Editorial

I accepted the appointment as the new editor-in-chief of Pharmacopsychiatry as of January 1, 2016. It is a great honor and privilege to have been asked to take the lead for this prestigious journal, which was founded in 1968 at a time when psychopharmacological research was in its infancy. On the other hand, this is quite a challenging task for any academic in times when the future of journals depends so strongly on their impact factor and when the traditional business model of printed journals is threatened by the overwhelming number of new, mostly open-access journals. Furthermore, given that almost all psychotropic drugs went off patent or will be doing so soon, and that major global pharmaceutical companies are closing down their pipelines for mental disorders, the era of easy development of and reimbursement for new drug treatments seems to be over for the time being.

How does the new team of editors think these challenges might be tackled successfully? We have developed some ideas: first, we want to maintain the strategy of publishing the core topics of Pharmacopsychiatry, namely original and high quality experimental and clinical research in neuropsychopharmacology, but we will expand the scope by encouraging researchers to submit papers that deal with clinical insights and new avenues of research and treatment for psychiatric disorders. Specifically, good clinical psychiatry and psychopharmacology arise from the means of action by the different agents. Thus, investigations in valid animal models and challenge studies in healthy volunteers, as well as the application of neuroscience techniques such as in-vivo microdialysis, immunohistochemistry, neuroimaging, and epigenetics will give us deeper insights into the behavioral and molecular effects of medications already on the market and will deliver new substances relevant for our patients. Therefore, manuscripts addressing these aspects and combining translational approaches are highly welcome by Pharmacopsychiatry.

Secondly, beginning in the second half of 2016, we aim to publish journal volumes that have a clear thematic focus and include invited reviews and commentaries by experts in the field. The first volumes will emphasize the pharmacological treatment of mental disorders in childhood and adolescence, while future volumes will address cannabis and crystal/synthetic drugs. Ideas for such future volumes with specific themes, as well as guest editorships are very welcome. Thirdly, we have invited several new internationally known researchers from abroad for the journal’s Advisory Board who will support us in achieving these goals.

Before I present the new team of Editors, let me briefly introduce myself. I received my MD from the School of Medicine at Freie Universität Berlin, and my PhD from the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the same university in Berlin in 1987. Beginning at the Freie Universität Berlin (where 2 of the journal’s founders in 1968 had worked, Helmut Coper and Hanns Hippius), as a resident and research fellow in psychiatry and neurology in 1989, I pursued the investigation of lithium’s effects in the clinical setting at the Berlin Lithium Clinic under the leadership of Bruno Müller-Oerlinghausen, who also was the editor-in-chief of Pharmacopsychiatry at that time. Another primary focus throughout my career has been to improve our understanding of the metabolic role of thyroid hormones in the adult brain using neuroendocrine and functional brain imaging techniques, and to apply that knowledge to investigating the clinical treatment of depression and bipolar disorders. Other research interests include the development of novel pharmacological and algorithm-guided therapy strategies for individuals suffering from mood disorders, and to transfer that knowledge into practice through clinical treatment guidelines. I have pursued these questions aiming at improving the lives of people with mood disorders in my clinical practice, while conducting research as a visiting professor at the Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), on the faculty of Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, and since 2007 at the Technische Universität Dresden.

I am delighted that 2 distinguished scientists from the previous editorial board will continue to serve on the journal’s board. Wolfgang Fleischhacker, MD, is Professor and Director in the Department of Psychiatry Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics at the Medical University Innsbruck in Austria. Dr. Fleischhacker’s main research interests relate to schizophrenia and clinical psychopharmacology, an area in which he has a world-class reputation and where he has led seminal international clinical trials. He participated in World Health Organization (WHO) and World Psychiatric Association (WPA) programs focusing on schizophrenia, and was also a member of the Medical Advisory Board of the Committee of Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency. Moreover, we continue to have on board Dr. Hiroyuki Uchida from the Department of Neuropsychiatry at the Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan, specialized in clinical psychopharmacology in schizophrenia. He has been carrying out a series of clinical trials, meta-analyses, and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic studies focusing on the optimal antipsychotic treatment for schizophrenia.

The 2 new members on the editor’s team are Georg Juckel and Gerhard Gründer. Professor Juckel, MD, Chair of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics at Bochum University in Germany is one of the German pioneers working with animal models in different aspects of psychiatric disorders. Since the early 1990s, his research has focused on developmental animal models of schizophrenia and disease-related mechanisms of the brain serotonin system. He applies a broad variety of different methods such as neurophysiology, neuroimaging, and neuroscience techniques in animal models. Our team is enhanced by Professor Gründer, MD, Vice Chair in the Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics of RWTH Aachen University, Germany. His research interests are the neurobiology of mental disorders and clinical psychopharmacology, with emphasis on schizophrenia, affective disorders and substance abuse disorders. For this purpose, he mainly utilizes modern functional imaging methods including positron emission tomography. In addition, he performs clinical studies of all phases in psychiatric patient populations and healthy volunteers.

My strong hope is that our agenda will contribute to facilitate the translational aspects of neuropsychopharmacology and in so doing, further strengthen the journal’s fine reputation. Together with the members of the Advisory Board and the new Assistant Editor, Dr. Emanuel Severus, we ensure that all submitted manuscripts will be reviewed fairly and swiftly, and once accepted, published rapidly. We cordially welcome you to continue to participate in Pharmacopsychiatry as readers and authors.

January 2016