Announcements

MDPI journals will be attending the 42nd annual meeting of the American Society for Virology as an exhibitor. This meeting will be held in Athens, Georgia, USA from 24 to 28 June 2023.

The American Society for Virology (ASV) is a wonderful community that brings together virologists from all areas of the field. As a result, the annual meetings are rich in diverse scientific offerings and they can be quite large (sometimes over 1600 attendees). This conference is hosted by the University of Georgia and held at the Classic Center; the scientific program will include symposia, concurrent workshops, poster sessions, exhibits, and special events. Professional development activities and social events will be interspersed throughout the meeting.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Biomedicines;
• Life;
• Viruses;
• Cells;
• Vaccines;
• Veterinary Sciences;
• Microorganisms;
• CIMB;
• Pathogens;
• TropicalMed;
• Zoonotic Diseases;
• COVID.

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to start a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions you may have. For more information about the conference and our booth, please visit: https://asv.org/asv2023/.

Today, we have clear evidence that HDPs have far more than broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, including immunomodulatory effects, wound healing, LPS neutralization, chemotaxis, or anti-cancer effects. Moreover, the multifunctionality of HDPs has resulted in a lot of interest in the development of new therapeutic strategies against infectious diseases.

The “Antimicrobial Peptides AKA Host Defense Peptides” webinar will present the latest research on multifunctional host defense molecules. The webinar will cover a wide range of topics, such as structure/function studies, regulation of expression, mechanisms of action, and development of antimicrobial peptides as therapeutics. Invited speakers will represent cross-disciplinary research, including biochemistry, microbiology, structural biology, medicine, innate immunity, signaling, and drug development.

Date: 31 May 2023 at 10:00 a.m. CEST | 4:00 a.m. EDT | 4:00 p.m. CST Asia
Webinar ID: 893 2420 8525

Register now for free!

Program

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

Unable to attend? Register anyway and we’ll let you know when the recording is available to watch.

Webinar Chair and Keynote Speakers:

• Jitka Petrlova, Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Dermatology and Venereology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden;
• Parveen Papareddy, Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Infection Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden;
• Dr. Ester Boix, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.

Relevant Special Issues:
“Antimicrobial Peptides Aka Host Defense Peptides – from Basic Research to Therapy”
Guest Editor: Dr. Jitka Petrlova 

“Antimicrobial Peptides Aka Host Defense Peptides – from Basic Research to Therapy 2.0”
Guest Editor: Dr. Jitka Petrlova

Conference: 8th European Congress of Virology 2023
Date: 4–7 May 2023
Location: Gdańsk, Poland

MDPI will be attending the 8th European Congress of Virology 2023 (ECV 2023) as an exhibitor, and we welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest ideas with us.

This conference is organized by the European Society for Virology. ECV 2023 will be a great opportunity for European virologists representing various fields of research to meet, present their results, and discuss all the developments in virology that have taken place during this unusual time. It will also be a great opportunity to meet friends, renew old acquaintances, and establish new collaborations. Although coronavirus studies will undoubtedly be one of the leading subjects at ECV 2023, it is important to have all research areas represented, including basic, clinical, veterinary, and plant virology. 

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Viruses;
• Microorganism;
• Vaccines;
• Pathogens;
• Biomedicines;
• Veterinary Science;
• Immuno;
• COVID.

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 about the conference, please visit the following website: https://www.eusv-congress.eu/.

This conference organized by the British Pharmacological Society and International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacologists (IUPHAR) will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from 2 July to 7 July 2023. The topic of the conference focuses on pharmacology and drug discovery, research, and development, and the conference will include six days of symposia, keynote lectures, workshops, and debates. Discover the latest in pharmacology research and developments across 10 content themes.

Pharmaceuticals (ISSN: 1424-8247) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal of medicinal chemistry and related drug sciences, published monthly online by MDPI. Pharmaceuticals will participate in this event as an exhibitor together with nine other MDPI journals, among which Pharmaceuticals, Journal of Personalized Medicine and Biomedicines will have journal representatives at our booth.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Pharmaceuticals (leading journal);
• Biomedicines;
• JPM;
• JCM;
• Marine Drugs;
• Children;
• Current Oncology;
• BioMedInformatics;
• JoX;
• Rheumato.

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to start a conversation with us at our booth #A22. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit https://wcp2023.org/ or contact the Pharmaceuticals Editorial Office at pharmaceuticals@mdpi.com.

