Angela Bryan Named New Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Behavioral Medicine

University of Colorado Boulder Professor and longtime Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) member Angela D. Bryan, PhD, FSBM, has been named the new editor-in-chief of SBM journal, Annals of Behavioral Medicine (ABM).

Dr. Bryan already has several initiatives planned as editor-in-chief. She’d like to increase the presence of underrepresented minorities on the editorial team in hopes to encourage authors from underrepresented backgrounds to submit their best work to ABM. “It is important to support and foster creative approaches to behavioral medicine from across disciplines, perspectives, and experience, while maintaining the highest standards of rigor and scientific integrity,” she said.

Dr. Bryan's vision for the next 5 years is to diversify the journal space. "A major component of SBM’s strategic plan is to increase the impact of behavioral medicine. The goal is to diversify both the leadership and authorship of the journal as well as broadening the scope of the science we include as both align with an increased impact of behavioral medicine on public health," she said.

Dr. Bryan’s research focuses on the development of interventions to improve health behaviors and decrease risk behaviors. “Most recently, my colleagues and I have heavily focused on the public health implications (i.e., potential harms and benefits) of cannabis legalization,” Dr. Bryan said. “My work has been continuously funded for over two decades by NIH institutes including NCI, NIA, NIAAA, NIDA, and NINR.”

Dr. Bryan has had years of editorial experience, she has published over 250 peer reviewed publications and handled over 300 manuscripts as Associate Editor. “I joined the journal as an Associate Editor under Christopher R. France, PhD, FSBM, in 2010, then worked under Kevin S. Masters, PhD, FSBM, during his editorship,” she said.  “In 2022 I began serving along with Peggy M. Zoccola, PhD, as a Senior Associate Editor working closely with outgoing Editor-in-Chief Dr. Tracey A. Revenson, PhD, FSBM.”

In the beginning of January 2024, Dr. Bryan had the opportunity to directly test out the role as Editor-in-Chief. “I stepped in to serve as temporary Editor while Dr. Revenson was away on travel. It was this experience that piqued my interest in taking over the journal after Dr. Revenson steps down," she said. "I got a sense during that month that I would both enjoy the duties of Editor-in-Chief, that I could see opportunities to build on what Dr. Revenson has accomplished, and that I could hit the ground running as Editor-in-Chief.”