Dear Colleagues,

To acknowledge our reviewers who so generously give their time to ensure high-quality publications in Biomolecules, on behalf of the Editorial Board and Editorial Office, we plan to dedicate an award to four reviewers for their commitment, professionalism, and timeliness in reviewing manuscripts for Biomolecules.

Anonymous peer-reviewing guarantees the quality and integrity of scholarly communication. The Biomolecules Editorial team is extremely grateful to reviewers for their time, energy, and commitment.

What are the pre-requisites to be eligible for this award?
All reviewers for Biomolecules in 2020 will automatically be included.

What are the evaluation standards?
The number and quality of reviews will be taken into consideration.

What award will be granted? The four winners will receive the following:
–– 500 Swiss Francs;
–– A free paper in Biomolecules;
–– A certificate.

When will the winner be announced? The winners will be announced early in 2021 on the journal website. For those of you who are experts that have not yet reviewed papers for Biomolecules but would like to do so, you can easily register as a reviewer at https://susy.mdpi.com/volunteer/profile/edit or send your profiles to the Biomolecules Editorial Office ([email protected]).

Dear Colleagues,

To acknowledge the continued support from our authors, we are pleased to announce that the application period is now open for the 2020 Biomolecules Best Paper Awards. The awards are for two articles and two reviews published between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2018. After a thorough evaluation by the journal award committee, four papers will receive awards.

Eligibility for the awards:

– One article and one review published in Biomolecules from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018;
– Both regular and Special Issue submissions will be considered.

Selection criteria:

The papers will be selected by the journal award committee according to the following criteria:
– Originality and novelty;
– Citation and download rates in 2019; – Data Source: Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics).

Prizes:

– First Award (one for a review paper and one for a research paper): 300 CHF and a free paper in Biomolecules
– Second Award (one for a review paper and one for research papers): 200 CHF and a free paper in Biomolecules

The winners will be announced in July 2020 on the journal website.

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that Biomolecules is now inviting nominations for two 2020 Young Investigator Awards. This prize will be given to two young investigators in recognition of their excellence in different areas of research on biomolecules. All nominations will be assessed by an Evaluation Committee led by the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Vladimir N. Uversky.

The prize:
– 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs) for each winner;
– Option to publish one paper free of charge in Biomolecules after peer review before the end of 31 December 2021;
– An engraved plaque.

Eligibility and Requirements:
– Must be under 40 years of age or have received their Ph.D. no more than 8 years prior to 31 December 2019);
– Must have produced ground-breaking research and a significant contribution to the advancement of biomolecules research;
– Candidates must be nominated by their supervisor(s), research director, or department head.

List of Documents for Nomination
– Detailed Curriculum Vitae, including an updated publication list and a list of the researcher’s own research grants;
– A copy of a birth certificate or other proof of age;
– Scanned copy of doctorate certificate;
– Signed nomination letters from two established senior scientists.

Schedule
Open for nominations: 20 February 2020
Nomination deadline: 31 December 2020
Winners announced: February 2021

Dear Colleagues,

As Editor-in-Chief, I am pleased to announce the two winners of the 2020 Travel Awards sponsored by Biomolecules.

This year’s awards are granted to Dr. Roberto Berni, University of Siena, and Ms. Vera Isca, Ph.D. student at University of Lisbon. The awards consist of 500 Swiss Francs each to support the winners’ attendance at an academic conference of their choice in 2020.

Dr. Roberto Berni is a biologist with a PhD in Life Sciences from the University of Siena (Italy). His research is focused on the multipronged analysis of Tuscan noncommercial varieties of sweet cherry fruits.

Ms. Vera Isca is a PhD student at University of Lisbon in the field of Pharmaceutical and Therapeutic Chemistry.

We would like to congratulate the winners and thank the selection committee for their excellent work in the hard task of selecting the winners from the large number of excellent candidate profiles submitted for consideration.

