MDPI will be presenting at the 7th Scientific Meeting of Ph.D. Students at the UAB campus (JPhD2023). The event will be held at the Sala d'Actes Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain, from 7 to 9 June 2023.

JPhD2023 aims to facilitate the exchange of knowledge about scientific research from different fields, sharing of research works and communication among the Ph.D. students of the BNC-b in an academic and scientific environment.

MDPI Speaker

Dr. Gabriel Martínez Edo
Presentation theme: MDPI Open Access & Peer Review Process 

Dr. Gabriel Martínez Edo holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry (2013) and a master’s degree in pharmaceutical chemistry (2015) from the IQS school of Engineering, Universitat Ramon Llull (Barcelona, Spain). He completed his Ph.D. (2020) in chemistry and chemical engineering at the same institution focusing on the use of nanomaterials as drug delivery systems.

He joined MDPI in June 2020 as Assistant Editor and Section Managing Editor for the journal Nanomaterials. In 2021, he was appointed Managing Editor of the journal Nanomanufacturing, a position he held until his recent appointment as Journal Relations Specialist.  

If you are also attending this conference, please feel free to stop by our booth. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit: https://jphd.icmab.es/.

Relevant Journals:

MDPI will be attending the 16th International Symposium on Applied Bioinorganic Chemistry (ISABC 2023) in Ioannina, Greece, from 11 to 14 June 2023.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• IJMS;
• CIMB;
• AppliedChem;
• Inorganics;
• Applied Biosciences;
• MPs;
• JFB.

If you plan on attending this conference, feel free to stop by our booth, #5. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions you may have.

For more information about the conference, please visit the following link: https://isabc2023.com/#.

MDPI will be attending the 21st National Electrochemistry Conference, organized by the Chinese Society of Electrochemistry (CSE) and hosted by the Dalian University of Technology, which will be held from 22 to 25 May 2023, in Dalian, China. The conference will focus on the development of electrochemical science and comprehensively present the latest research progress and results achieved in electrochemistry in China in the new era. The aim is to promote the application of electrochemical science and technology in energy, environment, materials and other relevant fields, and to achieve the sustainable development of society.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Energies;
• Molecules;
• Coatings;
• IJMS;
• Batteries;
• Symmetry;
• Processes;
• Catalysts;
• Crystals;
• Minerals;
• Technologies;
• Electrochem;
• ChemEngineering;
• Analytica;
• Chemosensors.

If you plan on attending this conference, please feel free to stop by our booth (#55) and start a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following link: http://www.sciencemate.com/meeting/electrochem.

MDPI will be attending the 11^th AOHUPO and 7^th AOAPO Congress, hosted by the SSMS and the Malaysian Proteomics Society (MAPS), which will be held from 8 to 10 May 2023, in Singapore. The 3-day face-to-face joint congress will feature distinguished invited speakers in 5 plenary sessions and 27 concurrent sessions, covering broad topics of proteomics and mass spectrometry technologies and applications in health/biomedical research, agriculture/aquaculture, food, and environmental sciences. Congress participants will have the opportunity to submit abstracts for oral and poster presentations. In addition, the organizers have also planned to hold a Young Scientist Forum (YSF) for young scientists as a preconference activity.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• IJMS;
• Agriculture;
• Nutrients;
• Foods;
• Proteomes;
• BioTech.

If you plan on attending this conference, please feel free to stop by our booth (#A15) and start a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following link: https://www.aohupo-aoapo-2023.org/.

MDPI will be attending the European Human Genetics Conference 2023 (ESHG 2023), held in Glasgow, UK, from 10 to 13 June 2023.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Genes;
• IJMS;
• JPM;
• Applied Biosciences;
• MPs;
• Symmetry;
• Toxics;
• Cells;
• IJNS.

If you plan on attending this conference, feel free to stop by our booth #824. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions you may have.

For more information about the conference, please visit the following link: https://2023.eshg.org/.

The 2023 American Society for Microbiology Annual Meeting (ASM Microbe 2023) will be held in Houston, USA, from 15 to 19 June 2023. This annual meeting is the largest gathering of microbiologists in the world, and it is expected that nearly 8,000 professionals from all over the world will attend the meeting. Founded in 1899, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) is the oldest and largest single life science society in the world, consisting of more than 50,000 scientists and health professionals, of which more than one-third of the members are from countries and regions outside the United States. The mission of the American Society for Microbiology is to promote and advance the science of microbiology.

Topics include:

• Disaster Microbiology;
• Emerging Infections – What is the next pandemic? (Focus on Nipah and Marburg);
• Natural Product Discovery and Synthesis;
• Combating the Climate Crisis with Critters: Microbial Carbon Capture;
• Powering the Future: Applied Microbiology in the Energy Industry;
• Equity and Access in Laboratory Diagnostics;
• Microbiome Management in a Changing World.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Microorganisms;
• Journal of Fungi;
• Viruses;
• Applied Biosciences;
• MPs;
• IJMS;
• Vaccines;
• Fermentation;
• Diversity;
• Metabolites;
• Biomolecules;
• Antibiotics;
• Pathogens;
• Life.

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to start an online conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you at booth number #2504 in person and answering any questions you may have. For more information about the conference and our virtual booth, please visit the following link: https://asm.org/Events/ASM-Microbe/Home.

In order to commemorate World Autism Awareness Day 2023, MDPI is launching a special webinar to encourage researchers to join together, take action, and highlight how the exchange of findings facilitates efforts to raise awareness about autism.

Over the past decade, major progress has been made towards increasing access to education generally, as well as for persons with autism specifically. 

The webinar aims to encourage connections and collaboration among autism researchers and the international Open Access community to help improve the lives of those with autism.

We are very much looking forward to seeing you at the MDPI World Autism Awareness Day Webinar 2023.

Conference Secretariat: Ms. Shun Li 
Date and time: 2 April 2023, 11:00 p.m. CEST
Register now for free:

This is a free webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.

Unable to attend? Register anyway and we will let you know when the recording is available to watch.

Webinar Chairs and Keynote Speakers:

• Dr. James Brasic, Section of High Resolution Brain Positron Emission Tomography Imaging, Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA, Section Board Member of Brain Sciences (ISSN: 2076-3425), Guest Editor of IJMS (ISSN: 1422-0067)
• Dr. Kazuhito Toyooka, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, 2900 Queen Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19129, USA, Section Board Member of Brain Sciences (ISSN: 2076-3425), Guest Editor of IJMS (ISSN: 1422-0067)
• Dr. Richard E. Frye, Autism Discovery and Treatment Foundation, Phoenix AZ, Editorial Board Member of JPM (ISSN: 2075-4426)

Program:

Relevant Special Issues:

Behavioral Sciences
"Training and Education in Children with Autism"
Edited by: Alessandro Frolli, Angelo Rega and Maria Carla Ricci
Submission deadline: 30 June 2023

Biomolecules
"Glutamate and Glutamate Receptors in Health and Diseases"
Edited by: Jolanta H. Kotlińska and Marta Marszalek-Grabska
Submission deadline: 30 September 2023

Brain Sciences
"Sexuality in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Past, Present and Innovative Perspectives"
Edited by: Rocco Salvatore Calabrò and Giovanni Pioggia
Submission deadline: 25 July 2023

Cells
"Molecular Genetics of Neuropsychiatric Diseases"
Edited by: Yingwei Mao and Xin Tang
Submission deadline: 8 March 2024

CIMB
"Neuropathology: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapeutic Solutions"
Edited by: Wenqiang Fan and Xingping Qin
Submission deadline: 31 July 2023

Disabilities
"Technology for People with Disabilities: Opportunities and Challenges"
Edited by: Angelo Rega and Alessandro Frolli
Submission deadline: 30 June 2023

Genes
"Genes, Phenotypes and Molecular Mechanisms for Personalized Medicine in Autism"
Edited by: M. E. Suzanne Lewis
Submission deadline: 20 June 2023

IJERPH
"Research on Autism in Children"
Edited by: Andrey Vyshedskiy
Submission deadline: 31 August 2023

JPM
"A Personalized Medicine Approach to the Diagnosis and Management of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Beyond Genetic Syndromes"
Edited by: Richard E. Frye, Richard G. Boles, Daniel Rossignol and Shannon Rose
Submission deadline: 10 June 2023

Life
"Steroid Hormones, Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Dysfunction Unsolving the Enigma of Autism?"
Edited by: Benedikt Andreas Gasser and Markus G. Mohaupt
Submission deadline:31 July 2023

Medicina
"Atypical Autism: Causes, Diagnosis, and Current Treatment"
Edited by: Rekha Jagadapillai
Submission deadline: 15 October 2023

Molecules
"Bioactive Lipids and Cannabinoids, Key Players in Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Beyond"
Edited by: Giuseppe Di Giovanni and Mauro Maccarrone
Submission deadline: 31 August 2023

NeuroSci
"Disorders of Cognition and Behavior"
Edited by: Satwant Kumar
Submission deadline: 30 April 2023

Nutrients
"Effects of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Brain Metabolism and Neurodevelopment"
Edited by: Dhavamani Sugasini
Submission deadline: 20 July 2023

