Announcements

28 May 2025
Meet Us at the 47th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 14–18 July 2025, Copenhagen, Denmark


Conference:
47th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society
Date: 14–18 July 2025
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

MDPI will be attending the 47th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society as an exhibitor, welcoming researchers from diverse backgrounds to visit and share their latest ideas.

The 47th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society will be jointly hosted by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS). The overarching conference theme, “Engineering Medicine, Innovating Healthcare”, underscores the pivotal role of interdisciplinary collaboration and new ways of driving transformative advancements in healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.

We cordially invite you to join us as we embark on a journey to revolutionize healthcare through innovation, AI, and technology integration. We look forward to seeing you in Copenhagen in July 2025!

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

If you are planning to attend this conference, please do not hesitate to start an online conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information, please visit https://embc.embs.org/2025/.

11 July 2025
Bioengineering | Interview with One of the Authors—Dr. Karuna Nambi Gowri

Dr. Karuna Nambi Gowri is one of the authors of the highly cited article entitled “A Review of Barbed Sutures—Evolution, Applications and Clinical Significance” published in Bioengineering (ISSN: 2306-5354).

The following is an interview with Dr. Karuna Nambi Gowri:

1. Can you tell us a bit about your background and what your research focuses on?
My basic major is textile technology with a focus on textile and materials chemistry. During my PhD, I looked at different bioresorbable polymeric materials that could be used as absorbable sutures, and so my research focus is completely on the realm of sustainable biomaterials used for different applications, ranging from traditional textile finishes and biomedical textiles to, currently, non-woven and paper manufacturing.

2. What made you decide to publish a bioengineering article? Why did you choose MDPI’s Bioengineering journal?
I was involved in the realm of biomedical textile research and looking at different polymeric biomaterials that can be engineered and fabricated into innovative wound closure devices, barbed or knotless sutures. Since my research focus was to engineer polymeric biomaterials into these barbed sutures, we anticipated that Bioengineering would be a good place to get our review manuscript published. And this is the main reason we resorted to publishing it in the Bioengineering journal. The other reason why we chose to publish this journal is because of the wide scope of the journal itself.

3. Was it important to you that the journal is open access? How does open access publishing advance the field of bioengineering?
It was important to publish this article in an open access journal since we wanted this to be a baseline for future researchers who like to work on barbed sutures. If it is an open access manuscript, then it would be beneficial to them to actually review it and progress their research from there instead of going through a whole lot of research done over two decades. And open access publishing actually helps advance this field of bioengineering by creating more visibility of the work that was done previously, which would be a win-win situation for both the authors of the article and also the readers who read the article.

4. What do you hope that readers will get from your paper?
We looked through the literature to identify different barbed sutures and their properties that were already published and available for review and evaluation. But there weren’t many review manuscripts for barbed sutures from a material standpoint and there were review articles from clinical standpoints. And so our hope was that this would be a good collection of all the previous works that have been done and published in the area of barbed sutures, and that this manuscript would give a broad overview of how research on barbed sutures was and how it is expected to improve in the future.

5. What critical scientific or engineering problems did your research initially aim to address?
The critical scientific problem that we wanted to address in this research on barbed sutures was to see if we could make the fabrication of these barbed sutures more efficient and commercially scalable with easy manipulation of the barb geometries and parameters. So, in order to address this issue, we looked at switching the currently existing mechanical fabrication to a laser fabrication technique which would enable us to manipulate the barb geometries and parameters in a faster and more precise way, making it suitable for use in a lot more complicated surgical procedure.

6. What are the current bottlenecks in this field, and how did you identify your research’s breakthrough point?
The current bottleneck in the fabrication of barbed sutures is that all the commercially available barbed sutures have the same barb parameters irrespective of the surgery they are to be used in. However, from the literature and previous research studies, it can be seen that different surgical procedures require different barb parameters, since different procedures involve different tissue compositions and structures. So, our research aim was to identify alternative fabrication techniques to better manipulate the barb parameters, considering the final surgical procedure they could be used in. The breakthrough was that we were able to prove that an ultrashort pulsed laser system can be used to fabricate barbed sutures with customized barb parameters that are needed for their use for different surgical procedures.

7. Why do you think this article has been highly cited?
I think the reason for the high citation of this article is because this review manuscript is a collection of all the previous work that focuses on barbed sutures, inclusive of both patents and manuscripts. I guess it is easier for all future researchers who are willing to work in this area of barbed sutures, this article is like a compiled manuscript which has details from research done for over two decades in this area of biomedical textiles.