Dr. Vladimir N. Uversky
Editor-in-Chief, Biomolecules

The journal Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X) will offer a Best Poster and Talk Awards at the X-ZOMES Conference 2019 “The Broader Cellular Impact of PCI Complexes” (https://xzomes.net.technion.ac.il/), which will be held in February 2019 (from 4th to 7th) in Akko, Israel.

All attendees who complete a poster presentation and a talk on PCI Complexes will be eligible for these awards. Awards will be judged equally by a team of Scientific Advisors, and a prize of 300 CHF for best poster and 350 CHF for best talk will be granted on the basis of presentation clarity and scientific significance.

The editorial team would like to congratulate the winners of the 2019 Biomolecules Best Paper Award on Multi-Organ Alcohol-Related Damage: Mechanisms and Treatment 2019. The winning candidates were chosen by a selection committee, chaired by the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Vladimir N. Uversky

The following paper has won the prize:

Ethanol Impairs NRF2/Antioxidant and Growth Signaling in the Intact Placenta In Vivo and in Human Trophoblasts

Sambantham Shanmugam, Dhyanesh Patel, John M. Wolpert, Caezaan Keshvani, Xiaobo Liu, Susan E. Bergeson, Srivatsan Kidambi, Lenin Mahimainathan, George I. Henderson and Madhusudhanan Narasimhan
Biomolecules 2019, 9(11), 669; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom9110669
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/9/11/669

The authors will receive a cash prize of 500 CHF (Swiss Francs) and a waived publication fee for a paper submitted to this Topical Collection in 2020.

We congratulate the authors and thank them for choosing Biomolecules to publish their work.

Kind regards,

Biomolecules Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,
The editorial team would like to congratulate the winners of the 2019 Biomolecules Outstanding Reviewer Awards chaired by the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Vladimir N. Uversky.

The following four reviewers have been awarded the 2019 Biomolecules Outstanding Reviewer Award (in no particular order):

Dr. Simona Collina, University of Pavia, Italy
Dr. Richard Zuellig, Universitaets Spital Zurich, Switzerland
Dr. Pavleta Tzvetkova, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany
Dr. David R. Wallace, Oklahoma State University, USA

Each winner will receive 500 Swiss Francs and a certificate, as well the chance to publish a paper in Biomolecules free of charge in 2020.

Kind regards,
Biomolecules Editorial Office

We are pleased to announce that the winner of the 2019 Young Investigator Award, sponsored by MDPI and Biomolecules, is Dr Azzurra Stefanucci.

Azzurra Stefanucci received her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2012 from the University “G. d’Annunzio” Chieti under the supervision of Prof. Enrico Pinnen, working on the synthesis and characterization of opioid peptide analogues and natural bioactive compounds. During her research studies, she joined the group of Prof. J. Nowick with a junior scientist fellowship at the University of California-Irvine, working on β-sheet analogues of ARC repressor in collaboration with the University of Santiago De Compostela-Spain. After completing her Ph.D., she served as a Postdoc at the Department of Pharmacy of the University G. D’Annunzio and then in the Department of Chemistry of “La Sapienza” Rome under the supervision of Prof. Rinaldo Marini Bettolo. In 2016, she conducted a two-year Postdoc fellowship at the Department of Pharmacy of the University G. d’Annunzio, studying biphalin analogues and bioactive peptides from natural sources. Her research experience encompasses topics ranging from molecular modeling of FPPS inhibitors and SPPS and natural product synthesis to small molecule functionalization. She is currently studying the design, synthesis, and characterization of new potential drug candidates with a remarkable antinociceptive profile for targeting opioid and cannabinoid systems.

Dr. Vladimir N. Uversky
Editor-in-Chief, Biomolecules

The editorial team would like to congratulate the winners of the 2019 Biomolecules Best Paper Awards, who were chosen by a selection committee chaired by the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Vladimir N. Uversky.

