JAMIA Editor-in-Chief

The continued evolution of JAMIA is a close partnership between the strategic direction of the organization set by the AMIA Board of Directors, the day-to-day business management of AMIA’s portfolio of publications handled by the AMIA staff, and the editorial leadership of the JAMIA Editor. Continued communication and collaboration between all parties is essential to ensure that JAMIA evolves symbiotically along with AMIA’s publication strategy, serves AMIA members and future members and aligns with the AMIA strategic plan.

The Editor reports to the AMIA Board of Directors through the Board Chair. The Editor regularly liaises with the AMIA office on business matters that include budgets and publisher management and with the AMIA executive committee on the strategic direction of AMIA’s publication portfolio that includes JAMIA and JAMIA Open.  The Editor meets annually with the AMIA Journal and Publications Committee to assess performance against established key performance indicators and alignment with JAMIA’s vision.

Editorship will be for a period of four years starting January 1, 2027, and continuing through December 31, 2030. The Editor’s term is renewable for one additional 4-year cycle based upon approval of the AMIA Board of Directors. An annual stipend is provided to support the Editor in fulfilling the responsibilities of the position.

Currently, JAMIA has an Editor and eleven Associate Editors. There is a 62-member editorial board whose members are recommended by the Editor and approved by AMIA’s Board Chair. Editorial board member terms are typically two-year terms, with new and/or renewing editorial board members each year. There are also six Student Editorial Board members.

JAMIA is published by Oxford University Press (OUP). OUP is responsible for providing the web-based manuscript submission system and all publishing services, production and distribution, customer service and promotion of JAMIA. OUP is responsible for maintaining the JAMIA editorial office and employs staff or contractors that allow JAMIA to function efficiently. OUP is responsible for the management of all aspects of the editorial office and works closely with the Editor to ensure JAMIA's needs are being met.

The Editor-designate will serve as an Associate Editor July 1 to December 31, 2026, and work closely with the current Editor on the content pipeline for the remainder of 2026 and the start of 2027 JAMIA issues. These roles will reverse on January 1, 2027, with the Editor-designate taking responsibility for the manuscript review process, and the current Editor serving as an Associate Editor at the new Editor’s invitation.

The Editor is responsible for the content of JAMIA and for maintaining and implementing a vision as directed by the AMIA Board of Directors that will keep JAMIA the premier scientific journal in biomedical and health informatics. The Editor is responsible for ensuring an editorial process that highlights quality of contributions; fairness in acceptance decisions; timeliness of publication; and responsive communication with contributors in all stages from submission through post-publication. 

The Editor, either personally or through oversight of the Associate Editors and editorial staff, is responsible for acknowledging all manuscripts received, identifying appropriate reviewers for each manuscript from among JAMIA's reviewer pool and outside it when necessary, distributing each manuscript to reviewers and requesting rapid high quality reviews, monitoring reviewer comments and suggestions, making acceptance decisions in a timely manner, notifying authors, corresponding with accepted authors, and working with author manuscripts to the extent necessary in order to make the contributions of the highest possible editorial quality.

The Editor is expected to deliver the content for each issue that is submitted to the Publisher following the deadlines in the annual journal production schedule. The Editor and the Publisher must work closely together and good communication is critical during the entire publishing process to ensure that all issues of JAMIA are published on schedule.

All individuals intending to submit a proposal must return a Letter of Intent of no more than one page along with their current Curriculum Vitae to the AMIA office ([email protected]) by November 12. Letters of Intent will be used to gauge interest in the Editor position and assist the search committee in planning and preparing for the review of the proposals.

Proposals must include

1. a cover letter,
2. a narrative section, and
3. a letter of support from your organization.

Proposals are due on December 3.
 

Your cover letter should summarize your qualifications and the reasons for your interest in the JAMIA Editor position. We ask that you include your editorial vision for JAMIA in the future. Topics might include your views on using social media to enhance the reach of journal content; your views on expanding the current JAMIA author base or reader base; your views on how to address the increased competition from traditional medical journals; or your views on the role of the Editor related to recent political and policy changes.
 

The narrative section, not including appended  material, should be no more than ten pages in length and should address at least the following, as well as anything else the prospective candidate feels is important to include:•    a discussion of their vision of optimal scholarly communication as the leading journal for the field of biomedical and health informatics, the role of JAMIA within that vision, your key strategies for positioning JAMIA in that role, and at least three measurable objectives for the journal during your initial four-year term.

• a description of what you consider to be your leading qualifications for assuming the role of JAMIA Editor.
• a discussion of any changes in editorial and review processes or procedures that you would institute to fit your work circumstances, philosophy, or style; and a discussion of the editorial structure you propose.
• a description of how you would anticipate interacting with the AMIA Office and the AMIA Board of Directors to keep them apprised of the progress of the journal and relevant concerns and developments. 
• a delineation of any measures you would take to increase the quantity or quality of submissions to JAMIA for peer-review. 
• an action plan and timeline for July 2026 thru June 2027, working with the current Editor, leading up to the new Editor’s inaugural issue to ensure continuity of JAMIA.
• a discussion of the potential use of artificial intelligence/large language models (AI/LLMs) to enhance JAMIA’s efficiency while upholding its high standards of quality. This could also include the use of AI/LLMs in the development of and review of manuscripts and how these uses may change over time.
• a response to the changing landscape of scientific communication. It is critical to maintain the integrity of our field and uphold the excellence of the science that is published. More modes of communicating science are coming to the fore that may make traditional journal publications outdated. How will you respond to this change?

Since there are major responsibilities as the JAMIA Editor, the proposal should include a letter of support from a suitable official in your organization supporting your potential Editorship proposal. The support letter should primarily focus on an expression of overall support and time allowance given institutional responsibilities and not on internal staff support. The editor spends approximately 10-15 hours per week on JAMIA related activities.

AMIA is most interested in the CV for the proposed Editor. However, if your proposal includes significant new people in the process (e.g., proposed new Associate Editors), the Search Committee would like to receive CVs for those as well.