7 July 2025
Engineering Multidisciplinary Editorial Board Meeting Held in Singapore on 19 May 2025


MDPI Singapore successfully hosted its first in-person Engineering Multidisciplinary Editorial Board Meeting on 19 May 2025.

We are deeply thankful for the enthusiastic participation and strong support of our Editorial Board Members (EBMs). It was a valuable opportunity to connect face-to-face and discuss the future development of the engineering subject area. We would like to invite everyone to jointly review the content of this meeting, and we look forward to welcoming even more EBMs to our future gatherings.

The meeting kicked off with a light icebreaker, where participants introduced themselves and shared their academic backgrounds and experience with MDPI. This was followed by a brief overview of MDPI’s presence in the engineering field—showcasing our journals, performance statistics, and outreach activities.

Discussions then focused on ways to grow and enhance MDPI’s engineering portfolio. Topics included the following:

  • Strategies to attract high-quality submissions.
  • Improving journals’ visibility.
  • Enhancing author support and increasing submission success rates.
  • Strengthening the role and engagement of EBMs.
  • Identifying emerging research topics.
 

We wrapped up with an open sharing session, where EBMs reflected on their experiences working with MDPI and offered thoughtful suggestions for improvement. Their ideas were insightful and sparked some great conversations.

We are truly grateful to all attendees for their time, ideas, and commitment. Collaborating with such passionate scholars is an honor, and we look forward to working closely together to elevate research excellence in the engineering field.

Journals our EBMs are affiliated with:

  • Applied Sciences;
  • Aerospace;
  • Bioengineering;
  • JMMP.

4 July 2025
MDPI’s Newly Launched Journals in June 2025

Six new journals covering a range of subjects launched their inaugural issues in June 2025. We are excited to be able to share with you the newest research rooted in the value of open access. We are pleased to present the latest research and to make it accessible to all.

We extend our sincere thanks to all the Editorial Board Members for their commitment and expertise. Each journal is dedicated to upholding strong editorial standards through a thorough peer review process, ensuring impactful open access scholarship.

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

Journal Founding Editor-in-Chief Journal Topics (Selected)
Prof. Dr. Chang-Pu Sun,
China Academy of Engineering Physics, Beijing, China; Computational Science Research Center, China
Editorial | View inaugural issue
quantum information and phenomena; condensed matter physics and statistical physics; atomic, molecular, and optical physics; computational physics and mathematical methods
View journal scope | Submit an article
Prof. Dr. Hualiang Lin,
Sun Yat-sen University, China;
Prof. Dr. Jose L. Domingo,
Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain
Editorial | View inaugural issue
green and organic food; green infrastructures; green exercise; environmental impact of the healthcare sector; effects of climate change on human health |
View journal scope | Submit an article
Prof. Dr. Francesco Veglio,
University of L’Aquila, Italy
Editorial | View inaugural issue
ultra-pure substances; water purification; air purification; gas purification; inorganic chemical purification; purification technologies
View journal scope | Submit an article
Prof. Dr. Junxing Zheng,
Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
Editorial | View inaugural issue
computer-aided design and engineering; artificial intelligence and machine learning; building information modeling (BIM) and digital twins; robotics and automation in construction; smart sensors and Internet of Things (IoT); intelligent control systems and facilities management
View journal scope | Submit an article
Prof. Dr. Assunta Di Vaio, University of Naples Parthenope, Italy
Editorial | View inaugural issue
sustainability, managerial, and biodiversity accounting; carbon management accounting; corporate social responsibility; artificial intelligence and disclosure
View journal scope | Submit an article
Prof. Dr. Changjun Liu,
Sichuan University, China
Editorial | View inaugural issue
bioeffects of electromagnetic waves; electromagnetic science and engineering; microwave, millimeter-wave, and terahertz technologies; metamaterials and metasurfaces; communication, sensing, and networks; energy, power, and sustainable applications; quantum and emerging technologies; artificial intelligence and advanced fabrication
View journal scope | Submit an article
We wish to thank everyone who has supported the development of open access publishing. If you are interested in launching a new open access journal with us, you are welcome to send an application here.

2 July 2025
MDPI INSIGHTS: The CEO's Letter #24 - 2024 Impact Factor & CiteScore, MDPI Summits France & USA, Tu Youyou Award

Welcome to the MDPI Insights: The CEO's Letter.