The following papers, in no particular order, have won first prize in the 2019 Biomolecules Best Paper Awards:

Article:
The Production of Curli Amyloid Fibers Is Deeply Integrated into the Biology of Escherichia coli
Biomolecules 2017, 7(4), 75; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom7040075
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/7/4/75

Review:
DNA Methylation Targeting: The DNMT/HMT Crosstalk Challenge
Biomolecules 2017, 7(1), 3; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom7010003
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/7/1/3

The following papers, in no particular order, have won second prize in the 2019 Biomolecules Best Paper Awards:

Article:
Next‐Generation Sequencing‐Based RiboMethSeq Protocol for Analysis of tRNA 2′‐O‐Methylation
Biomolecules 2017, 7(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom7010013
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/7/1/13

Review:
tRNA Modifications: Impact on Structure and Thermal Adaptation
Biomolecules 2017, 7(2), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom7020035
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/7/2/35

The winners will receive a certificate and each winner will additionally receive a bonus based on the award class and be offered the chance to publish a paper free of charge in Biomolecules:

First Place Award: 300 CHF
Second Place Award: 200 CHF

Please join us in congratulating the winners of the Best Paper Awards. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our authors for your continued support of Biomolecules.

Kind regards,
Biomolecules Editorial Office

Biomolecules: 2018 Best Paper Award Winners Announcement

The editorial team would like to congratulate the winners of the 2018 Biomolecules Best Paper Awards. The winning nominations were chosen by a selection committee, which was chaired by the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Vladimir N. Uversky

The following two papers, in no particular order, have won the first prize of 2018 Biomolecules Best Paper Award:

An Epigenomic Approach to Improving Response to Neoadjuvant Cisplatin Chemotherapy in Bladder Cancer
Biomolecules 2016, 6(3), 37; doi: 10.3390/biom6030037
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/6/3/37

Tau Protein Hyperphosphorylation and Aggregation in Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Tauopathies, and Possible Neuroprotective Strategies
Biomolecules 2016, 6(1), 6; doi: 10.3390/biom6010006
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/6/1/6

The following three papers, in no particular order, have won the second prize of 2018 Biomolecules Best Paper Award:

Central Role of Glutamate Metabolism in the Maintenance of Nitrogen Homeostasis in Normal and Hyperammonemic Brain
Biomolecules 2016, 6(2), 16; doi: 10.3390/biom6020016
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/6/2/16

Absence of a Role for Phosphorylation in the Tau Pathology of Alzheimer’s Disease
Biomolecules 2016, 6(2), 19; doi: 10.3390/biom6020019
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/6/2/19

Moderate (2%, v/v) Ethanol Feeding Alters Hepatic Wound Healing after Acute Carbon Tetrachloride Exposure in Mice
Biomolecules 2016, 6(1), 5; doi: 10.3390/biom6010005
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/6/1/5

They will receive a certificate and an offer to publish a paper free of charge in Biomolecules, after peer-review and processing. Each winner will additionally receive a bonus based on the award class:

First Award (one for a review paper and one for a research paper): 300 CHF each
Second Award (one for a review paper and two for research papers): 200 CHF each

We congratulate the authors and we thank them for choosing Biomolecules to publish their work.

Kind regards,

Biomolecules Editorial Office

Biomolecules: Best Paper Award on Multi-Organ Alcohol-Related Damage: Mechanisms and Treatment 2018 Winners Announcement

The editorial team would like to congratulate the winners of the 2018 Biomolecules Best Paper Award on Multi-Organ Alcohol-Related Damage: Mechanisms and Treatment 2018. The winning candidates were chosen by a selection committee, chaired by the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Vladimir N. Uversky

The following paper has won the prize:

Hepatitis C Virus-Infected Apoptotic Hepatocytes Program Macrophages and Hepatic Stellate Cells for Liver Inflammation and Fibrosis Development: Role of Ethanol as a Second Hit

Murali Ganesan, Larisa Poluektova, Chijioke Enweluzo, Kusum Kharbanda and Natalia Osna
Biomolecules 2018, 8(4), 113; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom8040113
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/8/4/113

The authors will receive a cash prize of 800 CHF (Swiss Francs) and a waived publication fee for a paper submitted to this Topical Collection in 2019.

We congratulate the authors and thank them for choosing Biomolecules to publish their work.

Kind regards,

Biomolecules Editorial Office