Announcements

We are pleased to announce the winners of the IJERPH 2025 Outstanding Special Issue Award. All Special Issues closed in 2025 of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH, ISSN: 1660-4601) were considered for the award. Following a review process by the Award Evaluation Committee, four winners were selected.

The award prize:

• CHF 500;
• A certificate and a voucher to waive the Article Processing Charges (APCs) for one submission in the journal (subject to peer review)—valid for one year.

“The Impact of Internet and Social Media Use on Young People's Mental Health”
Guest Editors: Dr. Amelia Rizzo and Dr. Dario Alparone

“Public Health Consequences of Social Isolation and Loneliness”
Guest Editors: Dr. Ami Rokach and David Berman

“Inequities and Interventions in Children's Health and Wellbeing”
Guest Editors: Dr. Hui Huang and Dr. Qi Wu

“Mobile Health and Mobile Rehabilitation for People with Disabilities: 2nd Edition”
Guest Editors: Dr. Michael L. Jones, Dr. Frank Deruyter and Dr. John T. Morris

Please join us in congratulating the winners of the IJERPH 2025 Outstanding Special Issue Award. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our Guest Editors for their continued support of IJERPH.

IJERPH Editorial Office

Our portfolio of journals available for publishing up-to-date research in immediate open access format has been further expanded. In June 2026, eleven new journals released their inaugural issues and two transferred journals released their first issue as part of MDPI, covering the subjects of environmental & earth sciences, chemistry & materials science, public health & healthcare, engineering, medicine & pharmacology, and biology & life sciences. 

We extend our gratitude to the Editors-in-Chief, Associate Editors, and Editorial Board Members who will shape the future course of these new journals. Each journal is dedicated to upholding strong editorial standards through a thorough peer review process, enabling impactful open access scholarship. 

Please feel free to browse and discover more about the new journals below. 

We would like to thank everyone who has supported the development of open access publishing. If you would like to create a new journal, you are welcome to send an application here or contact the New Journal Committee (newjournal-committee@mdpi.com).

Peer review is the invisible foundation of academic progress. The 2025 MDPI Top Reviewers are some of the key experts who helped build it.

We are honored to recognize 1000 individuals from our global community of 210,000 reviewers across 67 countries and territories—chosen for their commitment to rigorous, constructive peer review and the consistency of their contributions throughout 2025.

The Top Reviewers provided constructive and impartial feedback that makes research stronger and more impactful, and we are grateful for it.

The names of these reviewers are listed below in alphabetical order by first name:

(Note: we respected all privacy preferences, with part of nominees opting for limited attribution.)

Conference: CED/NOF-IADR 2026 Oral Health Research Congress
Organization: CED-IADR, the Scandinavian division (NOF) of IADR
Date: 3–5 September 2026
Place: Lisbon, Portugal

The CED/NOF-IADR is the largest multi-disciplinary scientific meeting in dental research and offers an unparalleled platform for dental researchers, practitioners, and academics to connect, collaborate, and discover the latest breakthroughs while enjoying exceptional networking opportunities. The congress will cover several critical scientific themes, including AI implementation in endodontics, advanced periodontology, and complex direct restorations. Furthermore, the program will delve into systemic and preventative health, evidence-based fluoride communication, the latest diagnostics in biomaterials and volumetric imaging, and dedicated “Young CED-IADR” sessions to empower early career researchers.

The following open access journals will be represented at the conference:

• Oral;
• Dentistry Journal;
• Prosthesis;
• Hygiene;
• Journal of Clinical Medicine (JCM);
• Journal of Aesthetic Medicine (J. Aesthetic Med.);
• Medicina;
• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH);
• Clinics and Practice;
• Applied Sciences;
• Craniomaxillofacial Trauma & Reconstruction (CMTR).

If you are planning to attend the above conference, please feel free to visit our booth. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have.

A range of MDPI journals will be attending International Congress Center Messe München in Munich, Germany from 28 to 31 August 2026.

