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.

The scientists who were selected into 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 citation frequency in the top 1% of academic subjects and the same year of publication in the Web of Science^TM 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 Highly Cited Researcher 2022 designations. The list is truly global, spanning 69 countries or regions and spread across a diverse range of research sciences and social sciences.

According to statistics, 6 members of the Editorial Board of Life (ISSN: 2075-1729) have been selected into the list of Highly Cited Researchers of Clarivate in 2022. They are being recognized for their high-quality scientific research achievements and outstanding contributions to professional fields. The Life journal office sincerely congratulates all elected Editorial Board Members and hopes that they continue to have an academically productive relationship with the journal.

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.

MDPI is pleased to announce the publication of the inaugural issues of eight new Open Access journals. We wish to thank all the Editors-in-Chief, Associate Editors, and Editorial Board Members involved who will be shaping the future course of these brand-new journals.

The new titles presented below were set up as a result of our market research, which showed there is a need for Gold Open Access journals in each of these areas of research. At MDPI, the same trusted, fast, and rigorous peer-review process is employed across journals and disciplines.

MDPI is committed to promoting diverse open science exchanges and provides support to academic organizations and institutions willing to join the open access publishing model.

If you are interested in jointly creating more open access journals with us to publish cutting-edge research, please send your journal proposal application here, and please do not hesitate to contact us ([email protected]) for further details.

Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin that it produces. In 2019, about 8.8% of the worldwide adult population had diabetes. Considering how widespread the disease is, we would like to take this opportunity to extend our appreciation to all of the researchers who have contributed to the fight against this disease. In particular, we would like to highlight multiple research projects in this field, which cover the disease’s pathogenesis, clinical manifestation, early detection, and new therapeutic strategies, as well as the pandemic's prevalence and incidence.

The list of relevant papers can be seen below:

“The Effects of Metformin on the Gut Microbiota of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Two-Center, Quasi-Experimental Study”
by Nakajima, H.; Takewaki, F.; Hashimoto, Y.; Kajiyama, S.; Majima, S.; Okada, H.; Senmaru, T.; Ushigome, E.; Nakanishi, N.; Hamaguchi, M.; Yamazaki, M.; Tanaka, Y.; Oikawa, Y.; Nakajima, S; Ohno, H. and Fukui, M.
Life 2020, 10(9), 195; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10090195
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/9/195

“Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Pancreatic Alpha and Beta Cells Associated with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus”
by Grubelnik, V.; Zmazek, J.; Markovič, R.; Gosak, M. and Marhl, M.
Life 2020, 10(12), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120348
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/12/348

“Loganic Acid, an Iridoid Glycoside Extracted from Cornus mas L. Fruits, Reduces of Carbonyl/Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in Plasma and Restores Antioxidant Balance in Leukocytes of Rats with Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes Mellitus”
by Dzydzan, O.; Brodyak, I.; Sokół-Łętowska, A.; Kucharska, A. Z. and Sybirna, N.
Life 2020, 10(12), 349; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120349
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/12/349

“Improvement of Platelet Respiration by Cell–Permeable Succinate in Diabetic Patients Treated with Statins”
by Avram, V. F.; Bîna, A. M.; Sima, A.; Aburel, O. M.; Sturza, A.; Burlacu, O.; Timar, R. Z.; Muntean, D. M.; Elmér, E. and Crețu, O. M.
Life 2021, 11(4), 288; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11040288
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/4/288

“Red Blood Cell Distribution Width Is Associated with Deterioration of Renal Function and Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality in Patients with Diabetic Kidney Disease”
by Roumeliotis, S.; Stamou, A.; Roumeliotis, A.; Theodoridis, M.; Leivaditis, K.; Panagoutsos, S. and Liakopoulos, V.
Life 2020, 10(11), 301; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10110301
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/11/301

“Factors Affecting a Short-Term Response to Anti-VEGF Therapy in Diabetic Macular Edema”
by Usui-Ouchi, A.; Tamaki, A.; Sakanishi, Y.; Tamaki, K.; Mashimo, K.; Sakuma, T. and Ebihara, N.
Life 2021, 11(2), 83. https://doi.org/10.3390/life11020083
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/2/83

“Association of Metabolically Healthy and Unhealthy Obesity Phenotype with Markers Related to Obesity, Diabetes among Young, Healthy Adult Men. Analysis of MAGNETIC Study”
by Lejawa, M.; Osadnik, K.; Czuba, Z.; Osadnik, T. and Pawlas, N.
Life 2021, 11(12), 1350; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11121350
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/12/1350

“The Association of 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl-CoA Reductase, Apolipoprotein E, and Solute Carrier Organic Anion Genetic Variants with Atorvastatin Response among Jordanian Patients with Type 2 Diabetes”
by Alhawari, H.; Jarrar, Y.; AlKhatib, M. A.; Alhawari, H.; Momani, M.; Zayed, A.; Alkamhawi, R. and Zihlif, M.
Life 2020, 10(10), 232; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10100232
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/10/232

“Peripheral Neuropathy Presents Similar Symptoms and Pathological Changes in Both High-Fat Diet and Pharmacologically Induced Pre- and Diabetic Mouse Models”
by Jaroslawska, J.; Korytko, A.; Zglejc-Waszak, K.; Antonowski, T.; Pomianowski, A. S.; Wasowicz, K.; Wojtkiewicz, J. and Juranek, J. K.
Life 2021, 11(11), 1267; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11111267
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/11/1267

“Use of Anti-Diabetic Agents in Non-Diabetic Kidney Disease: From Bench to Bedside”
by Chung, S. and Kim, G.-H.
Life 2021, 11(5), 389; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11050389
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/5/389

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!

Mitochondria play an increasingly central role in the context of cellular physiology. These organelles possess their own DNA (mtDNA), which is functionally coordinated with the nuclear genome as well as being involved in multiple metabolic functions to power life, and emerge as crucial cell components in a variety of diseases. We would like to take this opportunity to extend our appreciation to all the researchers who have contributed to mitochondria research.