In these monthly letters, I will showcase two key aspects of our work at MDPI: our commitment to empowering researchers and our determination to facilitating open scientific exchange.


Opening Thoughts

MDPI’s 2024 Impact Factor Highlights

For those of our readers who are new to academic publishing, you may have heard some news in June around the Impact Factor release. Every year, typically in June, Clarivate releases its annual Journal Citation Reports (JCR), which include Journal Impact Factors (JIF). This metric is widely used in academic publishing to reflect the average number of citations received by recent articles in each journal.

While Impact Factor is just one of many indicators of journal influence, it remains a major milestone for authors, editors, and publishers. It’s used to assess journal visibility, researcher recognition, and scholarly reach. Throughout our international meetings and events, it’s clear that the Impact Factor is something many of our authors and editorial board members care about, as it can influence where they choose to submit an article and the funding they receive for their research.

“These results reflect the trust that the scholarly community places in MDPI”

MDPI’s 2024 Impact Factor Highlights

  • 298 MDPI journals received a Journal Impact Factor.
  • 60 journals earned their first-ever Impact Factor
    • To put this in perspective: MDPI’s 60 new journal acceptances into the Web of Science was the second highest number of any publisher in 2024, behind Elsevier and ahead of Springer Nature. Our 87% acceptance rate for journals submitted to Web of Science shows the strength of our editorial process and our proven ability to develop journals aligned with Clarivate’s 24 evaluation criteria.
    • Notably, Textiles, Mathematics, International Journal of Neonatal Screening, Smart Cities, Systems, and Pharmaceutics ranked in the top 10% in their respective categories, highlighting their growing influence and prestige within their academic fields. This shows that high-quality indexing goes beyond visibility; it upholds credibility and trust.
  • 193 MDPI journals are now ranked in the top 50% (Q1/Q2) of their subject categories.
    • What does this mean, and why is it important? Journals are ranked by quartiles within their field, based on their Impact Factor. Q1 represents the top 25% of journals in their category, Q2 the next 25%, and so on. Being in Q1 or Q2 shows that a journal is performing well relative to other journals in its category. Authors and institutions often look at quartile rankings when choosing where to publish – it’s an important indicator of visibility and recognition, within its respective category.
  • 116 of our previously ranked journals increased their Impact Factor.
  • 14 MDPI journals achieved an Impact Factor of 5.0 or higher, suggesting a high degree of influence and visibility.

These results reflect our staff's hard work: from our editorial and production teams to our indexing, communications, and data teams, and beyond. This also reflects the trust that the scholarly community places in MDPI, reinforcing the message that when researchers publish with MDPI, they publish with impact.

Open Access with Impact

As the leading fully open access publisher, our journals have received a total of 18.4 million citations in the Web of Science by the end of 2024, reflecting the growing reach and engagement of research published with MDPI. We are committed to making scientific research freely accessible to everyone, everywhere. With the support of more than 4.2 million contributing authors, we’re proud to support the global shift toward open access.

Further Reading

If you’d like to better understand how journals get indexed and why Impact Factors matter, please read this recent interview with Dr. Constanze Schelhorn (Head of Indexing). It gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the role our indexing team plays in supporting journal indexing and visibility.

You can also read our official news announcement shared last week: MDPI Journals in the 2024 Journal Citation Reports.

Thank you to everyone, from our authors and reviewers to our editors and internal teams, who contributed to the progress of our journal indexing in 2024. We’re continuing to build journals that are recognized and trusted across disciplines.

Impactful Research

MDPI Journals See Continued Growth in 2024 CiteScore Results

Continuing our indexing updates, I’m pleased to share that MDPI has achieved strong results in the latest CiteScore metrics, released on 5 June by Scopus. These results reflect the collective efforts of our editors, reviewers, authors, and internal teams, with their dedication to quality and visibility in scientific publishing. You can read the full announcement here.

2024 Highlights:

  • 322 MDPI journals received a CiteScore (up from 274 last year).
  • 283 journals (88%) are ranked in Q1 or Q2 of their subject categories.
  • 237 journals (85%) saw an increase in their CiteScore compared to last year.
  • 48 journals received a CiteScore for the first time.
  • 39 journals are now placed in the top 10% of their subject areas.

“This growth highlights our commitment to supporting open, trusted science”

What is CiteScore and how is it measured?

