“How many journal manuscripts do you agree to review annually?” I (J.A.L.) get this question periodically, especially from younger scientists. Of course, there is no right answer to this question. We as journal editors hope (and pray) that people requested to review will accept the assignment because they wish to participate in the scientific process and they believe in the peer review system. Scientific journals rely on the expertise and the willingness of the reviewers to help judge the quality and significance of the work reported and to help improve the quality of the manuscript. One of the primary reasons for attending scientific conferences, such as those sponsored by the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS), is to learn the latest developments in our field. In some sense, reviewing manuscripts can be considered as another way to keep abreast of recent advancements. But it goes beyond that; all papers published in our journal have been improved because of the suggestions offered by the reviewers.

For sure, reviewing manuscripts takes time away from our busy schedules. During 2015–2016, for the 710 manuscripts we received, 923 reviewers were requested a total of 2393 times to review, and 70% of these requests were accepted. We are extremely grateful to all reviewers who give up their precious time to help ensure that we publish the finest quality research. The website and service, Publons, which tracks peer review contributions, listed their “Sentinel of Science Award” winner to a medical statistician who reviewed an astonishing 661 papers in a 12-mo period [1]. (Really!) Although we do not impose on our reviewers to any frequency close to this level, our reviewers nonetheless provide prompt and excellent quality reviews. Our most outstanding reviewers for 2015–2016 were Benjamin Bythell (University of Missouri–St. Louis), Kermit Murray (Louisiana State University), and Brandon Ruotolo (University of Michigan). As always, we thank Ben, Kermit, and Brandon for their outstanding efforts and service to JASMS.

(Left-to-right) Ben Bythell, Brandon Ruotolo, Joe Loo, and Kermit Murray at the 2016 JASMS Editorial Board dinner in San Antonio (photo courtesy of Sue Weintraub).

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