Cells Exceptional Reviewers List 2025

We are thrilled to share the updated Exceptional Reviewers List 2025. This program was designed to recognize and honor scholars who have delivered consistently exceptional review reports to our journal. Committed to fostering rigorous research and promoting knowledge exchange, Cells (ISSN: 2073-4409) recognizes the significant role our reviewers play in maintaining the quality and integrity of the articles we publish. We thank our pool of excellent reviewers.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to all the reviewers who have generously volunteered their time and expertise to assist in Cells’ peer-review process. Their dedication and attention to detail in evaluating manuscripts, offering valuable feedback, and contributing to academic rigor are truly commendable.

The Exceptional Reviewers List was introduced in May 2025. Each quarter, we will be selecting a group of outstanding reviewers and introducing them here.

Name: Dr. Mark A. Eiteman Affiliation: School of Chemical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA	Name: Dr. Benjamin Roche Affiliation: Columbia Rd, Stop 9037 Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA
Name: Dr. Joon W. Shim Affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Sciences (CECS), Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25755, USA	Name: Dr. Gyorgy Lur Affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
Name: Dr. Dario Melgari Affiliation: IMTC – Institute of Molecular and Translational Cardiology, San Donato Milanese	Name: Dr. Elke Albrecht Affiliation: Research Institute of Farm Animal Biology (FBN), WG Muscle-Fat-Crosstalk, Wilhelm-Stahl-Allee 2, D-18196 Dummerstorf, Germany
Name: Dr. Ivana Grkovic Affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Endocrinology, VINČA Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia	Name: Dr. Thomas Falguières Affiliation: UMR_S 1193 Inserm / Université Paris-Saclay, Bâtiment Henri Moissan - HM1, 3ème étage - Bureau 3818, 17, avenue des sciences, 91400 Orsay, France
Name: Dr. Eugenia V. Gurevich Affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, USA	Name: Dr. Christopher S. Von Bartheld Affiliation: University of Nevada, Reno, USA
Name: Dr. Amedeo Vetere Affiliation: Chemical Biology and Therapeutics Science, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA	Name: Dr. Tahereh Mina Derakhshan Affiliation: Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, USA
Name: Dr. Claes Wahlestedt Affiliation: Center for Therapeutic Innovation, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA	Name: Dr. Giovanna Petrucci Affiliation: Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS., Rome, Italy
Name: Dr. Maaike Kockx Affiliation: Atherosclerosis Laboratory, ANZAC Research Institute, Concord Repatriation General Hospital and University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia	Name: Dr. Fernando Revert Affiliation: Research Group in Molecular and Mitochondrial Medicine, Catholic University of Valencia 'San Vicente Mártir', 46001 Valencia, Spain
Name: Dr. Jacqueline Heger Affiliation: Institute of Physiology, Justus Liebig University, 35392 Giessen, Germany	Name: Dr. Davina Camargo Madeira Simoes Affiliation: Faculty of Science and Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE18ST, UK
Name: Dr. Sonja Forss-Petter Affiliation: Medizinische Universitat Wien, Vienna, Austria	Name: Dr. Vikas Yadav Affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Clinical Research Centre, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, 20213 Malmö, Sweden
Name: Dr. Beatrice Radu Affiliation: Faculty of Biology, Department of Anatomy, Animal Physiology and Biophysics, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania	Name: Dr. Yuexuan Chen Affiliation: University of Rochester Medical Center: Rochester, New York, USA
Name: Dr. Patrícia Faísca Affiliation: BioISI—Instituto de Biossistemas e Ciências Integrativas, Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal	Name: Dr. Akira Kitamura Affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Cell Dynamics, Faculty of Advanced Life Science, Hokkaido University, N21W11, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0021, Japan
Name: Dr. Petra Grbčić Affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Medicine, Braće Branchetta 20, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia	Name: Dr. Hao-ai Shui Affiliation: Graduate Institute of Medical Science, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114201, Taiwan
Name: Dr. Maria Laura Bacci Affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, 40064 Ozzano dell’Emilia (BO), Italy	Name: Dr. Corey L. Campbell Affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA
Name: Dr. Albert Smolenski Affiliation: UCD School of Medicine, UCD Conway Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland	Name: Dr. Yordan Sbirkov Affiliation: Department of Medical Biology, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria

See what our reviewers say about the review process of Cells:

“The clear website organization made the reviewing process efficient and easy to conduct. The scoring categories are clear and constitute a good complement to the review text.”—Dr. Benjamin Roche

“Reviewing for Cells has been a great experience so far. It’s always nice to receive good papers to review and to see them being eventually published after revision.”—Dr. Dario Melgari

“When I review for MDPI, I appreciate the support of editorial office members, the fast response to questions and competent help.”—Dr. Elke Albrecht

