This editor profile is the eighth in a series which will introduce you to a selection of our editors.
This week we have an interview with Dr. Guido Tytgat, Editor-in-Chief of Best Practice & Research: Clinical Gastroenterology.

What aspect of being an editor do you find most rewarding?
The fact that I learn a lot. I select the topic and then the articles, so I am able to learn a lot by reading all the manuscripts.

What advice would you give to a new editor?
He needs to follow all the new developments and pick up on what is groundbreaking and relevant. He should have a good knowledge of the people who are on top of the latest information, not just in his country, but globally. The literature is still too focused on North America and Europe, but there’s a lot of good stuff going on in the rest of the world. I think that the editor should have a sound judgment on the quality of the paper. He needs to be creative, and explore new avenues to make the journal as attractive as possible to the readers. 

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I don’t remember, but I was born in Flanders and there were only three professions; a priest, a lawyer, or a doctor. In the beginning, I was very interested in music. I even started my career playing the clarinet. You’ll find that some of our most skilled endoscopists have a love of music. 

Why did you choose medicine as your field of study?
Because my older brother went to university to study medicine. As I passed through medicine I found I wanted to do research. I started in a laboratory, studying patients with liver cirrhosis. Gradually my interest in gastroenterology started to increase. It is still one of the most challenging specialties and there’s a lot yet to be discovered.  Gastroenterology has that unique combination of work with manual endoscopic technology and the more cognitive aspects of the specialty. 

Tell me about collaboration.  What is the secret to success?
It is absolutely vital. Part of our success is the very close collaboration with colleagues. It is especially important within integrated medical units. I was a protagonist of a very strong collaboration with Radiology, Surgery, Histopathology and Internal Medicine.  People should never feel threatened and never fight for a patient.

What gets you up in the morning?
My whole life I got up at 6.00 and was in the hospital by 6.50. I supervised 106 PhD theses and I was involved in teaching all over the world. I am still very busy now, but I don’t get up that early anymore. I need that hour from 7.00 to 8.00 to study, read and correspond.

What is the biggest lesson you've learned in your career?
I’m an unbelievably grateful man, because I had a dream career, I built my own team and published almost 1,500 manuscripts, so what more can I wish for? I still enjoy it and, I must admit, I still read all the literature as I used to do, with the same discipline. The hunger to know what is going on is still there.  I feel it immediately if there’s a day when I haven’t done my reading. 

What is your biggest achievement?
I was a good doctor for my patients and I really do dare say that. I saw 10-15 patients every single day during my active career. I meant something to these people and that is something that I am very proud of.

Who or what is your biggest inspiration?
I mainly got my mentality from my parents— to always do my very best. I remember my father talking about using whatever talent is given to you. I didn’t have a true mentor; there wasn’t someone who guided my career. I had to fight to go to the US for additional training, and maybe, in retrospect, it wasn’t a bad thing that I had to do it all myself. 

What would you like your legacy to be?
That I was a good man and a good father.  I have four children and 12 grandchildren, and I love them very much.  We are a very close family. 

What is something about yourself you would like other people to know?
Everybody knows me. I was on the front line enough and I would rather be a bit quieter now. One of my problems is that I am one of the few who cover the broad area in gastroenterology. In all those areas, I lecture and teach. 

What do you like to do for fun?
Be together with the family. I also love to be in Switzerland, doing my daily walk in the mountains. Whenever I have the opportunity, I go there. Just to be with nature and listen to music, while climbing the mountains and walking through the forest.