Warren Grill Named Editor in Chief of the Journal of Neural Engineering

Warren Grill, the Edmund T. Pratt, Jr. School Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke, has been named editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neural Engineering.

Published by IOPscience, the Journal of Neural Engineering acts as a forum for the interdisciplinary field of neural engineering where neuroscientists, neurobiologists and engineers can publish their work. JNE bridges the gap between neuroscience and engineering. The journal publishes articles in neural engineering at the molecular, cellular and systems levels.

“After founding and acting as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neural Engineering for 18 years, I am excited to pass the baton to Warren Grill,” said outgoing Editor-in-Chief Dominique Durand. “Dr. Grill has played a significant role in bringing JNE to its status as the leading journal in the field. I am sure that he will continue to foster its development to best serve the neural engineering community.”

As the new Editor in Chief, Grill will maintain high editorial and scientific standards and work to increase the journal’s profile within the biomedical engineering and neuroscience communities. The impact of the journal will be increased through more frequent topical issues, invited reviews, and by expanding the scope to include more work in neural imaging and machine learning.

“IOP Publishing recognizes the significant contributions made by Dr. Grill to the field of neural engineering and to the development of Journal of Neural Engineering as a long-serving member of the journal’s Board,” said Richard Kelsall from IOP Publishing. “In recognition of this, and following consultation with trusted experts in the field, the staff at IOP Publishing were unanimous that Dr. Grill should be offered the role in the first instance. We are delighted that he could accept.”

Grill uses engineering approaches to understand and control neural function. Specifically, his team explores how various types of electrical stimulation can restore function, treat movement disorders and relieve pain. Projects from his lab range from using deep brain stimulation to treat motor symptoms from Parkinson’s Disease to using vagus nerve stimulation to reduce inflammation and restore cognitive function after injury or surgery. Most recently, Grill and his team have been advancing novel technologies that allow blocking the activity in the nervous system and have widespread applications from treating diabetes to treating chronic pain.

Recently, Grill was elected to the National Academy of Inventors, named a fellow of the International Academy of Biological Engineering, his team won the competitive Neuromod prize from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), and he received the inaugural Clinical and Basic Science/Engineering Innovator Award from the North American Neuromodulation Society.

“I am honored to serve as the new Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neural Engineering, and I am eager to build upon the foundation established by the founding Editor-in-Chief, Dominique Durand. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Dr. Durand who established JNE as the premier journal in neural engineering and worked tirelessly to ensure its success,” said Grill. “Working with our dedicated Editorial Board and the team at IOP, I am committed to continuing to advance the Journal as the leading scientific outlet in our field.”