The ® has eight Associate Editors who dedicate their time to the Journal. Matthew Allen, VetMB, PhD has served as an Associate Editor for the past two years.

What is your specific area of research?

Preclinical animal models of musculoskeletal disease

What has been the biggest challenge/issue for you as an associate editor?

Finding reviewers who are willing to undertake reviews, especially for topics where there is a more limited pool of researchers.

What is most rewarding about being an associate editor?

Being able to assist authors with the creation of well written papers that add substantively to the literature.

What project(s) are you looking forward to in the near future?

I have been very impressed by the emphasis that the journal has placed on publishing and disseminating best practices in the use of orthopaedic animal models. I expect this trend to continue and very much hope that these practices will be adopted by the community and used in designing future experiments.

If you could give a specific message directly to ORS members, what would it be?

The ® continues to get better and better. As the official publication of the ORS, I would encourage all ORS members to consider JOR as the first choice for publishing high quality clinical and translational science.

How do you think the Journal will change in the next five – ten years?

There will be an increase in the development of virtual editions that bring together papers on key topics. In the context of work involving the use of animals, there is likely to be a stronger emphasis on the selection of appropriate, valid and clinically relevant animal models and outcome measures.

November 2019