Prof. Dr. Lluís Ribas de Pouplana Appointed Editor-in-Chief of Life
We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Lluís Ribas de Pouplana has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of Life (ISSN: 2075-1729). With an extensive background in scientific research and publishing, he brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to this prestigious role.
Prof. Dr. Lluís Ribas de Pouplana is a Principal Investigator at ICREA and the Barcelona Institute for Research in Biomedicine. He obtained his B.Sc. in biology from the University of Barcelona, Spain (1988) and Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Edinburgh, UK. After the completion of his doctoral studies, he was hired as a postdoctoral scientist at the Department of Biology of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA (1993–97). From Cambridge, he moved to San Diego, where he accepted a Senior Research Scientist position and, in 2001, an Assistant Professorship of Molecular Biology at the Scripps Research Institute. In June 2003, he accepted an ICREA Research Professorship and became a Principal Investigator at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Spain (IRB Barcelona).
His research is focused on the mechanisms of control of protein synthesis or gene translation. The transformation of genetic information into protein sequences is the central process of biology; its control is essential for the well-being of cells, and a large number of human diseases are caused by defects in this control.
The following is a Q&A with Prof. Dr. Lluís Ribas de Pouplana, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views on the research area and open access publishing:
- What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to become its Editor-in-Chief?
Life is a multidisciplinary journal that, unlike many modern journals, relies on an extensive network of international academic editors that decide the suitability of manuscripts in a highly interactive manner.
Having known the journal for a long time, and having acted as Section Editor-in-Chief for some years, I was very attracted by the possibility of building an even better journal through the integration of the wide research areas covered by Life. Our challenge, I think, is to turn this thematic diversity into interdisciplinarity.
- What are your plans and vision for the journal?
My plan is to study and improve our submission and revision mechanisms as much as possible, as well as to encourage the publication of interdisciplinary Special Issues that bridge the areas traditionally covered by Life.
- What does the future of this field of research look like?
Biological research has been vibrant for the last 70 years, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. New areas of the convergence of physics, chemistry, and biology are already shaping the biological research of the future, in areas ranging from the origin of life to biomedicine.
- What do you think of the development of open access literature in the publishing field?
Open access literature is an essential step towards the democratization of science.