Pathophysiology
"Neurodegenerative Diseases: Advances in Understanding Mechanisms and Development of Therapies"
Edited by: Shao-bin Wang and Zhongshan Cheng
Submission deadline: 30 June 2023

Pharmaceuticals
"Drug Treatment For Autism"
Edited by: Maryam Ardalan
Submission deadline: 31 May 2023

Sci
"Feature Papers—Multidisciplinary Sciences 2023"
Edited by: Claus Jacob and Ahmad Yaman Abdin
Submission deadline: 31 December 2023

Technologies
"Machine Learning Methods for Bio-Medical Image and Signal Processing: Recent Advances"
Edited by: Lipo Wang
Submission deadline: 15 November 2023

Toxics
"Association of Environmental Exposures with Mental and Cognitive Health"
Edited by: Hicran Altug, Tamara Schikowski and Rachel Tham
Submission deadline: 5 April 2023

Conference: 13th National Symposium on the Molecular and Structural Characterization of Polymers
Date: 31 March–2 April 2023
Place: Shenzhen, China 

MDPI will be attending the 13th National Symposium on the Molecular and Structural Characterization of Polymers as an exhibitor. This meeting will be held at Hyatt Regency Shenzhen Yantian, Shenzhen, China, from 31 March to 2 April 2023. The organizing committee consists of the Polymer Materials Analytical Technology and Characteristic Methods Committee of Chinese Chemical Society. Through this meeting, we wish to contribute to the discussion on the progress in the field of polymer characterization. 

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Polymers;
• Gels;
• Colloids and Interfaces;
• Symmetry;
• Surfaces;
• IJMS;
• Macromol;
• Nanomaterials;
• Analytica. 

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to start a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit https://poly-struc2022.scievent.com/.

As a leading open access publisher, MDPI provides scholars with a high-quality and rich academic exchange platform by continuously expanding into new and exciting research areas.

In December 2022, MDPI launched five new journals, covering multiple subjects such as life sciences, biology, medicine and pharmacology, social sciences and humanities. These new journals are being edited by established scholars across the world.

If you are interested in creating more open access journals with us to publish cutting-edge research, please send your journal proposal application to [email protected].

MDPI is pleased to announce that we now display the co-authors’ email addresses in addition to the corresponding author’s email address on the webpage of published papers, protected by Captcha. For more information about this change, please visit the journal’s instructions for authors page. 

We believe this change will facilitate academic discussions and advance our cause of open science and research. The corresponding authors are responsible for communicating with their co-authors and indicating in our system (https://susy.mdpi.com/) if co-authors would prefer for their email addresses not to be displayed.

On 9 February 2023, Clarivate, a global leader in providing trusted insights and analytics, added the Preprint Citation Index to the Web of Science platform, streamlining the research process by allowing researchers to locate and link to preprints alongside other trusted content in the database.

The Preprint Citation Index will act as a bridge to connect cutting-edge preprints with peer-reviewed journal articles published within the Web of Science Core Collection. Alerts can be easily set to monitor new research across several repositories and authors will also be able to include preprints on their Web of Science Research Profile to more accurately display their various research outputs.

As of its launch, the Preprint Citation Index will provide nearly two million preprints from various repositories, including MDPI’s own Preprints.org.

MDPI's Preprints Platform – Preprints.org

To advance Open Science and the fast dissemination of research, MDPI offers researchers a free multidisciplinary preprint platform. Preprints.org accepts submissions from all research areas and offers authors high visibility, permanent archiving, article-level Metrics and immediately citable content by assigning a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to all preprints.

During submission to any MDPI journal, authors have the option to share their research as a preprint. After an initial screening, the manuscript is available online in 48 hours or less. Once online, preprints can be downloaded, shared, commented on, and cited, providing authors maximum visibility.

We invite you to join the ranks of the over 100k researchers using Preprints.org and share your research.

For more information, please visit Preprints.org.

Conference: American Physiology Summit
Date: 20–23 April 2023
Location: Long Beach, CA, USA

MDPI will be attending American Physiological Summit as an exhibitor, and we welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest ideas with us.

This conference is organized by the American Physiological Society (APS). Opening with a keynote address given by a Nobel Laureate, the lineup features 8 game-changers and 80 foundational science sessions hand selected by APS members representing the Society’s sections and interest groups. This meeting is designed by and for physiologists, and it provides a good space for attendees to spark inspiration and evoke collaboration.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• IJMS;
• Cells;
• Metabolites;
• JCDD;
• Healthcare;
• JPM;
• Biomedicines;
• Diagnostics;
• Genes;
• JCM;
• Pathophysiology;
• Biology.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IJMS, ISSN: 1422-0067, IF: 6.028) covers fundamental theoretical problems of broad interest in biology, chemistry, and medicine; breakthrough experimental technical progress of broad interest in biology, chemistry, and medicine; and application of the theories and novel technologies to specific experimental studies and calculations.

Cells (ISSN: 2073-4409, IF: 7.666) mainly focuses on cell anatomy and physiology, the structure and function of organelles, cell adhesion and motility, and the regulation of intracellular signaling, growth, differentiation, and aging.

If you are planning to attend this conference, please do not hesitate to start an online conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following website: https://www.physiology.org/professional-development/meetings-events/american-physiology-summit-2023?SSO=Y.

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative—the MDPI Special Issue Mentor Program.

This program will enable early career researchers (who must hold a Ph.D. in a related field) to experience editing a Special Issue in MDPI journals, under the mentorship of our experienced Editorial Board Members or other experienced scientists. The mentor program will provide an excellent opportunity for early career scientists to gain editorial experience, and to cultivate their ability to edit scientific research.

The mentee’s responsibilities include:

• Proposing a Special Issue title and assisting the mentor in preparing a summary (around 200–400 words) and 3–10 keywords describing the background, importance, and goal of the Issue;
• Writing a brief promotion plan for the Special Issue;
• Preparing a list of scholars who may be interested in the Issue and personally e-mailing invitations on behalf of Guest Editors;
• Writing an editorial for the online Special Issue together with the mentor.

The mentor’s responsibilities include:

• Conducting a final check before the Special Issue is published online;
• Performing editorial control of the Special Issue and quality control of the publications, both of which must be carried out in a timely manner;
• Providing suggestions to younger scholars if they have any doubts or concerns regarding submissions;
• Organizing video calls with young scholars and the Editorial Office regularly to discuss problems and improvement suggestions for the Special Issue;
• Making and submitting decisions regarding submissions with the assistance of mentees.

Certificates and awards:
After the Special Issue closes, the Editorial Office will provide official certificates for all the mentors and early career researchers.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your Special Issue proposal to the Editorial Office of a journal you choose, and we will discuss the process (i.e., mentor collaboration, Special Issue topic feasibility analysis, etc.) in further detail. The full list of MDPI journals is as follows: https://www.mdpi.com/about/journals.

In addition to the new Special Issue Mentor Program, we will continue to welcome all Special Issue proposals focusing on hot research topics.

Conference: The 100th Anniversary Annual Meeting of The Physiological Society of Japan
Date: 14–16 March 2023
Venue: Kyoto International Conference Center *Hybrid Format, Kyoto, Japan

MDPI will be attending the 100th Anniversary Annual Meeting of The Physiological Society of Japan as the exhibitor. This meeting will take place from 14 to 16 March 2023 in Kyoto, Japan.

This meeting has been organized by the Physiological Society of Japan (PSJ), and will thus mark the 100th meeting of the society—the 100th Memorial meeting. This meeting has been given the theme of “Homeostasis for Sustainability—Toward the Next Century of Physiological Sciences”.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Cells;
• IJMS;
• Biomolecules;
• Physiologia.

If you are planning to attend this conference, please feel free to stop by our booth. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions you may have.

For more information about the conference, please visit the following website: https://www2.aeplan.co.jp/psj2023/en_index/.

MDPI has just become the first open access (OA) publisher to reach the milestone of one million articles published. That is one million articles freely available to all, to circulate and build upon! We are proud to share this special moment with the global scientific community.

This landmark has been reached thanks to the immeasurable support of more than 600,000 expert reviewers, 66,000 editorial board members and 6700 hard-working colleagues across MDPI’s global offices.

Within more than 25 years of publishing, our journals received 2.1 million manuscripts and generated 4.6 million peer review reports to get to one million papers published.

Reaching the milestone of one million articles published reinforces our mission to remove any existing barriers and to make scientific research accessible to all. Since its inception, MDPI’s goal has been to create reliable processes to make science open. This is a path towards facilitating the dissemination of novel insights in scientific communities.

Regular feedback from authors and reviewers shows that our service is greatly appreciated and needed. At the same time, the feedback helps us identify areas for further improvement.

As it stands, a significant share of published research findings remain closed access. More than half of the content published with the most well-known legacy publishers stays behind a paywall, and that is not including articles published in hybrid OA journals, or made available months or years after publication.

A new policy announced by the US administration in August 2022 requires that, as of January 2026, all US federally funded research be made freely and immediately available after publication. While the new policy does not mandate articles be published under an open access license, it is aligned with the open access movement in removing all barriers to research. Similarly, some of the most advanced research institutions in the world intend to have all funded research articles published in open access by 2025.

