Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. J. Peter W. Young, we wish to acknowledge our reviewers who so generously offer their time to review the papers submitted to Genes by presenting an award to the reviewers who have demonstrated their dedication, professionalism, and timeliness in reviewing manuscripts for Genes.

What are the pre-requisites to be eligible for this award?
All of the reviewers for Genes in 2023 will be automatically included.

Selection Criteria:
– Number of review reports;
– The quality and timeliness of review reports.

What will the winners receive?
There will be three winners this year, and each will receive the following:
– CHF 300;
– An opportunity to publish a paper free of charge in 2024 after peer review;
– A certificate.

When will the winners be announced?
The winners will be announced in March 2024 on the Genes website.

How can I make myself eligible?
If you have not yet reviewed papers for Genes, 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,
Genes Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

The journal Genes is inviting applications for the Genes 2023 Best PhD Thesis Award. This prize will be awarded to a PhD student or recently qualified PhD who has produced a highly anticipated thesis with great academic potential. The applications will be assessed by an evaluation committee led by the Editor-in-Chief, J. Peter W. Young.

Eligibility and Requirements:
– The candidate must be a PhD student or recently qualified PhD who has produced a highly anticipated thesis with great academic potential;
– The PhD thesis must be their original work;
– The PhD thesis must be defended in 2023.

Required Application Documents:
– An executive summary of the PhD thesis in English of around 3000 words;
– A letter from the PhD supervisor recommending the candidate for consideration for this award;
– The candidate’s CV, including a list of publications connected with the thesis;
– An electronic copy of the PhD thesis;
– A scanned copy of the PhD diploma (or certificate of studying at a school or research institute as a PhD student going to graduate or participate in graduation thesis defenses).

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

Prizes:
– Bonus (CHF 800);
– An electronic certificate;
– Offer to publish one paper free of charge in Genes after peer review before the end of 2024.

The application deadline is 28 February 2024. The winner will be announced on the Genes website by the end of April 2024.

Kind regards,
Genes Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that Genes is now inviting nominations for the Genes 2023 Young Investigator Award. This prize will be given to one young investigator in recognition of their excellence in the field of genetics and genomics. All nominations will be assessed by an Award Evaluation Committee led by the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. J. Peter W. Young.

The Prize
– CHF 1000;
– The option to publish one paper free of charge in Genes after peer review before the end of 2024;
– An electronic certificate.

Eligibility and Requirements
– Must have received their PhD no more than 10 years prior to 31 December 2023;
– Must have produced ground-breaking research and made a significant contribution to the advancement of genetics and genomics;
– 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;
– Scanned copy of doctorate certificate;
– Signed nomination letters from two established senior scientists.

Schedule
Open for nominations: 31 March 2023.
Nomination deadline: 30 November 2023.
Winner announcement: 31 January 2024.

How to Submit Nominations?
The nominations must be submitted online.

Contact
Ms. Alexis Liu
Marketing Specialist
Email: [email protected]

Kind regards,
Genes Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Genes 2023 Best Paper Award. All papers published from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 in Genes were considered for the award. After a thorough evaluation of the originality and significance of the papers, citations, and downloads, three winners were selected.

One Review:

HMGA2 as a Critical Regulator in Cancer Development
By Behzad Mansoori, Ali Mohammadi, Henrik J. Ditzel, Pascal H. G. Duijf, Vahid Khaze, Morten F. Gjerstorff and Behzad Baradaran
Genes 2021, 12(2), 269; doi:10.3390/genes12020269

Two Articles:

Epigenetic Evolution of ACE2 and IL-6 Genes: Non-Canonical Interferon-Stimulated Genes Correlate to COVID-19 Susceptibility in Vertebrates
By Eric R. Sang, Yun Tian, Laura C. Miller and Yongming Sang
Genes 2021, 12(2), 154; doi:10.3390/genes12020154

Allelic Diversity at Abiotic Stress Responsive Genes in Relationship to Ecological Drought Indices for Cultivated Tepary Bean, Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray, and Its Wild Relatives
By María A. Buitrago-Bitar, Andrés J. Cortés, Felipe López-Hernández, Jorge M. Londoño-Caicedo, Jaime E. Muñoz-Florez, L. Carmenza Muñoz and Matthew Wohlgemuth Blair
Genes 2021, 12(4), 556; doi:10.3390/genes12040556

Each winner will receive CHF 300 and a chance to publish a paper free of charge in Genes in 2023 after peer review.

Please join us in congratulating the winners of Genes 2023 Best Paper Award. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our authors for your continued support of Genes.

Kind regards,
Genes Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Genes 2022 Outstanding Reviewer Award. The Genes Editorial Board and Editorial Team would like to gratefully acknowledge the time and energy dedicated by reviewers in checking the manuscripts submitted to Genes. It is due to their efforts that the high quality of the journal and quick turnaround are maintained.

