Dear Colleagues,

The journal Biomolecules is inviting applications for the Biomolecules 2022 Ph.D Thesis Award. This prize will be awarded to a Ph.D. student or doctor who has produced a highly anticipated potential academic thesis. The applications will be assessed by an evaluation committee led by the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Vladimir N. Uversky.

Eligibility Requirements:
(a) The candidate must be a Ph.D. student or a doctor who has produced a highly anticipated potential academic thesis.
(b) The Ph.D. thesis must be their original work.
(c) The Ph.D. thesis must be defended in 2022.
(d) Applicants are required to submit the following documents:
– An executive summary of the Ph.D. thesis in English of around 3000 words;
– A letter from the Ph.D. supervisor recommending the candidate for consideration for this award;
– The candidate’s CV, including a list of publications connected to the thesis;
– An electronic copy of the Ph.D. thesis;
– A scanned copy of the Ph.D. diploma (or certificate of studying at a school or research institute as a Ph.D. student about to graduate or participate in graduation thesis defense).

Selection Criteria:
– Quality of resume and publications;
– Relevance of the candidate and research description;
– Novelty of the candidate’s Ph.D. thesis;
– Strength of the recommendation letter;
– Anticipated academic potential;
– Originality and impact of the research.

Prizes:
– Bonus (CHF 800);
– Certificate;
– Offer to publish a featured paper in Biomolecules before the end of 2023, with the article processing charge (APC) waived.

The application deadline is 31 October 2022. The winner will be announced on the Biomolecules website by the end of January 2023. Please submit your applications online.

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

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that Biomolecules is now accepting nominations for the Biomolecules 2022 Young Investigator Award. This prize will be given to to one young investigator in recognition of his/her excellence in the field of structures and functions of bioactive and biogenic substances, molecular mechanisms with biological and medical implications, as well as biomaterials and their applications. All nominations will be assessed by an Award Evaluation Committee led by the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Vladimir N. Uversky.

The Prizes:
– 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs);
– The opportunity to publish one paper free of charge in Biomolecules after peer review before the end of 31 December 2023;
– Certificate.

Eligibility and Requirements:
– Must have a Ph.D. degree;
– Must be 35 years of age or below by 31 December 2022;
– Must have produced ground-breaking research and made a significant contribution to the advancement of structures and functions of bioactive and biogenic substances, molecular mechanisms with biological and medical implications, as well as biomaterials and their applications;
– Candidates must be nominated by senior scientists.

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

Schedule:
– Open for nominations: 25 February 2022
– Nomination deadline: 30 September 2022
– Winner announcement: 30 November 2022

How to submit nominations?
The nominations must be submitted online.

Contact:
Ms./Mr. Hellen Wang
Marketing Specialist
Email: [email protected]

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to acknowledge our reviewers who so generously give their time to review the papers submitted to Biomolecules by presenting an award to the reviewers who have demonstrated their dedication, professionalism, and timeliness in reviewing manuscripts for Biomolecules.

What are the pre-requisites to be eligible for this award?
All of the reviewers for Biomolecules in 2021 will be automatically included.

Select Criteria:
– Number of review reports (only first review reports are considered);
– Review quality based on the rating given in SuSy;
– Review speed.

What will the winners receive?
There will be two winners this year, and each will receive the following:
– 500 Swiss francs;
– An opportunity to publish a paper free of charge in 2022;
– A certificate.

When will the winners be announced?
The winners will be announced in February 2022 on the journal website.

How can I make myself eligible?
If you have not yet reviewed papers for Biomolecules, but would like to do so, you can register as a reviewer at the following link: https://susy.mdpi.com/volunteer/profile/edit.

