Announcements

We are pleased to share that Biomedicines (ISSN: 2227-9059) was awarded an updated Impact Factor of 3.9 in the 2024 Journal Citation Reports™ released by Clarivate™ in June 2025. Biomedicines ranks in Q1 (88 among 352 titles) in the “Pharmacology & Pharmacy” category.

The 2024 Journal Impact Factor is calculated by dividing the number of citations received in 2024 to all publications in the journal from 2022 and 2023 by the total number of citable publications from those same years.

To learn more, visit our journal statistics website for detailed metrics or check out our news article for general information.

The support and dedication of all the editors, reviewers, authors, and readers are an integral part of the journal’s performance. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have contributed to the journal.

International Albinism Awareness Day 2025 underscores the urgent need for increased awareness, preventive care, and accessible healthcare for people with albinism. This year’s theme highlights the life-threatening impact of skin cancer among individuals with albinism and reinforces the importance of sun protection, early detection, and timely treatment.

Albinism is a rare, inherited genetic condition that affects the body’s ability to produce melanin, the pigment responsible for the color of our skin, hair, and eyes. People with albinism typically have very light skin and hair, alongside various vision impairments. While it is not contagious and does not affect intelligence, albinism is often misunderstood. This leads to stigmatization, discrimination, and even human rights violations in some regions where harmful myths persist.

Because they have little to no melanin, individuals with albinism are especially vulnerable to sun damage and face a significantly increased risk of developing skin cancer. Addressing this requires more than just clinical intervention—it calls for integrated healthcare policies and inclusive social systems that acknowledge both the medical and socio-political dimensions of the condition.

In recognition of this global observance, we invite you to explore a curated collection of articles and Special Issues from selected MDPI journals, including Biomedicines, Cancers, Children, Diagnostics, Genes, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Journal of Clinical Medicine and Molecules. These open-access resources provide critical insights into the diagnosis, management, and complications of albinism, and promote cross-disciplinary collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and advocacy groups.

Together, through science, education, and empathy, we can foster a more inclusive world where people with albinism live free from discrimination and with access to the care they deserve.

“Can a Portable Flash Visual Evoked Potential (VEP) Device Identify Chiasmal Decussation Anomalies in Albinism?”
by Eloise Keeling, Perry Carter, Abdi Malik Musa, Fatima Shawkat, Helena Lee and Jay E. Self
Diagnostics 2025, 15(11), 1395; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15111395

“Common Variants in the TYR Gene with Unclear Pathogenicity as the Cause of Oculocutaneous Albinism in a Cohort of Russian Patients”
by Olga Shchagina, Anna Stepanova, Polina Mishakova, Vitaliy Kadyshev, Nina Demina, Ludmila Bessonova, Sofya Ionova, Daria Guseva, Andrey Marakhonov, Rena Zinchenko et al.
Biomedicines 2024, 12(10), 2234; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines12102234

“Functional Characterization of Splice Variants in the Diagnosis of Albinism”
by Modibo Diallo, Cécile Courdier, Elina Mercier, Angèle Sequeira, Alicia Defay-Stinat, Claudio Plaisant, Shahram Mesdaghi, Daniel Rigden, Sophie Javerzat, Eulalie Lasseaux et al.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(16), 8657; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25168657

“Genetic Linkage between CAPN5 and TYR Variants in the Context of Albinism and Autosomal Dominant Neovascular Inflammatory Vitreoretinopathy Absence: A Case Report”
by Mirjana Bjeloš, Ana Ćurić, Mladen Bušić, Benedict Rak and Biljana Kuzmanović Elabjer
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(12), 6442; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25126442

“Missing Heritability in Albinism: Deep Characterization of a Hungarian Albinism Cohort Raises the Possibility of the Digenic Genetic Background of the Disease”
by Nikoletta Nagy, Margit Pal, Jozsef Kun, Bence Galik, Peter Urban, Marta Medvecz, Beata Fabos, Alexandra Neller, Aliasgari Abdolreza, Judit Danis, Viktoria Szabo, Zhuo Yang, Stefanie Fenske, Martin Biel, Attila Gyenesei, Eva Adam and Marta Szell
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(2), 1271; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25021271

“Does Foveal Hypoplasia Affect Emmetropization in Patients with Albinism?”
by Line Kessel, Christine Dahlgren Bohnsack Kjølholm and Joaquim Torner Jordana
Children 2023, 10(12), 1910; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10121910

“Vision-Related Quality of Life in Danish Patients with Albinism and the Impact of an Updated Optical Rehabilitation”
by Kristian Lisbjerg, Joaquim Torner Jordana, Vibeke N. Brandt, Christine Kjølholm and Line Kessel
J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12(17), 5451; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12175451