MDPI is proud to be the leading agent of the transition to open access.

"Thanks a Million" to all the contributors!

We are pleased to announce that the website of the MDPI Sustainability Foundation has been revamped! For the past couple of months, our UX UI team and front-end developers have been working hard to launch the website in time for the opening of the Sustainability Awards nominations.

The website is not the only thing that has had a remodeling. Indeed, the format of the Emerging Sustainability Leader Award (ESLA) has been updated. ESLA is now a competition open to individual researchers or start-ups founded by researchers under the age of 35. Nominee applications will go through 2 rounds of selection until the final 3 are decided. The finalists will then be invited to give pitch presentations during the Award Ceremony to win either first place (10,000 USD) or runner-up (2 x 5000 USD).

The World Sustainability Award, on the other hand, remains the same: a total prize money of 100,000 USD is up for grabs by senior individual researchers or groups of researchers from the international research community.

Nominations for both the World Sustainability Award and the Emerging Sustainability Leader award are now open! Check out our new website for more information on how to nominate.

Recently, Clarivate^TM revealed its 2022 list of Highly Cited Researchers™—individuals at universities, research institutes, and commercial organizations.

It is our great honor to congratulate the 19 Editorial Board Members of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IJMS, ISSN: 1422-0067) who have been distinguished as 2022 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate, according to Web of Science^TM data. We hereby express our gratitude for the immense impact that the named researchers continue to make on scientific progress and on our journal's development.

The scientists who were selected for this year’s list of Highly Cited Researchers have published highly cited papers in the 11-year period from January 2011 to December 2021, with their citation frequencies being in the top 1% of academic subjects and the same year of publication in the Web of Science database. Based on Web of Science citation data, 6,938 researchers from across the globe who have demonstrated a disproportionate level of significant and broad influence in their chosen field or fields over the last decade have been awarded 2022 Highly Cited Researcher designations. The list is truly global, spanning 69 countries or regions and spread across a diverse range of research sciences and social sciences.

A range of MDPI journals will be attending the 15th Annual Meeting of Chinese Society for Immunology. This meeting will be held in Chongqing, China, from 27 to 30 December 2022.

The conference focuses on the following areas:

• Recognition and regulation of innate immune responses;
• Adaptive immune response;
• Immune metabolism and immune regulation;
• Immunity to COVID-19 infection;
• Tumor immunity and tumor immunotherapy;
• Autoimmune diseases and other topics.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• IJMS (leading journal);
• Vaccines;
• Metabolites;
• Cells;
• Cancers;
• Biomedicines;
• CIMB;
• Pathogens;
• Immuno.

If you plan on attending this conference, feel free to stop by our booth #B13. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions you may have.

For more information about the conference, please see the following link: https://csimeeting2022.sciconf.cn/cn/web/index/13562.  

Stanford University has recently published an update of the list of the top 2% most widely cited scientists. The time period of the statistical data of this list ranges from 1960 to 2022, and it is divided into two lists, "Lifetime Scientific Influence Ranking" and "2022 Annual Scientific Influence Ranking". The "Lifetime Scientific Influence Ranking" counts the comprehensive influence performance of scientists during their careers, and the "2022 Annual Influence Ranking" focuses on highlighting the academic influence of scientists in the previous year. This ranking, considered to be the most prestigious worldwide, is based on the bibliometric information contained in the Scopus database and includes more than 200,000 researchers from the more than 10 million scientists considered to be active worldwide, with 22 scientific fields and 176 subfields taken into account.

We are pleased to share that 799 Editorial Board Members from MDPI’s International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IJMS, ISSN: 1422-0067) were featured in Stanford University’s list of the World’s Top 2% Scientists in 2022.

The latest Stanford rankings reflect the significant influence and research excellence of the scientists, who are committed to furthering their knowledge for the benefit of the world.

We would like to congratulate our Editorial Board Members on their excellent achievement and thank them for their immense contribution to the scientific progression and development of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Conference: Journées de Chimie Organique (JCO 2022)
Date: 2–4 November 2022
Place: Palaiseau, France
Booth Number: 2

Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944) and Molecules (ISSN: 1420-3049) will be attending the Journées de Chimie Organique (JCO 2022) as exhibitors from 2 to 4 November in Palaiseau, France.

The JCO is organized every 3 years by the Organic Chemistry Division committee. It aims to be a great opportunity for the sharing of science, gathering organic chemists from all over the world.

This year, the meeting will include 13 plenary lectures and 5 invited lectures given by French and foreign researchers from both academic and industrial backgrounds, and will also highlight awardees of the DCO prizes.

Numerous oral communications are open to young researchers in various areas, such as the following:

• Catalysis;
• New methods in organic synthesis;
• Total synthesis of natural products;
• Sustainable chemistry;
• Medicinal chemistry;
• Bioorganic chemistry;
• Chemobiology;
• Supramolecular chemistry;
• Applications in materials and energy.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Materials;
• Molecules;
• Compos. Sci.;
• IJMS;
• Molbank;
• Symmetry.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you plan on attending this conference. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions you might have.

For more information about the conference, please visit the following website: https://www.jco2022.com/en/.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022 has been jointly awarded to Carolyn R. Bertozzi (Stanford University, USA), Morten Meldal (University of Copenhagen, Denmark) and K. Barry Sharpless (Scripps Research, La Jolla, USA).

The trio laid the foundations for creating useful molecules by combining simple building blocks through a straightforward and efficient chemical reaction, an approach which they termed click chemistry. The idea is that the resulting molecules do not need to be exact replica of natural molecules in order to be functional. Especially in the development and production of pharmaceuticals at scale, click chemistry has brought about many advances.

 Bertozzi, Meldal, Sharpless (from left to right) © Nobel Media

“This year’s Prize in Chemistry deals with not overcomplicating matters, instead working with what is easy and simple. Functional molecules can be built even by taking a straightforward route,” the Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, Johan Åqvist, said.

The copper-catalyzed reaction Professor Meldal and Professor Sharpless discovered independently makes basic molecules “snap together quickly and efficiently” and is “utilised in the development of pharmaceuticals, for mapping DNA and creating materials that are more fit for purpose”, according to a statement by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Carolyn Bertozzi is the eighth woman to win the prize in chemistry and a champion of open access publishing. In her seminal research, she succeeded in developing chemical tools based on click chemistry that help to study human and animal physiology in new ways. In particular, she came up with so-called bioorthogonal reactions which are so selective they do not interfere with surrounding processes in living organisms. Targeting tumors by breaking down their camouflage is one highly important application.

Barry Sharpless is only the second person to be awarded the chemistry prize for a second time, having already been honored in 2001 for previous breakthrough discoveries.

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners and a special nod to Professor Sharpless who is a one-time author in Molecules!

Díaz, D.D.; Converso, A.; Sharpless, K.B.; Finn, M.G. 2,6-Dichloro-9-thiabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane: Multigram Display of Azide and Cyanide Components on a Versatile Scaffold. Molecules 2006, 11, 212-218. https://doi.org/10.3390/11040212.

Peer Review Week began 19 September 2022 under the theme of “Research Integrity: Creating and Supporting Trust in Research”. Through various blog articles, podcast, and webinar, we discussed this crucial subject throughout the week, celebrating the essential role peer review plays in maintaining research quality.

To begin, we held a Webinar on the topic. Professor Peter W. Choate and Dr. Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi joined Dr. Ioana Craciun, one of MDPI’s scientific officers, for an in-depth discussion.

We invite you to view the event recording:

During the week, the MDPI Blog in a series articles highlighted how good Peer Review safeguards research integrity. The following topics were covered:

• Peer Review Week 2022
• Research Integrity
• What We’ve Learned About Peer Review Reports
• 4 Steps to the Perfect Peer Review Report
• How to Write the Perfect Peer Review Report: An Interview
• Inviting Great Peer Reviewers

In a new edition of Insight Faster, an MDPI podcast, we were delighted to talk to the co-chairs of the Peer Review Week committee, Jayashree Rajagopalan (Senior Manager of Global Community Engagement for CACTUS) and Danielle Padula (Head of Marketing and Community Development at Scholastica) to get their take on this year’s event and its related topics.

You can find the Podcast here.

We hope you enjoy the contents!

Symmetry (ISSN: 2073-8994) will be attending the 12th National Organic Chemistry Conference of the Chinese Chemical Society, held in Hefei, China, from 25 to 29 September 2022. This conference aims to achieve an in-depth exchange of the latest research results in organic chemistry and related disciplines and to discuss the frontier trends and future development trends of organic chemistry. During this conference, MDPI (at booth #26) will welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest inspirations with us.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Symmetry (leading journal);
• IJMS;
• Molecules;
• Catalysts;
• Sustainability;
• Pharmaceuticals;
• Molbank;
• Organics;
• Chemistry.

If you plan on attending this conference, feel free to stop by our booth: #26. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions you may have.

For more information about the conference, please see the following link: http://12noc.ustc.edu.cn/.