Furthermore, 2026 marks MDPI’s third year of partnering with ESC Congress. Centered on the theme “Spotlight on Artificial Intelligence”, the conference explores AI as an auxiliary clinical tool that improves accuracy, workflow speed and patient safety. More than 32,000 delegates joined last year’s event, and MDPI secured 122 valuable contacts on-site.

The following open access journals will be represented at the ESC Congress 2026:

• JCDD;
• JCM;
• Antioxidants;
• Cardiogenetics;
• Cardiovascular Medicine;
• Hearts;
• IJERPH;
• Medicina;
• AI;
• Biomedicines;
• Clinics and Practice;
• EJIHPE;
• JPM;
• JVD;
• Tomography.

If you are planning to attend the above conference, please do not hesitate to drop by our booth and start a conversation with us; we look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit https://www.escardio.org/Congresses-Events/ESC-Congress# or contact the Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease Editorial Office at jcdd@mdpi.com.

Name: Dr. Chetan Sharma
Affiliations: Department of Food and Animal Sciences, Tennessee State University, Nashville, Tennessee, 37209, USA
Interests: Food Quality,  Sensory Shelf-life, Upcycled Foods, Descriptive analysis, Flavor, Texture.

1. Could you briefly introduce yourself and your current research focus?
I am Chetan Sharma,  a trained sensory scientist who graduated from Kansas State University. After my graduation, I worked as a postdoc for two years in the area of context, in the form of virtual and augmented reality, and sensory cues, in the form of logos and text, in sensory science in Aotearoa, New Zealand. I then came back to Drexel University, Philadelphia. I worked in the Department of Food and Hospitality Management, driven by my interests in food sociology, food studies, and sensory science. I started my first faculty position as a teaching assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout and then came to Tennessee State University in 2024 as a research assistant professor. My current work includes teaching and research. teach courses in Sensory Science and Experimental Foods, and my research focuses on food product development, sensory perception, food quality, sensory shelf life, upcycled foods, and consumer behavior and decision-making.

2. For many of our readers, the concept of sensory science is both broad and fascinating, especially in areas like the connection between nature and mental health, or the role of taste in healthy eating. In simple terms, how would you describe the work of sensory scientists and how does this work impact research in public health?
Sensory science, for me, is a field that has contributions from many different fields. When I was at Drexel University, one of the professors I worked with was a clinical nutritionist, and during that time, we published in IJERPH about nature and well-being, which has a component related to dietary choices as well.
If we look through the lens of sensory science, I think context is a new focus. Earlier, we had booths through which we tried to control everything. But since we eat food in a more social environment rather than in a booth, we wanted to introduce context and study more about how it affects our food choices and behavior. Broadly, I think the nature in which you are eating the food affects your decision-making and well-being.
Well-being comes from food as well as nature. We often focus more on the “wellness” aspect of the word “wellbeing”, and less on the other part of the word. I believe in a people-centered approach to food research, where this sense of being is just as important as wellness. For example, when I was in Aotearoa, New Zealand, I biked to Lincoln University. So, in those moments and even today, being myself is biking, and by biking to university early in the morning, especially in the winters when it was cold, enjoying the feeling of crisp air on my face, I was not only engaging in the act of being, but also enhancing my overall wellness.
Another good example is that I worked with a student who developed anti-nausea popsicles for cancer patients. I was a co-advisor, and when she found out about sensory science, we started working more collaboratively. She then wondered how we could test these popsicles for flavor acceptance and how we could deliver this in a form that is acceptable to someone who is in need. So, we developed home-use testing (HUT), which is a part of sensory science. We did central lab testing (CLT), too. She also used a sorting method and flash profile from sensory science to describe the samples in terms of the flavors she developed for the popsicles. So, we were working on public health and providing solutions through sensory science.