The list of relevant papers can be seen below:

“Mitochondrial Dynamics, ROS, and Cell Signaling: A Blended Overview”
by Brillo, V.; Chieregato, L.; Leanza, L.; Muccioli, S. and Costa, R.
Life 2021, 11(4), 332; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11040332
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/4/332

“The Multifaceted Regulation of Mitochondria in Ferroptosis”
by Wu, H.; Wang, F.; Ta, N.; Zhang, T. and Gao, W.
Life 2021, 11(3), 222; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11030222
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/3/222

“Tricarboxylic Acid (TCA) Cycle Intermediates: Regulators of Immune Responses”
by Choi, I.; Son, H. and Baek, J.-H.
Life 2021, 11(1), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11010069
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/1/69

“Molecular and Supramolecular Structure of the Mitochondrial Oxidative Phosphorylation System: Implications for Pathology”
by Nesci, S.; Trombetti, F.; Pagliarani, A.; Ventrella, V.; Algieri, C.; Tioli, G. and Lenaz, G.
Life 2021, 11(3), 242; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11030242
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/3/242

“Role of Mitochondria in Viral Infections”
by Elesela, S. and Lukacs, N. W.
Life 2021, 11(3), 232; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11030232
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/3/232

“Dependence of Leydig Cell’s Mitochondrial Physiology on Luteinizing Hormone Signaling”
by Medar, M. L. J.; Marinkovic, D. Z.; Kojic, Z.; Becin, A. P.; Starovlah, I. M.; Kravic-Stevovic, T.; Andric, S. A. and Kostic, T. S.
Life 2021, 11(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11010019
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/1/19

“Mitochondrial Functionality in Inflammatory Pathology-Modulatory Role of Physical Activity”
by Casuso, R. A. and Huertas, J. R.
Life 2021, 11(1), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11010061
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/1/61

“PINK1: A Bridge between Mitochondria and Parkinson’s Disease”
by Gonçalves, F. B. and Morais, V. A.
Life 2021, 11(5), 371; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11050371
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/5/371

“Mitochondrial Kinases and the Role of Mitochondrial Protein Phosphorylation in Health and Disease”
by Kotrasová, V.; Keresztesová, B.; Ondrovičová, G.; Bauer, J. A.; Havalová, H.; Pevala, V.; Kutejová, E. and Kunová, N.
Life 2021, 11(2), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11020082
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/2/82

Fungi are among the most successful eukaryotes on Earth. They can shift across different growth forms according to the variation of physic or chemical conditions, adapting and exploiting virtually all environments, including extremes normally precluded among most life forms. Due to their tremendous metabolic possibilities, they may also adopt different lifestyles, acting as saprotrophs, symbionts, or parasites.

We would like to take this opportunity to extend our appreciation to all the researchers who have contributed to fungus research. In particular, we would like to highlight multiple research projects in this field, covering spanning biodiversity, community composition and interactions, fungal evolution, pathogenicity, ecology, biotechnology, and beyond.

The list of relevant papers can be seen below:

1. “A New Record for Microbial Perchlorate Tolerance: Fungal Growth in NaClO₄ Brines and its Implications for Putative Life on Mars”
by Heinz, J.; Krahn, T.; Schulze-Makuch, D.
Life 2020, 10(5), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10050053
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/5/53

2. “Endolithic Fungal Species Markers for Harshest Conditions in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica”
by Coleine, C.; Pombubpa, N.; Zucconi, L.; Onofri, S.; Stajich, J. E.; Selbmann, L.
Life 2020, 10(2), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10020013
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/2/13

3. “The Mycobiota of the Deep Sea: What Omics Can Offer”
by Vargas-Gastélum, L.; Riquelme, M.
Life 2020, 10(11), 292; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10110292
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/11/292

4. “Iron Ion Particle Radiation Resistance of Dried Colonies of Cryomyces antarcticus Embedded in Martian Regolith Analogues”
by Aureli, L.; Pacelli, C.; Cassaro, A.; Fujimori, A.; Moeller, R.; Onofri, S.
Life 2020, 10(12), 306; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120306
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/12/306

5. “An Overview of Genomics, Phylogenomics and Proteomics Approaches in Ascomycota”
by Muggia, L.; Ametrano, C. G.; Sterflinger, K.; Tesei, D.
Life 2020, 10(12), 356; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120356
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/12/356

6. “Shed Light in the DaRk LineagES of the Fungal Tree of Life—STRES”
by Selbmann, L.; Benkő, Z.; Coleine, C.; de Hoog, S.; Donati, C.; Druzhinina, I.; Emri, T.; Ettinger, C. L.; Gladfelter, A. S.; Gorbushina, A. A.; et.al.
Life 2020, 10(12), 362; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120362
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/12/362

7. “A Taxonomic Appraisal of Bambusicolous Fungi in Occultibambusaceae (Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes) with New Collections from Yunnan Province, China”
by Jiang, H.-B.; Phookamsak, R.; Hyde, K. D.; Mortimer, P. E.; Xu, J.-C.; Kakumyan, P.; Karunarathna, S. C.; Kumla, J.
Life 2021, 11(9), 932; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11090932
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/9/932

8. “Analysis of Soil Fungal and Bacterial Communities in Tianchi Volcano Crater, Northeast China”
by Wang, X.; Pecoraro, L.
Life 2021, 11(4), 280; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11040280
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/4/280

9. “Frenemies: Interactions between Rhizospheric Bacteria and Fungi from Metalliferous Soils”
by Rosatto, S.; Cecchi, G.; Roccotiello, E.; Di Piazza, S.; Di Cesare, A.; Mariotti, M. G.; Vezzulli, L.; Zotti, M.
Life 2021, 11(4), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11040273
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/4/273

10. “Proteomic Insight into the Symbiotic Relationship of Pinus massoniana Lamb and Suillus luteus towards Developing Al-Stress Resistance”
by Liu, H.; Chen, H.; Ding, G.; Li, K.; Wang, Y.
Life 2021, 11(2), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11020177
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/2/177

Since the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in China at the end of 2019, more than 456 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including more than 6 million deaths, have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition to infection control and prevention intervention to contain COVID-19, scientists have worked hard to develop effective treatments against SARS-CoV-2, and many studies have investigated the clinical efficacy and safety of anti-COVID-19 treatment. However, the findings of these studies have not been consistent. Moreover, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants has complicated the condition. We still urgently need updated evidence of the appropriate management of COVID-19.