“Skin Pigmentation Types, Causes and Treatment—A Review”
by Amin Mahmood Thawabteh, Alaa Jibreen, Donia Karaman, Alà Thawabteh and Rafik Karaman
Molecules 2023, 28(12), 4839; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28124839

“Report of Hermansky–Pudlak Syndrome in Two Families with Novel Variants in HPS3 and HPS4 Genes”
by Sadeeda Qaiser Zaman, Muhammad Anas, Gauhar Rehman, Qadeem Khan, Aiman Iftikhar, Mashal Ahmad, Muhammad Owais, Ilyas Ahmad, Osama Yousef Muthaffar, Angham Abdulrhman Abdulkareem et al.
Genes 2023, 14(1), 145; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14010145

“Diagnostic Yield of Genetic Testing for Ocular and Oculocutaneous Albinism in a Diverse United States Pediatric Population”
by Kyle S. Chan, Brenda L. Bohnsack, Alexander Ing, Andy Drackley, Valerie Castelluccio, Kevin X. Zhang, Hanta Ralay-Ranaivo and Jennifer L. Rossen
Genes 2023, 14(1), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14010135

“More than Skin Deep—Latest Advances in Congenital and Autoimmune Pigmentation Disorders” Guest Editor: Prof. Dr. Reinhart M. Speeckaert Submission deadline: 25 August 2025	“Melanin Pigmentation: Physiology and Pathology” Guest Editors: Prof. Dr. Shosuke Ito and Prof. Dr. Manickam Sugumaran Submission deadline: 20 October 2025

We are pleased to share that Biomedicines (ISSN: 2227-9059) has received an increased CiteScore of 6.8 in June 2025. The CiteScore ranks the journal 69 out of 433 titles (Q1) in the “Medicine (miscellaneous)” category and 49 out of 225 titles (Q1) in the “General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology” category, an impressive achievement for a journal running in Volume 13.

You can find more statistics on https://www.mdpi.com/journal/biomedicines/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 Biomedicines and its growing impact in biomedicines.

Conference: ESC Congress 2025
Date: 29 August–1 September 2025
Location: Madrid, Spain

We will be attending the ESC Congress 2025 together with the World Congress of Cardiology as an exhibitor. The event will take place in Madrid, Spain, from 29 August to 1 September 2025.

Organized by the European Society of Cardiology, the ESC Congress 2025 will focus on the theme “Cardiology Beyond Borders – Global Health”, highlighting the evolving role of cardiovascular disease within the broader global health landscape.

The following Open Access journals will be represented:

• JCM;
• JCDD;
• Healthcare;
• Biomedicines;
• Cardiogenetics;
• IJTM;
• Hearts;
• Medicina;
• IJERPH;
• Diseases;
• Genes;
• EJIHPE;
• JPM;
• Clinics and Practice;
• Tomography.

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to start an online conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person at booth #B206 and answering any questions you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following website: https://www.escardio.org/Congresses-Events/ESC-Congress.

We are pleased to invite you to attend the AIM-SCI 2025, a scientific conference dedicated to advancing spinal cord injury research and its translation into clinical practice, taking place in Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal, from 15 to 16 October 2025.

Abstract Submission Deadline: 30 June 2025
Early Bird Registration Deadline: 14 July 2025
Standard Registration: 15 July–5 October 2025
Conference Dates: 15–16 October 2025
Website: https://aimsci2025.wixstudio.com/aimsci

The AIM-SCI 2025 will bring together leading researchers and clinicians working across the basic, translational, and clinical aspects of spinal cord injury. The program will feature renowned keynote speakers, including Prof. Simone Di Giovanni, Prof. Charles Hubscher, and Dr. Susan Harkema.

Held in the stunning Azores archipelago, the meeting is accessible via direct flights from major cities in North America and Europe. Travel grants will be awarded for the best abstracts submitted, and outstanding oral and poster presentations will receive monetary prizes.

To submit your abstract or register for the event, please visit the following link: https://eventos.b-acis.pt/geral/inseririnscricao.aspx?evento=95&formulario=141&lingua=en-GB.

The journal Biomedicines (ISSN: 2227-9059) is proud to present the winner of the Biomedicines 2024 Outstanding Reviewer Award—Dr. Dorota Formanowicz!

