JBJS is pleased to highlight our Elite Reviewers. The Elite Reviewers Program recognizes our best reviewers for their outstanding efforts. All JBJS reviewers help us maintain the highest standards for quality orthopaedic publishing.

Name: Roger van Riet, MD, PhD

Affiliation: AZ Monica and University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium

Years in practice: 10 years

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

I was invited to review because of my publications in the field of elbow surgery.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Be critical.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

I enjoy reading autobiographies of elite athletes to find out what drives them and how they set and achieve their goals.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight our Elite Reviewers. The Elite Reviewers Program recognizes our best reviewers for their outstanding efforts. All JBJS reviewers help us maintain the highest standards for quality orthopaedic publishing.

Name: Lawrence D. Dorr, MD

Affiliation: Dorr Institute for Research and Education, Pasadena, CA

Years in practice: 40

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

For JBJS, I applied to review.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Reviews have to be taken as seriously as writing a manuscript. Are the methods scientific? Is the data correctly analysed? Compare tables and figures to the results section – both for being accurate as well as not repetitive. Is the discussion a repetition of the results or do the authors compare and contrast their data with the appropriate citations? Is the data new, and will a surgeon change their practice because of this study?

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

Charnley biography

Lost Gutenberg by Margaret Davis

Matriarch by Barbara Bush

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight our Elite Reviewers. The Elite Reviewers Program recognizes our best reviewers for their outstanding efforts. All JBJS reviewers help us maintain the highest standards for quality orthopaedic publishing.

Name: Stein J. Janssen, MD, PhD

Affiliation: Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Years in practice: I’m a 4^th year resident in orthopaedic surgery.

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

I first reviewed some papers together with more experienced researchers and staff. Subsequently, I approached the Editor-in-Chief of two other top orthopaedic journals during a meeting and started reviewing. I reached out to JBJS after reading an editorial from Dr. Swiontkowski about the value of peer review and started reviewing soon thereafter.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Present a well-structured and detailed review suggesting ways for researchers to improve their work instead of only criticizing the manuscript. Several reporting guidelines (e.g. STROBE, PRISMA, CONSORT) can help to systematically evaluate a manuscript. In addition, review in a timely fashion.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

I always check the table of contents of the top 4 medical journals (NEJM, the Lancet, BMJ, and JAMA) and read the most interesting papers.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight our Elite Reviewers. The Elite Reviewers Program recognizes our best reviewers for their outstanding efforts. All JBJS reviewers help us maintain the highest standards for quality orthopaedic publishing.

Name: Mary L. Forte, PhD, DC

Affiliation: University of Minnesota, School of Public Health (primary), and Northwestern Health Sciences University

Years in practice: I practiced chiropractic for 19 years, and nursing (RN) prior to that. I’ve been working as a PhD in health services research since 2009.

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

I was electronically invited to review an article for JBJS that was in my area of expertise. I had reviewed for several other journals prior to that, one of which was an orthopedic journal.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Keep your reviewer profile for Unavailable Dates current, especially when unforeseen life events come up. My reviews have been delayed when I have forgotten to change my availability promptly.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

Varies and is free-time dependent.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight our Elite Reviewers. The Elite Reviewers Program recognizes our best reviewers for their outstanding efforts. All JBJS reviewers help us maintain the highest standards for quality orthopaedic publishing.

Name: Peter M. Murray, MD

Affiliation: Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL

Years in practice: 27 years

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

Personal invitations

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Concentrate on the methodology of the manuscript you are reviewing – most manuscript problems can be traced back to faulty methodology.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

The Biography of Ulysses S. Grant.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight our Elite Reviewers. The Elite Reviewers Program recognizes our best reviewers for their outstanding efforts. All JBJS reviewers help us maintain the highest standards for quality orthopaedic publishing.

