We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Chad J. Roy has been appointed the founding Editor-in-Chief of Aerobiology (ISSN: 2813-5075).

Name: Prof. Dr. Chad J. Roy
Affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana USA
Interests: infectious disease aerobiology; communicability of airborne disease; aerosol ecology; transmission of infectious bioaerosols; aerosol infection models
Homepage: https://medicine.tulane.edu/departments/pulmonary-diseases-critical-care-environmental-medicine-research-microbiology-immunology

Prof. Dr. Chad J. Roy is a tenured Full Professor of microbiology and immunology and the Director of the Center for Airborne Infection and Transmission Science and serves as the Associate Dean for Research at Tulane School of Medicine at Tulane University. He is a trained infectious disease aerobiologist and has over 25 years of experience in the field. He has dedicated his professional career to the focused and exploratory investigation of aerobiological phenomena in the health sciences.

Prof. Dr. Roy has a broad background in performing and directing biomedical research studies with high-consequence bacterial, viral, and biotoxic agents, with specific expertise in aerobiology and aerosol disease models, especially working with non-human primate species.

During his early laboratory efforts with the US Army, he co-developed a patented process flow control system for inhalation exposure, which has since become the cornerstone indispensable laboratory technology and the worldwide industry standard requiring this type of laboratory apparatus. He has since applied this system design expertise to contribute to and eventually lead a range of US government-funded research studies in aerosol-transmitted disease using experimental infection with highly characterized animal disease models, the efforts of which are documented in his publications and numerous US and international patents. His university research laboratory and corresponding portfolio to date encompass a broad array of aerobiological investigations, with applications in both the life and health sciences.

He has published more than 130 scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals (Bibliometric Profiles on ORCID: 0000-0002-1710-6974; Web of Science Research ID: AFL-4337-2022).

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Chad J. Roy, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views on the research area and Open Access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take on the role as its founding Editor-in-Chief?

I initially contacted MDPI with an idea for a journal topic on aerobiology which would provide an ideal publication target for scientific matters spanning the life and health sciences within the context of the field of aerobiology. MDPI responded in kind with the establishment of Aerobiology and offered the editorial role to me.

I appreciate that this is a special opportunity to help build a journal worthy of such a topic, and I am pleased that I have been given the opportunity to take part in the labor associated with scholarly publication.

2. What is your vision for the journal?

Aerobiology is a new journal with a broad appeal to potential authors to disseminate their findings and scientific inquiry to an even broader, more engaged audience. I envision the journal’s scope to encompass findings both from ecological and human health sciences, all within the context of aerobiology. Aerobiology will alleviate the current deficit of active publications that target this subject matter. There continues to be building interest in aerosol-transmissible diseases, the interface with global climactic change, the consequence on our environment, and, most importantly, the media which we all collectively share (the atmosphere and the air we breathe).

Aerobiology is the first scholarly publication that brings together these timely, important topics under a single aegis as the main focus of the journal’s scope.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?

Incredibly bright. Aerobiology as a field of study, at least within the context of human health, has oscillated over time. With the advent of notable aerosol-transmissible emerging infectious diseases, the scientific community has experienced renewed interest in bioaerosols, and, more generally, in the composition and functional capacity of the biological and particulate componentry of the air we all share on planet Earth. There is a great opportunity afoot in the scientific community for a spirited investigation into the interactions between the airborne products of our natural and built environment and the intersection with ecology and human health. Accordingly, Aerobiology’s scope is ideally positioned to lead in the publication of the results of scientific inquiry in this regard. This is a very exciting time in this area of science and the field of study.

4. What do you think of the development of Open Access in the publishing field?

My opinion is that Open Access represents the true democratization of science, where the printed word will never return to a state of cloistered privilege for the few. Effective communication of scientific information remains a shining beacon for continued progressive thought and our collective intelligence as a species. Open Access represents one of the most important facets of this movement and represents the warm, bright light of progress that will hopefully forever eliminate restrictions from the dissemination of scientific discovery. I’m a big fan.

We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Chad J. Roy in his new role as the founding Editor-in-Chief of Aerobiology and wish him every success in helping the journal achieve many milestones.