MDPI will be attending the Chinese Academic Conference on Tumor Biomarker, held in Shanghai, China, from 7 to 9 April 2023. This conference aims to achieve an in-depth exchange of the latest research results in the field of basic research, clinical application, cutting-edge technology, and industrial development in the field of tumor markers over the year. During this conference, MDPI will welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest inspirations with us.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Biomedicines;
• Cancers;
• Cells;
• Diagnostics;
• Current Oncology;
• JPM;
• JCM;
• Onco;
• CIMB;
• BioMedInformatics.

If you plan on attending this conference, feel free to stop by our booth, #B155. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions you may have.

For more information about the conference, please follow the link below: https://biomarker2022.sciconf.cn/cn/web/index/13496.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Prof. Dr. M. R. Mozafari, Editorial Board Member of Biomedicines (ISSN: 2227-9059), to discuss his experience with Biomedicines and the recent research trends in the field.

Prof. Dr. M. R. Mozafari is an expert in nano-biotechnology, encapsulation and targeting of bioactive agents with a substantial number of publications, 12 patents, five books and several book chapters. He is the author of the first book on nanoliposomes, he completed many industrial research projects, and developed methods (e.g., “Mozafari Method”) for the large-scale manufacture of controlled release systems without using toxic agents. Recently, he introduced a novel technology for the encapsulation and delivery of a bioactive material called "Tocosome".

We hope you enjoy the interview.

1. Why did you decide to work with Biomedicines?
The main important characteristics of MDPI in general, and Biomedicines in particular, are being well organized, user-friendly, fast process of publication, fast responses to emails, increasing citations and impact factor. Therefore, being associated with Biomedicines is prestigious for me and any scientist.

2. Could you tell us more about the journal and your role there?
Biomedicines is an internationally recognized, scientific, peer-reviewed, open access journal in the broad field of biomedicines, and allied disciplines, published monthly by MDPI. I am a Section Board Member of Biomedicines and currently act as a Guest Editor for two Special Issues. I have already compiled a Special Issue for this journal in which eight high-quality papers were published.

3. Why should scientists submit their manuscripts in Biomedicines?
Researchers and scientists want to see their articles attract a good number of readers and attain high citation numbers. These parameters are important in increasing the h-index of authors. Biomedicines journal is committed to assuring the quality and maximum visibility of the published manuscripts.

4. How would you recommend picking the right journal to submit your research in?
I recommend scientists to publish in prestigious and well-organized journals with high impact factor, high quartiles, reliable user-friendly websites, accessible editors and staff, and efficient promotional policy.

5. What makes a great research paper?
When I was an M.Sc. student, I remember how desperate I was to find a useful paper that can help me with my laboratory research and later on with the preparation of my thesis. A great research paper and a good review article can help scientists and researchers to find easy answers to their questions.

6. What excites you the most about the nano-delivery systems’ field?
Nano-biotechnology in general and nano-delivery systems in particular show a great promise to find solutions for challenging illnesses (e.g., cancer and viral infections) with no or minimal side-effects. The field requires ingenuity, creativity, and an inventive mindset.

We are thankful for Prof. Dr. Mozafari’s time and his support of Biomedicines.

As a leading open access publisher, MDPI provides scholars with a high-quality and rich academic exchange platform by continuously expanding into new and exciting research areas.

In December 2022, MDPI launched five new journals, covering multiple subjects such as life sciences, biology, medicine and pharmacology, social sciences and humanities. These new journals are being edited by established scholars across the world.

If you are interested in creating more open access journals with us to publish cutting-edge research, please send your journal proposal application to newjournal-committee@mdpi.com.

In a fair social community, women should have equal opportunities and be respected and included in diverse choices. Today is the 113^th International Women's Day and the world of science is seeing more female scientists emerge to lead their fellow researchers. We had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Letizia Polito, Guest Editor of the Special Issue “Women’s Special Issue Series: Biomedicines”, published by Biomedicines (ISSN: 2227-9059).

1. What has led you to the fields of cancer therapy and drug delivery?

During my training at the University of Bologna, I had been particularly fascinated by the concept of the magic bullet created by Paul Ehrlich: being able to deliver toxic molecules in a specific (almost magical) way toward targets present on cells, eliminating them as they are responsible for a pathological state. I have never stopped working on this topic.

2. The spirit of research seems to be quite important to you. What was your main inspiration for pursuing a scientific career? Did you pick it up from your family or school?

