Announcements
16 April 2025
Meet Us Virtually at the 3rd International Online Conference on Toxins, 10–12 September 2025
14 April 2025
World Chagas Disease Day—“Prevent, Control, Care: Everyone’s Role in Chagas Disease”, 14 April 2025
World Chagas Disease Day 2025 brings global attention to one of the most neglected tropical diseases, reinforcing our collective responsibility to “leave no one behind” in the pursuit of health equity.
Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects over 7 million people worldwide—primarily among poor and underserved communities in Latin America, but with increasing prevalence in non-endemic regions due to migration and globalization. Often progressing without symptoms in its early stages, Chagas is known as a “silent and silenced disease”, leading to potentially fatal cardiac and digestive complications if left untreated. Despite its growing global impact, awareness and access to diagnosis and treatment remain limited.
To change the trajectory of Chagas disease, we must foster multidisciplinary collaboration across research, clinical practice, and public policy. From early detection and vector control to treatment access and patient-centered care, every stakeholder has a role to play. Health systems must adapt to address not only the biological and clinical dimensions of the disease but also the social and economic determinants that perpetuate its neglect.
In recognition of World Chagas Disease Day 2025, we invite you to explore a curated collection of articles and Special Issues from selected MDPI journals, including Insects, Pathogens, Microorganisms, Parasitologia, Diseases, Healthcare, and TropicalMed. These resources offer vital perspectives on the epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of Chagas disease, while also encouraging cross-sector collaboration. Through scientific engagement and public awareness, we can work together toward the goal: early detection, equitable care, and the eventual elimination of Chagas disease.
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“Development and Characterization of Innovative Nifurtimox Formulations as Therapeutic Alternative for Chagas Disease”
by Ana Lia Mazzeti, Karolina Ribeiro Gonçalves, Patrícia Ferreira Boasquivis, Maria Terezinha Bahia and Vanessa Carla Furtado Mosqueira
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2025, 10(2), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10020050
“Molecular Characterization of Trypanosoma cruzi from Triatomine Species in São Paulo State, an Area Free of Vector-Borne Chagas Disease”
by Eliana Ferreira Monteiro, Rubens Antonio da Silva, Arlei Marcili and Karin Kirchgatter
Insects 2025, 16(2), 161; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16020161
“The Impact of Environmental and Housing Factors on the Distribution of Triatominae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) in an Endemic Area of Chagas Disease in Puebla, Mexico”
by Miguel Ortega-Caballero, Maria Cristina Gonzalez-Vazquez, Miguel Angel Hernández-Espinosa, Alejandro Carabarin-Lima and Alia Mendez-Albores
Diseases 2024, 12(10), 238; https://doi.org/10.3390/diseases12100238
“Zoonotic Cycle of American Trypanosomiasis in an Endemic Region of the Argentine Chaco, Factors That Influenced a Paradigm Shift”
by Andrea Gómez-Bravo, Sebastián Cirignoli, Diana Wehrendt, Alejandro Schijman, Cielo M. León, María Flores-Chaves, Javier Nieto, Troy J. Kieran, Marcelo Abril and Felipe Guhl
Insects 2024, 15(7), 471; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15070471
“Mapping the Silent Threat: A Comprehensive Analysis of Chagas Disease Occurrence in Riverside Communities in the Western Amazon”
by Daniela da Silva Paixão, Fernanda Portela Madeira, Adila Costa de Jesus, Hêmilly Caroline da Silva Paixão, Juliana de Souza Almeida Aranha Camargo, Mariane Albuquerque Lima Ribeiro, Leandro José Ramos, Jader de Oliveira, João Aristeu da Rosa, Paulo Sérgio Bernarde et al.
Pathogens 2024, 13(2), 176; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13020176
“Chagas Disease in Europe”
by Marta Gonzalez-Sanz, Clara Crespillo-Andújar, Sandra Chamorro-Tojeiro, Begoña Monge-Maillo, Jose A. Perez-Molina and Francesca F. Norman
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2023, 8(12), 513; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed8120513
“Impact of Laboratory-Adapted Intracellular Trypanosoma cruzi Strains on the Activity Profiles of Compounds with Anti-T. cruzi Activity”
by Melissa L. Sykes, Emily K. Kennedy and Vicky M. Avery
Microorganisms 2023, 11(2), 476; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11020476
“A Review on the Immunological Response against Trypanosoma cruzi”
by Martje Van Neste, Annick Bogaerts, Nina Nauwelaerts, Julia Macente, Anne Smits, Pieter Annaert and Karel Allegaert
Pathogens 2023, 12(2), 282; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12020282
2 April 2025
MDPI INSIGHTS: The CEO's Letter #21 - Annual Report, Swiss Consortium, IWD, ICARS, Serbia
Welcome to the MDPI Insights: The CEO's Letter.
