The Program Committee is delighted that Richard Horton has agreed to give the opening keynote of the 2010 ALPSP International Conference. Richard has spent 20 years at The Lancet which is, of course, one of the world’s most prestigious and highly respected journals. For the last 15 years he has been in the very high profile role of Editor-in-Chief which gives him almost unique experience of, and insight to, scholarly publishing. Richard has not shied away from controversy and has taken a strong stance on issues of editorial independence. At times The Lancet has been criticised for expressing political views and the extent to which that is appropriate for a scholarly journal has been the subject of intense debate. Richard is a powerful and energetic advocate for the research journal, scholarly publishers more generally, and the role that The Lancet has to play in wider society.
