We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Amélia Pilar Rauter has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN: 1424-8247, https://www.mdpi.com/journal/pharmaceuticals).

Name: Prof. Dr. Amélia Pilar Rauter
Affiliation: Departamento de Química e Bioquímica (DQB) e Centro de Química Estrutural (CQE), Institute of Molecular Sciences, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa (FCUL), Rua Ernesto de Vasconcelos, Campo Grande, Edifício C8, Piso 5, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: carbohydrate small molecule synthesis; organic and biomolecular chemistry developments toward new therapeutic approaches for diabetes; Alzheimer’s disease and other amyloid diseases and carbohydrate-based antibiotics
Homepage: https://ciencias.ulisboa.pt/en/perfil/aprauter

Prof. Dr. Amélia Pilar Rauter, a full professor, was the founder of the Portuguese Society of Chemistry Carbohydrate Chemistry Group in 1992, and the founder (2001) and leader of the CQB Carbohydrate Chemistry Group—FCUL, a center of excellence of the ESF network Euroglycoforum (2009–2014), and Executive of its Interest Group Glycochemistry. Presently, she is the leader of the CQE Carbohydrate Chemistry Group. She is the President of IUPAC Division of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry (Division III), the Past-President of the International Carbohydrate Organisation, and the Secretary of the European Carbohydrate Organization. She is also the Coordinator of the Reference Site “Lisbon Ageing Well”, approved in January 2020 by the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. She also serves IUPAC as an Associate Member of the Division of Chemical Nomenclature and Structure Representation and as Division III representative at the Interdivisional Committee on Terminology, Nomenclature, and Symbols. Dedicated to the areas of organic chemistry and carbohydrate chemistry, she is part of the international advisory/editorial boards of various journals, e.g., European Journal of Organic Chemistry, Pure and Applied Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Marine Drugs, Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Marine Drugs, Journal of Carbohydrate Chemistry, and served Pharmaceuticals as an Editorial Board Member, and as Editor-in-Chief of its Section “Biopharmaceuticals”. She relaunched the book series Carbohydrate Chemistry – Chemical and Biological Approaches, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, being its Editor since 2008.

Her scientific interests are mainly within the area of organic and biomolecular chemistry. They cover the design and synthesis of new leads based on carbohydrate structures with new mechanisms of action, as well as the isolation and structure elucidation of active principles from plants/marine resources. This research led to the discovery of lead molecules for diabetes, degenerative diseases (Alzheimer´s and Prion diseases, cancer), and infection. Her research falls within the global objective of developing creative and sustainable chemistry for better health.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Amélia Pilar Rauter, who shared her vision for the journal with us as well as her views on the research area:

1. What do you think is the most appealing part regarding our journal and your role as its Editor-in-Chief?
As Editor-in-Chief, you have the freedom to bring innovations and new things to the journal.

2. What is your vision for the journal?
The journal has improved considerably and is moving forward; as it grows, we will continue to ask for quality improvements. We will keep working hard so that the high impact factor we already have becomes even higher.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?
There are many scientific areas, especially in chemistry, looking for new drugs and pharmaceuticals. Many diseases do not currently have an efficient cure and many scientists are working on drug discoveries. We need to grow with them and follow their discoveries step by step and thus we will provide a safe and bright future for our journal.

4. What do you think of the development of Open Access in the publishing field?
It is growing. When you are working on new discoveries and in a fast-paced industry, such as drug development, it is very important for your discovery to reach out to vast numbers of people. You achieve this by having a large number of citations. This way, more scientists can become aware of your paper and your work, and it becomes more available. Thus, your contribution is available to many scientists.

5. How much time would you dedicate to this role?
It is very time-consuming. The previous Editor-in-Chief contacted us (as co-workers from the journal) a lot and kept us all active. So, I am aware that it takes a lot of time daily, especially to communicate with everyone working in the journal and outside of it. As I take this role, I will dedicate a considerable amount of time to it. I am familiar with networking, so this role is in line with my experience and expertise. As I take on the role of Editor-in-Chief, I will do my best to follow in JJ’s footsteps and maintain Pharmaceuticals as a high-quality journal. I would also like to discuss important aspects via video meetings more often. It would be great to establish this kind of communication with the Pharmaceuticals team.

We wish Prof. Dr. Amélia Pilar Rauter every success in her new position as Editor-in-Chief, and we look forward to her leading Pharmaceuticals and helping the journal achieve many milestones.