We are delighted to announce that Prof. Marc Struelens will be leading our new specialty section in Frontiers in Medicine and Frontiers in Public Health: Infectious Diseases – Surveillance, Prevention and Treatment. Given the intertwined nature of the public health and medical community when it comes to infectious diseases, we felt that a combined editorial board will best serve both communities to provide the highest quality peer review for our authors.

A former president of the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), Prof. Struelens is currently Chief Microbiologist at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and Professor of Medical Microbiology at Universite Libre de Bruxelles. Prof. Struelens has extensive experience and publication record in microbiology, infectious diseases and public health. He has chaired the Belgian Infection Control Society and the European Study Group on Epidemiological Markers in addition to being a member of national and international advisory boards in the field of infectious diseases.

Describing his vision for this specialty section, Prof. Struelens states:

“I would like to provide a respected and interactive forum where medical researchers publish and contextualize research advances on determinants of human infections, at patient and population levels, and translate this knowledge into innovative diagnostic, therapeutic and preventative interventions”.

Prof. Struelens envisions his specialty section reflecting the new directions in the field of infectious diseases, specifically:

“Global epidemics, re-emerging infectious diseases and increasing antimicrobial drug resistance continually challenge medical practice and infection control. Interdisciplinary approaches are key to a better understanding and improved management of these health threats.  Novel biotechnologies and Omics-based “precision medicine” are opening new avenues for enhanced infectious disease diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control. Rigorous assessment of their medical and public health added value is essential. This process should harness the latest methodological developments in study design, data analysis and transparent reporting.”

In the mission statement for this specialty section, Prof. Struelens outlines his vision for this branch of Frontiers in Medicine:

“This section aims to strengthen the evidence base to inform clinical and public health practice and to improve the effectiveness of infectious disease detection, surveillance, management and control. Areas of particular interest include observational and interventional studies of emerging infectious diseases, healthcare-associated infections and infections in compromised hosts and vulnerable communities. […] It will also consider reports of implementation studies on public health interventions to prevent infectious diseases, including vaccine effectiveness and immunization policies evaluation.

“ Prof. Struelens shares Frontiers’ commitment to Open Science, asserting “the fast-track, participative open access publication approach of Frontiers transforms the scientific communication landscape and creates new opportunities for advancing and disseminating medical knowledge more widely.”

The section is now open to submission. If you would like to join the editorial board, propose a thematic collection of articles, or submit a manuscript, direct all inquiries to the Editorial Office at medicine@frontiersin.org. We look forward to hearing from you!

Oksana Parylo, PhD.

Journal Development Specialist

Frontiers in Medicine

medicine@frontiersin.org