A dream comes true

Dear friends,

It has been a privilege and honor to take charge as the Editor-in-Chief of the official journal of IADVL Kerala branch following the decision of the general body of IADVL Kerala held during Mid CUTICON at Thrissur on December 9, 2018. I express my deep sense of gratitude to all members of IADVL Kerala for entrusting me with this responsibility.

It has been an honor to build on the foundation laid by Dr. K Pavithran and Dr. S Criton, the former editors of Kerala Journal of Dermatology, Venereology, and Leprosy (KJDVL) and the leading figures in Indian Dermatology and Scientific research.

KJDVL was the realization of a long-cherished dream of IADVL Kerala community to have a journal of its own. The journey of KJDVL began in 2004, under the Chief Editorship of Dr. K Pavithran, the former editor of IJDVL, the official publication of national IADVL. None had doubts regarding the potential of the journal since Kerala is a state where the medical field as a whole, and Dermatology, Venereology, Leprosy, and Cosmetology, in particular, is keeping up with the latest advances in research. Dedicated practitioners from academic and non-academic institutions and individually established centers are rendering quality care to the needed. The teaching institutions in Kerala are among the finest in the country.

The great work initiated by Dr. K Pavithran was carried forward admirably by Dr. S Criton. Now, time has arrived for KJDVL to aim for greater heights to keep up with the demands and requirements of the present day. The present editorial team was advised to explore measures to improve the reach of the journal for wider dissemination of knowledge and also to make it an indexed journal with contributions from authors at national and international levels.

Each generation has a duty to perform, and if we fail to live up to it, we would be doing a gross injustice to the stalwarts who toiled hard for the present and also to the coming generations. Hence, I am happy to accept this honorable position and am extremely glad to have Dr. Mercy Paul, Dr. Bifi Joy, Dr. Sreekanth S, and Dr. Sarita S as my associate editors and an editorial board of the finest academicians and clinicians. I take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr Ashique KT for his guidance in initiating this endeavor. At this juncture, I remember with utmost gratitude the never-ending support the editorial team received from Dr. Rathish T Pillai (President, IADVL Kerala), Dr. David Pudukadan (Secretary, IADVL Kerala), and the IADVL executive committee.

The first step to increase the reach of the journal was to make it an online publication as well. After thorough deliberations, Scientific Scholar has been selected as the publisher for the journal. To give a global outlook to the journal, the editorial board was advised to opt for a universal name. After discussions in the editorial board, in the IADVL executive committee and after collecting suggestions from IADVL Kerala members through mail, the name “Journal of Skin and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (JSSTD)” was adopted. It was decided to publish two issues per year (June and December).

In this first issue, we have articles under different sections including reviews, original research, history, case reports, letter to editor, image, and resident’s page. Hope you will find this volume 1, issue 1 of JSSTD informative and interesting.

I am sure with the support of the editorial team, IADVL executive committee, and the IADVL Kerala members, JSSTD will reach the heights it deserves to be.