“I strive to deliver the types of review that I would hope to receive for my own manuscripts—ones that help to improve their quality and make them easier to read.”—Dr. Christopher S. Von Bartheld

“Reviewing for Cells has been a rewarding experience. I value the journal’s rigorous standards, efficient editorial process, and commitment to constructive scientific dialogue.”—Dr. Davina Camargo Madeira Simoes

“Experienced peer reviewer in anti-cancer drug discovery, cardiovascular disease and endothelial biology, genomics, in silico approaches, and WNT signaling”—Dr. Vikas Yadav

“The review process at Cells is efficient and well‑organized. The editorial office provides timely reminders that help prevent unnecessary delays, and authors are given sufficient time to revise their manuscripts. Overall, the process shows the journal’s author‑friendly workflow.”—Dr. Hao-ai Shui

“The process was very smooth and efficient, the communication between all sides was quick and in the end led to a considerably improved manuscript, which is the main point of the whole process.”—Dr. Yordan Sbirkov

Name: Dr. Adam J. Wolpaw Affiliation: University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, United States	Name: Dr. Oleksii Skorokhod Affiliation: Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, 10123 Torin, Italy
Name: Dr. Tadahide Izumi Affiliation: Graduate Center for Toxicology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 306 Health Sciences Research Building, Lexington, KY 40536-0305, USA	Name: Dr. Aleksandra Suchanecka Affiliation: Independent Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics and Epigenetics, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powstańców Wielkopolskich 72 St., 70-111 Szczecin, Poland
Name: Dr. Shashi Shekhar Singh Affiliation: Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry,2109 Adelbert Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA	Name: Dr. Seung-Hyun Jeong Affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Sunchon National University, 255 Jungang-ro, Suncheon-si 57922, Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea
Name: Dr. Bogdan Jakiela Affiliation: Uniwersytet Jagielloński Collegium Medicum, Krakow, Poland	Name: Dr. Aikaterini Ntemka Affiliation: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine
Name: Dr. Zhongwu Zhou Affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Science, Lerner Research Institute at Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA	Name: Dr. Katalin Szászi Affiliation: Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science of the St. Michael’s Hospital and Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada
Name: Dr. Holly Voges Affiliation: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia	Name: Dr. Karol Rycerz Affiliation: Department of Animal Anatomy and Histology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences, Akademicka 12, Lublin, 20-033, Poland
Name: Dr. Parijat Sil Affiliation: Princeton University, USA	Name: Dr. Gunter Schmidtke Affiliation: Division of Immunology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany.
Name: Dr. Mohamed Hamed Affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA	Name: Dr. Alessandra Norris Affiliation: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA
Name: Dr. Yasuhiro Kosuge Affiliation: Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nihon University, 7-7-1 Narashinodai, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8555, Japan	Name: Dr. Jayna Mistry Affiliation: The Jackson Laboratory, USA
Name: Dr. Alireza Shoari Affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA	Name: Dr. Klaus Fortschegger Affiliation: St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute (CCRI), 1090 Vienna, Austria
Name: Dr. Juan Carlos Tapia Affiliation: Harvard University, USA	Name: Dr. Susmita Barman Affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.
Name: Dr. Koraljka Husnjak Affiliation: Goethe University Medical School, D-60590 Frankfurt am Main, Germany	Name: Dr. Gergely Róna Affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
Name: Dr. Vinita Chittoor Affiliation: University of California, San Francisco, USA	Name: Dr. Ivan Nagaev Affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology Doctor of Philosophy, Umeå University, Sweden
Name: Dr. Nelly Olova Affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK	Name: Dr. Laurent Grossin Affiliation: Université de Lorraine, France
Name: Dr. Suzanne De La Monte Affiliation: Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Neurology, and Neurosurgery, Rhode Island Hospital, Women & Infants Hospital, Brown University Health, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA	Name: Dr. Vasileios Leivaditis Affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Westpfalz-Klinikum, Kaiserslautern, Germany

See what our reviewers say about the review process of Cells:

“Reviewing helped me remain always updated and critically engaged with current developments in my scientific field.”—Dr. Oleksii Skorokhod

“Serving as a reviewer for Cells has been an enriching experience, promoting clarity, rigor, and innovation in scientific publications.”— Dr. Shashi Shekhar Singh

“It’s an honor to be recognized. From learning to review with my PhD mentor, Dr. Kopinke, to now as a postdoc, I strive to approach each review with respect and curiosity.”— Dr. Alessandra Norris

“I am deeply honored to have contributed to a process that balances scholarly rigor with rapid publication, and this recognition will greatly encourage my future research activities.”— Dr. Yasuhiro Kosuge