Dr. Magdalena Mroczek

Center for Cardiovascular Genetics and Gene Diagnostics, Foundation for People with Rare Diseases, Zurich, Switzerland
Research interests: neuromuscular; genetics; rare diseases

Dr. Federico Manuel Giorgi

Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Research interests: bioinformatics; transcriptomics; gene networks; plant biology; cancer biology; genomics; biostatistics

Dr. Jan Bocianowski

Department of Mathematical and Statistical Methods, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland
Research interests: biometry; statistics; multivariate models; regression; relationships

Prizes:
– CHF 300;
– An opportunity to publish a paper free of charge in Genes in 2023 after peer review;
– A certificate.

Kind regards,
Genes Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

As the Editor-in-Chief of Genes, it is my great pleasure to announce the winner of the Genes 2022 Best PhD Thesis Award. This award is for a PhD student or recently qualified PhD who has produced a highly anticipated thesis with great academic potential.

The award has been granted to:

“Uncovering the genetic variation involved in asthma exacerbations through multiple genomic approaches”

By Esther Herrera Luis,

Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, Cell Biology, and Genetics, Universidad de La Laguna, Spain.

The winner will receive CHF 500, a certificate and a chance to publish a paper free of charge after peer review in Genes in 2023.

On behalf of the evaluation committee, I congratulate the winner on his accomplishments. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the applicants for submitting their exceptional theses, and thank the Award Committee for voting and helping with this award.

Prof. Dr. J. Peter W. Young
Editor-in-Chief, Genes

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that the winners of the Genes 2022 Young Investigator Award in Human Genomics and Genetic Diseases are Dr. Alfredo Iacoangeli and Dr. Elisa De Franco.

Alfredo Iacoangeli is a bioinformatician and geneticist, currently a senior research fellow at King’s College London, where he has worked since completing his PhD in 2016. He has gained an international reputation for his highly productive and innovative work in analysis of genomic and clinical data, particularly in relation to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He is a highly regarded teacher and supervisor and has attracted funding to put together an active bioionformatics team.

Elisa De Franco is a medical geneticist, currently a Diabetes UK RD Lawrence research fellow at the University of Exeter, where she has worked since completing her PhD in 2014. She has become an international leader in gene discovery for neonatal diabetes, resulting in important novel biological insights, and is scientific lead of the neonatal diabetes genetic testing service, which has a worldwide reach.

As awardees, Dr. Alfredo Iacoangeli and Dr. Elisa De Franco will each receive an honorarium of CHF 2000, an offer to publish a paper free of charge before the end of 31 October 2023 in Genes after peer review, and an electronic certificate.

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

Prof. Dr. Peter W. Young
Editor-in-Chief, Genes

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that the winners of the Genes 2022 Young Investigator Award in Molecular Genetics and Genomics are Dr. Riccardo Pecori and Dr. Vanessa Silva.

Riccardo Pecori received his PhD from the University of Florence, Italy. He is currently completing his Senior Postdoctoral fellowship at DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany. His consistently innovative approaches to RNA editing have led to new insights into its roles in cancer and to novel tools (a small bioinformatic tool to reliably quantify RNA editing through Sanger sequencing and help to obtain reliable data at a fraction of cost and effort) for research and potentially for treatment. He is a highly versatile and creative young scientist, both technically and intellectually.

Vanessa Silva has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Biochemistry and a PhD in Veterinary Sciences from the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro. She is a very active researcher in the field of antimicrobial resistance. She has had more than 60 articles published in indexed journals, as well as 6 book chapters and more than 30 oral communications, and she has also had 100 poster presentations at national and international conferences. Vanessa has won more than six awards for best communication. She has supervised several undergraduate and master students. Vanessa is a Portuguese Ambassador of the Global AMR Insights Network. Not only has she maintained an impressive output of research publications, but her enthusiasm has inspired many students through her supervision and participation in workshops and other initiatives.

As awardees, Dr. Riccardo Pecori and Dr. Vanessa Silva will each receive an honorarium of CHF 2000, an offer to publish a paper free of charge before the end of 31 October 2023 in Genes after peer review, and an electronic certificate.

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

Prof. Dr. Peter W. Young
Editor-in-Chief, Genes

Dear Colleagues,

The editorial team would like to congratulate the winners of the Genes 2022 Best Paper Award, who were chosen by a selection committee chaired by the Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. J. Peter W. Young. Following a review process by the Genes award committee, six winners were selected. The recipients are as follows:

Rank 1 Award: (CHF 500 + one free publication in Genes before 31 December 2022, following the normal peer-review procedure).
Article:
Genomics in Bacterial Taxonomy: Impact on the Genus Pseudomonas (doi:10.3390/genes11020139)
By Jorge Lalucat et al.
Review:
Histone Deacetylases (HDACs): Evolution, Specificity, Role in Transcriptional Complexes, and Pharmacological Actionability (doi:10.3390/genes11050556)
By Giorgio Milazzo et al.

