In January 2012, I channeled my inner Steve Jobs to cajole electronic medical record companies to “think different” about the future of EMR. It was my first Upfront as editor-in-chief of Retinal Physician. One hundred and seven Upfronts later, it is with a heavy heart that I announce that this is my last. In January, the new editor in chief, Diana Do, MD, of Byers Eye Institute at Stanford, will take over this enviable position and enlighten us in her unique way as she takes the helm.

Over the past 12 years, it has been an unimaginable honor to guide the content and direction of Retinal Physician and make it the best retina publication. Our team has worked tirelessly to provide retina specialists with the most timely and accessible information source we could produce. As times changed, so did the publication: from marrying the print magazine to the online content to upping our social media presence, our only goal has been to be the definitive source of retinal information for our audience. We are very proud of where we are, but I also cannot wait to see the changes Diana and her team bring to Retinal Physician.

We have all heard the adage “Behind every great man is a woman,” and in this case the growth of Retinal Physician is the direct result of the tireless work of Jennifer Ford, who until recently was the senior managing editor. All of retina knows who she is, as she always had her finger on the pulse of retina. Her amazing skills are what made my job so easy. 

As was my tradition in my Retinal Physician editorials, I like to dig into the quotes I use. In this Upfront, the quote was attributed to Meryll Frost, the quarterback of the 1945 Dartmouth football team, who had suffered significant burns during World War II. No one knows for sure who he was talking about, but most think it was his high school sweetheart, Pauline MacKenzie. The rest of the quote is not as famous. He continues, “While I am not a great man, there’s a great woman behind me.” Thank you, Jen, for so many amazing years, and as you move to bigger things at Conexiant, we are all indebted to your skills managing my favorite publication. 

So, I leave you with my final Upfront quote, using the words of another famous Dartmouth graduate, Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel: “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” RP