Announcements

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Carol C. Shoulders has been appointed Section Editor-in-Chief of the Section “Genetics and Genomics” in Biology (ISSN: 2079-7737). Prof. Dr. Shoulders is a professor at William Harvey Research Institute and the Scientific Lead for the TRIBBLES Research and Innovation Network (TRAIN). She is also the Lead for the B.Sc. Pharmacology and Innovative Therapeutics Module (BMD377) “Classic Papers and Current Topics in Pharmacology”, as well as a committee member of the Heart-UK Research Board.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Carol C. Shoulders, who has shared her vision for the development of this Section with us, as well as her views on the importance of facilitating the publication of high-impact research in open access format:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you accept the position of Section Editor-in-Chief?

It is the sheer breadth and depth of the genetic and genomic research published in the journal that has helped advance our knowledge and understanding of the evolutionary and cellular processes regulating an organism’s capacity to reproduce, grow, and respond to stimuli. It is also an exciting time to promote genetic and genomic research that informs us of the biological responses to endogenous, genetically programmed cellular states and exogenous environmental stresses.

2. What is your vision for this Section?

The aim of the Section is to provide a timely forum for basic biologists, biotechnologists, pharmacologists, and clinicians to publish and review genetic and genomic research, in addition to novel computational methodologies focused on enabling a better mechanistic understanding of the cellular and physiological processes regulating the well-being of organisms in current and evolving environments.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?

It is exciting and fast-moving, with an exponential rise in the use of analytical and diagnostic tools that promote the development of products and conditions that improve the specificities of therapeutic medical, veterinary, and botanical interventions.

4. Do you have any suggestions for young researchers in this field?

Follow your passion. Work with the best people and in the best places available. Both focus and continually scan your horizon. Listen and question accepted knowledge by checking primary sources of information. Invest in yourself by expanding both your computational skills and biological knowledge, but do not get addicted to serially attending courses. Do acquire a thorough knowledge of the literature, and articulate what is known and what is not known. Design your studies carefully. Ensure that all studies contain positive and negative experimental controls, and that statistical analyses are robust and address the question being asked. Do not ignore negative results as these can be the most informative. Complete, complete, complete.

We wish Prof. Dr. Carol C. Shoulders every success in her position as Section Editor-in-Chief, and we look forward to her future contributions to the journal.