In these monthly letters, I will showcase two key aspects of our work at MDPI: our commitment to empowering researchers and our determination to facilitating open scientific exchange.
Opening Thoughts
MDPI Releases 2024 Annual Achievements Report
I’m pleased to share the release of MDPI’s 2024 Annual Achievements Report, which reflects our commitment to efficiency, transparency, and excellence in scholarly communication. The report showcases key themes related to our growth (highlighting our workforce expansion, new offices, journal milestones), excellence (editorial and publishing advancements), people (talent development and training), and community (partnerships, conferences, and outreach).
MDPI continues to build connections and drive scientific progress
Our mission remains clear: to support researchers worldwide by delivering an efficient, high-quality publishing experience while strengthening the global Open Access (OA) movement.
Advancing Open Access: A Global Knowledge Hub
In 2024, we published 238,000 peer-reviewed OA articles, reaching over 25 million downloads. This reinforces MDPI’s role as a global knowledge hub, breaking down barriers to access and ensuring that high-quality research is freely available to everyone. As part of the OA movement, we are actively democratizing knowledge, making scientific advancements accessible to researchers, policymakers, educators, and the public, without the restrictions of traditional paywalls.
Expanding our Workforce and Strengthening Research Integrity
Our global presence grew in 2024 with the opening of a new Seoul office, and our workforce expanded to 6,650 staff across 21 offices. This reflects our continued growth mindset and investment in global accessibility. We also continued to take a proactive stance on our commitment to research integrity, tripling our team in this area and joining STM’s Integrity Hub and United2Act. This means more rigorous quality control, stronger safeguards, and collaboration with global initiatives to detect and combat unethical publishing practices at an industry level. Our growth is about reinforcing our role as a trusted, ethical, and accessible publishing platform for researchers worldwide.
Growing Partnerships and Impact in Scholarly Communication
MDPI’s partnerships continue to thrive, with over 900 institutional collaborations, including a landmark agreement with ZB MED in Germany, covering more than 100 universities. Additionally, more than 90% of evaluated MDPI journals have been accepted into Web of Science, including 60 new acceptances in 2024, with nearly 300 journals expected to receive a Journal Impact Factor in 2025. In the same period, 37 MDPI journals were accepted into Scopus, bringing our total indexed titles to 306. Most importantly, 95% of authors rate their experience with MDPI as excellent or good – an achievement that underscores our dedication to serving the research community.
I encourage you to read through our Annual Report, which highlights these milestones and our vision for the future. Thank you for being part of MDPI’s journey in advancing open science.
Impactful Research
MDPI Renews Partnership with CSAL to Support Swiss Universities
I am pleased to announce the renewal of our partnership with the Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries (CSAL) for 2025. This extension reinforces MDPI's dedication to advancing open science through transparency, efficiency, and collaboration.
Our renewed agreement with CSAL strengthens support for Swiss universities, ensuring that gold open access publishing remains both accessible and affordable for researchers across Switzerland. Among the institutions participating in this agreement are ETH Zurich and EPFL Lausanne, along with 20 other leading institutions, further expanding the reach and impact of our collaborative efforts.
To date, over 3.9 million researchers have published their findings in MDPI journals, a testament to our role in enhancing Switzerland's position as a hub for university education and research.
Inside MDPI
Celebrating International Women's Day: Accelerating Action
In honour of International Women's Day, MDPI embraced the theme “Accelerate Action,” a global call to advance women's progress by implementing effective strategies and resources. As part of our commitment, we highlighted how open access publishing empowers female voices in research and academia.
Throughout March, we featured original blogs authored by MDPI’s female contributors, showcasing the successes of our journals and employees, and addressing pressing topics such as women's health.
“Open Access supports women in education”
Women Accelerating Action Outside of MDPI
MDPI employee Ana Zdravkovic is accelerating action outside of her MDPI role as a Production Assistant. Working with like-minded women at the award-winning Belgrade-based organization UZOR OsnaŽene (meaning ‘empowered women’), they identify serious flaws in cybersecurity, and help protect women and children against online predators by providing evidence to improve legislation and laws around cyber-attacks.
