The 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century was a time for understanding the mechanisms and pathophysiology of acute coronary syndrome. Establishing a pivotal role of thrombosis stimulated (and required) the field to better understand vascular biology, platelets, and coagulation proteins for the development and investigation of fibrinolytic therapy, anticoagulants, and platelet inhibitors, including glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonists. Indeed, cardiologists were being asked to think like hematologists and vice versa. It was an interesting time for thrombo-cardiology. JTT focused its attention on each associated area and published a series of thematic papers on arterial thrombosis, platelet biology, fibrinolysis, coagulation, and vascular biology with specific goals to inform clinicians and clinician-investigators and pave the way for the development of not only new drugs, but their safe and effective use either alone or in combination with fibrinolytic therapy and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

The dialogue included risk of bleeding and its management, risk-benefit relationships, time of initiation and duration of treatment, and the complexity of using (and balancing) a multitude of new antithrombotic agents.

The second decade of publication (2004–2014) captured the evolution of oral platelet P2Y12 receptor antagonists and direct oral anticoagulants as a viable alternative to warfarin, a vitamin K antagonist that had dominated the management of thrombotic disorders and conditions for well over a half a century See Figure1. Working collaboratively with the public, private, and academic sectors the Journal followed the forward-thinking guidance of Susan Smyth and Steve Steinhubl (and subsequently Harry Dauerman) to establish the Platelet Colloquium, an international collective of platelet biologists, clinical trialists, regulatory specialists, and both small and large pharma chief science officers for yearly round table discussions of discovery science, emerging data from clinical trials on drug pharmacology, safety, efficacy, and clinical indications, and applications for optimal patient care. Participants would vary from year-to-year to assure contemporary presentations and dialogues. Following each 2-day annual meeting held at the historic Willard Hotel in Washington, DC the Platelet Colloquium proceedings and focused high-level reviews covering major themes would be published in JTT and distributed to a broad audience in printed and online forms ( [3,4,5,6,7]).

The Platelet Colloquium met annually for 10 years to discuss topics in platelet biology, discovery science, drug development, and implementation for optimal patient care. Drs, Dauerman, Becker, and the late Susan Smyth are shown (first row, center from left to right). 

Like many scientific and medical journals, JTT sought and welcomed the advice of its associate editors, editorial board members, section editors, and deputy editor. Annual discussions were undertaken at national meetings with careful attention to the Journal’s readership, publishing metrics, representation of authors, citations, and recognition in the fields of cardiology, hematology, and vascular science. Its commitment to providing a resource that would benefit scientific advance, translation, and implementation of optimal treatment for persons with cardiovascular disease and thrombotic conditions, coupled with a broadening and global reach inspired the addition of several new sections- patient practicums, the fellow’s forum, around the world, cardiovascular-oncology, new drugs and devices, and the practical use of anticoagulants.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, JTT added COVID-19 Insights and Advances, a dedicated section that included 15 carefully selected and experienced peer reviewers who were charged with making a recommendation to the editor within 7-days of receiving a new submission. In addition to its contributions to new knowledge, JTT shared its perspective on scientific and medical publishing during the pandemic. A summary of major ‘lessons learned’ is provided as an offering for future editors and publishers aspiring to provide impactful information during ‘time sensitive’ moments in medicine [8].

Observations dominated the initial COVID-19 experience—first of a modest number of affected patients, followed by increasingly large patient cohorts from China, Europe, and the United States. Simultaneously, clinical and laboratory observations became increasingly detailed and included vital elements of necropsy observations that connected four critical “dots”—the SARS-COV-2 virus and resulting infection; presenting signs, symptoms, and laboratory findings; type, depth, and extent of specific organ involvement; and the early course of disease. Treatment beyond supportive care, advanced mechanical therapies when needed, and secondary bacterial infections were initially unknown and untested.

The unprecedented events of December 2019 and early 2020 prompted an equally unprecedented dissemination of information. Many academic institutions turned to press releases as a rapid means to spread information, while highlighting efforts and important contributions emerging from within their walls and at the hands of faculty members. Sites for posting the findings from research studies emerged and were quickly flooded with minimally or non-peer reviewed content. Established and highly respected medical journals accelerated the review of COVID-19 related studies to 24 to 48 h or less, while others posted online content either prior to full peer review or galley proofing [9]. Solicited online medical journals experienced a moment of virtual bliss and websites, blogs, and twitter accounts of widely varied origins, implicit or explicit agendas and overarching missions served up a cornucopia of information, theories, and claims [10].

JTT established the International COVID-19 Biomarkers (ICODE) [11] group. Under the direction of Diana Gorog and Richard Becker, the international collective of experienced investigators sought to provide information for clinicians confronted with a new infectious disease that displayed an unprecedented proclivity for thrombosis that involved the arterial, venous, and microvascular circulatory systems on a scale that had not been encountered previously.