We would like to take this opportunity to extend our appreciation to all the researchers who have contributed to the fight against this disease. In particular, we would like to highlight multiple research projects in this field, covering pathogenesis, clinical manifestation, early detection, new therapeutic strategies, and the pandemic's prevalence and incidence. The list of relevant papers can be seen below:

“A Focus on the Potential Antiviral Strategies in Early Phase Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19): A Narrative Review”
by Caterina Monari et al.
Life 2020, 10(8), 146; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10080146
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/8/146

“Post-COVID-19 Condition: Where Are We Now?”
by Paula Boaventura et al.
Life 2022, 12(4), 517; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12040517
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/4/517

“Long COVID in Children and Adolescents”
by Valentina Fainardi et al.
Life 2022, 12(2), 285; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12020285
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/2/285

“Pulmonary Complications after COVID-19”
by Petr Jakubec et al.
Life 2022, 12(3), 357; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12030357
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/3/357

“Robust Neutralizing Antibody Responses 6 Months Post Vaccination with BNT162b2: A Prospective Study in 308 Healthy Individuals”
by Evangelos Terpos et al.
Life 2021, 11(10), 1077; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11101077
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/10/1077

“Evidence of Long-Lasting Humoral and Cellular Immunity against SARS-CoV-2 Even in Elderly COVID-19 Convalescents Showing a Mild to Moderate Disease Progression”
by Bastian Fischer et al.
Life 2021, 11(8), 805; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11080805
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/8/805

“Depressive and Neurocognitive Disorders in the Context of the Inflammatory Background of COVID-19”
by Eliza Dąbrowska et al.
Life 2021, 11(10), 1056; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11101056
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/10/1056

“The Effects of Persistent Olfactory and Gustatory Dysfunctions on Quality of Life in Long-COVID-19 Patients”
by Luigi Angelo Vaira et al.
Life 2022, 12(2), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12020141
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/2/141

“Changes in the Mean Medical Visits Due to Psychiatric Disease in Korean Children and Adolescents Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic”
by So Young Kim et al.
Life 2022, 12(4), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12040600
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/4/600

“Self-Reported Long COVID in the General Population: Sociodemographic and Health Correlates in a Cross-National Sample”
by Tore Bonsaksen et al.
Life 2022, 12(6), 901; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12060901
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/6/901

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

“Potential for Applying Continuous Directed Evolution to Plant Enzymes: An Exploratory Study”

Jorge D. García-García et al.

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10090179

“Advances in Cereal Crop Genomics for Resilience under Climate Change”

Tinashe Zenda et al.

Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/6/502

“MicroRNAs: Potential Targets for Developing Stress-Tolerant Crops”

Saurabh Chaudhary et al.

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11040289

“Effect of Chlorination on Microbiological Quality of Effluent of a Full-Scale Wastewater Treatment Plant”

Ioanna Zerva et al.

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11010068

“Priming by High Temperature Stress Induces MicroRNA Regulated Heat Shock Modules Indicating Their Involvement in Thermopriming Response in Rice”

Akhilesh Kumar Kushawaha et al.

Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/4/291

“Biosensors: A Sneak Peek into Plant Cell’s Immunity”

Valentina Levak et al.

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11030209

“Sorghum’s Whole-Plant Transcriptome and Proteome Responses to Drought Stress: A Review”

Rudo Ngara et al.

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11070704

“Horizontal Gene Transfers in Plants”

Emilie Aubin et al.

Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/8/857

“A Label-Free Proteomic and Complementary Metabolomic Analysis of Leaves of the Resurrection Plant Xerophyta schlechteri during Dehydration”

Hawwa Gabier et al.

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11111242

“Tetraedron minimum, First Reported Member of Hydrodictyaceae to Accumulate Secondary Carotenoids”

Philipp Doppler et al.

“Bottom-Up Approaches to Synthetic Cooperation in Microbial Communities”
Daniel Rodríguez Amor and Martina Dal Bello
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life9010022

“Synthetic Approaches for Nucleic Acid Delivery: Choosing the Right Carriers”
Rong Ni et al.
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life9030059

“Synthetic Biology for Terraformation Lessons from Mars, Earth, and the Microbiome”
Nuria Conde-Pueyo et al.
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10020014

“TCA Cycle Replenishing Pathways in Photosynthetic Purple Non-Sulfur Bacteria Growing with Acetate”
Ekaterina Petushkova et al.
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11070711

“Analysis of the Innovation Trend in Cell-Free Synthetic Biology”
Conary Meyer et al.
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11060551

“Exploring the Impact of Terminators on Transgene Expression in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with a Synthetic Biology Approach”
Katrin Geisler et al.
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11090964

“Build-a-Cell: Engineering a Synthetic Cell Community”
Caroline Frischmon et al.
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11111176

“The Future of Origin of Life Research: Bridging Decades-Old Divisions”
Martina Preiner et al.
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10030020

“Aptamers, Riboswitches, and Ribozymes in S. cerevisiae Synthetic Biology”
Huanhuan Ge and Mario Andrea Marchisio
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11030248

“Synthetic Biology Approaches to Engineer Saccharomyces cerevisiae towards the Industrial Production of Valuable Polyphenolic Compounds”
João Rainha et al.
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10050056

“Novel Methylation Patterns Predict Outcomes in Uveal Melanoma”
Sarah Tadhg Ferrier et al.
Life 2020, 10, 248; 10.3390/life9030067
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10100248

“Treatment of Advanced Melanoma: Past, Present, and Future”
Taku Fujimura et al.
Life 2020, 10, 208; 10.3390/life10090208
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10090208

“SOX11, SOX10, and MITF Gene Interaction: A Possible Diagnostic Tool in Malignant Melanoma”
Marius-Alexandru Beleaua et al.
Life 2021, 11, 281; 10.3390/life11040281
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11040281

“Long-Term Maintained Response to Selective Internal Radiation Therapy in an Oligometastatic Uveal Melanoma Patient Treated with Concomitant Anti-PD-1 Therapy”
Ilaria Proietti et al.
Life 2021, 11, 692; 10.3390/life11070692
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11070692

“Potential Reasons for Unresponsiveness to Anti-PD1 Immunotherapy in Young Patients with Advanced Melanoma”
Devayani Machiraju et al.
Life 2021, 11, 1318; 10.3390/life11121318
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11121318

“Cancer Stem Cells in Head and Neck Metastatic Malignant Melanoma Express Components of the Renin–Angiotensin System”
Sam Siljee et al.
Life 2020, 10, 268; 10.3390/life10110268
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10110268

“Ephrin Receptors (Eph): EphA1, EphA5, and EphA7 Expression in Uveal Melanoma—Associations with Clinical Parameters and Patient Survival”
Malgorzata Gajdzis et al.
Life 2020, 10, 225; 10.3390/life10100225
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10100225

“Chromosomal Instability May Not Be a Predictor for Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors from a Comprehensive Bioinformatics Analysis”
Chiao-En Wu et al.
Life 2020, 10, 276; 10.3390/life10110276
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10110276

“Hippo Signaling Pathway as a New Potential Target in Non-Melanoma Skin Cancers: A Narrative Review”
Igor Aleksander Bednarski et al.
Life 2021, 11, 680; 10.3390/life11070680
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11070680

“Structure, Activity, and Function of the SETDB1 Protein Methyltransferase”
Mariam Markouli et al.
Life 2021, 11, 817; 10.3390/life11080817
Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11080817

Conference name: 8^th European Stroke Organisation Conference (ESOC)

Conference website: https://2022.eso-conference.org/

Date: 4–6 May 2022

Venue: Lyon, France

ESOC 2022, taking place 4–6 May 2022, is Europe’s leading forum, and indeed a leading forum worldwide for advances in research and clinical care of patients with cerebrovascular diseases. ESOC 2022 will live up to its expectation, and present to you a packed, high-quality scientific program, including major clinical trials, state-of-the-art seminars, educational workshops, scientific communications of the latest research, and debates about current controversies and dilemmas.

