Dear Colleagues,

To acknowledge the continued support from our authors, we are pleased to announce that Biomolecules is now open for the 2021 Best Paper Awards. The awards are for two articles and two reviews published between 1 January, 2019 and 31 December, 2019. After a thorough evaluation by the journal award committee, four papers will receive awards.

Eligibility for the awards:
- Article and review papers published in Biomolecules from 1 January, 2019 to 31 December, 2019;
- 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 2020;
- Data Source: Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics).

Prizes:
- First Award (one for a review paper and one for a research paper): 300 CHF and one free publication in Biomolecules;
- Second Award (one for a review paper and one for a research paper): 200 CHF and one free publication in Biomolecules;

The free publication will be eligible for 1 year.
All winners will additionally receive a certificate.
The winners will be announced in July 2021 on the journal website.

A video abstract can help readers get a clear idea of the paper. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that the Biomolecules 2021 Best Video Abstract Awards is open for applications. The prize will be awarded to the authors of two papers published in Biomolecules. The winners will be chosen through a vote by our readers and award committee.

Timeline:
– Deadline for video abstract submission: 30 May 2021;
– Voting period: 15 June–15 July 2021;
– Winners announced: 30 July 2021.

Prize for all participants and each winner:
– Each winner will receive 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs) and an opportunity to publish a paper in Biomolecules free of charge (eligible for 1 year);
– Each winner will receive an electronic certificate;
– All the participants who provide a video abstract will also get a 200 CHF voucher to publish in Biomolecules (eligible for 1 year).

Who can participate?
– Authors of articles and reviews published in 2018–2020 with a video abstract.

Eligibility and requirements:
– The video abstract should not be longer than 5 minutes with the MP4 format and should not exceed 200 MB.
– The presentation should be understandable and accessible to users outside of the immediate field of the article in English.
– The video abstract must include a soundtrack providing a clear verbal narration of the visual content without any music.
– Please be aware that figures/animations or any other materials included in the video abstract must have no potential conflicts or copyright issues. 
– Terms and conditions regarding the use and distribution of video abstracts will apply in line with the copyright statement (https://www.mdpi.com/authors/rights) of Biomolecules.

Selection method:
– Research article video abstracts will be judged based on whether the presentation explains the idea of the paper accurately and precisely. The video quality will also be assessed (lighting, sound, background, etc.).
– Review paper video abstracts will be judged based on the novelty and the video quality;
– Readers’ votes will be taken into account.

For the authors of published papers, please send a video and a manuscript link to the Biomolecules Marketing Team ([email protected]) if you would like to apply for the awards.

In 2020, Biomolecules will celebrate its 10th anniversary, having been launched by MDPI in 2011. During these 10 years, Biomolecules has published more than 2600 papers from more than 5000 authors.

In order to celebrate the anniversary, ‘Anniversary Special Issues’ of Biomolecules will be created this year. We welcome authors from all over the world to publish their papers in these Special Issues.

In recognition of our authors’ support, Biomolecules is pleased to announce that the eight high-quality papers published in the ‘Anniversary Special Issues’ in 2020 will be granted the “Biomolecules Best Paper Awards for Anniversary Special Issues”.

Each award nominee will be assessed on her/his paper’s originality, quality, and contribution to the field by the Evaluation Committee. Prizes will be awarded as follows:

- First Prize: one winner will receive 1000 CHF and a waiver to publish in Biomolecules.
- Second Prize: two winners will each receive an 800 CHF prize and a 500 CHF voucher to publish in Biomolecules.
- Third Prize: five winners will each receive a 500 CHF prize and a 300 CHF voucher to publish in Biomolecules.

The discount/waiver will be eligible for 1 year.

All winners will additionally receive a certificate.

The winners will be announced by July 31 2021.

Dear colleague,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Biomolecules 10th Anniversary Best Cover Awards.

First Place:

Issue 4 (April 2020)

Aspirin: A Suicide Inhibitor of Carbonic Anhydrase II (doi:10.3390/biom10040527) The winner will receive CHF 200 and a waiver to publish in Biomolecules.

Second Place:

Issue 1 (March 2018)

Antimicrobial Peptides: Diversity, Mechanism of Action and Strategies to Improve the Activity and Biocompatibility In Vivo (doi:10.3390/biom8010004)

Issue 3 (March 2020)

Rings, Hexagons, Petals, and Dipolar Moment Sink-Sources: The Fanciful Behavior of Water around Cyclodextrin Complexes (doi:10.3390/biom10030431)

The two winners will each receive a CHF 100 prize and a CHF 500 voucher to publish in Biomolecules.

Third Place:

Issue 2 (February 2019)

Molecular Crowding Tunes Material States of Ribonucleoprotein Condensates (doi:10.3390/biom9020071)

Issue 2 (February 2020)

Structural and Functional Comparison of Salmonella Flagellar Filaments Composed of FljB and FliC (doi:10.3390/biom10020246)

Issue 4 (December 2018)

Giantin Is Required for Post-Alcohol Recovery of Golgi in Liver Cells (doi:10.3390/biom8040150)

The three winners will each receive a CHF 50 prize and a CHF 300 voucher to publish in Biomolecules.

For all winners, the discount/waiver will be eligible for 1 year and will additionally receive a certificate.

Congratulations to the winners for their excellent research!

Inaddition, all participants will receivea CHF 100 voucher and will be contacted by the journal directly.

Thanks everyone for your participation.

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 January 2021
Winners announced: 28 February 2021

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Biomolecules 2020 Outstanding Reviewers Award. The Biomolecules Editorial Board and Editorial Team would like to gratefully acknowledge the time and energy dedicated by reviewers to checking the manuscripts submitted to Biomolecules. It is due to their efforts that the high quality of the journal and quick turnaround are maintained.

The following four reviewers have been awarded the Biomolecules 2020 Outstanding Reviewers Award (in no particular order):

Prof. Nitulescu George Mihai
Faculty of Pharmacy, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania

Prof. Magnus Kjaergaard
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

Dr. Robert Weinzierl
Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, United Kingdom

Dr. Natalia Zhukova
Institute of Marine Biology, Far East Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia

Each winner will receive 500 Swiss Francs and a certificate, as well as the chance to publish a paper in Biomolecules free of charge in 2021.

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

Dear colleagues,

The editorial team would like to congratulate the winners of the 2020 Biomolecules Best Paper Awards, who were chosen by a selection committee chaired by the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Vladimir N. Uversky.

The following papers have won the first and second awards in the 2020 Biomolecules Best Paper Awards:

Article Papers:

First Award:

Critical Assessment of Methods to Quantify Biofilm Growth and Evaluate Antibiofilm Activity of Host Defence Peptides
Biomolecules 2018, 8(2), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom8020029

Second Award:

Improving the Activity of Trp-Rich Antimicrobial Peptides by Arg/Lys Substitutions and Changing the Length of Cationic Residues
Biomolecules 2018, 8(2), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom8020019

Review Papers:

First Award:

Antimicrobial Peptides: Diversity, Mechanism of Action and Strategies to Improve the Activity and Biocompatibility In Vivo
Biomolecules 2018, 8(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom8010004

Second Award:

DOT1L and H3K79 Methylation in Transcription and Genomic Stability
Biomolecules 2018, 8(1), 11; https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/8/1/11

The winners will each receive a certificate and an additional bonus as follows:

– First Award: 300 CHF + one free publication in Biomolecules
– Second Award: 200 CHF + one free publication in Biomolecules
The free publication will be eligible for 1 year.

Please join us in congratulating the winners of the 2020 Biomolecules Best Paper Awards.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our authors for their continued support of Biomolecules.

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