UJ’s Prof Heidi Abrahamse, Director of the Laser Research Centre (LRC) within the Faculty of Health Science at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), has been appointed in March 2016 as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Photomedicine and Laser Surgery.
“It is almost 10 years ago, 2006 to be precise and approximately 3 years after initiating my research on the effect of low intensity laser irradiation on biological tissue, when I attended my first World Association for Laser Therapy (WALT) conference in Cyprus”, says Prof Abrahamse.
Prof Abrahamse holds the national Laser Applications in Health South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) chair.
“I was a novice to this treatment modality and the gurus in the field. I met magnificent scientists, kind critics and generous mentors at that conference. While my usual demeanor is to silently stand and observe at conferences, this time I unexpectedly found myself presenting a bid to host the next WALT conference in South Africa.
“That event solidified my association with the research field but also introduced me to the journal Photomedicine and Laser Surgery. Over the last 10 years the Laser Research Centre has contributed a number of publications to the journal and established itself as a major contributor to the area of photobiomodulation and photodynamic therapy research. I was delighted to have our research accepted for publication in this journal and even more proud when I was requested to act as reviewer. My role developed over the years to senior editor and I was honoured and proud when approached to act as co-editor in chief,” she recalls.
Prof Abrahamse hopes to introduce a number of new interventions for the journal with the aim of increasing its readership and improving the impact factor which have now become an important measure of the value of her contribution to science.
The impact factor per publication for Photomedicine and Laser Surgery was 1.72 in 2014, and increasing.
The University of Johannesburg congratulates Professor Heidi Abrahamse on this prestigious appointment.
Photomedicine and Laser Surgery is the journal for cutting-edge advances and research in phototherapy, low-level laser therapy (LLLT), and laser medicine and surgery. The Journal delivers basic and clinical findings and procedures to improve the knowledge and application of these techniques in medicine.