1. "Interaction of Oxidative Stress and Misfolded Proteins in the Mechanism of Neurodegeneration"
Abramov, A.Y.; Potapova, E.V.; Dremin, V.V. and Dunaev, A.V.
https://doi.org/10.3390/life10070101

2. "Amyloidogenic Intrinsically Disordered Proteins: New Insights into Their Self-Assembly and Their Interaction with Membranes"
Scollo, F. and La Rosa, C.
https://doi.org/10.3390/life10080144

3. "Optimization of Molecular Dynamics Simulations of c-MYC^1-88—An Intrinsically Disordered System"
Sullivan, S.S. and Weinzierl, R.O.J.
https://doi.org/10.3390/life10070109

4. "The Conformational Plasticity Vista of PDZ Domains"
Murciano-Calles, J.
https://doi.org/10.3390/life10080123

5. "Functional Mammalian Amyloids and Amyloid-Like Proteins"
Rubel, M.S.; Fedotov, S.A.; Grizel, A.V.; Sopova, J.V.; Malikova, O.A.; Chernoff, Y.O. and Rubel, A.A.
https://doi.org/10.3390/life10090156

1. “Universal Molecular Triggers of Stress Responses in Cyanobacterium Synechocystis”

Kirill S. Mironovet al.

Life 2019, 9, 67; 10.3390/life9030067

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life9030067

2. “On the Role and Production of Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) in the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803”

Moritz Koch et al.

Life 2020, 10, 47; 10.3390/life10040047

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10040047

3. “Diurnal Regulation of In Vivo Localization and CO2-Fixing Activity of Carboxysomes in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942”

Yaqi Sun et al.

Life 2020, 10, 169; 10.3390/life10090169

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10090169

4. “Over Expression of the Cyanobacterial Pgr5-Homologue Leads to Pseudoreversion in a Gene Coding for a Putative Esterase in Synechocystis 6803”

Ketty Margulis et al.

Life 2020, 10, 174; 10.3390/life10090174

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10090174

5. “The Role of the Cyanobacterial Type IV Pilus Machinery in Finding and Maintaining a Favourable Environment”

Fabian D. Conradi et al.

Life 2020, 10, 252; 10.3390/life10110252

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10110252

6. “Rapid Transcriptional Reprogramming Triggered by Alteration of the Carbon/Nitrogen Balance Has an Impact on Energy Metabolism in Nostoc sp. PCC 7120”

Marius Surleac et al.

Life 2020, 10, 297; 10.3390/life10110297

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10110297

7. “Genome Editing by CRISPR-Cas: A Game Change in the Genetic Manipulation of Chlamydomonas”

Manel Ghribi et al.

Life 2020, 10, 295; 10.3390/life10110295

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10110295

8. “Arsenolipids in Cultured Picocystis Strain ML and Their Occurrence in Biota and Sediment from Mono Lake, California”

Ronald A. Glabonjat et al.

Life 2020,10, 93; 10.3390/life10060093

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10060093

9. “Diatom-Derived Polyunsaturated Aldehydes Are Unlikely to Influence the Microbiota Composition of Laboratory-Cultured Diatoms”

Chloe L. Eastabrook et al.

Life 2020, 10, 29; 10.3390/life10030029

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10030029

10. “Rapid and Efficient Colony-PCR for High Throughput Screening of Genetically Transformed Chlamydomonas reinhardtii”

Serge Basile Nouemssi et al.

Life 2020, 10, 186; 10.3390/life10090186

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10090186

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.

We are pleased to announce that the winner of the Life 2021 PHD Thesis Award is Dr. Brayon Fremin. Dr. Soukaina El Amrani Zerrifi and Dr. Carina Isabel Coelho Proença are honorable mentions.

Dr. Brayon Fremin is from Stanford University, USA. In his Ph.D. thesis, Dr. Fremin developed original ideas and methods for profiling RNA expression in the microbiome. The results—generated by concepts developed independently by Dr. Fremin himself while he was a Ph.D. student—are attracting considerable attention (> 100 citations) after being published in the most well-reputed journals. The procedures used were highly original, and identification of what genes are expressed and novel open reading frames of the microbiome should have a huge impact on understanding how the microbiome influences many disease states. His advisor, Dr. Bhatt, states “I have never met a more creative and pioneering translational scientist in my entire career”. We look forward to reading about Dr. Fremin’s many scientific accomplishments to come.

Dr. Soukaina El Amrani Zerrifi, from Cadi Ayyad University, Morocco, is recognized for her outstanding accomplishments and the impact of her work on the environment and bio-technological development of her country. In her thesis work, she isolated and identified multiple products from both seaweeds and bacteria that hold great potential for combatting cyanobacterial blooms, which represent a major ecological and environmental threat in many marine ecosystems. Her work has already been highly cited, and her advisor, Dr. Oudra, stated that she has “enormous potential to excel in research”.

Dr. Carina Isabel Coelho Proença, from University of Porto, Portugal, is recognized for her impressive productivity and impact within the field, as reflected by over 190 citations of publications arising from her Ph.D. work. Her research investigated the potential application of flavonoids targeting several diabetes-related enzymes as novel therapeutics. By means of systematic characterization, and sophisticated computational approaches, followed up by experimental validation, the study identified specific aspects of flavonoid structure that can enable differential targeting of five different enzymes which are central to diabetes. This large body of work generated nine highly cited papers with Dr. Proença as lead author. Her advisor, Dr. Fernandes, praised the “enthusiasm, commitment, hard work, and intellectual rigor” displayed throughout her doctoral studies.

As the awardee, Dr. Brayon Fremin will receive an honorarium of CHF 800, while all three of Dr. Brayon Fremin, Dr. Soukaina El Amrani Zerrifi and Dr. Carina Isabel Coelho Proença will have the opportunity to publish one paper free of charge before 31 December 2023 in Life, after peer review.