CiteScore metrics are developed by Elsevier as an alternative to the Impact Factor. They measure the citation impact of journals and can be accessed freely on Scopus. The metric represents the yearly average number of citations to recent articles published in a journal. If you’re interested in learning more about citation metrics and how we use them, check out this blog post.

Why is this important?

These results show the growing recognition for, and impact of, MDPI journals across disciplines. CiteScore rankings help researchers, institutions, and funders assess where high-quality work is being published. This growth improves our journals’ positioning in the publishing landscape and highlights our commitment to supporting open, trusted science.

Inside MDPI

Highlights from the MDPI USA Summit in Boston (5–6 June)

With several Summits already behind us, I think this is a good time to reflect on the purpose of these Summits.

Why do we organize MDPI Summits?

These one-and-a-half-day, invite-only gatherings are designed to improve our relationships with Chief Editors who lead our journals and are respected voices in their fields. The Summits aim to:

  1. Share MDPI’s values, achievements, editorial practices, and local market collaborations.
  2. Collect feedback on MDPI operations and journal practices.
  3. Empower Chief Editors to confidently represent MDPI beyond the Summit.

While Chief Editors know their journals well, these events help them better understand MDPI. We want them to be ambassadors for our brand. The aim is for them to walk away informed, engaged, and equipped to share positively about MDPI.

About the Boston Summit

Held on 5–6 June, our first USA Summit gathered over 25 Chief Editors to learn more about MDPI’s activities and collaborations in the USA. The program included presentations, Q&A, and a panel discussion.

Agenda Highlights:

Moderated by Summer Huggard (Operations Manager [Toronto], MDPI), the program featured:

  • MDPI Overview and USA Collaboration – Stefan Tochev (CEO, MDPI)
  • AI in Publishing and MDPI's Actions – Feichi Lu (Junior Data Scientist, MDPI)
  • MDPI Editorial Process and Research Integrity – Dr. Giulia Stefenelli (Scientific Communications Lead, MDPI)
  • Panel Discussion – Stefan, Feichi, Giulia, Claudia
  • Society Partnerships – Dr. Clàudia Aunós (Society Partnerships Senior Manager, MDPI)
  • Voice of the Customer and Closing Remarks – Stefan Tochev (CEO, MDPI)

MDPI & the USA: Facts and Figures

  • With over 216,000 publications, the USA is MDPI’s second-largest contributor after China.
  • In 2024, the USA ranked 2nd in total submissions and 2nd in total MDPI publications, with more than 28,200 publications.
  • As of 2020, the cumulative number of authors from the USA until April 2025 was 352,099.
  • As at April 2025, there are more than 12,035 active Editorial Board Members (EBMs) from the USA, with 55% having an H-index over 26.
  • Among them, 96 serve as Editors-in-Chief (EiC) and 218 as section-Editors-in-Chief (SEiC)
  • MDPI has more than 920 Institutional Open Access Program agreements worldwide, with over 130 from the USA.

A special thanks to our Toronto team, and everyone who worked behind the scenes to make this event run smoothly.

Coming Together for Science

Highlights from the MDPI France Summit in Paris (12–13 June)

We completed our first MDPI France Summit in Paris last week, and it was a special event. Attendees were engaged from beginning to end, remaining after hours to network and collaborate.

Why a France Summit?

We chose to host a France Summit in view of the recent challenges MDPI has faced with the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). What we took away from the event is that our authors and editors very much appreciate and enjoy working with us, but we need to address the concerns raised by CNRS, around Article Processing Charges (APCs) and the funding of gold open access publications.

“Our authors and editors very much enjoy working with us”

Some of the claims made in the June 2023 interview with Alain Schuhl, the Deputy CEO for Science at the CNRS, are simply not factual. For example, they state that MDPI’s “average APC charges per article are now around the same as Springer Nature’s.” Here is the relevant passage, reproduced verbatim:

This is not accurate.

A recent preprint analysing APC data from Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, PLOS, MDPI, and Frontiers (2019–2023) shows that MDPI’s average APCs remain significantly lower than those of Springer Nature and several other major publishers.

The MDPI Summits are part of our outreach and communication efforts to address misconceptions and clarify MDPI’s position as one of the most accessible and affordable major gold open access publishers in the world.

Summit Overview

Held on 12–13 June, the France Summit gathered over 20 Chief Editors to learn more about MDPI’s activities and collaborations in France. Many of these editors are influential in their institutions and professional societies. Several also have connections to CNRS, which makes this an important opportunity to clarify how we operate and build trust through open and transparent communication and hopefully turn our editors into informed advocates of MDPI.