3. Every scientist has a story that sparks their curiosity about their research topic. What initially drew you to the field of sensory science?
I was working in a food processing lab, developing extruded food products. I saw that there was a conference going on in the IGP, Kansas, and that a professor, Dr. Edgar IV Chambers, was explaining how they transform human beings into machines. I was sitting there thinking, can he really do something like that, because I never thought about such a metaphor of humans as machines. So I asked him a question: How much time do you need to transform a human into a machine? And he told me, if you want a good machine, with equipment precise enough to be in the lab, maybe in six months. I asked him a couple more questions, and he told me to take this sensory science class, so I transferred to that, and it was nice working with him.
In sensory science, we treat humans as an instrument, just like Gas Chromatography, which gives you very precise information about volatiles, such as whether this is a hexanal, which has a grassy taste, or if this is a benzaldehyde, which has a little sweet taste. Similarly, our human instruments are used as a trained panel, and they tell you the same precise information about the sample as you get from GC.

4. Going back to the public health perspective, which area do you think holds the most promise for achieving improvements to public health through sensory science?
I am working with Dr. Heather Krick, who is now an assistant professor at Immaculata University. We are presenting at a symposium in Florida in May about how public health is associated with sensory science. For example, difficulties in getting food or medicine in the right form or size for swallowing, which has been a problem with the elderly or with babies. So we are touching on how taste and texture are important, and if you want to improve that, you need to collaborate more with the sensory scientists so that we can work collectively on providing a solution or a form that can be swallowed easily.
The other things we are working on are the effects of aroma on mental health. We are all familiar with different kinds of therapies, like aromatherapy. This also connects with public health. For example, when I was in New Zealand, they were emphasizing regenerative agriculture, and under that they introduced mustard greens, the yellow flowers of the mustard. It was a very common thing in my state in India, so when I was biking on the weekend, the fragrance and the smell took me from that road back to my hometown, and I just stopped there and looked at the mountains and the field, and I was so happy. That takes one away from the daily chores and the mental pressures or work-related things. So, aroma is important for well-being and public health.

5. Could you share your experience publishing with IJERPH? In your experience, what is most attractive about the journal for authors, and are there any areas where you see potential for improvement?
Publishing with MDPI, the turnaround time is something that every author appreciates because we don't want our manuscript to be under review for a year, which is very common. So, I think the speed is something that is commendable for the journals coming from MDPI.
I think the area for improvement would be more communication from known names in my field. For example, if there's a review request from someone I know, like Edgar IV Chambers or Martin Talavera, I will be more likely to open that and review it compared to receiving a request from someone whom I don't know. So, more communication from known names in the field would be an improvement moving forward.

MDPI is pleased to invite Guest Editors, recognized for their expertise across a wide range of disciplines, to participate in the 9th MDPI Guest Editor Club.

This forum provides a platform to highlight emerging research topics in a comprehensive yet efficient format, enabling Guest Editors to share their editorial experiences and discuss insights gained from leading Special Issues.

The Guest Editor Club brings together Guest Editors from around the world to exchange ideas and showcase research published through Special Issues. The event also offers an overview of the Special Issue editorial process, outlines key aspects of the Guest Editor role, and facilitates discussions on publishing developments within the Public Health & Healthcare subject area.

We look forward to welcoming participants to the 9th MDPI Guest Editor Club 2026.

Keywords: guest editor; special issue; public health; healthcare

Date: 6 July 2026
Time: 13:00 CEST
Webinar ID: 886 2228 2763
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Website: https://sciforum.net/event/GEClub-9-health?subscribe

Register now for free!

Program:

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.

Unable to attend? Register anyway, and we will let you know when the recording is available to view.

Invited Speakers:

• Dr. William Mude, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia;
• Dr. Stephen Modell, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, USA.

MDPI is pleased to participate in the 37th International Nursing Research Congress, taking place from 16 to 18 July 2026 at the 37th International Nursing Research Congress, Toronto, Canada.

