50 Years of Helping Dermatologists Improve Patient Care

Fifty years! It might not have been easy to imagine that a journal that is not supported by a medical group or society and is supplied free of charge to its audience could survive for half a century. But here we are, thanks to the continued interest of our readers and the hundreds of clinicians and scientists who have committed to the task of composing articles to educate their fellow physicians in the field of dermatology.

In the first issue of Cutis^® (Figure), Chief Editor Eugene F. Traub, MD, outlined what were, and still are, the goals of the journal: to provide articles “dealing with common dermatoses or those rarer diseases of great interest to all practitioners.”¹ Dr. Traub chose John T. McCarthy, MD, to conduct the day-to-day business of the journal as the Assistant Chief Editor. Dr. McCarthy then became Editor of Cutis in 1983 following Dr. Traub’s retirement and led the journal until his death in 2000. Dr. McCarthy loved his job and the journal, serving for an amazing 35 years, and could rightly be called “the father of Cutis.” In his 25th anniversary editorial entitled “Thank You,” he emphasized both the struggles and successes he experienced during his leadership and concluded by thanking the readers of Cutis for their support.² During this time, his great friend and colleague Joseph W. Burnett, MD, served as Senior Associate Editor.

The evolution of Cutis® over the last 50 years, with the cover of the first issue (top) and the current issue (bottom).

In 2001, along with my colleagues Jeffrey M. Weinberg, MD, and Nanette B. Silverberg, MD, I was honored to join the staff of Cutis as the new Editor-in-Chief. On that occasion, we laid out what we hoped would be some changes in the journal’s structure, aesthetics, and content, but we also stated our intention to maintain what we considered to be the most important aspect of the journal: “to publish ORIGINAL and PRACTICAL articles.”³ We have continued to emphasize the publication of articles that describe the “clinical presentation, diagnosis, histopathology, therapy, and management of the more common entities.”³

Medicine and the specialty of dermatology have changed in our 13 years at the helm of Cutis. With the changes brought by the digital revolution, the ways physicians, both young and old, can access information have been broadened. Our editorial staff has expanded our reach with online exclusives that comprise the digital component of the journal (http://www.cutis.com). Our digital archive dates back to 2000. We have greatly increased our outreach to our young colleagues in training with a Resident Resources section on our Web site, and we also have expanded our online presence with our popular Photo Challenge as well as audio and video commentaries.

Because our specialty has become more and more complex, Cutis will be taking a new route in 2015, focusing solely on practicing dermatologists, dermatopathologists, dermatologic surgeons, dermatology nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and our resident colleagues. Loyal readers from other areas of medicine will still have full online access to the journal.

At this juncture, we look forward to a reinvigoration of our efforts and another 50 years! We wish to thank all of our Editorial Board members  for their continued dedication and support. Finally, my colleagues and I would like to thank all of the behind-the-scenes professionals that make the publication of this journal possible, with special thanks to the tireless efforts of our Senior Vice President/Group Publisher Sharon Finch and our Group Editor Melissa Steiger Sears. I would be remiss if I did not also thank our advertisers in the pharmaceutical industry; without their support publication would not be possible. And finally, in the words of Dr. McCarthy, “Most important of all is you, the reader.”²

Fifty years! It might not have been easy to imagine that a journal that is not supported by a medical group or society and is supplied free of charge to its audience could survive for half a century. But here we are, thanks to the continued interest of our readers and the hundreds of clinicians and scientists who have committed to the task of composing articles to educate their fellow physicians in the field of dermatology.

In the first issue of Cutis^® (Figure), Chief Editor Eugene F. Traub, MD, outlined what were, and still are, the goals of the journal: to provide articles “dealing with common dermatoses or those rarer diseases of great interest to all practitioners.”¹ Dr. Traub chose John T. McCarthy, MD, to conduct the day-to-day business of the journal as the Assistant Chief Editor. Dr. McCarthy then became Editor of Cutis in 1983 following Dr. Traub’s retirement and led the journal until his death in 2000. Dr. McCarthy loved his job and the journal, serving for an amazing 35 years, and could rightly be called “the father of Cutis.” In his 25th anniversary editorial entitled “Thank You,” he emphasized both the struggles and successes he experienced during his leadership and concluded by thanking the readers of Cutis for their support.² During this time, his great friend and colleague Joseph W. Burnett, MD, served as Senior Associate Editor.

The evolution of Cutis® over the last 50 years, with the cover of the first issue (top) and the current issue (bottom).