Summit Feedback

The feedback has been very positive, with most attendees completing the post-event survey and all rating the experience as Excellent or Good. A few highlights:

  • “The whole thing was highly professional and, above all, provided quantified details that will allow us to better answer questions surrounding MDPI.”
  • “The summit was an opportunity to meet personally various people directly engaged in the organization and policies of MDPI, which made it possible to clarify some important points concerning publishing with MDPI.”
  • “Very well organized! A great opportunity to see all French MDPI partners and editors.”

Program Highlights:

Moderated by Miruna Adelina Nicolcioiu (Senior Conference Producer), the program featured:

  • MDPI Overview and France Collaboration – Stefan Tochev (CEO)
  • MDPI Editorial Process and Peer-Review Quality – Dr. Marta Colomer (Public Affairs Specialist)
  • Institutional Partnerships and Open Access Funding Models – Becky Castellon (Institutional Partnerships Manager)
  • AI in Publishing and MDPI's Actions – Daniele Raimondi (Data Scientist)
  • Publication Ethics: Global Trends – Diana Cristina Apodaritei (Research Integrity Specialist)
  • Closing Remarks – Stefan Tochev
  • Panel Discussion – Diana, Becky, Prof. Dr. Patrick Da Cost, and Stefan

MDPI & France: Facts and Figures

  • With over 51,000 publications, France is MDPI's tenth-largest contributor, and fifth largest among EU countries after Italy, Spain, Germany, and Poland.
  • As of 2020, the cumulative number of authors from France until April 2025 was 87,592.
  • As at April 2025, there are more than 2,800 active Editorial Board Members (EBMs) from France, with 59% having an H-index over 26.
  • Among them, 22 serve as Editors-in-Chief (EiC) and 61 as section-Editors-in-Chief (SEiC)
  • In 2024, IJMS, JCM, and Molecules were the top three MDPI journals in terms of submissions from French-affiliated authors.

Special thanks to our colleagues from Romanian offices for organizing this successful event.

Closing Thoughts

Richard DiMarchi and Rolf Müller Share the 2024 Tu Youyou Award

As we wrap up this month’s newsletter, I’d like to take a moment to recognize the winners of the 2024 Tu Youyou Award, presented by our journal Molecules. I am pleased to share that the 2024 Tu Youyou Award has been conferred upon Richard DiMarchi and Rolf Müller, in recognition of their significant contributions to natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry.

I invite you to read the editorial co-authored by the Tu Youyou Award Committee, which highlights the significance of the award and the remarkable impact of the recipients’ research.

A sincere thank-you to the 2024 Award Committee for their dedication and selection process, and congratulations once again to this year’s honourees. Your work exemplifies the kind of research MDPI is proud to support and amplify.

About the Tu Youyou Award
The 2024 Tu Youyou Award includes a total monetary prize of 100,000 Swiss Francs and a medal for each recipient. Established in 2016 to honour the pioneering spirit of Nobel laureate Tu Youyou, the Tu Youyou Award is an international award recognizing exceptional scholars dedicated to the fields of natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry.

For further information about the award and the winners, please visit the Tu Youyou Award website.

Stefan Tochev
Chief Executive Officer
MDPI AG

1 July 2025
Meet Us at the CRS 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition, 14–18 July 2025, Philadelphia, USA


Conference: The CRS 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition
Date: 14–18 July 2025
Location: Philadelphia, USA

This conference will be the 52nd annual conference of the Controlled Release Society. The annual CRS conference is the most important conference in the pharmaceutics field. The main topics of the conference include nanomedicine and nanoscale delivery, immuno delivery, oral delivery, skin and mucosal delivery, ocular delivery, bioengineering, gene delivery and gene editing, alternative methods to animal testing, long-acting drug delivery formulations, delivery to the nervous system, artificial intelligence, and predictive models in pharmaceutical technologies.

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

If you plan to attend this conference, please contact us online. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person at booth #202 and answering any questions you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following website: https://crs2025annualmeeting.eventscribe.net.

27 June 2025
Bioengineering | An Interview with One of the Authors—Prof. Luca Mesin

Prof. Luca Mesin is one of the authors of the highly cited article entitled “Connectivity Analysis in EEG Data: A Tutorial Review of the State of the Art and Emerging Trends” published in Bioengineering (ISSN: 2306-5354). In this conversation with Prof. Luca Mesin, we explore the key themes, motivations, and broader context of his most recent academic contributions in this article.