We want to thank all the excellent Ph.D. students who applied for this award as their brilliant CVs made the choice very difficult. We would also like to thank all of the Award Committee Members for their thorough evaluation of the applications.

1. “Self-Reported Real-World Safety and Reactogenicity of COVID-19 Vaccines: A Vaccine Recipient Survey”

Alexander G. Mathioudakis et al.

Life 2021, 11, 249; 10.3390/life11030249

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11030249

2. “Seroprevalence of Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among the Personnel and Students of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece: A Preliminary Report”

Ourania E. Tsitsilonis et al.

Life 2020, 10, 214; 10.3390/life10090214

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10090214

3. “One-Seventh of Patients with COVID-19 Had Olfactory and Gustatory Abnormalities as Their Initial Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”

Hsin Chi et al.

Life 2020, 10, 158; 10.3390/life10090158

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10090158

4. “The Microbiota/Host Immune System Interaction in the Nose to Protect from COVID-19”

Arianna Di Stadio et al.

Life 2020, 10, 345; 10.3390/life10120345

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120345

5. “Investigation of Genetic Variations of IL6 and IL6R as Potential Prognostic and Pharmacogenetics Biomarkers: Implications for COVID-19 and Neuroinflammatory Disorders”

Claudia Strafella et al.

Life 2020, 10, 351; 10.3390/life10120351

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120351

6. “Molecular Epidemiology Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Strains Circulating in Romania during the First Months of the Pandemic”

Marius Surleac et al.

Life 2020, 10, 152; 10.3390/life10080152

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life10080152

7. “Previous Humoral Immunity to the Endemic Seasonal Alphacoronaviruses NL63 and 229E Is Associated with Worse Clinical Outcome in COVID-19 and Suggests Original Antigenic Sin”

Daniele Focosi et al.

Life 2021, 11, 298; 10.3390/life11040298

Available online: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11040298

8. “Long-Term SARS-CoV-2 Infection Associated with Viral Dissemination in Different Body Fluids Including Bile in Two Patients with Acute Cholecystitis”

Rossana Scutari et al.

Life 2020,10, 302; 10.3390/life10110302

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.

We are pleased to announce the good news that Prof. Dr. Doron Lancet has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the section "Origin of Life" Section in Life (ISSN: 2075-1729).

Prof. Dr. Doron Lancet completed his B.Sc. degree in Chemistry at Hebrew University, Ph.D. in Immunology at Weizmann Institute, and postdoctoral training at Harvard and Yale. Back at Weizmann, he pioneered research on the biochemistry and evolution of olfaction and headed a human genome research center, where he deciphered human diseases and developed GeneCards, the world-famous gene web compendium. In parallel, Lancet pioneered a lipid-first scenario for the origin and early evolution of life. For that, he established a novel computer-based chemical kinetics model that demonstrates how self-reproducing lipid assemblies can support a pre-RNA path for the origin of life under harsh prebiotic conditions.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Doron Lancet, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views of the research area and open access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take on the role as its Section Editor-in-Chief?

I highly appreciate the vision and devotion of the journal in advancing and enhancing the level of publication in the field of origin of life.

2. What is your vision for the journal?

I see it progressing to be the world’s top journal in its field.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?

We are at a turning point in understanding the origin of life, moving from compound-centric to systems chemistry approaches. These have the potential for seeking chemical principles that could reveal how simple multi-molecular reproducers could emerge from a chaotic chemical environment.

4. What do you think of the development of Open Access in the publishing field?

An excellent trend!

We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Doron Lancet as Editor-in-Chief of the Section “Origin of Life”, and we look forward to Life achieving many milestones under his leadership. For further information on the journal section, please visit https://www.mdpi.com/journal/life/sections/origin_life.

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Renate Kunert has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the new Section “Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering” in Life (ISSN: 2075-1729).

Prof. Dr. Renate Kunert is a Professor of Animal Cell Factory Design at the Department of Biotechnology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna. She is heading the Institute of Animal Cell Technology and Systems Biology and runs a research group working on the production of recombinant proteins in mammalian cells. Production clones are developed for the development of bioprocesses and investigation of cellular biology using methods relevant to systems biology. The model proteins range from monoclonal antibodies to difficult to-express proteins such as extracellular domains of viral envelope and cellular surface proteins. Protein engineering is applied by using rational and randomized approaches to obtain protein variants with the original or even enhanced specificity and functionality while increasing stability and producibility.

In teaching, Prof. Dr. Renate Kunert supervises students of the Bachelor and Master Curriculum Biotechnology in practical exercises and lectures on biotechnology, cell factories, biological therapeutics, and other elective lectures.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Renate Kunert, who shared her vision for the journal with us, as well as her views of the research area and open access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Section Editor-in-Chief?

The journal is up to date in terms of the content addressed and the treatment of the topics. Cell biology and tissue engineering is a forward-looking discipline in human medicine.

Currently, the spectrum of cellular modifications for personalized medicine is very diverse and the idea of “Special Issues” is useful and forward-looking.

2. What is your vision for the journal?

The vision is to give many excellent scientists the opportunity to present their work in a highly visible way and to expand their network through this platform. In this way, we all contribute to the development of new treatment strategies.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?

This field of research will be the future of all medical innovations because protein substitution will be too expensive despite the production processes that have already and will additionally be improved.

4. What do you think of the development of open access in the publishing field?

Open access is absolutely necessary.

We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Renate Kunert as the Editor-in-Chief of the Section “Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering”, and we look forward to Life achieving many more milestones under her leadership. For further information on the journal section, please visit the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/life/sections/Cell_and_Tissue.

We are pleased to announce that the new journal Physiologia (ISSN 2673-9488) has established companionship with its sister journal Life (ISSN 2075-1729).

Physiologia is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal aimed at publishing articles demonstrating conceptual advances across the realms of physiology, from humans and animals to plants and cells. With a focus upon integrating molecular, cellular, systems, and whole organismal functions, the field of physiology has long been recognized as one which advances our understanding of the constructs of life across all species.

Physiologia publishes articles including research papers, reviews, editorials, and communications, etc. Our aim is to encourage scientists to publish their experimental and theoretical results in as much detail as possible. The full experimental details must be provided so that the results can be reproduced.

We are offering a full waiver on article processing charges for papers submitted before 15 December 2021. Manuscripts are peer-reviewed and a first decision is provided to authors approximately 15 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 3 days (median values for MDPI journals in the second half of 2020). If accepted after peer review, your paper will be published in an open access format.

Manuscripts can be submitted via the journal’s online submission system at: https://susy.mdpi.com/user/manuscripts/upload?journal=physiologia.

