The Journal of Vascular Research pub­lishes original articles and reviews of scientific excellence in vascular and microvascular biology, physiology and pathophysiology. The scope of the journal covers a broad spectrum of vascular and lymphatic research, including vascular structure, vascular function, haemodynamics, mechanics, cell signalling, intercellular communication, growth and differentiation. JVR’s ‘Vascular update’ series regularly presents state of the art reviews on hot topics in vascular biology. Manuscript processing times are, consistent with stringent review, kept as short as possible due to electronic ­submission. All articles are published online first, ensuring rapid publi­cation. The Journal of Vascular Research is the official journal of the European Society of Microcirculation. A biennial prize is awarded to the authors of the best ­paper published in the journal over the previous two years, thus encouraging young scientists working in the exciting field of vascular biology to publish their findings.