The following is an interview with Prof. Mesin:

1. Can you tell us a bit about your background and what your research focuses on?
I am an electronics engineer with a Ph.D. in applied mathematics. Currently, I serve as an Associate Professor in biomedical engineering. My main research interests lie in the processing and analysis of biomedical data (both signals and images). One focus of my research is on EEG signal acquisition, preprocessing, and functional connectivity analysis.

2. What made you decide to publish a bioengineering article? Why did you choose Bioengineering MDPI?
As an Associate Editor of Bioengineering, I had the opportunity to contribute a review paper in an area closely aligned with the journal’s scope. The choice of MDPI was driven by its strong reputation for rapid and transparent peer review, as well as its commitment to open access dissemination.

3. What was your experience publishing with Bioengineering MDPI?
The experience was very positive. The review process was efficient and timely, and the editorial staff ensured high-quality editing and publication standards.

4. Was it important to you that the journal is open access? How does open access publishing advance the field of bioengineering?
Yes, open access is particularly important for researchers like me. I tend to focus on the scientific substance of my work and less on promotion. Unfortunately, this sometimes means that even my most innovative work goes under-recognized. Open access provides a valuable opportunity for broader dissemination, making research accessible to a larger audience regardless of institutional affiliation or financial resources.

5. What do you hope that readers will get from your paper?
The paper offers a comprehensive tutorial review of data-driven methods for assessing EEG-based functional connectivity. It aims to serve as a reference for researchers by summarizing methods, clarifying technical details, and discussing the impact of acquisition and preprocessing on connectivity estimates.

6. What critical scientific or engineering problems did your research initially aim to address?
We aimed to address the complexity of accurately inferring functional connectivity from EEG data. This includes methodological challenges in preprocessing, signal interpretation, and the selection and validation of appropriate connectivity metrics.

7. What are the current bottlenecks in this field, and how did you identify your research’s breakthrough point?
Key bottlenecks include variability in preprocessing methods, lack of standardization, and the difficulty of distinguishing true from spurious connectivity. Our review highlights the importance of methodological rigor and proposes emerging solutions, such as high-order interactions and graph-based approaches, to advance the field.

8. Which technologies or tools played pivotal roles in designing your methodology?
Our work focuses primarily on data-driven methodologies, including both linear and nonlinear statistical tools. Concepts such as Granger causality, transfer entropy, and multivariate autoregressive modeling are central, alongside tools from information theory and graph theory.

9. Have your experiments or theoretical models undergone significant adjustments? What motivated those changes?
Yes. Throughout the years, our approaches have evolved to incorporate more sophisticated multivariate methods and to address limitations identified in simpler bivariate analyses. These changes were motivated by a deeper understanding of EEG complexity and the risk of misinterpreting indirect connections.

10. Are there any untold “behind-the-scenes” stories worth sharing about this work?
The paper was the result of a genuine collaborative effort between two groups with complementary expertise. Early discussions revealed the need for a unified framework that could bridge theoretical developments and practical EEG applications, which ultimately shaped the paper’s structure.

11. Why do you think this article has been highly cited?
Citation patterns are influenced by complex and often unstable dynamics. A well-known phenomenon is that highly cited papers tend to attract further citations, especially when they receive attention early after publication. In our case, the open access format ensured wide visibility from the outset, and the comprehensive scope of the review likely made it a useful reference for researchers entering or working within the field. Moreover, the collaboration among experienced authors with established scientific reputations may have added credibility and contributed to its early recognition.

12. Are there follow-up studies planned based on this paper’s findings?
Yes, several ongoing studies in our groups are extending the reviewed methodologies to real-world EEG datasets, particularly in clinical and cognitive neuroscience applications.

13. Did your research involve cross-disciplinary collaboration? How did teamwork shape the outcomes?
Definitely. My group was more focused on EEG acquisition and preprocessing, while Prof. Faes’ group contributed theoretical expertise in connectivity metrics. This synergy was essential to producing a balanced and integrative review.

14. How did early career researchers or students contribute to this work?
They played a fundamental role. Early career researchers carried out most of the literature review and technical analysis, under the supervision of senior authors who guided the overall structure and interpretation.

