RESTON, VA—Replacing the only editor-in-chief that the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology (JAAA) has ever had is no easy task. Indeed, it could be argued that no one person could take over from James Jerger, PhD, who, along with being JAAA’s founding editor since 1989, was also the founder and first president of the academy.
Perhaps that’s why AAA has named two people to take over when Jerger retires at the end of this year: Gary P. Jacobson, PhD, who will be editor-in-chief for a 3-year term, and Devin McCaslin, PhD, who will serve as deputy editor-in-chief.
Jacobson is a professor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences and director of the Division of Audiology in the Bill Wilkerson Center for Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He has published in the areas of vestibular and balance, auditory electrophysiology, tinnitus, intraoperative neurophysiology, brain mapping, and assessment of clinical outcomes. Jacobson has served as an assistant editor for JAAA and editor of the American Journal of Audiology.
McCaslin is associate professor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences in the Bill Wilkerson Center for Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He has conducted research in the areas of neurophysiological mechanisms of tinnitus, evoked potentials, outcome measures, and balance function testing, and has served as an assistant editor for JAAA.
In announcing the appointments, the academy said, “Though the august leadership of Jerger cannot be replaced, the legacy of quality that he established will be carried on through the distinguished direction of Jacobson and McCaslin.”