A range of MDPI journals will be attending the Chinese Chemical Society Chirality China 2021 (2022) Symposium as exhibitors. This meeting will be held in Guangzhou, China, from 26 to 28 August 2022.

The conference theme: “Chiral Science Makes Life Better”.

The conference focuses on the following areas:

• New methods, new concepts, and new strategies for chiral synthesis;
• Mechanisms and laws of chiral amplification;
• Mechanism of interaction between chiral molecules and biological macromolecules;
• Structural and functional relationship of chiral substances;
• Synthetic technology for the production of chiral medicines and pesticides.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Pharmaceuticals (Leading);
• Pharmaceutics;
• IJMS;
• Chemistry.

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to start a conversation with us at our booth. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the link https://www.chemsoc.org.cn/meeting/CC2021/, or contact the Pharmaceuticals Editorial Office at [email protected].

MDPI will be attending RBMP 2022, held in Sevilla, Spain, from 14 to 16 September 2022. The Meeting of Plant Molecular Biology (RBMP) is the most important biennial event with the greatest impact on plant research, open to scientists from academia and industry. During this conference, MDPI (at the booth #25) welcomes researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share with us your latest inspirations.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• IJMS (leading journal);
• CIMB;
• Plants;
• Horticulturae;
• Applied Sciences;
• Antioxidants;
• Taxonomy.

If you plan on attending this conference, feel free to stop by our booth #25. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions you may have.

For more information about the conference, please see the following link: https://www.bcongresos.com/congresos/rbmp2022/.

MDPI will be attending SEBBM 2022, held in Malaga, Spain, from 6 to 9 September 2022.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Genes (leading journal);
• Biomolecules (co-leading);
• Cells (co-leading);
• Marine Drugs;
• JFB;
• Biochem;
• CIMB;
• Metabolites;
• Proteomes;
• IJMS.

If you plan on attending this conference, feel free to stop by our booth #25. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions you may have.

The 2021 citation metrics have been released in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), and we’re pleased to announce the following results for MDPI journals:

For more information on Impact Factors and what it means to index academic journals, please visit our related blog posts.

* Journals given their first Impact Factor in 2022

Source: 2021 Journal Impact Factors, Journal Citation Reports ^TM (Clarivate, 2022)

The 2021 citation metrics have been officially released in Scopus!

We are pleased to announce that 182 MDPI journals are included, of which:

● 21 journals received their first CiteScore.
● 85% of journals increased their CiteScore from 2020.
● 155 journals (85%) ranked above average, in at least one category.

The following 65 MDPI journals (36%) ranked among the top 25% of journals, in at least one category:

Source: 2021 CiteScores™ (Elsevier)

In order to acknowledge our reviewers, who so generously dedicate their time to reviewing papers and demonstrate diligence, professionalism, and timeliness when reviewing manuscripts, MDPI journals regularly offer outstanding reviewer awards to scholars who participate in the peer-review process.

We are proud to recognize winners for the year 2021 in the “Biology & Life Sciences” category for their outstanding contributions among extensive competition by presenting them with an Outstanding Reviewer Award.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the winners on their achievement.

MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

Biology:

• Enrico Vito Perrino, CIHEAM, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Italy
• Dhirendra Kumar, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, USA
• Carlos A. Viegas, Univesity of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
• Yuri Shavrukov, Flinders University, Australia
• Bipin Gaihre, Mayo Clinic, USA

Brain Sciences:

• Craig D. Workman, University of Iowa, USA
• Vivian Ciaramitaro, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA
• Yang Zhang, University of Minnesota, USA

Cells:

• Bonam Srinivasa Reddy, Université de Paris, France
• Homma Takujiro, Yamagata University, Japan
• Hwang, In Koo, Seoul National University, South Korea
• Kobeissy Firas, University of Florida, USA
• Rebelo, Sandra, University of Aveiro, Portugal

Diversity:

• Günter Gollmann, University of Vienna, Austria
• Stephan Koblmüller, University of Graz, Austria
• Emiliano Mori, Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri, Italy

Horticulturae:

• Joshua D. Klein, Agricultural Research Organization—The Volcani Center, Israel
• Ana Cristina S Figueiredo, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

Insects:

• Carmelo Peter Bonsignore, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Italy
• Klaus H. Hoffmann, University of Bayreuth, Germany
• Ivan Milosavljević, University of California, USA

Metabolites:

• Remigiusz Bachor, University of Wrocław, Poland
• Nguyen Phuoc Long, Inje University College of Medicine, South Korea
• Chi Chen, University of Minnesota, USA

Nutrients:

• Jadwiga Hamułka, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland
• Grace Campbell, University of Sydney, Australia
• Nicholas Norwitz, Harvard Medical School, USA
• Stefan Kabisch, Charité University Hospital Berlin, Germany
• Luis Rodrigo, University of Oviedo, Spain

Veterinary Sciences:

• Carlos Viegas, Univesity of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
• Arvind Sharma, The University of Queensland, Australia

MDPI’s Young Investigator Awards recognize promising junior researchers, acknowledge their contributions, and enhance communication among scientists. We are proud to present the 2021 winners in the “Biology & Life Sciences” category. The winners were selected by the journals’ editors.

We warmly congratulate the awarded young investigators for their outstanding contributions.

MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

Agriculture:

• Carlos Guzmán, University of Cordoba, Spain

Animals:

• Katharina Hohlbaum, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Cells:

• Uri Ben-David, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Diversity:

• Enrico Lunghi, Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China

Foods:

• Guodong Zhang, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

Horticulturae:

• Luke Bell, Temperate Horticulture, University of Reading, UK

International Journal of Molecular Sciences:

• Alessandro D’Urso, University of Catania, Italy.
• Apostolos Zaravinos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus
• Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez, University of Pennsylvania, USA
• Maria Teresa Caccamo, Messina University, Italy
• Tiziana Bonifacino, University of Genoa, Italy

Journal of Fungi:

• Federico Baltar, University of Vienna, Austria
• Rebecca Drummond, University of Birmingham, UK
• Miriam Oses-Ruiz, Public University of Navarre, Spain

Life:

• João Pedro da Silva Machado Lobo, University of Porto, Portugal
• Vincenzo Russo, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Italy

Metabolites:

• Gabriele Rocchetti, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Italy

Nutrients:

• Fiona Lavelle, Queen's University Belfast, UK
• Matthew Snelson, Monash University, Australia

Pathogens:

• Si Ming Man, Australian National University, Australia
• Jasper Fuk-Woo Chan, University of Hong Kong, China

Plants:

• Stefania Sut, University of Padova, Italy
• Mohamed Ahmed El-Esawi, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt

Vaccines:

• Nicholas M. Provine, University of Oxford, UK

Viruses:

• Nicholas S. Heaton, Duke University, USA

We are proud to recognize the winners of MDPI’s 2021 Travel Awards in the “Biology & Life Sciences” category for their outstanding presentations and to present them with the prize.

MDPI journals regularly offer travel awards to encourage talented junior scientists to present their latest research at academic conferences in specific fields, which helps to increase their influence.

The winners mentioned below were carefully selected by the journal editors based on an outline of their research and the work to be presented at an academic conference.

We would like to warmly congratulate the winners of 2021 Travel Awards and wish them the greatest success with their future research endeavors. MDPI will continue to enhance communication among scientists.

Agriculture:

• Zahra Bitarafan, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Norway
• Nikolaos Tsoulias, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB), Germany

Fermentation:

• Michela Verni, University of Bari, Italy
• Philipp Demling, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

Horticulturae:

• Jagveer Singh, Punjab Agricultural University, India
• Ibrar Hussain, State University of Londrina, Brazil

Microorganisms:

• Francis Muchaamba, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Methods and Protocols:

• Tanja Eisemann, SBP Medical Discovery Institute, USA

Nutrients:

• Mrinalini Dey, National Institute for Health Research, UK
• Ben Kirk, University of Melbourne, Australia
• Kirrilly Pursey, University of Newcastle, Australia
• Dieuwertje Kok, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
• Hanna Huber, University of Bonn, Germany
• Marlene Lages, University of Porto, Portugal
• Zohra S. Lassi, University of Adelaide, Australia
• Rik Olde Engberink, Amsterdam University Medicial Center, the Netherlands
• Sarah Warkentin, University of Porto (ISPUP), Portugal
• Álvaro Hernáez, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway
• Leila Abdelhamid, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, USA
• Maria Michela Cesare, University of Siena, Italy
• Kaisa Hiippala, University of Helsinki, Finland

Pathogens:

• Vanessa Silva, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Portugal
• Hejun Liu, Scripps Research Institute, USA
• Tomokazu Tamura, Princeton University, USA

Toxins:

• Cecilie Knudsen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
• Laura Biessy, Cawthron Institute, New Zealand
• Marcelo Mendes Rabelo, University of Florida, USA

Vaccines:

• Hee Chun Chung, Seoul National University, South Korea
• Alejandro Marin Lopez, Yale University, USA

The purpose of our Best Paper Awards is to promote and recognize the most impactful contributions published within MDPI journals.