15. What was the greatest technical or theoretical challenge during this research, and how did you overcome it?
One major challenge was organizing a vast and fragmented literature into a coherent and accessible framework. We addressed this by systematically categorizing connectivity metrics across time, frequency, and information-theoretic domains, and by explicitly linking them through their mathematical foundations.

16. Were there difficulties in data acquisition or experimental reproducibility? How were they resolved?
While the paper is primarily a review, we are well aware that reproducibility is a major issue in EEG research. We emphasized best practices in preprocessing and model validation to improve reproducibility and highlighted the importance of transparent methodological reporting.

17. Did ethical concerns (e.g., gene editing, biosafety, etc.) arise? How were they addressed?
No specific ethical concerns arose in this work, as it is a review of methodological approaches and did not involve new experimental protocols with human subjects.

18. Which technological directions in bioengineering deserve the most attention over the next 5 years?
In the coming years, I believe particular attention should be given to the integration of multiple neuroimaging modalities, which can offer complementary spatial and temporal resolution for studying brain function. The development of non-invasive brain–computer interfaces will continue to open new possibilities for clinical and assistive technologies. Equally promising is the evolution of adaptive neurostimulation systems, enabling a deeper and more personalized interaction between the user and the device. Lastly, the incorporation of explainable artificial intelligence into biomedical signal processing holds great potential for improving both diagnostic transparency and clinical trust in AI-based systems.

19. How is AI reshaping bioengineering research in disruptive ways?
AI enables the analysis of complex, high-dimensional data and fostering real-time decision-making in clinical contexts. In EEG analysis, deep learning is being explored for source localization, artifact rejection, and connectivity estimation, though interpretability remains a key challenge.

20. What learning resources would you recommend for newcomers entering this field?
I recommend starting with foundational texts on signal processing and time series analysis, followed by specialized literature on EEG analysis and functional connectivity. Our review paper itself offers a structured entry point. Practical experience with tools like MATLAB, Python, and EEGLAB is also invaluable.

26 June 2025
Bioengineering Receives an Increased CiteScore of 5.3


We are pleased to share that Bioengineering (ISSN: 2306-5354) has received an increased CiteScore of 5.3 in June 2025. The CiteScore ranks the journal 90 out of 163 titles (Q3) in the “Bioengineering” category, an impressive achievement for a journal running in Volume 12.

You can find more statistics on our website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/bioengineering/stats.

The current CiteScores measure the average number of citations within a journal over a four-year window (2021–2024). The Scopus database provides a comprehensive suite of metrics that support informed publishing strategies, research evaluation and enable benchmarking of journal performance.

This achievement reflects the collective efforts of our authors, reviewers, and editors. Together we will continue to track the progress of Bioengineering and its growing impact in biomedical engineering.

20 June 2025
Young Women in Engineering Award—Open for Nominations


We are pleased to announce that the Young Women in Engineering Award is open for nominations. This award was established to acknowledge the achievements of young women investigators in the field of engineering and to inspire young women to consider research and careers in engineering. All the nominations will be assessed by an Award Evaluation Committee, and winners will be announced online on 8 March 2026.

Prizes:

  • CHF 1000;
  • An electronic certificate;
  • A voucher to waive the article processing charges (APCs) for one submission to a journal within the field of engineering (subject to peer review)—valid for one year.

Number of winners: 2.

Eligibility and requirements:

  • This role is designated for female candidates;
  • Must have received their Ph.D. no more than 10 years prior to 31 December 2025;
  • Must have produced groundbreaking research and made a significant contribution to the advancement of engineering;
  • Must be nominated by senior scientists.

List of documents for nomination:

  • Detailed curriculum vitae, including an updated publication list and a list of the researcher’s own research grants;
  • Scanned copy of doctorate certificate;
  • Signed nomination letters from two established senior scientists.

Schedule:

Open for nominations: 23 June 2025;
Nomination deadline: 30 November 2025;
Winner announcement: 8 March 2026.

Nominations and contact:

All nomination materials and award-related communications must be submitted via our official email: ywe-award@mdpi.com.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We look forward to receiving your nominations.

Young Women in Engineering Award Team

18 June 2025
Bioengineering | Interview with the Author—Dr. Pedro Miguel Rodrigues

Dr. Pedro Miguel Rodrigues is one of the authors of the highly cited article entitled “Cardiovascular Diseases Diagnosis Using an ECG Multi-Band Non-Linear Machine Learning Framework Analysis” published in Bioengineering (ISSN: 2306-5354).

