Announcements

We are honored to announce that Dr. Alina Vasilescu and Prof. Dr. Michele Penza have been selected as the winners of the Chemosensors 2025 Editor of Distinction Award.

The following is an interview with Dr. Alina Vasilescu:

1. Could you briefly introduce your academic background and current research focus?

My background is in analytical chemistry; I am a graduate of the University of Bucharest, Romania, where I have obtained both my BSc and MSc degrees. During my MSc, I was introduced to the field of biosensors, having the privilege to attend courses held by renowned specialists in the field, including Prof. Giuseppe Palleschi, Jean-Louis Marty, Lo Gorton, and Nabil El Murr, among others. I continued in this field with a joint PhD thesis at the University of Bucharest and the University of Perpignan, France, and later with a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto, Canada. I lived for almost 10 years in Canada, where, besides the postdoctoral fellowship, I worked in analytical research and development in the pharmaceutical industry. A Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant that I obtained in 2011 gave me the opportunity to return to the biosensor research field at the International Centre of Biodynamics in Bucharest, where I presently work as Head of Electrochemistry and SERS laboratory. My research themes are centered around biosensors, and I have developed analytical tools to investigate protein aggregation, wine quality, disease biomarkers, and environmental contaminants. I was very lucky to collaborate with strong groups specialized in nanomaterials, microbiology, laser-assisted deposition, and electrode manufacturing. My recent focus is on coupling electrochemistry with optical methods such as surface plasmon resonance or surface-enhanced Raman scattering, in the aim to understand the mechanisms providing increased detection sensitivity, boosting specific over non-specific recognition in biosensors, and exploring specific binding events.

2. How was your experience being an editor for Chemosensors? What motivated you to participate actively in the editorial process, and what do you find most rewarding about it?

I think this question can be answered from several perspectives. One would be that it gave me the opportunity to stay updated with the latest research in the field of chemical- and biosensors, and inspired me with regard to the direction the scientific research is headed in.

At the same time, as a member of the Editorial Board, I felt a responsibility to ensure fair, constructive, and thorough peer review. Moreover, I valued the opportunity to design Special Issues around subjects related to sensors and biosensors for food safety, environmental monitoring, and medical diagnostics.

I can say that it was particularly fulfilling to see how the manuscripts’ quality improved during the review process based on the suggestions and guidance I provided. This gave me a sense of contributing to the scientific field not just by my own research.

3. Do you have any suggestions for improving our editorial process?

With regards to reviewer selection process, I think it would be helpful to further expand the reviewer database and diversify reviewers’ profiles, given that most research nowadays is multidisciplinary and involves teams with complementary expertise. Another thing that could be improved would be to provide more detailed guidelines for reviewers and also for authors. To give an example, many papers which describe new sensors include spike-and-recovery tests as a measure of the sensors’ accuracy and fitness for analyzing real-world samples. However, the number of samples and the spiking procedure vary greatly between reports. Incorrect spiking procedures tend to roll on from one paper or one journal to another, as some authors simply adopt the easiest procedure used in similar works, without questioning its correctness. They argue, during the review process, that if the respective procedure was already published, this means it is absolutely valid. I would strongly support a guideline with descriptions and references of the necessary tests for proving the sensors’ performance. A consistent, correct way of testing will build confidence in the research results and enable relevant comparison between the literature reports.

4. How do you see the role of editors evolving with the advancements in artificial intelligence and automated tools in research publishing?

I believe that AI and automated tools are simply means that support and streamline the human-driven reviewing process, as AI-based tools are trained on published data and are not able to grasp the context of brand new and revolutionary ideas, as opposed to a human editor. I can see an increased percentage of the editor’s time allocated to critically reviewing AI-generated manuscripts and identifying misconduct that automated tools may miss. The editor’s contribution will also be essential in reaching decisions on difficult-to-judge manuscripts. Maintaining the journal's identity will be hard without strong editor involvement.

On the other hand, I believe in a strong role of AI in identifying plagiarism, detecting AI-written content, in the initial screening of manuscripts, and for reviewer selection. Editors would need to be increasingly AI-literate, while at the same time knowing AI’s limitations.

5. Do you have any advice for early career researchers in terms of research or publishing?

It is important to prioritize from the beginning quality over quantity and build a specific, strong competence rather than dissipating research efforts in a broad domain. I strongly encourage early-career researchers to take every opportunity to go to conferences or summer schools and build collaborations with their peers or with more experienced people with complementary expertise. I always considered that a collaborative work where several methods or techniques are used to gather a broader and detailed image of the studied topic is much better than one individual’s work limited by that person’s perspective and accessibility to research and technical means.

I also advise early-career researchers to screen carefully the journals where they want to publish, ensuring that they fit best with their research theme and provide the best visibility and impact for their results. They should integrate all constructive reviewer comments and advice from more experienced colleagues into their work. Moreover, I strongly encourage young researchers to check the clarity of their work by having their manuscript or project application read by people without detailed knowledge of the field (my husband is the most “avid reader” of my manuscripts and applications).

6. In your opinion, which research topics will be of particular interest to the research community in the coming years?

I believe that wearable and implantable sensors, as well as sensors for environmental monitoring, are two big topics where researchers will be focusing on in the future. Obviously, integration of AI and machine learning will support this research, and many advances will come from this. I also think that food safety and point-of-care devices will continue to attract interest and funding. One particularly interesting research area would be in biomimetic sensors with all the implications in medicine and human–machine interactions. Not least, given the renewed efforts for space exploration, sensors that can be integrated in probes, shuttles, or space stations will become increasingly needed.

