With the 29th issue (2012), I wrote my first editorial for Seminars in Interventional Radiology. It was entitled “Farewell and Kudos” and was written to thank Brian Funaki, the outgoing editor-in-chief, for his service to the journal. Irony of ironies, Brian and I will be working together at Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology starting in 2026. What goes around comes around, and 13 years later I find myself writing my last editorial for Seminars.

(I actually just looked this up, and if my count is correct, I think this will be my 41st editorial. Doing some simple math, that means I have touched a MINIMUM of: (3 readers per editorial × 41) – (repeat readers per editorial × 40) – (reader being my mother) = 123 (generous) – 0 (obvious) – 19 (passed in 2017) = my reach is boundless.

When I think back on our field in 2012 or even look at the titles of some of our articles, I remain stunned by the advances that have been made. I would say with a conservative mindset that three-quarters of the procedures I do now were either not invented/discovered, were done by others, or have undergone so many iterations as to not be recognizable to the operator today compared to 2012. That is why this journal remains so critical to our field and further advancements. Without scientific discovery, the opportunity to educate ourselves on those discoveries, and using that education to change clinical practice, IR would become obsolete in a matter of months (if not weeks).

With my apologies, I do feel it necessary to thank some individuals for their support over the past many years. Thanks to Thieme and the support they have demonstrated, which has continued to ratchet up most recently. Joycelyn Reid, with whom I've worked most closely and for all 13 years, has been the glue holding things together all while working behind the scenes.

Thanks to the editorial board and Bob Lewandowski, Deputy Editor. The board is made up of a Who's Who of our field and has undergone many iterations over the years. The position is unpaid and comes with expectations of involvement, both in the way of editorial board meetings and functioning as guest editors of issues. Without their guidance and fresh ideas, the journal would have become staid and irrelevant.

Thanks to my wife and professional partner Laura who has not only supported my time spent on the journal but has challenged me to attempt to make it, and me, better because of it. Those weeknights and weekends come out of personal, not professional, time.

Thank you to the authors who contribute fantastic content to the journal. As the reader is aware, writing a review article can take significantly more time than writing a primary research manuscript. Some of the authors are senior, some are junior, and many are trainees. I like to think that through Seminars many junior IRs get their first taste of academic work and, I hope, enjoy it enough to stay engaged throughout their careers. On a sidenote, while looking something up for this editorial I looked at the table of contents of Issue 1, Volume 1 (1984). Talk about a Who's Who listing—among the authors of the 10 articles in the issue (Topic: Percutaneous Nephrostomy Drainage Procedures), there were no fewer than four future SIR Gold Medalists.

Most importantly, however, thank you the readership. There are too many layers to peel back here, but without the practicing IR readership we simply wouldn't have a journal. The mission of the journal has always been one of education from stem to stern, the basics to the obscure. One can be the world's expert in one aspect of IR and a neophyte in another, and hopefully readers of all skill sets, experience, interests, and backgrounds can find something in each issue that affects patient care in the most meaningful way. If they—you—don't find something and find it quickly, then we are missing our mark.

As Bill Majdalany takes over as editor-in-chief (the 5th in the 42-year history of the journal), I know the journal is in fantastic hands. And I look forward to continuing to read it, cover to cover, as a practicing IR who needs education (likely more than anyone reading this editorial).

And once more—thank you.

Article published online:
31 March 2026

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