The International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine fosters scientific dialogue on pertinent MR related topics for discussion, education, and documentation through the publication of enduring scholarly material. The Society speaks through its selected officials, the annual meetings, and its journals with their duly-established and broad-based editorial boards, who are accountable to the Society Board of Directors through its Publications Committee. The journals consider both invited and submitted editorial comments on appropriate topics as one of the vehicles of scientific dialogue. In that spirit, and within those guidelines, the first two invited editorial comments (below) come from the current President of the ISMRM and from a former member of the Board of Trustees of the ISMRM, respectively. These remarks illustrate the international balance that is valued at the ISMRM, with one coming from the United States and the other from Germany. Further, the balance between basic science and clinical investigators is also valued, and these two voices are representative of those two fundamental disciplines. It is also gratifying to help focus on our moral responsibility of providing the human benefits of MRI to the underserved of the world, in addition to those of us who are blessed to have more than our share of opportunity and resources.
Additional commentary is invited from the members of our Society and others who read these words. They will be seriously considered for publication as part of our commitment to moderating meaningful scientific discussion.