Cochrane has named seven Emeritus Coordinating Editors in 2020, celebrating their achievements and recognizing their efforts over many years of service. In this profile, we hear from Chris Eccleston, who is Coordinating Editor of Cochrane Pain, Palliative, and Supportive Care (PaPaS).
Can you tell us about yourself?
I am a professor of pain science at the University of Bath, where I am the director of the Centre for Pain Research. My team and I are active in behavioural science and chronic pain, from mechanism to treatment innovation and development.
What are you most proud of from your time with Cochrane?
PaPaS is a very strong CRG with excellent editorial staff and a dedicated editorial board. It has consistently produced evidence that is relevant and useful to the international pain community. I am proud of its quality, reach and impact.
What is your fondest memory over your tenure at Cochrane?
Working with like-minded experts from around the world on common problems.
Right: Chris with Managing Editor Anna Erskine and Systematic Reviewer Tess Cooper celebrating PaPaS CRG’s 18th birthday in 2016
As you leave, what are your hopes for Cochrane’s future?
That it works hard to be relevant and accessible to the communities who deliver patient care.
What are your future plans? Where are you headed after leaving Cochrane?
Change is good. Ten years at the helm is enough and it is important to create opportunities for others. I will be working on innovating new models of care in the treatment of chronic pain.
Anna Erskine, Managing Editor of Cochrane PaPaS, said of Chris's departure, "I consider myself very lucky to have worked with Chris for the last eight years. As Co-ordinating Editor, he led the group with dignity, integrity and a sense of fun. He has been a great source of support to me, and I count him as a close colleague, a mentor, and a friend (and also as an author who needs deadline reminders…). I wish Chris all the very best in whatever adventures he chooses next."
Congratulations and best wishes, Chris!