Infectious Diseases Society of America Announces Next Editor-in-Chief of Open Forum Infectious Diseases
The Infectious Diseases Society of America is pleased to announce that Roger J. Bedimo, MD, FIDSA, has been selected as the next editor-in-chief of Open Forum Infectious Diseases. Dr. Bedimo will succeed interim co-editors-in-chief John Baddley, MD, MSPH, and Andrej Spec, MD, MSCI, FIDSA, who have led OFID throughout the search and transition process.
“Dr. Bedimo brings a global health perspective and a deep love of infectious diseases science to his new role at OFID,” said IDSA President Carlos del Rio, MD, FIDSA. “Under his leadership, I expect to see OFID grow ever more inclusive, international and forward-thinking and to contribute significantly to both infectious diseases scholarship and the care of patients around the world.”
Dr. Bedimo is currently the Chief of Infectious Diseases Section at the VA North Texas Health Care System and Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He is also the leader of the Trinity Clinical Research Site of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group.
Dr. Bedimo received his medical education at the University of Yaoundé in Cameroon. He then completed internal medicine residency training at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and infectious diseases fellowship training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His main research is analysis of determinants and mechanisms of chronic complications of HIV disease. He is a member of the Department of Health and Human Services guidelines panels for adult antiretroviral therapy and COVID-19 disease and has served as an associate editor of OFID since 2020.
“I could not be more honored to be selected as the next editor-in-chief of OFID,” said Dr. Bedimo. “I have the good fortune to take office at the perfect time to seek innovative ways to meet the needs of the ID field in an unstable and fast-changing global context. I look forward to working with my editors and the editors of IDSA’s other journals to increase speed and access to important data impacting clinical care and public health interventions, and to support the sharing of ID knowledge generated around the world.”
OFID’s editor-in-chief search was led by the OFID Search Committee, chaired by Victoria J. Fraser, MD, FIDSA. The committee launched an open call for applications in July 2022, with special attention to encouraging applications from groups underrepresented in medicine. Following the application deadline, the committee reviewed all written applications and selected finalists. The finalists each gave a detailed presentation on their plans for the journal and were interviewed by the committee. Ultimately, the committee determined that Dr. Bedimo’s qualifications, vision for the future of OFID and commitment to diversity, inclusion, access and equity within the field of infectious diseases were the best fit for the role. The IDSA Board then approved the search committee’s recommendation.
In addition to Dr. Fraser, the search committee members were Rachel A. Bender Ignacio, MD, MPH; Michael G. Ison, MD, MS, FIDSA; Keith Kaye, MD, MPH, FIDSA; Preeti N. Malani, MD, FIDSA; Jasmine Marcelin, MD, FIDSA; and Barbara S. Taylor, MD, MS, FIDSA.
About IDSA
The Infectious Diseases Society of America is a community of over 12,000 physicians, scientists, and public health experts who specialize in infectious diseases. Its purpose is to improve the health of individuals, communities and society by promoting excellence in patient care, education, research, public health and prevention relating to infectious diseases. Learn more at https://www.idsociety.org/.
About Open Forum Infectious Diseases
Founded in 2014, Open Forum Infectious Diseases publishes clinical, translational, and basic research in a fully open access, online journal. It focuses on the intersection of biomedical science and clinical practice, with an emphasis on knowledge that could improve patient care globally. Learn more at https://academic.oup.com/ofid.