My parents would have initially preferred a more traditional career for me, but they taught me to always follow my dreams and goals. At school, I was certainly impressed by my science teacher, his great knowledge and his ability to disseminate it. I think he was an important part of making my future choices.

3. You have had an impressive and productive career. Which of your accomplishments do you consider to be the most impactful ones? Of which are you most proud?

It is difficult to decide between my career achievements. I remember the hard work behind each of them, the personal relationships created in the research groups, the commitment, the effort, the study, the tiredness, but also the laughter during the breaks. Each example of research that I conducted represents a piece of my life, I cannot choose between one or the other. I can, however, say that I am quite proud of all my achievements, no matter how big or small they are.

4. Does being a woman pose particular challenges in the fields you research? How could the scientific community address these challenges?

When I started my career about thirty years ago, being a woman and a researcher often meant having to face important personal choices; first of all, it meant giving up (or postponing) the idea of having kids and starting a family. Today, in several countries, this is no longer a problem, but there are still many (too many) countries where being a woman means being forced to make life choices, where being a woman means limiting one's personal freedom. For the women living in those countries, the international scientific community should act as soon as possible to break down any cultural barriers.

5. Do you feel that scientific opportunities for women have increased during your career?

As I said above, important results have been achieved in many countries, but the road ahead is still very long and arduous. It is our duty to continue to keep the attention high and to raise awareness on this subject.

6. Can you tell us something about you that people would be surprised to learn?

When I was little, I dreamed of becoming a novel writer, but now, I only write scientific papers (I am sort of a cellular and molecular novel writer).

7. Given your long career in research and development, what would you say has been the highlight of your career?

I hope to be able to continue working and achieving results for many more years on plant toxins, immunoconjugates and drug targeting, improving the techniques currently available and continuing to put together many small pieces of the great puzzle of knowledge on these topics.

8. Please describe the most difficult challenge you have faced in your research work and how you overcame it.

Certainly, my most difficult challenge was to continue researching in Italy, even when it seemed that there could be economic and career obstacles that would be difficult to overcome. I have always had the support of my family who encouraged me not to give up and to continue on my path, even if it was an uphill one.

9. What are your aims for the future?

I hope that in the future it will be possible for our research group to perfect some immunoconjugates, possibly containing plant toxins, to be utilized for clinical use.

10. Do you have any advice for young researchers, especially young women, who might be interested in doing research in cancer therapy and drug delivery?

I have only one piece of advice for young researchers: always be curious, believe in your potential and never give up.

Dr. Letizia Polito’s contact information:
Email: letizia.polito@unibo.it

Relevant Special Issue:

"Women’s Special Issue Series: Biomedicines"
Submission Deadline: 30 April 2023

Special Issue information:

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a Special Issue entitled “Women’s Special Issue Series: Biomedicines” to celebrate and highlight the achievements of women in the development of new molecules and therapies for the cancer research area.

For this Special Issue, we are seeking the submission of original research articles and comprehensive review papers from oncology-related fields, in particular regarding new therapeutic targets, therapeutic strategies and research of biomedicines and biopharmaceutical products.

The series advocates the advancement of women in science. We invite contributions to the Special Issue whose lead authors identify as women. The submission of articles with all-women authorship is especially encouraged. However, we do welcome articles from all authors, irrespective of gender.

Dr. Letizia Polito
Dr. Nadia Alfaidy
Guest Editors

MDPI is pleased to announce that we now display the co-authors’ email addresses in addition to the corresponding author’s email address on the webpage of published papers, protected by Captcha. For more information about this change, please visit the journal’s instructions for authors page. 

We believe this change will facilitate academic discussions and advance our cause of open science and research. The corresponding authors are responsible for communicating with their co-authors and indicating in our system (https://susy.mdpi.com/) if co-authors would prefer for their email addresses not to be displayed.

Conference: 143rd Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
Date: 25–28 March 2023
Place: Sapporo, Japan

MDPI will be attending the 143rd Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan as the exhibitor. This meeting will be held at Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan, from 25 to 28 March 2023. The organizing committee comprises the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University. The theme of the 143rd annual meeting is "PharmaScience: Integration for Breakthroughs". Through this meeting, we wish to contribute to the progress of research leading to the development of innovative drugs and therapies by bringing together researchers from various research fields.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Biomedicines;
• JPM;
• Pharmaceutics;
• JCM;
• Pharmaceuticals.

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to start a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit https://confit.atlas.jp/guide/event/pharm143/top.