“Serving as a reviewer is a privilege. I strive to provide timely, constructive, and rigorous feedback that helps authors strengthen their science while improving clarity, rigor, and reproducibility.”—Dr. Alireza Shoari

“It’s been a rewarding experience contributing to Cells by critically evaluating innovative research and supporting authors in strengthening scientific rigor and translational relevance.”—Dr. Susmita Barman

Name: Prof.Dr. Francis William Luscinskas Affiliation: Harvard Medical School NRB, Room 752P 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 2115, USA	Name: Dr. Matthias Nees Affiliations: ¹ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University in Lublin, ul. Chodzki 1, 20-093 Lublin, Poland; ² Institute of Biomedicine and Western Cancer Centre FICAN West, University of Turku, 20101 Turku, Finland
Name: Prof. Dr. Maria Quetglas-Llabrés Affiliation: Health Research Institute of Balearic Islands (IdISBa), 07120 Palma de Mallorca, Spain	Name: Dr. Amber Mills Affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, USA
Name: Dr. Kim Keeling Affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States	Name: Dr. Hengrui Liu Affiliation: The University of Cambridge, UK
Name: Prof. Dr. Justin C. Konje Affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK	Name: Dr. Shizue Mito Affiliation: Department of Medical Education, School of Medicine, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX 78541, USA
Name: Dr. Victor Manuel González Suárez Affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Oviedo, Gijón 33204, Spain	Name: Prof. Dr. Anna Silvia Pistocchi Affiliation: Università degli Studi di Milano, Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Mediche e Medicina Traslazionale, Via Viotti, 3/5, 20133, Milano, Italy
Name: Prof.Dr. Ken-ichi Sato Affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kamigamo-Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan	Name: Dr. Quentin Lemaire Affiliation: Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8576—UGSF—Unité de Glycobiologie Structurale et Fonctionnelle, F-59000 Lille, France
Name: Dr. Jason Stumhofer Affiliation: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, USA	Name: Dr. Roberta Palmour Affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0C7, Canada
Name: Dr. Anthony Pedley Affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Carver College of Medicine, The University of Iowa, USA	Name: Dr. Yangluowa Qu Affiliation: Ocular Surface Center, Cullen Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
Name: Dr. Valentyn Oksenych Affiliation: University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway	Name: Dr. Gaskon Ibarretxe Affiliation: University of the Basque Country (UPVEHU) Faculty of Medicine and Nursing Cell Biology and Histology Department Barrio Sarriena sn, 48940, Leioa, Spain
Name: Dr. Timothy Keiffer Affiliation: LSU Health Shreveport, USA	Name: Prof. Dr. Hitoshi Sawada Affiliations: ¹ Professor, Department of Food and Life Environment, College of Human Life and Environment, Kinjo Gakuin University, Moriyama-ku, Nagoya, Japan; ² Emeritus Professor, Nagoya University, chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan
Name: Dr. Jens Schuster Affiliation: Uppsala Universitet, Uppsala, Sweden	Name: Dr. Paulina Tokarz Affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, The University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland
Name: Prof. Dr. Lucie Germain Affiliation: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada. Regenerative Medicine Division, CHU de Québec—Université Laval Research Centre, Québec, QC G1J 1Z4, Canada Université Laval Research Center on Experimental Organogenesis/LOEX, Québec, QC G1J 1Z4, Canada	Name: Dr. Lenka Stixova Affiliation: Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Department of Molecular Cytology and Cytometry, Prague, Czech Republic
Name: Dr. Gerasimos Daras Affiliation: Agricultural University of Athens, Department of Biotechnology, Athens, Greece	Name: Prof. Dr. Rita Payan-Carreira Affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, School of Sciences and Technology, and CHRC-Comprehensive Health Research Centre, University of Évora, Portugal
Name: Dr. Carlos Rossa Junior Affiliation: Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Sao Paulo, Brazil	Name: Dr. Nerea Cuesta-Gomez Affiliation: Alberta Diabetes Institute, Edmonton, Canada
Name: Dr. Yohannes Woubishet Woldeamanuel Affiliation: Mayo Clinic Arizona; Ex-Amplify Therapeutics, USA	Name: Dr. John Woulfe Affiliation: L’Hôpital d’Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

See what our reviewers say about the review process of Cells:

“I work in the Cell Biology and Histology Department of EHU in Spain. I would not say I am a particularly harsh reviewer. When I perceive an honest, well-minded effort on the part of authors to address the concerns involved, provided there are not particularly serious methodological or conceptual issues, I usually give them a chance to get their manuscript published.”—Dr. Gaskon Ibarretxe