Read the editorial prepared by Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Philip J. Atherton here.

We cordially invite you to consider Physiologia as the platform for publishing your work.

Physiologia Editorial Office

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.

Rigorous peer-review is the cornerstone of high-quality academic publishing. Over 369,916 scholars served as reviewers for MDPI journals in 2020. We are extremely appreciative of all those who made a contribution to the editorial process in this capacity. At the beginning of every year, journal editorial offices publish a list of all reviewers’ names to express our gratitude. In addition, this year, the MDPI Top Reviewer Award was announced, to recognize the very best reviewers for their expertise and dedication, and their high-quality, and timely review reports. We are pleased to announce the following winners of the 2020 MDPI Top Reviewer Award:

• Adriana Burlea-Schiopoiu;
• Alban Kuriqi;
• Álvaro González-Vila;
• Alessandro Alaimo;
• Alexey Beskopylny;
• Alexander Yu Churyumov;
• Alberto Fernández-Isabel;
• Andrea Mastinu;
• Antonios N. Papadopoulos;
• Anton Rassõlkin;
• Antonio Humberto Hamad Minervino;
• Arkadiusz Matwijczuk;
• Artur Słomka;
• Baojie He;
• Bartłomiej Potaniec;
• Bojan Đurin;
• Camilo Arturo Rodriguez Diaz;
• Carmelo Maria Musarella;
• Chiachung Chen;
• Chiman Kwan;
• Cristian Busu;
• Danil Pimenov;
• Dan-Cristian Dabija;
• Delfín Ortega-Sánchez;
• Demetrio Antonio Zema;
• Denis Butusov;
• Elena Lucchi;
• Gaurab Dutta;
• Livia Anastasiu;
• M. R. Safaei.

For more information about how to become a reviewer of MDPI journals, please see: www.mdpi.com/reviewers.

UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. In 2020 the SDG Publishers Compact was launched, aimed to inspire publishers and accelerate progress to achieve the 17 goals by 2030. Members of the programme are committed to support the publication of materials that will promote and inspire actions towards SDGs.

MDPI is an eager advocate of SDGs and has already been supporting the programme by creating Special Issues and publishing a series of books on SDGs prior to joining the Compact in 2021. MDPI's Sustainability Foundation initiated the World Sustainability Awards in 2016. We fully support UN's goals to promote sustainable actions that make the world a better place for all and, as part of its commitment, we will focus our actions on SDG10: Reduced Inequalities whilst promoting all 17 SDGs. For more details, please visit the programme’s website: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdg-publishers-compact/.

Joining this initiative was a unanimous decision. MDPI has in its core values the dissemination of science for all, breaking the wall between research access and under-represented members of the scientific community and the general population. To support this initiative further and continue to support under-represented scientists, MDPI will take a series of actions that will be announced once ready.

The first action MDPI takes is to nominate Dr. Liliane Auwerter as the coordinator of the programme. Dr. Auwerter studied Environmental Process Technology (UTFPR, Brazil), obtained her MSc degree in Water and Environmental Engineering (University of Surrey, UK) and in 2020 completed her PhD in self-healing low-friction materials for water transport (Imperial College London, UK), always focusing on diverse scientific projects that would potentially bring sustainability to industrial processes. As a student in Brazil, she engaged in volunteering activities focused on environmental education and took part in the Millennial Development Goals meetings held at the university.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. Liliane Auwerter
Scientific Officer
[email protected]

We are pleased to announce that the new journal Hydrobiology (ISSN 2673-9917) has established companionship with its sister journals Life (ISSN 2075-1729) and Water (ISSN 2073-4441).

Hydrobiology is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal related to the science of life and life processes in water. It publishes regular research articles, reviews, and short notes. Our aim is to encourage scientists to publish their experimental and theoretical results in as much detail as possible. There is no restriction on the length of the papers. The full experimental details must be provided so that results can be reproduced.

We welcome cross-disciplinary research at the molecular, organism, and ecosystem level on all aspects of aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity conservation ranging from freshwater fauna and flora to marine habitats. For details on the background and scope of this journal, please click on this link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/hydrobiology/about.

We offer a full waiver on article processing charges for papers submitted before 15 November 2021. Manuscripts are peer-reviewed and a first decision provided to authors approximately 15 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 3 days (median values for MDPI journals in the second half of 2020). If accepted after peer review, your paper will be published in open access format.

Manuscripts can be submitted via the journal’s online submission system at: https://susy.mdpi.com/user/manuscripts/upload?journal=hydrobiology.

Read Publisher’s Note to Launch Hydrobiology here.

We cordially invite you to consider Hydrobiology as the platform for publishing your work.

Hydrobiology Editorial Office
[email protected]

This serves to announce to our valued authors based in Japan that value-added tax, or consumption tax will now be imposed on article processing fees and other service fees for all papers submitted, or resubmitted (assigned new paper IDs), effective from 15 August 2021. The change is in accordance with the Japanese "Act for Partial Revision of the Income Tax Act and Other Acts" (Act No. 9 of 2015), which includes a revision of consumption taxation on cross-border supplies of services such as digital content distribution.

For additional information from the National Tax Agency please see here ("Cross-border supplies of electronic services").

Contact: Setsuko Nishihara, MDPI Tokyo

Life is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal of scientific studies related to fundamental themes in life sciences. It has been covered by leading indexing services, including the SCIE (Web of Science) (search for "Life-Basel"), Scopus, PubMed, etc. The 2020 Impact Factor was 3.817. More information about our journal can be found at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/life

The Life editorial team is pleased to announce this open call for Special Issue proposals, which offers a group of authors the opportunity to work on an interconnected set of papers on an innovative topic. We are soliciting high-quality proposals that will be evaluated in a continuous selection process throughout the year.

Proposals for a Special Issue should have a well-articulated unifying topic and reflect on an international level, the best work in a particular research area (either an established or an important emerging area), in which future investigations may be propelled by the publication of a set of novel research papers. Hence, an international group of Guest Editors and a few high-quality planned papers are always encouraged when it comes to proposals.

Proposals for Special Issues must be sent to the Editorial Office ([email protected]), which will then forward them to the Editors-in-Chief of Life for evaluation.

Information to be provided in a proposal:

- A 300–500-word summary that clearly states the significance, novelty, technical advancement, and adherence to the scope of the journal of the proposed topic;

- A few keywords on the topic;

- A plan for obtaining high-quality papers or a list of at least three planned papers;

- A brief resume of the proposed Guest Editors, together with their information (title, name, email, affiliation, personal website, keywords of interests);

- A proposed submission deadline (a Special Issue will usually be open for submissions for 6–8 months);

- 10 confirmed contributors.

