Brain Structure and Function - A farewell to Professor Laszlo Zaborszky!
It's with sadness and gratitude that we announce Professor Laszlo Zaborszky has stepped down from his role as Editor-in-Chief of Brain Structure and Function as of 30th June 2021, after over fourteen years at the helm of the journal.
As many of you will know, Laszlo co-founded the journal back in 2007 along with the late Professor Karl Zilles, when it relaunched from the previous title of Anatomy & Embryology. Between the two of them, and in collaboration with the journal's original Springer publishing editor Andrea Pillmann and wider Editorial Board, they managed to successfully develop the journal and grow it not just in submissions, but in Impact Factor and reputation throughout the neuroscience community.
In his time as Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Laszlo has handled a grand total of 1,979 submissions to the journal, an absolutely staggering figure.
Over the last year, Laszlo has worked harder than ever, with Susan Sesack and Michel Thiebaut de Schotten first on board as Associate Editors-in-Chief, and in the last six months as three co-Editors-in-Chief together. The decision for him to step down from his current role was not something taken lightly, and involved many discussions over the past year about timing, and ensuring a smooth handover.
As a result of Laszlo, Susan and Michel’s collaboration over the past year, the journal is in excellent shape to continue thriving, with a plethora of special issues and other activities planned to continue to grow Brain Structure and Function’s readership. You will hear more from Susan and Michel in the next few months about our plans, including in an upcoming Editorial published in the journal later this year.
It may be no surprise that Laszlo is not going far when he steps down at the end of the month. There is no substitute for almost fifteen years of experience founding and leading a journal, and so he has agreed to retain the role of Founding Editor-in-Chief for the journal, which we greatly appreciate. This will primarily be an ad-hoc advisory role, but he will also remain involved with the selection and presentation of the annual Editors’ Choice Award as part of the Cajal Club social at SfN each year.
Before he stepped down, Laszlo took the time to be interviewed by Michel, about both his career and his time as Editor-in-Chief of the journal. The full video is available on YouTube here (this opens in a new tab). As you'll hear in the interview, Laszlo has plenty of plans to keep himself busy once he's no longer overseeing the journal's Peer Review process.
All that remains is for me to ask you to join us in thanking Laszlo for his many years of dedication to the journal’s success, and to wish him the best for the future. I trust that you will continue to support the journal under Michel and Susan’s expert leadership - exciting things are to come!