The American Academy of Ophthalmology today announced the appointment of Bennie H. Jeng, MD, as Editor-in-Chief of its flagship journal, Ophthalmology. Dr. Jeng is the chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and director of the Scheie Eye Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. He currently serves on the editorial boards of Ophthalmology and Ophthalmology Science. In a forthcoming editorial, Dr. Jeng vowed to harness the efficiency of artificial intelligence to help curate the highest-quality, clinically relevant research for the benefit of all patients. Dr. Jeng also announced a new partnership with The Lancet.
Dr. Jeng, who currently serves as the Academy’s Secretary for Annual Meeting, is a longtime Academy volunteer. Dr. Jeng has served on several Academy committees, including the Special Interest Team, the chair of the Self-Assessment Committee, the Ophthalmic News and Education Network (ONE) Editorial Board, the Research, Regulations, and External Affairs Committee, and the Awards Committee. He also served two terms on the Academy Council, as well as on the editorial board of EyeNet Magazine.
As artificial intelligence becomes an unavoidable part of scientific publishing, Dr. Jeng said the editorial board will continue to curate the most important research in ophthalmology with outstanding judgment, ethics, and foresight to make it the source of truth it is today.
“While all of our jobs will be harder as we tackle obstacles and hit curveballs served up by AI, our publisher will continue to help detect materials generated with “too much” AI assistance,” Dr. Jeng said. “These tools must never be used as a substitute for the critical thinking, expertise, and evaluation that only humans can do. This is where our editorial boards must step up and weigh in. Excellence is pursued through unbiased peer review, the advancement of innovation and discovery, and the promotion of lifelong learning. This unbiased peer review must not be outsourced to AI; it must be conducted by actual reviewers and editors.”
Additionally, Dr. Jeng announced that Ophthalmology will soon launch a new partnership with The Lancet.
Under the partnership, Ophthalmology retains right of first refusal for research presented at the Academy’s annual meeting, with one new exception. Authors who first submit to The Lancet would satisfy the Academy’s requirement for first submission to Ophthalmology.
If the research is not accepted by The Lancet, manuscripts will transfer directly to Ophthalmology with no reformatting required. This transfer pathway reflects a general agreement with The Lancet for all ophthalmologic research submitted to The Lancet not just annual meeting submissions, all of which now have the option of a direct path to Ophthalmology without reformatting.
“This partnership joins together two global leaders in clinical science publishing that both share a commitment to disseminating the most rigorous and impactful science,” Dr. Jeng said. “Ophthalmology remains committed to the highest standards for the most meaningful work as we strive to improve care for our patients through discovery and dissemination.”