The editors of each journal carefully selected reviews and research papers through a rigorous judging process based on criteria such as the scientific merit, overall impact, and the quality of presentation of the papers published in the journal last year.

We are honored to present the winners in the subject areas of “Biology & Life Sciences”, who were selected amongst extensive competition, and congratulate the authors for their outstanding scientific publications.

MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

Animals:

• “Effects of Dietary Betaine on Growth Performance, Digestive Function, Carcass Traitsand Meat Quality in Indigenous Yellow-Feathered Broilers under Long-Term Heat Stress”

by Wenchao Liu, Yilin Yuan, Chenyu Sun, Balamuralikrishnan Balasubramanian, Zhihui Zhao and Lilong An

Animals 2019, 9(8), 506, doi 10.3390/ani9080506

• “The Ethics of Human–Animal Relationships and Public Discourse: A Case Study of Lions Bred for Their Bones”

by Peter Coals, Dawn Burnham, Andrew Loveridge, David W. Macdonald, Michael ’t Sas-Rolfes, Vivienne L. Williams and John A. Vucetich

Animals 2019, 9(2), 52; doi 10.3390/ani9020052

• “The Potential Role of Insects as Feed: A Multi-Perspective Review”

by Giovanni Sogari, Mario Amato, Ilaria Biasato, Silvana Chiesa and Laura Gasco

Animals 2019, 9(4), 119; doi 10.3390/ani9040119

Antibodies:

• “Antibody Structure and Function: The Basis for Engineering Therapeutics”

by Mark L. Chiu; Dennis R. Goulet; Alexey Teplyakov and Gary L. Gilliland

Antibodies 2019, 8(4), 55; doi 10.3390/antib8040055

Antioxidants:

• “Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Flavanones from Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (licorice) Leaf Phytocomplexes: Identification of Licoflavanone as a Modulator of NF-kB/MAPK Pathway”

by Luca Frattaruolo, Gabriele Carullo, Matteo Brindisi, Sarah Mazzotta, Luca Bellissimo, Vittoria Rago, Rosita Curcio, Vincenza Dolce, Francesca Aiello and Anna Rita Cappello

Antioxidants 2019, 8(6), 186; doi 10.3390/antiox8060186

• “LC-ESI-QTOF/MS Characterisation of Phenolic Acids and Flavonoids in Polyphenol-Rich Fruits and Vegetables and Their Potential Antioxidant Activities”

by Chunhe Gu, Kate Howell, Frank R. Dunshea and Hafiz A. R. Suleria

Antioxidants 2019, 8(9), 405; doi 10.3390/antiox8090405

• “Nutritional Value, Chemical Composition and Cytotoxic Properties of Common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) in Relation to Harvesting Stage and Plant Part”

by Spyridon A. Petropoulos, Ângela Fernandes, Maria Inês Dias, Ioannis B. Vasilakoglou, Konstantinos Petrotos, Lillian Barros and Isabel C. F. R. Ferreira

Antioxidants 2019, 8(8), 293; doi 10.3390/antiox8080293

• “A Comprehensive Review on Lipid Oxidation in Meat and Meat Products”

by Rubén Domínguez, Mirian Pateiro, Mohammed Gagaoua, Francisco J. Barba, Wangang Zhang and José M. Lorenzo

Antioxidants 2019, 8(10), 429; doi 10.3390/antiox8100429

Biology:

• “The Mammalian Circadian Timing System and the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus as Its Pacemaker”

by Michael H. Hastings, Elizabeth S. Maywood and Marco Brancaccio

Biology 2019, 8(1), 13; doi 10.3390/biology8010013

• “Combined Effects of Acute Temperature Change and Elevated pCO₂ on the Metabolic Rates and Hypoxia Tolerances of Clearnose Skate (Rostaraja eglanteria), Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), and Thorny Skate (Amblyraja radiata)”

by Gail D. Schwieterman, Daniel P. Crear, Brooke N. Anderson, Danielle R. Lavoie, James A. Sulikowski, Peter G. Bushnell and Richard W. Brill

Biology 2019, 8(3), 56; doi 10.3390/biology8030056

Biomolecules:

• “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 Sitnikovaandrey Kajava and Mayya Uspenskaya

Biomolecules 2019, 9(8), 359; doi 10.3390/biom9080359

• “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

Cells:

• “Combined Inhibition of TGF-β Signaling and the PD-L1 Immune Checkpoint Is Differentially Effective in Tumor Models”

by Heng Sheng Sow, Jiang Ren, Marcel Camps, Ferry Ossendorp and Peter ten Dijke

Cells 2019, 8(4), 320; doi 10.3390/cells8040320

• “Exosome Treatment Enhances Anti-Inflammatory M2 Macrophages and Reduces Inflammation-Induced Pyroptosis in Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiomyopathy”

by Dinender K. Singla, Taylor A. Johnson and Zahra Tavakoli Dargani

Cells 2019, 8(10), 1224; doi 10.3390/cells8101224

• “Overview of Extracellular Vesicles, Their Origin, Composition, Purpose, and Methods for Exosome Isolation and Analysis”

by Laura M. Doyle and Michael Zhuo Wang

Cells 2019, 8(7), 727; doi 10.3390/cells8070727

• “Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine”

by Yu Han, Xuezhou Li, Yanbo Zhang, Yuping Han, Fei Chang and Jianxun Ding

Cells 2019, 8(8), 886; doi 10.3390/cells8080886

Genes:

• “A High-Quality De novo Genome Assembly from a Single Mosquito Using PacBio Sequencing”

by Sarah B. Kingan, Haynes Heaton, Juliana Cudini, Christine C. Lambert, Primo Baybayan, Brendan D. Galvin, Richard Durbin, Jonas Korlach and Mara K. N. Lawniczak

Genes 2019, 10(1), 62; doi 10.3390/genes10010062

• “Eukaryotic 5-methylcytosine (m⁵C) RNA Methyltransferases: Mechanisms, Cellular Functions, and Links to Disease”

by Katherine E Bohnsack, Claudia Höbartner and Markus T Bohnsack

Genes 2019, 10(2), 102; doi 10.3390/genes10020102

• “Tree Lab: Portable Genomics for Early Detection of Plant Viruses and Pests in Sub-Saharan Africa”

by Laura M. Boykin, Peter Sseruwagi, Titus Alicai, Elijah Ateka, Ibrahim Umar Mohammed, Jo-Ann L. Stanton, Charles Kayuki, Deogratius Mark, Tarcisius Fute, Joel Erasto, Hilda Bachwenkizi, Brenda Muga, Naomi Mumo, Jenniffer Mwangi, Phillip Abidrabo, Geoffrey Okao-Okuja, Geresemu Omuut, Jacinta Akol, Hellen B. Apio, Francis Osingada, Monica A. Kehoe, David Eccles, Anders Savill, Stephen Lamb, Tonny Kinene, Christopher B. Rawle, Abishek Muralidhar, Kirsty Mayall, Fred Tairo and Joseph Ndunguru

Genes 2019, 10(9), 632; doi 10.3390/genes10090632

• “Transcription Factors Associated with Abiotic and Biotic Stress Tolerance and Their Potential for Crops Improvement”

by Elamin Hafiz Baillo, Roy Njoroge Kimotho, Zhengbin Zhang and Ping Xu

Genes 2019, 10(10), 771; doi 10.3390/genes10100771

Horticulturae:

• “Recent Advances in Hormonal Regulation and Cross-Talk during Non-Climacteric Fruit Development and Ripening”

by Lida Fuentes, Carlos R. Figueroa and Monika Valdenegro

Horticulturae 2019, 5(2), 45; doi 10.3390/horticulturae5020045

• “Evaluation of Two Wild Populations of Hedge Mustard (Sisymbrium officinale (L.) Scop.) as a Potential Leafy Vegetable”

by Marta Guarise, Gigliola Borgonovo, Angela Bassoli and Antonio Ferrante

Horticulturae 2019, 5(1), 13; doi 10.3390/horticulturae5010013

Insects:

• “Olfactory Preference of Drosophila suzukii Shifts between Fruit and Fermentation Cues over the Season: Effects of Physiological Status”

by Rik Clymans, Vincent Van Kerckvoorde, Eva Bangels, Wannes Akkermans, Ammar Alhmedi, Patrick De Clercq, Tim Beliën and Dany bylemans

Insects 2019, 10(7), 200; doi 10.3390/insects10070200

• “Telenomus remus, a Candidate Parasitoid for the Biological Control of Spodoptera frugiperda in Africa, is already Present on the Continent”

by Marc Kenis, Hannalene du Plessis, Johnnie Van den Berg, Malick Niango Ba, Georg Goergen, Koffi Eric Kwadjo, Ibrahim Baoua, Tadele Tefera, Alan Buddie, Giovanni Cafà, Lisa Offord, Ivan Rwomushana and Andrew Polaszek

Insects 2019, 10(4), 92; doi 10.3390/insects10040092

• “Symbiotic Plant Biomass Decomposition in Fungus-Growing Termites”

by Rafael R. da Costa, Haofu Hu, Hongjie Li and Michael Poulsen

Insects 2019, 10(4), 87; doi 10.3390/insects10040087

International Journal of Molecular Sciences:

