The Journal of Manual and Manipulative Therapy’s Editorial board would like to thank Dan Vaughn, PT, PhD, for his leadership and accomplishments as Editor-in-Chief of JMMT for the last three years. Dan followed the footsteps of John Medeiros, Peter Huijbregts and Chad Cook, and kept the Journal’s clinical spin in orthopaedic manual therapy research. Dan served as an outstanding mentor for many authors and relentlessly guided them to prepare and modify/improve their manuscript for publication. His mission was to guide researchers on improving their manuscripts for publication, while ensuring scientific rigour. He has proven himself as a top-notch reviewer with a critical and helpful strategy towards improving manuscripts. While leading JMMT, Dan sustained his position of Professor at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, where he was selected for the award of outstanding Educator in a graduates’ survey.
During his tenure at JMMT, Dan increased the international spin of the Journal, soliciting manuscripts’ submission from many countries. In my first year as JMMT co-editor, Dan’s mentorship has been invaluable. His willingness to pass on his knowledge and provide insight is surpassed only by his remarkable accomplishments within the last three years. Dan increased the visibility of the journal, allowing easier manuscript submission, access to archived articles, and efficient timely turn around of manuscripts reviewed. He increased JMMT’s submission of manuscripts, approaching 100 submissions per year and initiated “Special Issues” for the journal, and increased JMMT number of issues to five per year.
Dan also initiated electronic filing and access of selected AAOMPT posters and platform presentations’ abstracts, using JMMT platform, making the abstracts available for electronic viewing and engaging clinicians to present their findings at conferences. His passion and innovation will be a difficult act to follow. While ‘retired’ from the editor’s role, Dan has taken the Chair position of the department of physical therapy at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, and plans to continue as JMMT’s Associate Editor and advisor. Dan will keep encouraging greater participation of entry-level doctor of physical therapy students and manual therapy residency students in developing journal content and enhance clinical science content that supports the practice of manual therapy.
Thank you Dan for your outstanding contribution to the physical therapy profession, for educating new generations of clinicians with passion and your relentless participation in research and orthopaedic manual therapy science.