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EDITOR’ S NOTE
Here’ s to NEW beginnings!
There is change in the life of any magazine. It is with great pleasure that I am able to introduce you to the new look and feel of the The Specialist
Forum. This is not merely a cosmetic change, but a substantive makeover in terms of content as well.
We embark on this new journey at a time when the world of journalism is lurching towards an unpredictable digital future and with endless questions being raised about the future of print. In the face of such uncertainty and this gloomy prognosis, we have chosen to swim against the tide and strengthen our commitment to print, which we believe remains relevant and full of potential.
For the design, we have taken a deep content-driven approach. In other words, the design has been used to communicate content rather than compete with it for attention. The effort has been to marry the two seamlessly and produce a look that favours cleanliness over clutter, an easy elegance over exaggerated effect. This new look has been created by our in-house designer, Allison McCallum. Some things, however, remain the same. The values that have inspired the The Specialist Forum and have earned your trust- such as the commitment to clinical content which is accurate and fair, and to in-depth reporting and analyses- remain unaltered. In an age where journalism sensationalises and uses every trick in the book to grab your attention, never before has the term‘ old-fashioned’ seemed so comforting and so full of promise.
Change is the new constant, and we accept that. But for us, change also means remaining true to the core values that have made the The Specialist Forum the great magazine that it is.
In this issue, you can expect to find a CPD article by Dr Claudia Gray on the proper clinical treatment of asthma, an article on the treatment and management of epilepsy and a comprehensive feature on erectile dysfunction( ED).
Further, please allow me to applaud a South African medical professional who recently received one of the world’ s most prestigious international accolades.
TIME magazine recently named Professor Glenda Gray to the 2017 TIME 100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
South African-born Gray graduated in 1986 as a medical doctor from the University of Witwatersrand and in 1992 qualified as a paediatrician from the College of Medicine South Africa. Internationally acclaimed for her work in HIV research, Gray has broken new boundaries, redefined scientific excellence and pioneered ground-breaking medical research that has shaped global communities and saved lives.
“ Placing people at the centre of health research is the fuel for ensuring impact,” says Professor Gray, currently serving her term as President and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council( SAMRC).
Gray’ s story over the years is nothing shy of dedication, commitment, and passion for addressing health issues that have and still affect South Africans.
Most notably, she spearheaded the clinical development of the South African AIDS Vaccine initiative’ s HIV vaccines, the SAAVI DNA / MVA candidates and conducted the first trial using these candidate vaccines in South Africa and the United States. In November 2016, an ambitious programme was announced to evaluate an HIV vaccine regimen in South Africa that, if successful, could be the first HIV vaccine to be licensed globally.
Congratulations, Professor Gray! We salute you.
We hope you enjoy this issue of The Specialist Forum as much as we enjoyed creating it for you.
Yours in health Estene Lotriet SF
THE TEAM
EDITORIAL EDITOR: Estene Lotriet estene. vorster @ newmediapub. co. za
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4 | May 2017 The Specialist Forum | Vol. 17 No. 4