Dr. Dorota Formanowicz is a physician, a specialist in internal medicine, and above all, a scientist. In January 2022, she became a full professor. For several years, she has been the head of the Department of Medical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine at the Poznań University of Medical Sciences, where she leads a group of 30 outstanding employees in research or teaching positions with various skills, doctors of different specializations, including internal medicine, cardiology, diabetology, anesthesiology and intensive care, but also biotechnologists, laboratory diagnosticians, chemists and dietitians. This diversity also reflects the versatility of her interests and research capabilities. She is most interested in a systemic approach to medicine.

The following is a short interview with Dr. Dorota Formanowicz:

1. Can you share your current research direction and latest progress?
Due to my professional path, I am particularly fascinated by the relationship between nephrology, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and atherosclerosis, with particular emphasis on oxidative stress and local inflammatory processes. In addition, as part of my research, in collaboration with bioinformaticians, I co-create and analyze biological models that organize knowledge and better understand the pathomechanisms underlying many diseases. Due to the partial similarity between atherogenesis and oncogenesis, I also focus on better understanding the processes underlying cancer diseases, including signals in the tumor microenvironment. Recently, I have established foreign cooperation in using natural compounds in the pharmacotherapy of metabolic and malignant diseases. My research interests are broad, and I believe there is still much to discover. Science is a beautiful challenge.

2. Could you share with us your feelings about winning the award? What does this award mean to your academic career?
The award surprised me, but it also gave me great pleasure. I always try to approach all tasks with exceptional care and demand a lot from myself. However, I did not expect it to be noticed in the context of my being a reviewer. I am at a stage of professional development where this award gave me pleasure. I'm pretty modest and haven't boasted about this award to anyone except my immediate family.

3. What role do you think reviewers play in the process of paper publication?
Reviewers play a key role in the publication process, and the final appearance of the article largely depends on their commitment, determination, and reliability. A reviewer is there to help, not to criticize, because no one is infallible. No one has a patent on knowledge. We are different, and sometimes we pay attention to different things. The reviewer needs to be friendly but fair.

4. How do you balance the comprehensiveness and efficiency of review? Can you share some specific methods or principles for reviewing?
I don’t have a specific way of preparing a review. Most often, I read the abstract very carefully. Then I always check the ethical aspects, and if they don't raise any doubts, I start reading the whole paper. I check whether the researchers have planned the study well to achieve the goal. I assess the conclusions, whether they meet the assumed goals.
During the review, I mark the parts of the text that raise my doubts, I try to understand the intentions of the researchers. In general, I approach articles with great kindness; as a rule, I try to help the author as much as possible, and I don't cross out their work from the beginning. Instead, I give tips and think about how the work should be improved so that it is clear and has a coherent message, so that the reader can easily find the necessary information. I often ask for diagrams, a kind of graphic summary, because they help to systematize the message and are a great approach today in the era of images.
In the review process, I always try to help the authors, as if it were my article, to make it correct and readable first and foremost. Although essential, technical aspects are, of course, secondary.

5. In your opinion, what key qualities should an excellent manuscript have? From what perspectives will you help authors improve the quality of their papers?
An excellent manuscript is simple, coherent, logical, and understandable, but without overly “stretching” the topic. The research is comprehensive, and the authors show that they are experts. They do not overwhelm the reader with too much information but try to emphasize what is most important. In addition, they systematize the knowledge, rely on reliable data sources, and use diagrams and summary tables, if it is a review article.
If these are clinical trials, it is best if they are registered; explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria are known. The authors should describe the strengths of their work, but they can also indicate its limitations. Finally, the conclusions are not a description of the results, but a real conclusion based on deep analysis. Today, when there are close relationships between doctors and IT specialists, articles in which researchers use new tools and can return to old issues armed with new research methods are appreciated.

6. How do you hope that journals and publishers can further support reviewers' review work?
I like the idea of this particular publishing house, although I think reviewers should have a bit more time to review. I think 8-10 days instead of 7 would be reasonable. Support through discounts and vouchers is undoubtedly one of the essential criteria that a reviewer considers, considering that, as researchers, we are literally “flooded” with review requests.  Of course, the system of awards and certificates and the visibility of reviews in the Web of Science are highly appreciated.
I always check at the beginning whether the topic is close to me, and I usually accept the review. It is not always reasonable, but I usually do not refuse, because as a scientist, I am curious about what is new in the research.

7. Could you please briefly describe your experience with our services and journals so far?
My experience has been outstanding. Of course, you can say that I am not objective. However, as an author and a reviewer, I appreciate the excellent, fast, and helpful contact with the academic editors and the assistant publishing house.
I have experience with other publishing houses, and comparing them here, I see that everyone tries to help both the author, the reviewer, and the assistant editors, and there is excellent contact.