Guest Editor(s) Role:

Once the proposal is accepted, the Guest Editor will circulate the Call for Papers for the Special Issue and invite submissions.

The Guest Editor has the privilege of publishing one paper free of charge (with the CHF 1600 publication fee waived) in this Special Issue and of inviting some feature papers to be published with a special discount.

Each submission will undergo a formal peer-review process, after which the assigned Editor will ask the Guest Editor, the Editor-in-Chief, or a suitable Editorial Board Member to decide whether the paper is acceptable for publication in Life.

If ten or more papers are published in this Special Issue, a Special Issue book can be organized, and a hard copy will be sent to each Guest Editor.

Editorial Office’s Role

The Editorial Office will set up the Special Issue website, arrange promotional material, assist with invitations to contribute papers, and take care of the administrative tasks associated with peer review, including inviting reviewers, collating reports, contacting authors, and arranging professional production before publication.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Editorial Office ([email protected]) if you are interested and would like further details and clarifications.

We look forward to receiving your creative proposals.

Life Editorial Office

Life is recruiting Section Editors-in-Chief for the following three new Sections:

• Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering;
• Ecology;
• Animal Science.

Section Editors-in-Chief are responsible for the following:

• Defining the Aims and Scope of the Section;
• Advising on the strategic development of the Section;
• Ensuring the quality of the published content;
• Nominating/inviting Guest Editors and optionally delegating to them the authority to make final acceptance decisions for submitted articles;
• Nominating/inviting contributors;
• Nominating and leading the Section Editorial Board;
• Promoting the journal at scientific conferences or through other venues.

To apply for this position, recommend potential candidates, or request further information, please contact the Life Editorial Office ([email protected]) before 30 September 2021.

Life (ISSN ISSN: 2075-1729; Impact Factor: 3.817) is an international, peer-reviewed, scientific, open access journal concerned with the fundamental themes in the field of life sciences. It is indexed by the Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science), Scopus, PubMed, and other important databases.

The 2020 citation metrics have been officially released in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR)!

We are pleased to announce that 85 MDPI journals are included, of which:

• 10 journals received their first impact factor
• 96% of journals increased their impact factor from 2019
• 32 journals (38%) ranked among the top 25% of journals, in at least one category

* Journals given their first Impact Factor in 2021

Source: 2020 Journal Impact Factors, Journal Citation Reports ® (Clarivate, 2021)

MDPI Books recently released Book Builder, a new online tool to conveniently arrange, design and produce an eBook from any content published in MDPI journals. Book Builder offers two functions: on the one hand (1) Selections, available to every registered user of MDPI; on the other hand (2) Special Issue Reprints, which can be used exclusively by Guest Editors of Special Issues.

Selections

In just a matter of a few clicks, all users are now able to assemble books from MDPI articles and receive instantaneous feedback in the form of a fully produced and compiled book (PDF), which can be downloaded or ordered as print copy. Selections can include any paper published with MDPI, picking and combining content from different journals and special issues.

This way, the user may for example choose to compile an ebook focusing around a particular topic, or assemble articles from a group of others.

We invite you to make yourself familiar with the new tool! The Book Builder can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/books/book_builder.

Special Issue Reprints

The Book Builder allows Guest Editors of MDPI journals to create a reprint from a successfully completed Special Issue or Topical Collection in book format. If you are a Guest Editor for an MDPI journal, you can use the new tool  to create an PDF document which includes all articles published in the Special Issue as well as a book cover and table of contents.

For Special Issues containing a minimum of 5 articles, the Guest Editor can request its publication on the MDPI Book platform. Published reprints are assigned an ISBN and DOI.

In addition to the PDF copy of the Reprint Book, as a token of our gratitude, MDPI offers every Guest Editor one (1) complimentary print copy (via print-on-demand). All contributors benefit from a discount on orders of any additional print copies, to share with colleagues or libraries or others.

Why choose MDPI Books?

In line with our organization's values, MDPI Books publishes all content in open access, promoting the exchange of ideas and knowledge in a globalized world. MDPI Books encompasses all the benefits of open access—high availability and visibility, as well as wide and rapid dissemination. MDPI Books are distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution License, meaning as an author you retain the copyright for your work. In addition, with MDPI Books you can complement the digital version of your work with a high-quality printed counterpart.

If you are interested in editing a book volume or series, or have a monograph manuscript to be considered for publication, please submit your proposal online and look at our Information for Authors.

Contact: Laura Wagner, MDPI Books Manager (email)

In June of this year, MDPI will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its foundation. To mark this significant milestone, we have created a 25th Anniversary page on our website that evokes the development of our company over the past quarter-century.

MDPI has been a pioneer of Open Access publishing ever since the concept was first created.

In a wide-ranging interview, our CEO Delia Mihaila reflects on the company’s 25th anniversary and its contribution to the world of scientific publishing.

Delia considers how MDPI has evolved since starting life in 1996 as a visionary ‘project’ run out of an apartment in Basel, Switzerland, by Dr. Shu-Kun Lin. A chemist who was passionate about the long-term preservation of rare chemical sample, Dr. Lin was determined to help scholars publish their findings as quickly as possible and make their research results available to as wide a readership as possible worldwide. That determination remains unchanged 25 years later.

Today, MDPI is an international organization with over 4,000 employees based on three continents and in ten countries, and ranks among the world's top four academic publishers.

MDPI's mission is to accelerate access to new scientific research, delivering insight faster for researchers worldwide. Read more here about the company's remarkable success story and what the Open Access publishing model can offer the global scientific community.

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Kousuke Hanada has been appointed as the Editor-in-Chief of the new Section “Plant Science” in Life.

Dr. Kousuke Hanada is a Professor in the Department of Bioscience and Bioinformatics of Kyusyu Institute of Technology, Japan. Prof. Dr. Hanada completed his PhD studies at Graduate University for Advanced Studies before completing his postdoc at the National Institute of Genetics, Ecology & Evolution Department of University of Chicago and Plant Biology Department of Michigan State University. After this, Prof. Dr. Kousuke Hanada visited RIKEN as a researcher. Following which, at the end of 2020, he became a professor. Prof. Dr. Kousuke Hanada’s group has solid knowledge of plant biology, plant genomics and plant evolution, with a particular emphasis on plant genome analysis and plant diversity analysis.

Prof. Dr. Kousuke Hanada has published 115 scientific publications in international peer-reviewed scientific journals.

We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Kousuke Hanada as the Editor-in-Chief of the Section "Plant Science", and we look forward to Life achieving many more milestones under his leadership.

