Edited by Dr Anna Melidoni, Senior Editor
AM: Tell us a bit about yourself and your current focus of research.
GWT: I received my MD Degree in Clinical Medicine at Fudan University, China. I am the Chief Physician and Associate Professor of Critical Care Medicine of Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. I specialize in Critical Care Medicine with over 12 years’ experience and I have been in charge of the cardiac surgery intensive care unit (ICU) since 2015. Now the ICU serves more than 6000 patients a year. I have been able to gain extensive and valuable experience in managing patients with heart transplantation, left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). My research interests are hemodynamic monitoring, cardiogenic shock, solid organ transplantation and ECMO. I have paid special attention to fluid responsiveness and have developed novel methods to predict fluid responsiveness in critically ill patients including patients on ECMO support.
AM: What do you think is the most fascinating recent development in cardiovascular research/Cardiology?
GWT: As intensivists, we are experiencing tremendous changes in the care of critically ill patients. Patients suffering from heart and lung failure are in need of highly complex treatment strategies and are severely threatened by immediate risk for mortality. Once medical treatment options are exhausted, the only opportunity to maintain hemodynamic or respiratory stability and prevent immediate death, is provided by extracorporeal life support. ECMO and VAD are playing an important role in patient recovery and the bridge to transplantation. As technology advances, indications increase, and the numbers of specialist centers rise. Further studies are needed to minimize morbid complications during ECMO all in an effort to improve quality of care.
AM: Is there an area of Cardiovascular biology/Cardiology that you think is currently under-explored?
GWT: Substantial progress in the development of less and non-invasive monitoring of macro-hemodynamics have been achieved. However, macro- and micro-circulation incoherence is common in critically ill patients. In the last decade, technical approaches to quantify and visualize micro-circulation including video-microscopy, laser flowmetry and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) have been introduced. However, their practical application is still limited. Furthermore, each organ has specific patterns of circulation related to its special anatomy or auto-regulatory capacities. Therefore, how to monitor the specific perfusion of vital organs such as liver, brain, and kidney remains to be investigated.
AM: Where do you see (or where would you like to see) the cardiovascular/Cardiology research field 10 years from now?
GWT: Xenografting seems to be a solution to bridge the time intervals when an essential allograft cannot be obtained. Early this year, scientists and clinicians performed historic successful transplant of porcine heart into adult human with end-stage heart disease at University of Maryland School of Medicine. This is a breakthrough surgery and brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis. Scientists and clinicians are proceeding cautiously, but we are also optimistic that this first-in-the-world surgery will provide an important new option for patients with end-stage heart disease in the future.
AM: Can you think of any collective initiatives that could support/speed up ‘bench to bedside’ research?
GWT: We need to establish one-stop research centers for translational medicine. The translation of study results involves many steps and it could be extremely difficult for individuals to complete these steps. Such a center could speed up ‘bench to bedside’ translation by bringing resources together and providing researchers with relevant administrative support. At the same time, these centers should be open to universities, academies, companies and hospitals, to smooth the communication between supply and demand.
AM: What does it mean to you to be an Editorial Board Member for BMC Cardiovascular Disorders?
GWT:
- Honor to be the “judge” of an outstanding journal, to objectively evaluate the potential value of each research, especially for those novel discoveries with controversy that may hardly be accepted.
- Be exposed to the latest researches in the field of cardiovascular medicine.
- Establish good global relations with other Editorial Board Members, and distinguished colleagues in the field of cardiovascular medicine
AM: What is one piece of advice you would give to reviewers as an EBM overseeing peer review ?
GWT: Treat every manuscript like treating your own papers. It’s vital to not only point out defects, but also to appreciate merits in each piece of work. Reviewers are not just making a choice between Accept and Reject. Instead, taking the opportunity to give comments, reviewers could offer valuable suggestions that are to the point and help authors improve the quality of the paper. Reviewers are not the opponent of authors, but teachers and friends who work side-by-side.
AM: What is one piece of advice you would give to prospective authors ?
GWT: Before submitting the manuscript, I recommend all authors (not just first authors and corresponding authors) to read it, exchange constructive advice and revise the manuscript together as all authors would be responsible to ensure questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Try to put yourself into the shoes of the reviewers and re-read the article from another perspective, from the title to all figures and tables, from punctuation to grammar. Though the accuracy of tables and grammar may not be the priority when reviewers are deciding whether to accept the paper or not, it shows respect to the journals and reviewers. Treat your reviewers as you hope they will treat you.
AM: What would you change in scientific publishing if you could?
GWT:
- Authors would have the opportunity to rate reviewers' comments as part of the post-publication evaluation.
- Create platforms for both readers and authors to openly discuss published articles on the journal website.