Name: Sophia N. Sangiorgio, PhD

Affiliation: Orthopaedic Institute for Children / UCLA Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Bioengineering, Los Angeles, CA

Years in practice: I am a biomechanical engineer, specializing in orthopaedic implant performance. I have been working in orthopaedic research for nearly 20 years and on the UCLA faculty for 12 years.

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

I have been reviewing manuscripts for JBJS for 5 years, and reviewing for other orthopaedic journals, both clinical and biomechanical, for 10 years.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Take time to provide constructive feedback that provides the authors with a chance to respond and the means to improve their manuscript.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

Current concepts in preventative health, with a focus on increasing health span (prolonging physical and mental performance) and not simply lifespan. I also enjoy reading fiction to relax and unwind.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight our Elite Reviewers. The Elite Reviewers Program recognizes our best reviewers for their outstanding efforts. All JBJS reviewers help us maintain the highest standards for quality orthopaedic publishing.

Name: Kodali Siva Rama Krishna Prasad

Affiliation: Prince Charles Hospital, Cwm Taf University Health Board, Merthyr Tydfil, Mid-Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom.

Years in practice: More than 20 years.

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

James Heckman was instrumental in establishing me as JBJS reviewer. We developed an intellectual bond, which continued in recent years with admiration for the dynamic leadership of Marc Swiontkowski for successful expansion and diversification of JBJS portfolio of journals. I am also fortunate to share excellent rapport with Editors of JBJS group of journals. I was highlighted by JBJS as a Top Reviewer for two successive years before achieving the current Elite Reviewer status.

I owe it to Greer Richardson for encouraging me as an International reviewer for Foot and Ankle International (FAI). Unusually he sent me two supportive complimentary e-mails regarding excellence of my first review for FAI, which boosted my indifferent initial confidence and laid the foundation for reviewer role for major international journals. Later I enjoyed an eventful close association with David Thordarson, who created the first and only International Assistant Editor post for me in FAI and then facilitated further listing as Editorial Board Member for active participation in Trans-Atlantic tele-conferences of the FAI Editorial Board.

I started as a reviewer for Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research (CORR), when Richard Brand was Editor in Chief. I developed during Seth Leopold’s tenure as I was selected as a Top Reviewer for CORR and subsequently designated as an International Associate Editor with inspirational glimpses of editorial dynamics in implementation of a different philosophy of direction and publication of contemporary orthopaedic research with emphasis on quality of evidence and insights. In addition, a chance meeting in London with James Scott, the then-Editor-in-Chief, heralded reviewer role on this side of the Atlantic for JBJS Br (later designated Bone and Joint Journal) with subsequent addition of Bone and Joint Research.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

A perfect study does not exist and it follows that a perfect review is unattainable. Consistent efforts for excellence toward perfection as a hallmark of a review remain the ultimate aim. Conscious time limit, however, is not the main objective. It helps to expedite a review if the manuscript is read on the first day of acceptance with preliminary notations and certain undercurrents of thinking and analysis. At times, I follow it up with recent relevant literature review to clarify any doubtful issues and read the manuscript again after one or two days to draft the review in earnest. Knowing the particular journal well helps immensely. In my experience, the first draft of a review is not always the final draft. I would not submit a review until I am happy that it is comprehensive and certainly final. Recommendation also entails an element of balanced judgment. In the context of consistent efforts for uncompromising pursuit of excellence of reviews, the aim for Elite Reviewer status amounts to an incidental goal in the service of science and humanity as a team.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

I regularly read classics and have a collection of several century-old Editions. It is a great pleasure to leaf through the great works of previous centuries. Recently I read a comparative work between Kalidasa and Shakespeare, arguably the greatest poets and dramatists in Sanskrit and English literature. Of late, I have become an admirer of John Greenleaf Whittier. I am also an avid reader of Victor Hugo, an illustrious French poet and novelist, whose prose even in translation sounds poetic. We had an occasion to visit the Residence of Victor Hugo in exile in Guernsey.

