researchers who pursue truth with high quality and careful science.

I want Spinal Cord to advance the care of people with spinal cord injuries. To that end, I want to further increase the quality of research in spinal cord injuries. I am committed to research transparency, and I am particularly interested in helping authors meet international reporting standards and ensuring that systematic reviews and clinical trials are prospectively registered. Ultimately, my goal is to ensure that Spinal Cord reports high quality research that is internationally relevant and addresses important questions. I want papers published in Spinal Cord to be clear and easily read. Most importantly, I want the findings and conclusions of papers published in Spinal Cord to be trustworthy and free of spin.

So I welcome your submissions, contributions, suggestions and guidance as the Editor’s baton changes hands. I will tread slowly and carefully until I find my feet. And I will rely on the journal’s competent and dedicated staff, Section Editors and Editorial Board.

I thank ISCoS for entrusting me with this tremendous responsibility. With everyone's support, we can take Spinal Cord to even greater heights by building on the work of those who have preceded me.