MDPI is excited to collaborate with Toronto Metropolitan University to host an engaging Scientific Publishing Workshop aimed at empowering scholars with the knowledge and tools needed to succeed in academic publishing. This workshop will delve into the key aspects of MDPI’s open access publishing framework, offering an in-depth exploration of journal selection, the editorial workflow, and the essentials of publication ethics. Participants will also gain practical advice on improving their scientific writing and effectively addressing reviewer comments, with guidance from an experienced professional. This session promises to equip attendees with valuable skills to elevate their publishing journey.

Workshop Highlights:

• Learn How to Better Write and Structure a Research Article;
• How to Choose Where to Publish Academic Work;
• How to Respond to Reviewer Comments;
• Reasons for Rejection During Pre-Check;
• How to Navigate Through Ethics and AI Use.

Date: 15 May 2025
Time: 12:00–1:30 p.m.
Venue: Toronto Metropolitan University

Program:

A message from the webinar Chair:
To celebrate the success of a topic related to the effects of photodynamic therapy published in Biomedicines (“Photodynamic Therapy 2.0”), a webinar has been organized, inviting seven authors who will speak for 20 minutes about their published manuscript. This webinar will be split into two different sessions (with four speakers for session 1 on 19 May and the other three speakers for session 2 on 20 May). In my opinion, the manuscripts included in this volume are all of great quality, dealing with different areas in the field of photodynamic therapy and therefore reflect the need to investigate the questions raised. Therefore, this webinar will also be an opportunity to meet this need by anticipating the timing of the new volume, “Photodynamic Therapy (4th Edition)”, dedicated to this care. Good work!

Date: 20 May 2025 at 10:30 a.m. CEST | 4:30 p.m. CST (Asia) | 5:30 a.m. BRT
Webinar ID: 883 8608 8578

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 will let you know when the recording is available for viewing.

Register now for free!

Program:

Webinar Chair and Keynote Speakers:

• Prof. Dr. Stefano Bacci (Chair and Speaker), Department of Biology, University of Florence, Italy;
• Prof. Dr. Nicolette Houreld (Speaker), Laser Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, South Africa;
• Prof. Dr. Maria Fernanda Setúbal Destro Rodrigues (Speaker), Post Graduate Program in Medicine-Biophotonics, Universidade Nove de Julho, Brazil.

Relevant Special Issues:
“Wound Healing: From Mechanisms to Therapeutic Approaches”
Guest Editor: Prof. Dr. Stefano Bacci
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025

“Photodynamic Therapy (4th Edition)”
Guest Editor: Prof. Dr. Stefano Bacci
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025

For more information about this webinar, please visit the following link: https://sciforum.net/event/Biomedicines-16.

A message from the webinar Chair:
To celebrate the success of a Special Issue related to the effects of photodynamic therapy published in Biomedicines (“Photodynamic Therapy 2.0”), a webinar has been organized, inviting seven authors who will speak for 20 minutes about their published manuscript. This webinar will be split into two different sessions (with four speakers for session 1 on 19 May and the other three speakers for session 2 on 20 May). The manuscripts included in this volume are all of great quality, dealing with different areas in the field of photodynamic therapy, and therefore reflect the need to investigate the questions raised. This webinar will also be an opportunity to meet this need with the publication of the new volume “Photodynamic Therapy (4th Edition)”.

Date: 19 May 2025 at 10:00 a.m. CEST | 4:00 p.m. CST (Asia) | 5:00 p.m. KST
Webinar ID: 876 7231 6232

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 will let you know when the recording is available for viewing.

Register now for free!

Program:

Webinar Chair and Keynote Speakers:

• Prof. Dr. Stefano Bacci (Chair), Department of Biology, University of Florence, Italy;
• Prof. Dr. Francesca Rossi (Speaker), Institute of Applied Physics "Nello Carrara”, National Research Council (CNR-IFAC), Italy;
• Prof. Dr. Montserrat Fernández-Guarino (Speaker), Dermatology Service, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research (IRYCIS), Spain;
• Prof. Dr. Kyungsu Kang (Speaker), Center for Natural Product Systems Biology, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), South Korea;
• Dr. Jorge Naharro-Rodriguez (Speaker), Dermatology Service, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research (IRYCIS), Spain.

Relevant Special Issues:

“Wound Healing: From Mechanisms to Therapeutic Approaches”

Guest Editor: Prof. Dr. Stefano Bacci

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025

“Photodynamic Therapy (4th Edition)”

Guest Editor: Prof. Dr. Stefano Bacci

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025

For more information about this webinar, please visit the following link: https://sciforum.net/event/Biomedicines-15.