Remembering Bruce Squires

Earlier this month, international communication of research lost a good friend: Editor Bruce Squires died at age 77.

Bruce P Squires MD, PhD, was editor-in-chief of CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal from 1989 to 1996. Over the years, he also held other editorial roles at the journal.

Squires did much to promote excellence in research communication throughout the world. He co-founded the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), served as its vice president and then its secretary, and for many years ran its e-mail discussion list. Through his involvement in WAME, he helped mentor editors in many developing countries.

In addition, Squires facilitated and spoke at workshops worldwide on medical editing. He was a founding member of the Forum of African Medical Editors and an honorary member of the Eastern Mediterranean Association of Medical Editors.

Squires’ writing included a popular series subtitled “What editors want from authors and peer reviewers”. Most of these articles discussed how to write specific types of journal submissions—for example, case reports, review articles, or reports of randomized controlled trials.

These articles are openly accessible. A way to find them is to go to Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) and type in squires and what editors want.

Sources of further information about Squires include an obituary that appeared in newspapers and elsewhere and an obituary in CMAJ.

Squires worked hard to foster high-quality research communication throughout the world, and many of us have been inspired by his example. His writing and his influence are strong legacies.