In 2016, two scientific conferences celebrated the 30th anniversary of the discovery of ischemic preconditioning by Murry et al. in 1986. The first one was held in Barcelona, Spain in which the major emphasis was on the history of conditioning in the cardiac field. The second one, later that year, took place in Suzhou, China and the main emphasis was the history and progress of the field of conditioning in cerebral ischemia. Both of these conferences were exciting and full of promise for the translation of conditioning to patients. The complexity of the basic science and clinical developments in both fields clearly suggested that it was essential: a) to formalize the vision of Conditioning Medicine; b) to foster communication between basic scientists and clinicians; and c) to enhance the interactions between cardiology and neuroscience, and other specialties (e.g., nephrology, hepatology, etc.) to ‘compare notes’.

The conclusion from discussions that ensued following these conferences was that there was a need for a specialized society that could bring all this exciting research together. A society that can consolidate research from different fields, create new concepts and establish appropriate guidelines for ongoing and future clinical trials. With this in mind, we have organized the American Association of Conditioning Medicine and established a new journal, Conditioning Medicine.  The journal will act as the informative arm of the society and as the main platform to communicate new concepts and research (both basic and clinical) in the complex field of conditioning medicine.

In the first inaugural issue, we have invited clinical reviews from Drs. David Hess and Derek Hausenloy, who provide an overview of the state of affairs on neurology and cardiology of conditioning medicine. We have also included basic science reviews from Drs. Raghu Vemuganti and Feng Zhang on the molecular pathways involved in ischemic conditioning and another review on the overlapping mechanisms between physical exercise and ischemic conditioning by Dr. Christainne Wrann. And as we develop the journal further, we will start to incorporate research papers in every issue. In the inaugural issue, Drs. Srinivasan Narayanan and Miguel Perez-Pinzon present their study on the role of astrocytes in ischemic preconditioning.

In subsequent issues, we are expecting new and exciting reviews and research manuscripts from top scientists in the field. The journal will serve as a convergence venue of new concepts and the presentation of new scientific and clinical findings in the field of Conditioning Medicine.