 

 

 

 

 

The following is an interview with Dr. Pedro Miguel Rodrigues:

1. Can you tell us a bit about your background and what your research focuses on?
I hold a B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering with specialized expertise in signal processing and artificial intelligence. I am a Professor and Vice-Dean for Lifelong Learning and Partnerships at the Faculty of Biotechnology at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, and a researcher at the Centre for Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry in Porto, Portugal. My primary focus involves applying advanced biosignal processing techniques and machine learning methods to clinical datasets. My research interests revolve around developing algorithms designed to detect and monitor diseases (such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cardiovascular conditions, and voice disorders) before their earliest symptoms appear. By working with various biosignals—like EEG, ECG and voice signals—and diagnostic imaging inputs such as MRI, I aim to streamline early detection efforts, minimize subjective interpretation errors, and ultimately offer medical doctors more reliable tools for patient diagnostic evaluation.

2. What made you decide to publish a bioengineering article? Why did you choose MDPI’s Bioengineering?
My team and I were motivated to publish in a venue that places equal emphasis on biology and engineering, given our interdisciplinary approach that intertwines computational techniques with clinical applications. MDPI’s Bioengineering appealed to us through its strong open-access principles, robust international readership, and efficient editorial process. Moreover, it provides a platform where researchers from multiple fields can discover how AI-based diagnostic frameworks apply to a variety of medical contexts, making it a compelling choice for dissemination.

3. Was it important to you that the journal is open access? How does open access publishing advance the field of bioengineering?
It is important to publish open access for several reasons. First, open access ensures the work can be readily examined and implemented by researchers and clinicians operating in diverse settings, including resource-limited regions. Second, it expedites the feedback loop between research and practical implementation, as anyone has access to methods to build upon them directly. This widespread accessibility enables faster progress in addressing pressing biomedical challenges, ultimately benefiting the entire field by nurturing collaboration and transparency.

4. What are the current bottlenecks in this field, and how did you identify your research’s breakthrough point?
One of the most persistent challenges is handling the sheer variation in biosignal quality and data formats across different clinical environments. For instance, older EEG or ECG machines often produce outputs that differ in resolution or file structure from newer devices. Our breakthrough came when we applied advanced feature extraction and domain adaptation techniques, enabling the algorithm to effectively learn from multiple datasets, each with its own unique characteristics. Once we observed that our models maintained strong performance across disparate clinical subpopulations, we realized that our approach was both generalizable and scalable.

5. Why do you think this article has been highly cited?
Conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease exert a profound global impact, affecting nearly every healthcare system. Because of this broad relevance, our work was widely cited by researchers confronting similar challenges across a variety of academic institutions, laboratories, and hospitals worldwide. Moreover, publishing in an open-access format greatly accelerated the distribution of our findings, helping us reach a broader audience much more quickly.

6. Are there follow-up studies planned based on this paper’s findings?
Yes, several lines of research are currently in progress. We are broadening our predictive frameworks by adopting a multimodal approach that integrates EEG, MRI, and genetic (including microbiome) data aiming to harness insights that could further enhance early detection. Additionally, we are working with clinicians who track patients over multiple years, allowing us to evaluate our models’ accuracy and adaptability as various diseases progress.

7. Which technological directions in bioengineering deserve the most attention over the next 5 years?
Over the next five years, bioengineering stands to benefit significantly from AI-driven multi-modal analytics, which will integrate data from advanced sensors, wearables, imaging technologies, and a rapidly expanding array of IoT devices. By combining these continuous data streams with refined machine-learning frameworks, researchers, and clinicians can achieve real-time diagnostics and interventions that transcend traditional healthcare models. Meanwhile, edge cloud computing will play an indispensable role in reducing latency and safeguarding sensitive patient information by processing data on-site—even in resource-constrained or remote areas—which broadens global access to quality healthcare. These converging technologies promise to redefine clinical decision-making, expand the reach of medical services, and fuel ongoing innovation in patient care throughout the coming decade.

8. How is AI reshaping bioengineering research in disruptive ways?
AI is bridging the gap between massive raw datasets and actionable clinical insights by recognizing patterns previously invisible to human observers. These data-driven approaches reduce costs by streamlining diagnostics, minimizing invasive testing, and guiding targeted research on the most promising therapeutics. As AI-driven platforms increasingly integrate diverse data sources, imaging, molecular, signals and wearable sensor data, they bolster clinicians’ decision-making, foster early detection of health risks and pathological status.

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