The following is an interview with Dr. Michele Penza:

1. Could you briefly introduce your academic background and current research focus?

My research interests are focused on materials science and engineering for chemical sensing and environmental monitoring, including sensor-systems, devices, technologies, and measurements for sustainability applications. At this stage, my publication score consists of 180+ peer-reviewed publications, 4 book chapters, 1 book, 13 special issues, 1 topical collection, 2 international reports, and 150+ conference communications, including 40+ invited/keynote speakers, and 3 national patents. H-index (March 2026): 43 (Scopus); 41 (Web of Science); 50 (Google Scholar). Nr. Citations (March 2026): 5450+ (Scopus); 4630+ (Web of Science); 8000+ (Google Scholar). I have peer-reviewed 380+ manuscripts and 200+ editor decisions.

I am honored to be listed (2020–now) as a Top 2% World most-cited Scientist in Analytical Chemistry and Applied Physics as published by Elsevier and Stanford University.

My main career achievements include Prime Researcher (2023–now), Head of Laboratory Functional Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Applications (headcount: 45 persons) at ENEA - Brindisi Research Center (1 July 2015–30 June 2024), and now I am serving as a Direction Office Member at Division Advanced Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Manufacturing Industry in ENEA. Furthermore, I was engaged as Chair of the International Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action TD1105 EuNetAir (2012–2016) - European Network on New Sensing Technologies for Air Pollution Control and Environmental Sustainability - including 250+ researchers and scientists belonging to 150+ teams from 35+ Countries (Europe, USA, China, Australia, Russia, Ukraine, Morocco). Also, I have coordinated (2019–2022) the EIT Raw Materials Hub - Regional Center Southern Italy, devoted to the development of critical raw materials in the Mediterranean eco-system for eco-innovation and environmental sustainability. Moreover, my expertise has been useful as Chairman of the European Sensor Systems Cluster (ESSC), launched by EC DG R&I in November 2014, to define a roadmap for sensors and sensor systems for Horizon 2020 calls.

Moreover, I have achieved the Italian National Scientific Qualification as a Full Professor in Experimental Physics of Matter (02/B1 - ASN 2021-23), valid from 6 February 2023 to 6 February 2035 (Ministry of University and Research Ministerial Decree n. 553/2021 dated on 26 February 2021 and MUR Ministerial Decree n. 589/2021 dated on 05 March 2021); and the Italian National Scientific Qualification as a Full Professor in Applied Physics (02/D1 - ASN 2023-25), valid from 11 November 2025 to 11 November 2037 (Ministry of University and Research Ministerial Decree n. 1796/2023 dated on 27 October 2023);  and currently I serve as Adjunct Professor at University of Salento, Lecce (Italy), teaching the Bachelor’s Program in Engineering for Sustainable Industry, with a course on the Laboratory of Technologies for Sustainable Production (6 CFD/54 hours, Academic Year 2024-2025, 2025-2026) at the Brindisi Teaching Pole.

Currently, I am engaged as an international expert reviewer of research projects funded by national and international research councils and agencies.

Finally, before appointment as Section Editor-in-Chief of “Environmental Sensing” in Sensors, I also served as Associate Editor for MDPI journals (Sensors, Chemosensors) and other international publishers.

2. How was your experience being an editor for Chemosensors? What motivated you to participate actively in the editorial process, and what do you find most rewarding about it?

Chemosensors is a high-quality, open access, and excellent journal with a high impact factor, indexed in many important research archives, to share knowledge on chemical sensors at a global level. My experience as Associate Editor of Chemosensors confirmed that the rigorous peer-review and relatively short timing of acceptance for publication are an optimal basis to corroborate our journal as a top magazine to host outstanding research on sensors for chemical sensing in different applicative sectors. My action as Associate Editor and Guest Editor is challenging because it is beneficial to know continuous updates from worldwide laboratories at the frontiers of knowledge in chemical sensors.

3. Do you have any suggestions for improving our editorial process?

The MDPI editorial process is solid and pays attention to ethics, integrity and originality. A double-check approach is currently carried out in unclear editorial decisions to avoid conflicts of interest. The editorial policy is updated to the state of the art.

4. How do you see the role of editors evolving with the advancements in artificial intelligence and automated tools in research publishing?

AI is a valid tool as an assistant editor for authors and editors to improve the quality of a manuscript. However, the integrity and originality of the publications need to be supervised, including the absence of plagiarism in the artefacts by authors. The role of editors is crucial to check this clean scheme in publications. Software tools to check the duplicate rate are very useful to support editorial decisions.

5. Do you have any advice for early-career researchers in terms of research or publishing?

The engagement of young researchers in Chemosensors is crucial for future sustainable development. They will be encouraged to attend webinars, participate as peer-reviewers, co-author excellent papers and reviews, author a thesis dissertation in the field of applied sensors, environmental sensor technologies and sustainable applications; accomplished grants for best posters and/or best oral presentations should be awarded to boost their scientific interests in innovative chemical sensors. Gender balance between females and males is also supported as much as possible in all agendas of Chemosensors initiatives.

6. In your opinion, which research topics will be of particular interest to the research community in the coming years?

My vision for Chemosensors is to consolidate its editorial position as a top global platform for outstanding research with multidisciplinary and innovative aspects, bridging academia and industry. I am engaged as Associate Editor to expand the journal’s scope to include emerging fields such as green and digital technologies for sustainable applications, AI-supported sensors development, IoT sensor-system integration, novel electronic devices for environmental monitoring and measurements, applied chemical sensors, and advanced functional materials for chemical sensing, taking into account the highest standards of peer-review and open access. The topics and contents will be in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations (UN). Through the key involvement of leading scientists, senior experts, and early-stage researchers, I will push Chemosensors as a reference journal for shaping the future of chemical sensing technologies and measurements at a higher impact.