10 Years…

I am pleased to share that Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation (JCOPDF) has reached a significant milestone: 2024 marks our 10^th anniversary.

Ten years is very young in comparison to many other journals, but when considering where we started and where we are now, these 10 years are worth celebrating.

The JCOPDF was conceived by the COPD Foundation’s late founder John W. Walsh and James D. Crapo, MD, out of frustration with the existing COPD publishing options and a desire to create an open-access journal—with no barriers to access. Launching a new medical journal is no small feat and doing it as a nonprofit publisher is particularly challenging. To consider publishing without the extensive resources of a commercial publishing house or the large, institutional subscriptions that have sustained so many of the longest-running journals, was an ambitious (some might argue impossible) dream.

But John and James’ passion for the creation of the JCOPDF was contagious and many others were compelled to join them in their quest. First and foremost was Byron Thomashow, MD, COPD Foundation Cofounder and Chairman of the Board of Directors for many years and a champion of the JCOPDF both then and now. Secondly, an editorial board of over 90 global COPD experts committed to the Journal in 2014 and have remained active reviewers and advisers ever since. In addition, 4 pillars of the COPD research community, Peter J. Barnes, DM, DSc, FRCP, Paul W. Jones, PhD, FRCP, Barry J. Make, MD, and David M. Mannino, MD, became the Journal’s first associate editors and joined James (the Journal’s founding editor in chief) in establishing its rigorous peer review process and shepherding many manuscripts to publication. These 5 editors volunteered their time to the JCOPDF for many years and without them, the journal would not have survived, never mind reached this significant milestone. We extend our gratitude to them and to the accomplished and dedicated associate editors who followed them: MeiLan Han, MD (2018–2021); Brad Drummond, MD, MHS (2020–present), Nirupama Putcha, MD, MHS (2020–present), Valerie Press, MD, MPH (2021–present), Fanny Wai San Ko, MD (2021–present), Maria Rosa Faner, PhD (2022–present), Ken Kunisaki, MD, MS (2022–present), Jessica Bon, MD, MS (2023–present), Laura Spece, MD, MSc (2023–present), and Noel “Gerry” McElvaney, MD, DSc (2023–present).

And of course, at the center of the journal and the heart of our accomplishments are the thousands (over 2500 to be exact) of researchers who have supported the JCOPDF through their submissions of original research, reviews, perspectives, guidelines, and communications manuscripts. We thank you for trusting us with your work and permitting us to review, critique, and publish it, allowing us all to better understand COPD, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, bronchiectasis, and nontuberculous mycobacteria as a result.

Our Celebration

I was a member of that inaugural editorial board mentioned above and was honored and pleased to be asked to serve as the journal’s second editor in chief in 2020. I have been privileged to be a part of the Journal’s history and help it experience significant growth. I am now pleased to announce that as we enter our 10^th anniversary year, in honor of this milestone and as a true expression of our growth and success, we will be expanding our publication schedule from quarterly to every other month—6 times per year (January, March, May, July, September, and November).

In addition, we will take the opportunity of our anniversary celebration to reflect on the current state of COPD. The JCOPDF was launched in 2014—10 years after the Foundation was created—and the Journal’s inaugural issue presented reviews and commentaries on progress made in understanding and controlling COPD in the first decade of the Foundation’s journey. Similarly, this year, we will bring you content—reviews and perspectives—focused on progress made in COPD research and knowledge in the past decade. We will look at what we have learned, where we have improved, and what challenges remain.

Lastly, thank you readers for your continued support of the JCOPDF. We look forward to enjoying our anniversary year with you and to bringing you COPD research-focused content for many more years.