“Başlarken” 2011

“Starting” the Molecular Imaging and Radionuclide Therapy

It is a privilege for me to announce the launching of the journal “Molecular Imaging and Radionuclide Therapy (MIRT), the new official publication of the Turkish Society of Nuclear Medicine. In fact, the journal is not starting from scratch, there is a long history as the Turkish Journal of Nuclear Medicine published since 1992, and first editor in chief was the late Professor Coşkun Bekdik. In his editorial entitled “Başlarken” (Starting) on the first issue of the Turkish Journal of Nuclear Medicine, he states that he has a profound trust to the younger generation in nuclear medicine that they will make the journal flourish. That young generation he was talking about was my generation, who did their best to improve nuclear medicine, now we became the seniors in the area. Following the footsteps of my instructor, it is now my time to turn my face to the younger generation, expressing my trust in them to advance the field. 

Obviously our long experience of publishing a scientific journal strengthens our grounds; however this new journal is a fresh start with an up-to-date identity, covering a broader and sensational topic. The title of the journal explains itself; a wide area of imaging and a relatively narrow but growing area of targeted radionuclide therapy. The future of medicine is moving towards the individualization of the treatment, thus opening new avenues for imaging techniques and targeted therapy. Though science is universal and diseases are worldwide, there are unique regional characteristics which should be taken account when dealing with diagnostic approaches and of course, treatment is also influenced by local application strategies and public attitudes. This brings another point to the individualization of the treatment, where both local genetic and cultural factors are involved. Thus, establishing scientific journals on similar topics on different parts of the world is desirable, or maybe inevitable, creating more chance for the scientists to publish their work, so the diverse findings can be revealed, contributing to the understanding of the disease processes and factors influencing the response to treatment. 

MIRT will keep the scientific quality high and provide open access to all published articles. The journal has an outstanding international editorial board and we will continue to enroll the leading scientists in the field. 

I hope MIRT will continue to serve to the nuclear medicine and molecular imaging community for many years to come.

Prof Dr Hatice Durak
Editor in Chief
Dokuz Eylül University Medical School 
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Izmir, Turkey