In 2001, along with my colleagues Jeffrey M. Weinberg, MD, and Nanette B. Silverberg, MD, I was honored to join the staff of Cutis as the new Editor-in-Chief. On that occasion, we laid out what we hoped would be some changes in the journal’s structure, aesthetics, and content, but we also stated our intention to maintain what we considered to be the most important aspect of the journal: “to publish ORIGINAL and PRACTICAL articles.”³ We have continued to emphasize the publication of articles that describe the “clinical presentation, diagnosis, histopathology, therapy, and management of the more common entities.”³

Medicine and the specialty of dermatology have changed in our 13 years at the helm of Cutis. With the changes brought by the digital revolution, the ways physicians, both young and old, can access information have been broadened. Our editorial staff has expanded our reach with online exclusives that comprise the digital component of the journal (http://www.cutis.com). Our digital archive dates back to 2000. We have greatly increased our outreach to our young colleagues in training with a Resident Resources section on our Web site, and we also have expanded our online presence with our popular Photo Challenge as well as audio and video commentaries.

Because our specialty has become more and more complex, Cutis will be taking a new route in 2015, focusing solely on practicing dermatologists, dermatopathologists, dermatologic surgeons, dermatology nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and our resident colleagues. Loyal readers from other areas of medicine will still have full online access to the journal.

At this juncture, we look forward to a reinvigoration of our efforts and another 50 years! We wish to thank all of our Editorial Board members  for their continued dedication and support. Finally, my colleagues and I would like to thank all of the behind-the-scenes professionals that make the publication of this journal possible, with special thanks to the tireless efforts of our Senior Vice President/Group Publisher Sharon Finch and our Group Editor Melissa Steiger Sears. I would be remiss if I did not also thank our advertisers in the pharmaceutical industry; without their support publication would not be possible. And finally, in the words of Dr. McCarthy, “Most important of all is you, the reader.”²

Fifty years! It might not have been easy to imagine that a journal that is not supported by a medical group or society and is supplied free of charge to its audience could survive for half a century. But here we are, thanks to the continued interest of our readers and the hundreds of clinicians and scientists who have committed to the task of composing articles to educate their fellow physicians in the field of dermatology.

In the first issue of Cutis^® (Figure), Chief Editor Eugene F. Traub, MD, outlined what were, and still are, the goals of the journal: to provide articles “dealing with common dermatoses or those rarer diseases of great interest to all practitioners.”¹ Dr. Traub chose John T. McCarthy, MD, to conduct the day-to-day business of the journal as the Assistant Chief Editor. Dr. McCarthy then became Editor of Cutis in 1983 following Dr. Traub’s retirement and led the journal until his death in 2000. Dr. McCarthy loved his job and the journal, serving for an amazing 35 years, and could rightly be called “the father of Cutis.” In his 25th anniversary editorial entitled “Thank You,” he emphasized both the struggles and successes he experienced during his leadership and concluded by thanking the readers of Cutis for their support.² During this time, his great friend and colleague Joseph W. Burnett, MD, served as Senior Associate Editor.

The evolution of Cutis® over the last 50 years, with the cover of the first issue (top) and the current issue (bottom).

In 2001, along with my colleagues Jeffrey M. Weinberg, MD, and Nanette B. Silverberg, MD, I was honored to join the staff of Cutis as the new Editor-in-Chief. On that occasion, we laid out what we hoped would be some changes in the journal’s structure, aesthetics, and content, but we also stated our intention to maintain what we considered to be the most important aspect of the journal: “to publish ORIGINAL and PRACTICAL articles.”³ We have continued to emphasize the publication of articles that describe the “clinical presentation, diagnosis, histopathology, therapy, and management of the more common entities.”³

Medicine and the specialty of dermatology have changed in our 13 years at the helm of Cutis. With the changes brought by the digital revolution, the ways physicians, both young and old, can access information have been broadened. Our editorial staff has expanded our reach with online exclusives that comprise the digital component of the journal (http://www.cutis.com). Our digital archive dates back to 2000. We have greatly increased our outreach to our young colleagues in training with a Resident Resources section on our Web site, and we also have expanded our online presence with our popular Photo Challenge as well as audio and video commentaries.

Because our specialty has become more and more complex, Cutis will be taking a new route in 2015, focusing solely on practicing dermatologists, dermatopathologists, dermatologic surgeons, dermatology nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and our resident colleagues. Loyal readers from other areas of medicine will still have full online access to the journal.

At this juncture, we look forward to a reinvigoration of our efforts and another 50 years! We wish to thank all of our Editorial Board members  for their continued dedication and support. Finally, my colleagues and I would like to thank all of the behind-the-scenes professionals that make the publication of this journal possible, with special thanks to the tireless efforts of our Senior Vice President/Group Publisher Sharon Finch and our Group Editor Melissa Steiger Sears. I would be remiss if I did not also thank our advertisers in the pharmaceutical industry; without their support publication would not be possible. And finally, in the words of Dr. McCarthy, “Most important of all is you, the reader.”²