On 14 November 2025, MDPI Canada hosted the MDPI Los Angeles Editors Salon, bringing together 30+ editors, researchers, and academics to engage in important discussions that are paramount to collaboratively cultivating MDPI’s publishing practices with transparency, and research integrity and tackling challenges from AI and paper mills with our affiliated scholars, while also showcasing and improving open access research for all moving forward. The event was held at UCLA’s Carnesale Commons inside the illustrious Palisades Ballroom, the largest meeting space on campus, overlooking iconic UCLA landmarks such as Royce Hall and Powell Library. The various fruitful discussions, presentations, knowledge sharing, and networking opportunities only further reinforced MDPI’s commitment to the North American scientific community and our continuous efforts to improve and grow alongside those who publish with us.

The event opened with remarks from our event host, Ms. Sally Wu, followed by a brief introduction and presentations from our Operations Manager, Ms. Summer Huggard, and Head of Business Development, USA, Mr. Robert (Bob) Vrooman. They provided an inside look at MDPI Canada’s operations in North America, the rise of open access in mainstream publishing, and MDPI’s proprietary editorial processes, as well as a discussion of MDPI’s amassed portfolio of IOAP and Society partnerships and the benefits of collaboration. After our award ceremony that recognized several deserving attendees, and a coffee break which provided time for networking, the program continued with a presentation on MDPI Ethics and Research Integrity by managing editor, Ms. Claire Turke, outlining key aspects of our review processes, MDPI’s Research Integrity Team, and addressing common misconceptions. The final session featured a feedback and discussion panel, in which all three of our expert presenters answered various questions from our esteemed attendees. Topics covered included examining the specifics of MDPI’s peer review processes, AI and its ever-increasing role in the publishing industry, MDPI’s various initiatives and their uses, improving reviewer matching and the review process for efficiency without sacrificing research integrity, journal impact factors, and much more. All attendees were invited to share their feedback, and the constructive exchange between scholars and publishers alike continued to build on a pre-established foundation for continued improvements to MDPI’s processes and relationships, while upholding the efficiency and quality our editors have come to expect.

Best Contribution Awards

The MDPI Best Contribution Award is presented to editors in recognition of their exceptional dedication and impactful support of their journals. It highlights standout contributions and areas, including providing thorough and insightful reviews, making informed and fair decisions, ensuring publication quality and integrity, and facilitating the timely submission of high-quality manuscripts. The award also celebrates each recipient’s commitment to their journal’s growth and success through ongoing collaboration with authors and the editorial team. This prestigious honor acknowledges the vital and demanding role editors play in upholding academic excellence and credibility. The following three winners were recognized at the 2025 Los Angeles Salon:

Looking Ahead

The MDPI Los Angeles Salon was a celebration of academic excellence, and as our last North American Salon of the year, it served as an excellent litmus test, showing how far we have come since our first North American Salon ever at the beginning of 2025 in Toronto, while also emphasizing how far we have to go in the future as we continue expanding our reach across the continent, engaging with the vast number of academics we are lucky to count as MDPI editors. We express our sincere thanks to all attendees, speakers, and award recipients for their engagement and contributions. As MDPI Canada remains committed to supporting open access research and scientific publishing, we look forward to organizing more events in the future that continue to bring together leading voices across academia for our mutual benefit and the benefit of open access publishing as a whole.