For further information please visit: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/life/sections/Plant_Sci.

At MDPI, we strive to make your online publication process seamless and efficient. To achieve this, our team is continuously developing tools and features to make the user experience useful and convenient.

As the number of academic papers continues to grow, so does the need to analyze and work with them on a large scale. This prompted us to design a new feature aimed at helping researchers find journals that are relevant to their publication by matching their abstract topic. In this regard, we designed a similarity model that automatically identifies the most suitable academic journals for your paper.

We are pleased to introduce Journal Selector, a new feature that measures similarity in academic contexts. By simply entering the title and/or abstract into our Journal Selector, the author will see a list of the most related scientific journals published by MDPI. This method helps authors select the correct journals for their papers, highlighting the time of publication and citability.

The methodology is known as representation learning, where words are represented as vectors in hyperspace. Representation helps us differentiate between different concepts within articles, and in turn, helps us identify similarities between them.

We used an advanced machine learning model to better capture the semantic meanings of words. This helps the algorithm make better predictions by leveraging scientific text representation. In turn, this ensures high precision, helping authors decide which journal they should submit their paper to.

The goal is to support authors to publish their work in the most suitable journal for their research, as fast as possible, accelerating their career progress.

Contact: Andrea Perlato, Head of Data Analytics, MDPI (email)

To assist health workers and researchers working under challenging conditions to bring this pandemic to its end, Life has created a new section called “COVID and Life”. This section welcomes articles and reviews related to the COVID-19 pandemic and Life is committed to disseminating high-quality research as quickly as possible. All content related to the COVID-19 pandemic is freely available.

The following Special Issues of this section are currently open for submissions:

• Ecology, Evolution and Epidemiology of Coronaviruses (Deadline: 25 May 2021)
• Neutralizing-Antibody-Based Treatments for COVID-19: Achievements and Lessons Learnt for Future Pandemics (Deadline: 31 August 2021)
• Old and New Pandemics: Challenges for Humans (Deadline: 30 September 2021)

Life (ISSN 2075-1729; CODEN: LBSIB7) is an international peer-reviewed open access journal of scientific studies related to the fundamental themes in life sciences, published monthly online by MDPI.

If you are interested in submitting a manuscript to the new sections mentioned above, please click here.

To propose or request further information, please contact the Life Editorial Office ([email protected]).

We are pleased to announce that the winners of the Life 2020 Young Investigator Awards are Prof. Dr. Luning Liu and Dr. David E. Olson.

Prof. Dr. Luning Liu is Chair of Microbial Bioenergetics and Bioengineering and Royal Society University Research Fellow at the Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom. His research focuses on the biosynthesis and functions of photosynthetic membranes, macromolecular assemblies, and organelles, as well as engineering bio-machineries for various biotechnological applications. He has published over 60 high-profile papers. As PI and co-PI, Dr. Liu has secured GBP 3.0M and GBP 4.5M funds.

Dr. David E. Olson is a chemical neuroscientist at the University of California, Davis. His research focuses on understanding how small molecules like psychedelics influence neural plasticity, learning, memory, and mood. By harnessing compound-induced neuroplasticity, Dr. Olson’s group is developing next-generation neurotherapeutics to treat a variety of brain disorders.

As awardees, Prof. Dr. Liu and Dr. Olson will each receive an honorarium of 1000 CHF and the opportunity to publish one paper free of charge before 31 December 2021 in Life, after peer review.

We want to thank all the excellent young scientists who applied for this award as their brilliant CVs made the choice very difficult. We would also like to thank all of the Award Committee Members for their thorough evaluation of the applications.

MDPI is proud to adopt the principles of the Coalition for Diversity & Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC) to support building equity, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility in scholarly communications.

The C4DISC represents organizations and individuals working in scholarly communications and is focused on addressing issues of diversity and inclusion within the publishing industry.

MDPI’s Managing Editors encourage the Editors-in-Chief and Associate Editors to appoint diverse expert Editorial Boards. This is also reflective in our multi-national and inclusive workplace. We are proud to create equal opportunities without regard to gender, ethnicity, geographic location, sexual orientation, age, disability, political beliefs, religion, or socio-economic status. There is no place for discrimination in our workplace and editors of MDPI journals are to uphold these principles in high regard.

Representatives from C4DISC meet monthly, and have started to implement initiatives to shed light and improve on the lack of diversity in scholarly communications. Some of the initiatives include developing a joint statement of principles; conducting market research; providing training resources, best practices, toolkits, and documentation for our collective memberships; and establishing outreach programs, curricula, events, and publications.

The Coalition is committed to:

• eliminating barriers to participation, extending equitable opportunities across all stakeholders, and ensuring that our practices and policies promote equitable treatment and do not allow, condone, or result in discrimination;
• creating and maintaining an environment that respects diverse traditions, heritages, and experiences;
• promoting diversity in all staff, volunteers, and audiences, including full participation in programs, policy formulation, and decision-making;
• raising awareness about career opportunities in our industries to groups who are currently underrepresented in the workforce;
• supporting our members in achieving diversity and inclusion within their organizations.

At MDPI we have slightly revised the layout for articles to be published in the 2021 Volume, starting at the end of December 2020. As of today, the article templates available for download on ‘Instructions for Authors’ pages have been updated.

The most noticeable change can be found on the first page of the article, where a left-hand column has been created to include the following front matter elements: (i) the recommended citation style for the article, (ii) the publishing history, (iii) as well as the Creative Commons Attribution license used (iv) a standard note regarding affiliations. At the same time, the extra spacing on the left means the authors’ affiliations are now more clearly set apart than before. Other front matter key elements such as journal logo, article type, article title, authors, abstract and keywords remain unchanged.

The blank column on the left runs through all pages in an article; as a result, the main text is slightly more condensed, which improve reader friendliness for smaller screens. Small figures/tables are aligned on the left with standard indenture, while large figures/tables are centered and covering the full width of the page. The revised layout was applied in the article pictured below, to serve as an example:

1) Information is displayed in the left information bar.

2) In the main text, there is a blank column on the left.

3) Small tables/figures are aligned on the left, large tables/figures are centered.

We are pleased to acknowledge that many academic editors who have made an impact on MDPI journals as editorial board members, editors-in-chief, or section editors, are recognized as 2020 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate.

Highly Cited Researchers highlights the top 1% of researchers, by citations, in one or more of the 22 fields used in Clarivate Analytics Essential Science Indicators. We offer our congratulations to 279 academic editors of MDPI journals who were recognized as the most influential scholars in their fields in 2020.