Rank 2 Award: (CHF 300 + one free publication in Genes before 31 December 2022, following the normal peer-review procedure).
Article:
COVID-19 and Genetic Variants of Protein Involved in the SARS-CoV-2 Entry into the Host Cells (doi:10.3390/genes11091010)
By Andrea Latini et al.
Review:
Clustered DNA Double-Strand Breaks: Biological Effects and Relevance to Cancer Radiotherapy (doi: 10.3390/genes11010099)
By Jac A. Nickoloff et al.

Rank 3 Award: (CHF 200 + one free publication in Genes before 31 December 2022, following the normal peer-review procedure).
Article:
Inhibition of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Ameliorates Renal Fibrosis by Mitigating DPP-4 Level and Restoring Antifibrotic MicroRNAs (doi:10.3390/genes11020211)
By Swayam Prakash Srivastava et al.
Review:
Regulation of Ergosterol Biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (doi:10.3390/genes11070795)
By Tania Jordá and Sergi Puig

Please join us in congratulating the winners of the Genes 2022 Best Paper Award. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our authors for your continued support of Genes.

Genes Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Genes 2021 Outstanding Reviewer Award. The Genes Editorial Board and Editorial Team would like to gratefully acknowledge the time and energy dedicated by reviewers to checking the manuscripts submitted to Genes. It is due to their efforts that the high quality of the journal and quick turnaround can be maintained.

Dr. Piotr Szymczyk
Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Lodz, Poland

Dr. Pranshu Sahgal
Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute - Harvard Medical School, USA

Dr. Agnieszka Lecka-Ambroziak
Instytut “Pomnik - Centrum Zdrowia Dziecka”, Warsaw, Poland

Dr. Ricardo Lebrón
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, University of Granada, Spain

Dr. Dayna Dreger
Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA

Prizes:
– CHF 500;
– The opportunity to publish a paper in Genes in 2022 with publication fees waived;
– An electronic certificate.

Kind regards,
Prof. Dr. J. Peter W. Young
Editor-in-Chief, Genes

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Genes 2021 Best Paper Awards. All papers published from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019 in Genes were considered for the award. After a thorough evaluation of the originality and significance of the papers, citations, and downloads, the three winning papers, which were nominated by the journal’s Award Committee, have been selected and they are the following:

Article:
A High-Quality De novo Genome Assembly from a Single Mosquito Using PacBio Sequencing
Genes 2019, 10(1), 62; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10010062.

Review:
Eukaryotic 5-methylcytosine (m⁵C) RNA Methyltransferases: Mechanisms, Cellular Functions, and Links to Disease
Genes 2019, 10(2), 102; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10020102.

The winner (corresponding author) will receive an award of 600 CHF, a certificate, and an opportunity to publish free of charge in Genes before 31 December 2022, after the normal peer-review procedure.

Article:
Tree Lab: Portable Genomics for Early Detection of Plant Viruses and Pests in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Genes 2019, 10(9), 632; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10090632.

Review:
Transcription Factors Associated with Abiotic and Biotic Stress Tolerance and Their Potential for Crops Improvement
Genes 2019, 10(10), 771; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10100771.

The winner (corresponding author) will receive an award of 400 CHF, a certificate, and an opportunity to publish free of charge in Genes before 31 December 2022, after the normal peer-review procedure.

Genes Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the “Genes 2019–2020 Best Cover Awards”. In total, 24 cover stories published from 2019 to 2020 in Genes were considered for these awards.

The winners are as follows:

“Molecular Therapies for Inherited Retinal Diseases—Current Standing, Opportunities and Challenges”
Genes Volume 10, Issue 9 (September 2019)
(doi: 10.3390/genes10090654).

“Landscape Genomics of a Widely Distributed Snake, Dolichophis caspius
(Gmelin, 1789) across Eastern Europe and Western Asia”
Genes Volume 11, Issue 10 (October 2020)
(doi: 10.3390/genes11101218).

“BarkBase: Epigenomic Annotation of Canine Genomes”
Genes Volume 10, Issue 6 (June 2019)
(doi: 10.3390/genes10060433).

“The Value of Reference Genomes in the Conservation of Threatened Species”
Genes Volume 10, Issue 11 (November 2019)
(doi: 10.3390/genes10110846).

“Nanopore Targeted Sequencing for Rapid Gene Mutations Detection in Acute Myeloid Leukemia”
Genes Volume 10, Issue 12 (December 2019)
(doi: 10.3390/genes10121026).