• “Aging, Melatonin, and the Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Networks”

by Rüdiger Hardeland

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(5), 1223; doi 10.3390/ijms20051223

• “Causative Links between Protein Aggregation and Oxidative Stress: A Review”

by Elise Lévy, Nadine El Banna, Dorothée Baïlle, Amélie Heneman-Masurel, Sandrine Truchet, Human Rezaei, Meng-Er Huang, Vincent Béringue, Davy Martin and Laurence Vernis

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(16), 3896; doi 10.3390/ijms20163896

• “Immunobiology of Atherosclerosis: A Complex Net of Interactions”

by Beatriz Herrero-Fernandez, Raquel Gomez-Bris, Beatriz Somovilla-Crespo and Jose Maria Gonzalez-Granado

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(21), 5293; doi 10.3390/ijms20215293

• “Development of a Gut-on-a-Chip Model for High Throughput Disease Modeling and Drug Discovery”

by Claudia Beaurivage, Elena Naumovska, Yee Xiang Chang, Edo D. Elstak, Arnaud Nicolas, Heidi Wouters, Guido van Moolenbroek, Henriëtte L. Lanz, Sebastiaan J. Trietsch, Jos Joore, Paul Vulto, Richard A.J. Janssen, Kai S. Erdmann, Jan Stallen and Dorota Kurek

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(22), 5661; doi 10.3390/ijms20225661

• “Triple-Negative Breast Cancer with High Levels of Annexin A1 Expression Is Associated with Mast Cell Infiltration, Inflammationand Angiogenesis”

by Maiko Okano, Masanori Oshi, Ali Linsk Butash, Eriko Katsuta, Kazunoshin Tachibana, Katsuharu Saito, Hirokazu Okayama, Xuan Peng, Li Yan, Koji Kono, Toru Ohtake and Kazuaki Takabe

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(17), 4197; doi 10.3390/ijms20174197

• “CGRP Induces Differential Regulation of Cytokines from Satellite Glial Cells in Trigeminal Ganglia and Orofacial Nociception”

by Shaista Afroz, Rieko Arakaki, Takuma Iwasa, Masamitsu Oshima, Maki Hosoki, Miho Inoue, Otto Baba, Yoshihiro Okayama and Yoshizo Matsuka

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(3), 711; doi 10.3390/ijms20030711

Life:

• “Characterization of Resistance in Gram-Negative Urinary Isolates Using Existing and Novel Indicators of Clinical Relevance: A 10-Year Data Analysis”

by Márió Gajdács, Zoltán Bátori, Marianna Ábrók, Andrea Lázár and Katalin Burián

Life 2020, 10(2), 16; doi 10.3390/life10020016

• “Neuroprotection or Neurotoxicity of Illicit Drugs on Parkinson’s Disease”

by Carla Ferreira, Catarina Almeida, Sandra Tenreiro and Alexandre Quintas

Life 2020, 10(6), 86; doi 10.3390/life10060086

Nutrients:

• “Gut Microbiome: Profound Implications for Diet and Disease”

by Ronald D. Hills, Benjamin A. Pontefract, Hillary R. Mishcon, Cody A. Black, Steven C. Sutton and Cory R. Theberge

Nutrients 2019, 11(7), 1613; doi 10.3390/nu11071613

• “Vitamin C Can Shorten the Length of Stay in the ICU: A Meta-Analysis”

by Harri Hemilä and Elizabeth Chalker

Nutrients 2019, 11(4), 708; doi 10.3390/nu11040708

• “Early Time-Restricted Feeding Improves 24-Hour Glucose Levels and Affects Markers of the Circadian Clock, Aging, and Autophagy in Humans”

by Humaira Jamshed, Robbie A. Beyl, Deborah L. Della Manna, Eddy S. Yang, Eric Ravussin and Courtney M. Peterson

Nutrients 2019, 11(6), 1234; doi 10.3390/nu11061234

Pathogens:

• “Alteration of Gut Microbiota in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Cause or Consequence? IBD Treatment Targeting the Gut Microbiome”

by Israr Kha, Naeem Ullah, Lajia Zha, Yanrui Bai, Ashiq Khan, Tang Zhao, Tuanjie Che and Chunjiang Zhang

Pathogens 2019, 8(3), 126; doi 10.3390/pathogens8030126

• “Candida albicans Interactions with Mucosal Surfaces during Health and Disease”

by Spyridoula-Angeliki Nikou,Nessim Kichik, Rhys Brown, Nicole O. Ponde, Jemima Ho, Julian R. Naglik and Jonathan P. Richardson

Pathogens 2019, 8(2), 53; doi 10.3390/pathogens8020053

• “Bacteriophages in Natural and Artificial Environments”

by Steven Batinovic, Flavia Wassef, Sarah A. Knowler, Daniel T.F. Rice, Cassandra R. Stanton, Jayson Rose, Joseph Tucci, Tadashi Nittami, Antony Vinh, Grant R. Drummond, Christopher G. Sobey, Hiu Tat Chan, Robert J. Seviour, Steve Petrovski and Ashley E. Franks

Pathogens 2019, 8(3), 100; doi 10.3390/pathogens8030100

Plants:

• “Plant Disease Detection and Classification by Deep Learning”

by Muhammad Hammad Saleem, Johan Potgieter and Khalid Mahmood Arif 

Plants 2019, 8(11), 468; doi 10.3390/plants8110468

• “Involvement of Phenolic Acids in Short-Term Adaptation to Salinity Stress is Species-Specific among Brassicaceae”

by Ida Linić, Dunja Šamec, Jiří Grúz, Valerija Vujčić Bok, Miroslav Strnad and Branka Salopek-Sondi

Plants 2019, 8(6), 155; doi 10.3390/plants8060155

• “Isoform-Specific NO Synthesis by Arabidopsis thaliana Nitrate Reductase”

by Marie Agatha Mohn, Besarta Thaqi and Katrin Fischer-Schrader

Plants 2019, 8(3), 67; doi 10.3390/plants8030067

• “GWAS for Starch-Related Parameters in Japonica Rice (Oryza sativa L.)”

by Chiara Biselliandrea Volante, Francesca Desiderio, Alessandro Tondelli, Alberto Gianinetti, Franca Finocchiaro, Federica Taddei, Laura Gazza, Daniela Sgrulletta, Luigi Cattivelli and Giampiero Valè

Plants 2019, 8(8), 292; doi 10.3390/plants8080292

1. “TNMplot.com: A Web Tool for the Comparison of Gene Expression in Normal, Tumor and Metastatic Tissues”
Bartha, Á.; Győrffy, B.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(5), 2622; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22052622
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/5/2622

2. “Analytical Methods Used in Determining Antioxidant Activity: A Review”
Munteanu, I.G.; Apetrei, C
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(7), 3380; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22073380
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/7/3380

3. “In Silico Investigation of the New UK (B.1.1.7) and South African (501Y.V2) SARS-CoV-2 Variants with a Focus at the ACE2–Spike RBD Interface”
Villoutreix, B.O.; Calvez, V.; Marcelin, A.-G.; Khatib, A.-M.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(4), 1695; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22041695
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/4/1695

4. “The Chemistry of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Revisited: Outlining Their Role in Biological Macromolecules (DNA, Lipids and Proteins) and Induced Pathologies”
Juan, C.A.; Pérez de la Lastra, J.M.; Plou, F.J.; Pérez-Lebeña, E.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(9), 4642; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22094642
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/9/4642

5. “Silk Fibroin as a Functional Biomaterial for Tissue Engineering”
Sun, W.; Gregory, D.A.; Tomeh, M.A.; Zhao, X.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(3), 1499; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22031499
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/3/1499

6. “Can SARS-CoV-2 Virus Use Multiple Receptors to Enter Host Cells?”
Gadanec, L.K.; McSweeney, K.R.; Qaradakhi, T.; Ali, B.; Zulli, A.; Apostolopoulos, V.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(3), 992; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22030992
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/3/992

7. “Fabrication and Applications of Microfluidic Devices: A Review”
Niculescu, A.-G.; Chircov, C.; Bîrcă, A.C.; Grumezescu, A.M.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(4), 2011; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22042011
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/4/2011

8. “The History and Mystery of Alveolar Epithelial Type II Cells: Focus on Their Physiologic and Pathologic Role in Lung”
Ruaro, B.; Salton, F.; Braga, L.; Wade, B.; Confalonieri, P.; Volpe, M.C.; Baratella, E.; Maiocchi, S.; Confalonieri, M.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(5), 2566; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22052566
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/5/2566

9. “Neutrophil Extracellular Traps and Their Implications in Cardiovascular and Inflammatory Disease”
Klopf, J.; Brostjan, C.; Eilenberg, W.; Neumayer, C.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(2), 559; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22020559
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/2/559

10. “The Role of Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-α) in Autoimmune Disease and Current TNF-α Inhibitors in Therapeutics”
Jang, D.-i.; Lee, A.-H.; Shin, H.-Y.; Song, H.-R.; Park, J.-H.; Kang, T.-B.; Lee, S.-R.; Yang, S.-H.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(5), 2719; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22052719
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/5/2719

