Fall 2019
Tracey Revenson Named New Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Behavioral Medicine
SBM Staff
Dr. Revenson already has a number of initiatives planned. She’d like to publish target articles and commentaries about new theories and advances in the field, invite brief reports that address ethical issues in behavioral medicine, and make the journal more welcoming to qualitative research and mixed method studies. “Some don’t see mixed methods as a critical part of behavioral medicine,” she said. “Yet, they are an important component of any behavioral medicine scientist’s toolkit.”
Dr. Revenson would also like to expand the journal’s audience so it’s more accessible, widely read, and highly cited by professionals outside of SBM’s membership. “We need to connect with health professionals who are on the front lines, journalists who report science, and ordinary people whose lives our research is meant to improve.…I would like to expand opportunities in the journal to use our science to address significant public health concerns such as health equity, alter the focus of interventions from biomarkers to more upstream social determinants, and address emerging health challenges such as climate change.”
Dr. Revenson’s research focuses on coping processes among individuals, couples, and families facing serious physical illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis and cancer as well as the influence of gender and race/ethnicity on psychosocial adaptation. She has conducted basic research, observational studies, and brief behavioral interventions for these populations.
Dr. Revenson is currently assembling her editorial team. “I’ve already had a major win,” she said. “John Ruiz, PhD, has agreed to serve as the senior associate editor. Dr. Ruiz’s work examines psychosocial influences on cardiovascular disease risk with an emphasis on biobehavioral pathways, and he brings a focus on underserved populations and associated risk and resilience mechanisms.”
Dr. Revenson, an SBM fellow, began serving ABM as an associate editor from 2009-2014, and continued her service as senior associate editor from 2014-2018. Before her work on ABM, Dr. Revenson served as founding editor-in-chief of Women’s Health: Research on Gender, Behavior, and Policy, and as an associate editor of the Journal of Behavioral Medicine. She has co-authored or co-edited 13 books, including the Handbook of Health Psychology (2019). Dr. Revenson currently sits on the Editorial Board of Health Psychology, and is co-editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. She will step down from this role before she officially becomes ABM editor-in-chief on January 1, 2020.
She will spend October to December working with outgoing Editor-in-Chief Dr. Kevin S. Masters, PhD. Dr. Masters has successfully led the journal since 2015. “Among other things, Kevin steered the journal through the transition to a new publisher and an accelerating number of manuscripts each year,” Dr. Revenson said. “He evaluated manuscripts with efficiency and diplomacy, not dispassionately, but with a cultivated interest in what he was reading.”
Dr. Revenson considers it an honor to lead the journal, but leadership will only be part of the equation. “As editor-in-chief, I see my role as a leader, decision-maker, and communicator. The editor must create and energize a team of associate editors, editorial board members, and peer reviewers who have a diverse set of research interests and values.”
When asked how she intends to keep ABM competitive and one of the top behavioral medicine journals, her answer was simple: “By publishing the best science.” She added, “And this depends on both seasoned scholars and early-career investigators submitting their best work to the journal and agreeing to review manuscripts. It takes a village!”