The winners of the “Genes 2019–2020 Best Cover Awards” will receive 200 CHF each.

Congratulations to the winners for their excellent research!

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Genes 2020 Best Poster Awards IECGE2020. All posters selected form the 1st International Electronic Conference on Genes (IECGE2020) (https://sciforum.net/conference/ IECGE) were considered for the award. All attendees who complete a poster presentation will be eligible for this award. The Scientific Committee will judge the presentation clarity and scientific significance of the work presented. Two posters were selected as the winners:

Determination of expression signature and proportion of mtDNA in plasma fractions in patients with Renal Cell Carcinoma
By Elena Arance et al.
Proceedings 2021, 76, 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/IECGE-07148

Presented Poster: NGS screening for identification of novel pexophagy-related mutant in Arabidopsis thaliana
By Katarzyna Sieńko et al.
Proceedings 2021, 76, 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/IECGE-07155

The winner (corresponding author) will receive an award of 200 CHF and a certificate for each.

Genes Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Genes 2020 Best Paper Award IECGE2020. All papers published from the 1st International Electronic Conference on Genes (IECGE2020) (https://sciforum.net/conference/IECGE) were considered for the award. After a thorough evaluation by the Scientific Committee based on originality/novelty of the paper, significance of content, scientific soundness and interest to the readers, one paper has been selected as the winner:

Genetic analysis algorithm for the study of patients with Multiple Congenital Anomalies and isolated Congenital Heart Disease
By Marisol Delea et al.
Proceedings 2021, 76, 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/IECGE-07151

The winner (corresponding author) will receive an award of 300 CHF, a certificate, and an opportunity to publish free of charge in Genes before 31 December 2021, after the normal peer-review procedure.

Genes Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that the winner of the Genes 2020 Young Investigator Awards are Dr. Federico Ariel and Dr. Flavia Angela Maria Maggiolini.

The Genes 2020 Young Investigator Award is firstly granted t Dr. Federico Ariel. He has established himself as an international leader through his outstanding work on the roles of noncoding RNAs in plants, and the laboratory that he has established continues to produce work of the highest quality.

The Genes 2020 Young Investigator Award also granted to Dr. Flavia Angela Maria Maggiolini. Still at an early stage in her career, she has developed and applied innovative experimental and computational methods for studying the roles of genomic inversions in humans and other primates, and has already authored a number of influential publications.

This is an outstanding achievement in today’s competitive environment. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Federico Ariel and Dr. Flavia Angela Maria Maggiolini for their outstanding achievements.

As the awardee, both Dr. Federico Ariel and Dr. Flavia Angela Maria Maggiolini will receive an honorarium of CHF 1000, a certificate and an offer to publish a paper free of charge without a fixed deadline in Genes after peer review.

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

Genes 2020 Young Investigator Award Evaluation Committee

The 2018 Genes Travel Awards have been granted to:

a. Andi Wilson, a Ph.D. student at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, for her work on the understanding of sexual reproduction in fungal plant pathogens of the Ceratocystidaceae family.

b. Dr. Jesus A Ballesteros, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, for his research on the molecular and developmental evolution of arachnids and other arthropods.

The awards consist of 800 Swiss Francs each, and are available for the winners to use for attendance and participation in any academic conference in 2018.

It is also my pleasure to announce that as part of the reward, Genes will offer the winners the oppor tunit y to publish a paper with the publication fees waived.

I would like to thank all applicants for their participation and interest in our journal.

The 2018 Genes Young Investigator Award is granted to Dr. Renato Polimanti, Tenure-Track Assistant Professor at Yale University School of Medicine, USA, whose research focuses on psychiatric genetics. Using a multidisciplinary approach that includes statistical and computational analysis, Dr. Polmanti has advanced our understanding in the genetic mechanisms of behavioural traits. As the awardee, Dr. Polimanti will receive an honorarium of 2000 Swiss Francs.

As Editor-in-Chief of Genes, I am pleased to announce the winners of the 2017 Genes Travel Awards.

The Evaluation Committee were very impressed with the high level of work presented and, after careful consideration, Travel Awards have been granted to:

Anna Esteve-Arenys, a Ph.D. student at the University of Barcelona, Spain, for her work on the development of novel combination therapies for double-hit lymphoma;

and to Dr. Marika Annika Kaakinen, a post-doctoral research associate at the Imperial College London, UK, working on the development of a novel method for the multi-phenotype analysis of rare genetic variants (MARV).

The awards consist of 800 Swiss Francs each, and are available for the winners to use for attendance and participation in any academic conference in 2017.

It is also my pleasure to announce that as part of the reward, Genes will offer the winners the opportunity to publish a paper with the publication fees waived.

I would like to thank all applicants for their participation and interest in our journal.