| First, on behalf of the ANA, let me extend our thoughts and best wishes to our members in Texas who have had their lives disrupted by the latest winter storm. I also want to send our collective congratulations to our Executive Director, Nadine Goldberg, on the birth of her first child, Lailah. Gabrielle Copperwheat will be standing in for her until Nadine returns.
The quote above is particularly appropriate when I consider the extent of the volunteer activity within the ANA. Over 100 members have given generously of their time this past year on the Board, Executive Committee, Professional Development Committee, and our many other committees. Having sought input from over 150 members through four town halls we are now gearing up for another important initiative that will also require real work to enact the change that we seek to make. The IDEAS taskforce will be co-chaired by Allison Willis and Lesli Skolarus, and we are currently seeking self-nominations for those interested in playing a role in improving diversity, inclusion, and equity within the ANA. Many members have struggled to balance personal and professional responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. I urge department leaders to be mindful of just how stressful this period has been for faculty with young children, or who are caring for vulnerable individuals. Some members have been able to use the time productively, and both Annals and ACTN saw a boost in the numbers of submitted manuscripts during 2020. The creativity and determination of our members has been challenged by COVID, and we have all had to adapt our laboratory and clinical research enterprise to the new realities. Hopefully, with deployment of the highly efficacious vaccines that we now have at hand, we may reach a level of population immunity that allows for some return of normalcy. We should reflect on the fact that vaccine deployment in the USA has been poorly organized in many areas, and that 130 countries have yet to vaccinate anyone against SARS COV-2. As neurologists we should continue to encourage our patients, when appropriate, to get vaccinated, and ensure that distribution is as equitable as possible. Finally, I am delighted that the Annals of Neurology Oversight Committee, headed by David Clifford, has selected an excellent Editor-in-chief, Ken Tyler, who will take over from Clif Saper next January. Clif has done a wonderful job at maintaining the high quality of the journal for almost eight years, and we thank him for this. Warm regards, Justin C. McArthur, MBBS, MPH |