1. “A Review of SARS-CoV-2 and the Ongoing Clinical Trials”
Tu, Y.-F.; Chien, C.-S.; Yarmishyn, A.A.; Lin, Y.-Y.; Luo, Y.-H.; Lin, Y.-T.; Lai, W.-Y.; Yang, D.-M.; Chou, S.-J.; Yang, Y.-P.; Wang, M.-L.; Chiou, S.-H.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(7), 2657; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21072657
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/7/2657

2. “Health Impact of Silver Nanoparticles: A Review of the Biodistribution and Toxicity Following Various Routes of Exposure”
Ferdous, Z.; Nemmar, A.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(7), 2375; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21072375
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/7/2375

3. “Mechanisms of Multidrug Resistance in Cancer Chemotherapy”
Bukowski, K.; Kciuk, M.; Kontek, R.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(9), 3233; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21093233
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/9/3233

4. “COVID-19 and Individual Genetic Susceptibility/Receptivity: Role of ACE1/ACE2 Genes, Immunity, Inflammation and Coagulation. Might the Double X-Chromosome in Females Be Protective against SARS-CoV-2 Compared to the Single X-Chromosome in Males?”
Gemmati, D.; Bramanti, B.; Serino, M.L.; Secchiero, P.; Zauli, G.; Tisato, V.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(10), 3474; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21103474
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/10/3474

5. “Understanding MAPK Signaling Pathways in Apoptosis”
Yue, J.; López, J.M.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(7), 2346; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21072346
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/7/2346

6. “Healthy Effects of Plant Polyphenols: Molecular Mechanisms”
Leri, M.; Scuto, M.; Ontario, M.L.; Calabrese, V.; Calabrese, E.J.; Bucciantini, M.; Stefani, M.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(4), 1250; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21041250
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/4/1250

7. “Regulatory Mechanism of MicroRNA Expression in Cancer”
Ali Syeda, Z.; Langden, S.S.S.; Munkhzul, C.; Lee, M.; Song, S.J.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(5), 1723; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21051723
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/5/1723

8. “Pathophysiology of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus”
Galicia-Garcia, U.; Benito-Vicente, A.; Jebari, S.; Larrea-Sebal, A.; Siddiqi, H.; Uribe, K.B.; Ostolaza, H.; Martín, C.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(17), 6275; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21176275
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/17/6275

9. “Chitosan Derivatives and Their Application in Biomedicine”
Wang, W.; Meng, Q.; Li, Q.; Liu, J.; Zhou, M.; Jin, Z.; Zhao, K.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(2), 487; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21020487
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/2/487

10. “Targeting MAPK Signaling in Cancer: Mechanisms of Drug Resistance and Sensitivity”
Lee, S.; Rauch, J.; Kolch, W.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(3), 1102; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21031102
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/3/1102

The International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IJMS, ISSN: 1422-0067) editorial team is pleased to announce the launch of a new Section, “Molecular Nanoscience”. This Section aims to rapidly publish contributions pertaining to the self-organization, structure, function, and application of all aspects of nanoassemblies, with a particular focus on the functional significance of these studies. The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Nanoassemblies;
• Nanomedicines;
• Nanotechnology;
• Nanosensors;
• Nanocatalysts;
• Nanocomposites;
• Nanobots;
• Nanomachines;
• Single-molecule approaches;
• Computational modeling of nanosystems.

Prof. Dr. Yuri Lyubchenko (University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA) is serving as the Editor-in-Chief for this Section. We are currently recruiting Editorial Board Members, Guest Editors, and Topical Advisory Panel Members for this new Section. If you would like to build a platform to provide the scientific community in your area with the opportunity to work on an interconnected set of papers on an innovative topic(s), please do not hesitate to join us.

Welcome to apply to be Guest Editor or Topical Advisory Panel at the following link:
https://www.mdpi.com/journalproposal/sendproposalspecialissue/ijms
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms/topical_advisory_panel_application

Please do not hesitate to contact the Editorial Office ([email protected]) for further details and clarification.

We look forward to receiving your proposals or submissions.

It is an honor for us to share the latest news about the 4th ISFMS: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Druggability of Proteins. This conference will take place in the biomedical campus of the University of Florence, Florence, Italy, from 6 to 9 September 2022. The location is very close to the main city hospital and can be easily accessed from the local airport, train station or city center.

The conference is chaired by Professor Claudiu T. Supuran, Professor Paola Gratteri, and Professor Silvia Selleri from the University of Florence, Italy, and Dr. Clemente Capasso from the Italian National Research Council. This conference will bring together leading molecular biologists from around the world to share their recent findings on a range of topics related to the biochemistry, molecular biology, and druggability of proteins:

• Molecular Biology of Proteins;
• Structure and Function of Proteins;
• Proteins as Drug Targets.

Confirmed renowned experts dedicated to such research fields will also join our conference:

• Prof. Dr. Shoukat Dedhar (Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada);
• Prof. Dr. Binghe Wang (Department of Chemistry, and Center for Diagnostics and Therapeutic, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA);
• Prof. Dr. Marianna A. Patrauchan (Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, USA);
• Prof. Dr. William Donald (School of Chemistry, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Australia, Sydney, Australia);
• Prof. Dr. Jean-Yves WINUM (IBMM - Pôle Chimie Balard Recherche, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France);
• Prof. Dr. Ionel Mangalagiu (Faculty of Chemistry, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Iasi, Romania);
• Prof. Dr. Vladimir N. Uversky (Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA);
• Prof. Dr. Giuseppina De Simone (Biostructure and Bioimaging Institute-CNR, Naples, Italy);
• Prof. Dr. Daniel P. Flaherty (Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University, USA);
• Dr. Lukasz Jaremko (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).

Important Dates:

• Abstract submission: 3 May 2022;
• Acceptance notification: 1 June 2022;
• Early bird registration: 10 June 2022;
• Covering author registration: 20 July 2022.

We very much look forward to seeing you at this exciting meeting in Florence. Please feel free to circulate this announcement to colleagues who may be interested in this conference.

More details about the conference can be found on the following link: https://isfms2021.sciforum.net/.

The IJMS Editorial Office is pleased to inform you that applications are open for the Topical Advisory Panel. Should you decide to serve on the Topical Advisory Panel, you would be responsible for some of the following tasks, depending on your availability:

• Providing regular reviews of manuscripts;
• Setting up at least one Special Issue (SI) in partnership with a senior researcher within two years of the appointment and proposing a detailed strategy plan for the SI. The topic of the proposal should be within the scope of IJMS. The scope of the Special Issue should be broad enough to attract a reasonable number of submissions but narrow enough to provide a cohesive collection of articles. The Special Issue should cover a small part of the scope of IJMS;
• Providing a detailed strategy plan for the SI including assisting in preparing the Special Issues/Topics title, aim and scope, summary, and keywords, soliciting papers and promoting the SI;
• Providing support for the Special Issues/Topics related to your expertise when the Guest Editor(s) is not available. This includes SI promotion via social media and giving advice on some scientific cases;
• Promoting our journal at conferences (adding 1–2 slides into your presentation, distributing flyers, recommending the journal to your colleagues, etc.), on social media and other relevant platforms;
• Working with Editorial Board Members or the Editorial Office to promote high-quality/featured papers (for example, writing summaries or highlights for editor-selected papers).

To qualify as a Topical Advisory Panel member, applicants must:

• Have expertise and experience in the field related to IJMS;
• Have completed their Ph.D. within approximately the last 10 years;
• Have published at least 6–8 papers in the last 5 years as a first author or corresponding author;
• Currently hold an independent research position in academia or government institute.

Each year, members’ performance is evaluated, and outstanding members are promoted to the Editorial Board by the Editor-in-Chief. Please click on the following link to submit your application: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms/topical_advisory_panel_application.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Editorial Office ([email protected]) for further details and clarification.

IJMS Editorial Office

The Signal Transduction Society (STS) is pleased to announce that the STS Honorary Medal 2021, co-sponsored by the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IJMS, ISSN: 1422-0067), was awarded to Prof. Peter H. Krammer (Heidelberg, Germany) at the 24th annual conference of the STS held in Weimar, Germany, from 15 to 17 November 2021. The STS Honorary Medal is the most prestigious award of the STS and is presented every year to an outstanding scientist who inspired scientists all over the world to work on receptors, mediators, or genes involved in signal transduction processes. Since 2017, the IJMS has been a co-sponsor of this award.

The STS Honorary Medal was awarded to Prof. Krammer for his lifetime contributions to the elucidation of cell death signaling. Prof. Krammer identified the death receptor CD95 (APO-1/Fas), the first known cell membrane-integral protein to induce cell death at this time. He demonstrated that apoptosis, a morphologically defined form of programmed cell death, is an intrinsic physiological process within cells. He identified the death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) and the function of its components such as caspase-8 and c-FLIP. He described activation-induced cell death (AICD) on the single cell level and how T cell death contributes to immunological tolerance.

His ideas and innovative experimental approaches exceptionally influenced our current understanding of apoptosis signaling and its contribution to tolerance and cancer development.