Kind regards,
Biomolecules Editorial office

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the “Biomolecules 2021 Best Video Abstract Awards”. They will each receive 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs), an opportunity to publish a paper in Biomolecules free of charge (eligible for 1 year), and an electronic certificate. The winners, in no particular order, are as follows:

Cytokinin Detection during the Dictyostelium discoideum Life Cycle: Profiles Are Dynamic and Affect Cell Growth and Spore Germination
Megan M. Aoki, Anna B. Kisiala, Shaojun Li, Naomi L. Stock, Craig R. Brunetti, Robert J. Huber and R. J. Neil Emery
Biomolecules 2019, 9(11), 702; doi:10.3390/biom9110702

Cell Intrinsic and Extrinsic Mechanisms of Caveolin-1-Enhanced Metastasis
America Campos, Renato Burgos-Ravanal, María Fernanda González, Ricardo Huilcaman, Lorena Lobos González and Andrew Frederick Geoffery Quest
Biomolecules 2019, 9(8), 314; doi:10.3390/biom9080314

Please join us in extending our congratulations to the winners for their interesting videos and research!

Biomolecules 2021 Best Video Abstract Evaluation Committee

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Biomolecules 2021 Best Paper Awards. All papers published in 2019 in Biomolecules were considered for the award. After a thorough evaluation of the originality and significance of the papers, citations, and downloads, the four winning papers, which were nominated by the journal award committee, have been selected.

First Prizes: Each 300 CHF and an opportunity to publish a free paper in 2022
Flagella-Driven Motility of Bacteria
By Shuichi Nakamura and Tohru Minamino
Biomolecules 2019, 9(7), 279; doi:10.3390/biom9070279

Systematic FTIR Spectroscopy Study of the Secondary Structure Changes in Human Serum Albumin under Various Denaturation Conditions
By Dmitrii Usoltsev, Vera Sitnikova, Andrey Kajava and Mayya Uspenskaya
Biomolecules 2019, 9(8), 359; doi:10.3390/biom9080359

Second Prizes: Each 200 CHF and an opportunity to publish a free paper in 2022
Quantification of Fecal Short Chain Fatty Acids by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry—Investigation of Pre-Analytic Stability
By Gerhard Liebisch, Josef Ecker, Sebastian Roth, Sabine Schweizer, Veronika Öttl, Hans-Frieder Schött, Hongsup Yoon, Dirk Haller, Ernst Holler, Ralph Burkhardt and Silke Matysik
Biomolecules 2019, 9(4), 121; doi:10.3390/biom9040121

Cytotoxicity of Dendrimers
By Anna Janaszewska, Joanna Lazniewska, Przemysław Trzepiński, Monika Marcinkowska and Barbara Klajnert-Maculewicz
Biomolecules 2019, 9(8), 330; doi:10.3390/biom9080330

We believe the above papers represent valuable contributions to Biomolecules and the scientific literature.

Please join us in warmly congratulating the winners.

Dear Colleagues,

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 15 December 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 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,

We are pleased to announce that the winners of the Biomolecules 2020 Young Investigator Awards are Mateusz Maciejczyk and Sonia Medina Escudero.

Dr. Mateusz Maciejczyk is an assistant professor of the Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Ergonomics of the Medical University of Bialystok. Dr. Mateusz Maciejczyk received his PhD in 2019 and has an outstanding publication record, comprising 113 publications in peer-reviewed international journals (78 original articles, 21 review papers, and 14 monographs) with a total impact factor of 373.01. According to the Scopus databases, his h-index is 24. Dr. Mateusz Maciejczyk is also the author of 132 scientific meeting communiques, and co-author of a patent application.

Dr. Sonia Medina Escudero is a postdoctoral researcher of the Department of Food Science and Technology at CEBAS-CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) in Murcia, Spain. She received her Ph.D. in 2012 in Agri-food Resources and Technologies. After her dissertation defense of Ph.D., she carried out two post-doctoral stays in Colombia and Portugal for 30 months. She has an outstanding publication record, comprising 90 publications in peer-reviewed international journals (80 are JCR articles and 10 are book chapters). According to the Web of Science and Scopus databases, her h-index is 23.

As the awardee, Dr. Mateusz Maciejczyk and Dr Sonia Medina Escudero will each receive an honorarium of CHF 1000, an offer to publish a paper free of charge before the end of 31 December 2022 in Biomolecules after peer-review, and an engraved plaque.

We would like to thank all the nominees from various fields of study for their participation and all the Award Committee Members for their evaluation.

The Biomolecules 2020 Young Investigator Awards Evaluation Committee

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

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

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

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: 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

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