Finally, Keats remains a favourite poet. Pertinent to review of manuscripts, Keats’ famous first line of the first draft of Endymion was “A thing of beauty is forever a joy”, which he later modified to “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever”. This illustrates that even a greatest poet has to work on the first inspiration with an admittedly rare revision even after publication – highly relevant to a reviewer, particularly an Elite reviewer.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight our Elite Reviewers. The Elite Reviewers Program recognizes our best reviewers for their outstanding efforts. All JBJS reviewers help us maintain the highest standards for quality orthopaedic publishing.

Name: Robert A. Arciero, MD

Affiliation: University of Connecticut Health

Years in practice: 32 years

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

I was asked by editors and/or associate editors because of my interests in shoulder and knee injuries in sports medicine.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

It may sound trite, but the reviewer must read the manuscript thoroughly and reflect on each aspect of the purpose, hypothesis, methods, results, and conclusion. Each section should be approached with a serious number of “why”s.

I think it is important that the reviewer have some command of the published literature on the particular topic and be willing to review that literature to review or comment on the manuscript.

Reviewing is a tedious process and takes time. It takes me routinely 1 to 2 hours to review properly.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

I have been reading a lot about the Greatest Generation lately and biographies on some of my sports heroes — Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle etc. I also practice a lot of guitar.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight our Elite Reviewers. The Elite Reviewers Program recognizes our best reviewers for their outstanding efforts. All JBJS reviewers help us maintain the highest standards for quality orthopaedic publishing.

Name: Jeffrey L. Stambough, MD, MBA

Affiliation: TriHealth Orthopedic and Sports Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio

Years in practice: 34 years

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

When I was a resident, my chairman, Carl T. Brighton, MD, encouraged us to get involved in orthopaedics and to give back. After my North American traveling fellowship, the late Dan Spengler, MD contacted me and, in the discussion, I asked to be involved in the fledgling Journal of Spinal Disorders. This was my first foray into the peer review process. 

What I learned from this experience is that if you want to get involved, just ask.  After gaining experience with spine journals, I volunteered to be a reviewer for JBJS. I have now been a reviewer for JBJS for about 20 years. More recently I have gotten more involved because I’ve been asked to do so.

The bottom line is that if you’re interested, fair-minded and committed, there’s an opportunity to become a peer reviewer specifically with JBJS. Just ask.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Be willing. While there may be a few perks, the bottom line is that you are interested and committed enough to do a good job. This includes but is not limited to being timely with your feedback, following a few basic rules and guidelines, and reviewing whatever you’re asked to as thoroughly as possible.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

I frequently read The Bible.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.

JBJS is pleased to highlight our Elite Reviewers. The Elite Reviewers Program recognizes our best reviewers for their outstanding efforts. All JBJS reviewers help us maintain the highest standards for quality orthopaedic publishing.

Name: Donald D. Anderson, PhD [most people call me by my nickname, “Don.”]

Affiliation: Department of Orthopedics & Rehabilitation, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

Years in practice: I am a full-time academic researcher, having completed my PhD in December 1989, which I guess means that I have “been in practice” for about 30 years now.

How did you begin reviewing for other journals and for JBJS in particular?

I began accepting requests to review manuscripts immediately after finishing up my PhD. Over the years, the number of journals that rely on my reviewing talents has increased. Somewhere along the way, JBJS started reaching out, and saying “yes” to that invitation was a pretty easy decision.

What is your top piece of advice for those reviewers who aspire to reach Elite status?

Be generous with your time, especially when the manuscript you’re referred is from your area of expertise and the study sounds interesting. It is okay to say “no” on occasion, but try to make that the exception. Then set a reminder for when the review is due and find a few hours to give it your full attention. Don’t sweat grammatical issues. Just tackle the big picture and technical points that occur to you.

Aside from orthopaedic manuscripts, what have you been reading lately?

I hate to admit it, but I read so much at work lately, that I don’t do much personal reading. However, as an engineer, I do complement my “orthopaedic manuscript” review work with comparable effort in the biomechanical engineering literature.

Learn more about the JBJS Elite Reviewers program.