Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) initiated its first Student Paper Contest in 2011 (1). Since that time, the journal has received hundreds of student research papers from around the world. Last year, PCD celebrated its 10-year anniversary of building scientific publishing skills and abilities among students (2). Research mentors have used this journal as an avenue to introduce their students to the rigors of generating scholarly writings that focus on conceptualizing research; collecting, analyzing, and reporting data; and discussing the public health implications of research findings. Since 2011, regardless of whether papers are accepted, PCD has provided students with extensive feedback on their submissions.

This has been an extremely productive year for Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD). Can I edit this? At the midpoint of 2022 we already have many achievements to recognize and celebrate. Last year we crossed a high bar: in 2021 PCD received the biggest jump in impact factor in its history, from 2.144 to 2.803, making it fourth of 27 open-access US public health journals. We are pleased to report that the latest SJR: Scientific Journal Rankings release shows a sustained upward trend, with a new impact factor of 4.354, a 55% increase. Additionally, Scimago Journal Rank recently placed PCD fourth out of 30 US journals and 76th out of 585 journals worldwide in the category of Public Health, Environmental, and Occupational Health open access journals. The journal was also ranked in the top 10% of more than 27,000 journals evaluated by Scimago in 2021.

In June 2017, Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) invited a panel of 7 nationally recognized experts in scientific publishing to respond to key questions about the journal’s mission, quality of scientific content, scope of operations, intended audience, and future direction (1). PCD and the panel of experts recognized that chronic disease is a major contributor to poor health outcomes, an increase in health care costs, and a reduction in quality of life. Reducing the burden of chronic disease is a challenge requiring diverse collaborations and dissemination and adoption of effective interventions in multiple settings. The expert panel strongly encouraged the journal to focus more on complementing its rich body of published work on epidemiological studies with content that is attentive to evaluating population-based interventions and policies. © This publication is in the public domain and is therefore without copyright. All text from this work may be reprinted freely. Use of these materials should be properly cited.

The mission of Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) is to promote dialogue among researchers, practitioners, and policy makers worldwide on the integration and application of research findings and practical experience to improve population health (1). Published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PCD is a peer-reviewed journal respected for its integrity and relevance to chronic disease prevention and whose articles are authored by experts worldwide. PCD is committed to publishing content that elucidates worldwide understanding of health disparities and determinants linked to disparate health outcomes. Toward that end, PCD was fortunate to have had the expertise of Dr Tim Cunningham as an associate editor. Until his untimely passing (2), Dr Cunningham provided exemplary review and oversight of manuscripts related to social determinants of health and health disparities. Through his efforts, PCD published critical research on this important topic. In honor of Dr Cunningham’s career and in appreciation for his service to the journal, PCD is dedicating to his memory this special collection of articles on effective and innovative ways to address causes of disparities from a multifactorial perspective.