Prof. Krammer has inspired, supported, and guided generations of students and fellows. He and his research have impacted an entire scientific era.

A list of all Past Recipients of the STS Honorary Medal is available at the STS website.

The IJMS (ISSN: 1422-0067) editorial team is pleased to announce this open call for Special Issue proposals, to provide a group of authors with the opportunity to work on an interconnected set of papers on an innovative topic. We would like to solicit high-quality proposals, which will be evaluated through a competitive procedure on a rolling basis throughout the year.

In order to ensure that the topic of your proposal is within the scope of IJMS, please read the aim and scope of IJMS at the following website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms/about.

Please click on the following link to submit your proposals: https://www.mdpi.com/journalproposal/sendproposalspecialissue/ijms.

The following information must be provided in a proposal:

• A 150–200-word summary rationally explaining the significance, novelty, technical advancement, and adherence to the scope of the journal of the proposed topic;
• 5–15 keywords on the topic;
• An anticipated deadline (we normally run a Special Issue for 6–8 months);
• A list of at least eight confirmed submissions (if you have not collected 8 planned papers, please send your proposal to [email protected], along with a list of at least 40 potential authors in related research fields);
• A brief resume of the proposed Guest Editors, together with their information (title, name, email, affiliation, personal website, and keywords of interests).

The benefits of being a Guest Editor are as follows:

• Special discounts will be offered to your submissions and any articles you invite;
• Expanding your network by engaging with experts in the field;
• Keeping up with developments in the field;
• Increasing your own influence;
• Recognition by the promotion evaluation committee;
• If 10 or more papers are published in the Special Issue, the Special Issue can be published as a printable book, and each Guest Editor will receive a complimentary hard copy.

The responsibilities of being a Guest Editor are as follows:

• Refining the Special Issue title, scope, and schedule, and providing the required information to set up the Special Issue website;
• Inviting submissions;
• Promoting the Special Issue within networks on social media, personal websites, relevant networks, and any attended conferences when possible;
• Pre-checking, making decisions, and overviewing the process of manuscript submission;
• Writing an editorial when the Special Issue is successfully published.

The Editorial Office will take care of setting up the Special Issue website, arranging the promotional materials, assisting with invitations to contribute papers, and it will also take care of the rest of the administrative tasks associated with the peer-review process, including inviting reviewers, collating reviews, contacting authors, and professional production before publication.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Editorial Office ([email protected]) for further details and clarification.

We look forward to receiving your proposals.

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Best Poster Award and Best Oral Presentation Award, sponsored by the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, from the international conference Ion Transport in Organic and Inorganic Membranes, that was held in Sochi, Russia, from 20 to 25 September, 2021.

The editorial team of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences would like to congratulate the winner of the Best Poster Award at the international conference Ion Transport in Organic and Inorganic Membranes, Molodtsova Tatyana Alexandrovna (Platov South-Russian State Polytechnic University (NPI), Novocherkassk, Russia), for her work “Electrochemical synthesis of γ-Fe₂O₃/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite for sensitive detection of hydrogen peroxide”.

Molodtsova Tatyana Alexandrovna is a second-year postgraduate student at Platov South-Russian State Polytechnic University (NPI). She graduated with honors from the bachelor's program in nanomaterials (MISIS, Moscow) and the master's program in chemical technologies at the Faculty of Technology (NPI, Novocherkassk). Tatyana currently works in the scientific group of Professor Nina Smirnova in the field of hydrogen technologies. Her work focuses on the electrochemical synthesis of new materials for photo-, electro- and photoelectrocatalysis, as well as for photoelectrochemical water-splitting reactions.

The editorial team of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences would also like to congratulate the winner of the Best Oral Presentation Award at the international conference Ion Transport in Organic and Inorganic Membranes, Gorobchenko Andrey Dmitrievich (Kuban State University, Krasnodar, Russia), for his work “Non-stationary model of ampholyte transport in membrane system during electrodialysis”.

Gorobchenko Andrey Dmitrievich is a second-year postgraduate student at Kuban State University. He graduated with honors from the bachelor's and master's programs in technosphere safety at the Faculty of Chemistry. Andrey currently works in the scientific group of Professor Victor Nikonenko in the field of the physical and chemical aspects of membrane processes. His work focuses on the theoretical study of mass transfer processes in electromembrane systems. With the help of modern software packages, he creates mathematical models that not only provide a fundamental understanding of unexplored or unknown phenomena in membrane systems, but also improve real industrial devices.

It is our great honor to congratulate the Editorial Board Members and Editors in MDPI's journals who have been distinguished as 2021 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate, according to Web of Science data. We herewith express our gratitude for the immense impact the named researchers continue to make on scientific progress and on our journals' development.

Clarivate's annual list of Highly Cited Researchers^TM identifies the most highly cited scientists for the past decade. Their impactful papers are among the top 1 per cent in the citation distribution of one or more of 22 fields analyzed in the "Essential Science Indicators", distinguishing them as hugely influential among their peers.

The full list of 2021 Highly Cited Researchers  can be accessed at the following webpage in the Web of Science^TM https://recognition.webofscience.com/awards/highly-cited/2021/.

--- Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) is a Clarivate product.

Academic editors play a crucial role in leading our journals and ensuring that each article undergoes a robust and timely peer-review. With the launch of Topics this year and addition of Topic Editors to our family of academic editors, we decided it would be a good time to restructure our academic boards, thus providing more clarity and support for each role. MDPI is pleased to announce the launch of a new position—Topical Advisory Panel Member, that will replace the previous position of Topics Board Member. The Topical Advisory Panel will be comprised of early career researchers eager to gain experience in editorial work.

The main responsibility of the new members of the Topical Advisory Panel is to regularly provide support to Guest Editors, Topic Editors, and Section Board Members. The responsibilities of the Topical Advisory Panel are available here: https://www.mdpi.com/editors.

Each year, the members’ performances are evaluated, and outstanding members are promoted to the Editorial Board by the Editor-in-Chief.

To qualify as a Topical Advisory Panel Member, applicants must:

• Have expertise and experience in the field related to the journal;
• Have received a Ph.D. in the last 10 years, approximately;
• Have at least 6-8 published papers in the last 5 years as first author or corresponding author;
• Currently hold an independent research position in academia or a government institute.

If you are interested in this role, please contact the editorial office by email.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Founded in 1996, MDPI was one of the first fully Open Access publisher. Over 25 years MDPI has grown to become the largest Open Access publisher globally, publishing over 160,000 articles across more than 350 journals in 2020. At the core, MDPI was founded in response to a pressing need of fast publication and inclusion. The scholar was set at the centre of the publication process for the first time. Acting as a service provider, rather than a product provider, MDPI exists to help scientists achive their objective to disseminate research results. At MDPI, we believe scientists deserve a better service from the publishing world.

The International Open Access Week (Open Access Week), founded by the SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) Alliance and student partners in 2008, has been successfully running for 13 years. As an advocate and pioneer of open access publishing, MDPI actively responds to the call of International Open Access Week. This year’s theme of “It Matters How We Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity” highlights the Recommendation’s call for equitable participation from all authors and readers.

For the last 25 years, MDPI has been committed to disseminating open research. Here is a video showing MDPI’s Commitment to Equity, Inclusion and Diversity for More than 25 Years.

International Open Access Week is an important opportunity to catalyze new conversations, create connections across and between communities that can facilitate this co-design, and advance progress in the building of more equitable foundations for opening knowledge—discussions and actions that need to be continued, year in and year out. MDPI has always aimed to provide professional and efficient publishing services to scholars around the world.

Our mission is to make scientific research accessible to everyone; this year, we interview and hold discussions with open science ambassadors on how to build an equal and inclusive environment for open science. Academic editors help us collaborate with more institutions to advocate for open access ideas.

Read our anniversary blog post: "Sharing 'Collective Human Knowledge': The Benefits of Open Access Publication"

Besides this, our scientific community is a key driver of our success and MDPI’s remarkable growth. Despite the pandemic, we have prepared online conferences and workshops to gather scholars from different communities.

The Basel Sustainable Publishing online forum provides an equal opportunity for stakeholders and researchers from multi-cultural environments to exchange ideas and eliminate barriers to participation.

Conference date: 25 October 2021, online
Conference website: https://bspf2021.sciforum.net/
Main topics: MDPI discusses the current dilemma of open access science from various perspectives such as governments, libraries, and publishers, and related measures on how to change the status quo of discrimination from a global perspective.

We aim to support equality, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility in scholarly communications. We collaborate with universities and key laboratories and have scholarly communications with researchers, teachers, and students on open access workshops.

• 25 October 2021
  Energies journal and Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

• 28 October 2021
  Machines journal and State Key Laboratory of Traction Power, Southwest Jiaotong University

• 29 October 2021
  Processes journal and Beijing Institute of Technology

• 29 October 2021
  Coatings journal and Wuhan University of Technology

MDPI is committed to providing open access and high-quality publishing services for scholars and promoting rapid dissemination of academic achievements. We hope to promote the practices and policies of open access publishing and diversify the dissemination of academic achievements.