The conference is organized by Sigma Theta Tau International, the nursing honor society. This premier global gathering connects nurse researchers, students, clinicians, and leaders to share cutting-edge research across key themes like technology, practice, well-being, and community health. The congress features the Rising Stars student presentations, Leadership Education Grants, and prestigious awards including the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame. It serves as a vital platform for collaboration and inspiration and for advancing the science of nursing worldwide.

We warmly invite conference attendees to visit the MDPI booth to learn more about our portfolio of open access journals, publishing opportunities, editorial initiatives, and services designed to support researchers throughout their publishing journey. 

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Nursing Reports;
• Healthcare;
• IJERPH;
• Emergency Care and Medicine;
• Clinics and Practice;
• Hospitals;
• Psychiatry International. 

If you plan on attending this conference, we invite you to visit our booth at Table 4. We are excited to meet you in person and address any questions that you may have. For further details about the conference, please visit the following website: https://www.sigmanursing.org/connect-engage/meetings-events/congress/.

Impact Factors measure how often articles in scientific journals are cited—specifically, the average number of citations received in a given year by articles published in that journal over the previous two years, as tracked in the Web of Science. For researchers, the number answers a practical question: how often is work published in this journal being picked up and built upon?

The metric is assigned to the journal as a whole, not to individual articles. A high Impact Factor tells you something useful about a journal's place in its field; it tells you less about any single paper within it.

For a complementary, article-level view, MDPI lists an Altmetric score on each article page. Where the Impact Factor tracks academic citations, the Altmetric score captures broader online attention: how an article is being shared, discussed, and referenced beyond the journal literature. Together, they offer two different ways of asking the same question: is this research reaching people?

With 2025 CiteScores from Scopus published a few weeks ago, Clarivate has now released this year's Journal Impact Factors in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR).

254 MDPI Journals Saw a Rise in Impact Factor

This year's JCR include 330 MDPI journals across a wide range of disciplines. Of these, 231 journals are placed in the top 50% (Q1 or Q2) of their respective subject categories, a result that spans fields as different as materials science, public health, environmental studies, and mathematics. 78 journals hold a top-quartile position (Q1), and 33 journals have a JIF of 5.0 or above.

• 330 journals earned a Journal Impact Factor (JIF)
• 29 journals earned a first JIF
• 254 journals had an increase in JIF
• 71% of ranked journals are in Q1 or Q2

For the full metrics on any MDPI journal, visit our Web of Science journals overview page or a journal's individual statistics page.

29 MDPI Journals Received Their First Journal Impact Factor

A first Impact Factor is a confirmation for an emerging journal. It marks the point at which a journal has been publishing long enough, and cited broadly enough, to enter the formal record of scientific influence. For the research communities those journals serve, it signals that the work being published is being read and built upon.

This year, 29 MDPI journals received a Journal Impact Factor for the first time, across a range of emerging and established research areas. Each represents years of editorial development and peer review—recognized in 2026 for the first time in the JCR.

This is also part of a longer shift in how science gets indexed. When the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) launched in 2016, 24 MDPI journals were included. By 2024 that number had grown to over 200, reflecting a broader change in the visibility of open access publishing within major citation tracking systems, not just at MDPI but across the sector.

Open Access with Impact

MDPI journals have received a total of 25.2 million citations in Web of Science. That figure matters less as a measure of MDPI's reach and more as a measure of what happens when research is freely available: it gets found, read, and used. Open access is only meaningful if the work actually travels and citations are one indicator that it does.

More than 4.6 million authors have published with MDPI. That breadth, across disciplines, institutions, and geographies, is what makes open access at this scale worth doing.

Thank You to the MDPI Scholarly Community

These results belong to the people who do the actual work: the Editors-in-Chief who set the standards, the Editorial Board Members and reviewers who hold them, and the authors who choose open access for their research. The numbers in the Journal Citation Reports are the downstream effect of decisions made at the desk, in the review, and at submission. Thank you for making them.

Data: 2025 Journal Impact Factors, Journal Citation Reports™ (Clarivate, 2026)