“It was a pleasure to evaluate Cells articles.”—Prof. Dr. Lucie Germain

“Engaging in review processes stimulates my curiosity about cellular and physiological mechanisms while keeping me current with emerging developments and methodological advances in my field of expertise.”—Prof. Dr. Rita Payan-Carreira

“Reviewing is a way to uphold the quality and integrity of science, while staying engaged with the latest discoveries and supporting fellow researchers in the field. I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to continuing to contribute to Cells.”—Dr. Nerea Cuesta-Gomez

“I am honored to be recognized by Cells for my peer-review contributions. Reviewing cutting-edge research in circadian medicine and biomarkers is rewarding, and I am committed to advancing scientific rigor.”—Dr. Yohannes Woubishet Woldeamanuel

Name: Dr. Wei Wen Lim Affiliation: National Heart Research Institute Singapore, National Heart Centre Singapore, 169609, Singapore	Name: Prof. Dr. Jae-Wook Oh Affiliation: Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biotechnology, KIT, Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Name: Dr. Giovanna Liguori Affiliation: Institute of Genetics and Biophysics Adriano Buzzati Traverso, Naples, Italy	Name: Dr. Yoichi Ezura Affiliation: Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
Name: Dr. Bruno Brando Affiliation: Hematology Laboratory and Transfusion Center, Legnano General Hospital, 20025 Legnano (Milano), Italy	Name: Dr. Benoit Miotto Affiliation: Team Epigenetics and Nuclear Functions in Human Diseases, Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM U1016, CNRS UMR8104, F-75014 Paris, France
Name: Dr. Yongqing Liu Affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA	Name: Dr. Tomaž Büdefeld Affiliation: Centre for Human Genetics and Pharmacogenomics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Name: Dr. Cláudia Saraiva Affiliation: INSERM-Université Bourgogne U1231, Equipe GAD Génétique des Anomalies du Développement, Dijon, France	Name: Prof. Dr. Gundula Schulze-Tanzil Affiliation: Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg and Salzburg, 90419 Nuremberg, Germany
Name: Dr. Abhishek Tyagi Affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA	Name: Dr. Riya Thomas Affiliation: Seattle Children’s Research Institute, 1900 9th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
Name: Prof. Dr. Mirko Manetti Affiliation: Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Section of Anatomy and Histology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy	Name: Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Biagini Affiliation: Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41100 Modena, Italy
Name: Dr. Wenjing Zhang Affiliation: Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA	Name: Dr. Mary Gilbert Affiliation: Office of Research and Development, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Name: Dr. Sudeep Kumar Affiliation: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center 3333 Burnet Ave Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA	Name: Dr. Christine Hellweg Affiliation: Department of Radiation Biology, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center (DLR), 51147 Cologne, Germany
Name: Dr. Ignacio Torrecilla Affiliation: Department of Oncology, University of Oxford: Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK	Name: Prof. Dr. Margaret L. Britz Affiliation: Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7005, Australia
Name: Dr. Sarath Babu Nukala Affiliation: Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA	Name: Dr. Jezabel Rodriguez-Blanco Affiliation: Darby Children’s Research Institute, Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Miami, USA
Name: Dr. Phillip Domeier Affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	Name: Dr. Jose Rodriguez-Alvarez Affiliation: Department Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
Name: Dr. Michał Zarobkiewicz Affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland	Name: Dr. Béla Papp Affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Inserm UMR 1342, Institut de Recherche Saint-Louis, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris, France
Name: Dr. Kristina Pilipović Affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia	Name: Prof. Dr. Johannes Boltze Affiliation: School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
Name: Dr. Harinarayanan Janakiraman Affiliation: Michael DeBakey Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX 77030, USA	Name: Dr. Qing Jun Wang Affiliation: College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA

See what our reviewers say about the review process of Cells:

“The review process is well organized and straightforward. The professional editorial team provides tremendous support, making it a good experience for reviewers and authors alike.”—Prof. Dr. Johannes Boltze

“In the era of AI-powered generators, the revision undertaken by independent reviewers based on their prior work experience and accumulated knowledge is paramount to ensure the sustained flourishing of the research community.”—Dr. Tomaž Büdefeld

“As a retired senior academic, I have the time and experience to add value to the peer-review processes. It is a duty that requires considerable effort, to spot the gems as well as the glitches, by thorough analysis of data and checking all claims based on data and the literature cited. It is also a two-way conversation aimed at improving the submitted manuscripts so that any resulting publication enriches our knowledge through accurate reporting. I gain a lot out of this and hope my well-meant feedback adds value.”—Prof. Dr. Margaret L. Britz

“Reviewing for Cells is guided by a comfortable platform: Cells addresses emerging fields. Hence, I benefit by updating my scientific point of view and I feel that my comments are generally addressed.”—Prof. Dr. Gundula Schulze-Tanzil