In this article, we interview Ana, celebrating the important and inspiring work that she and the organisation do.
How Open Access Supports Women in Education
Every day, women and girls face barriers in education or career progression. This is caused by a range of factors, including social expectations, poverty, and poor infrastructure.
Quality opportunities and participation in the education system by women is essential to achieving equality and fulfilling their human rights.
Here, we examine how Open Access supports women in education by removing barriers and ensuring that vital research is accessible.
Recent Advancements in Research on Endometriosis
March is Endometriosis Action Month. Endometriosis is a medical condition affecting women and young girls of reproductive age, often causing symptoms such as severe pelvic pain, irregular periods, and infertility.
More research on endometriosis is still urgently needed.
This research will help develop efficient diagnoses and better treatment for those struggling with the condition.
In this article, we explore what endometriosis is and discuss the latest research advancements on the disease.
We also curated a selection of MDPI journals, articles, and Special Issues focusing on gender equity, women in the workplace, and women’s health. Find out more about these by visiting our IWD – Accelerate Action landing page.
As I reflect on the month of March and International Women’s Day, I would like to take a moment to recognize and thank all of the incredible women at MDPI for your dedication to democratizing knowledge and shaping open access. Your contributions are invaluable, and they continue to shape the future of MDPI.
Coming Together for Science
The International Conference on Advanced Remote Sensing (ICARS 2025)
The International Conference on Advanced Remote Sensing (ICARS 2025) took place from 26–28 March 2025, in Barcelona, Spain. It was chaired by Prof. Dr. Fabio Tosti from the Faringdon Research Centre for Non-Destructive Testing and Remote Sensing (UK), Prof. Dr. Andrea Benedetto from University Roma Tre (Italy), and Prof. Dr. Luis Ángel Ruiz from Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV, Spain).
Over three days, the conference explored innovations in Earth and environmental sciences, engineering advancements, and practical applications in biological and agricultural fields.
I am pleased to share that the 1st edition of ICARS 2025 was a great success, with 133 attendees out of 146 registrations. The event featured 43 short talks, 64 posters, and 103 accepted abstracts, along with nine keynote speakers and a major panel with five expert panellists.
Over 60 attendees joined the conference dinner, and the event received outstanding feedback.
The main goal of ICARS2025 was to cover how advanced remote sensing technologies are transforming our approach to global challenges.
Awards
Four awards were presented at the conclusion of the conference, sponsored by the journal Remote Sensing: Best Poster Award (€400), Best Oral Presentation Award (€400), and two Early Career Researcher Awards (1st prize: €600 and 2nd prize: €200).
Thank you to our Partnering Societies
We are grateful for the support of our four partnering societies and nine media partners, who played an important role in promoting the conference. Special thanks to our partnering societies: the European Federation of Geologists (EFG), Geoscience Energy Society of Great Britain (GESGB), Asociación Española de Teledetección (AET) – the Spanish Association of Remote Sensing, and the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE).
Upcoming In-Person Event
31 March–2 April 2025
Plants 2025: From Seeds to Food Security
Location: Barcelona, Spain
This event will gather plant scientists to discuss the latest research on how to feed a growing population while maintaining a sustainable agro-ecosystem.
Find more upcoming MDPI events here.
Closing Thoughts
MDPI Serbia Salon 2025: A Gathering of Academic Excellence
On Tuesday, 18 March, we successfully concluded our first MDPI Serbia Salon in Belgrade. This event provided a great opportunity to showcase MDPI’s achievements, strengthen connections with the Serbian academic community, and highlight our role as the largest publisher in Serbia. We were honoured to welcome Prof. Dr. Sergej M. Ostojić, Editor-in-Chief of MDPI journal Clinical Bioenergetics, as a guest speaker.
Over the past five years, MDPI has experienced continuous growth in Serbia, with an increasing number of publications, an expansion of Editorial Board memberships, and a greater number of active peer reviewers. The Salon allowed us to express our thanks to the Serbian research community while gathering feedback from attendees representing several major universities.
Discussion topics
As part of the event, I delivered an opening speech highlighting MDPI’s achievements and direction.
The event featured presentations from MDPI colleagues, including discussions on open science, publishing ethics, and our achievements in Serbia.
A special thank-you to all our MDPI presenters, panellists, and organizers who made his event a success. I hope the MDPI Serbia Salon becomes a tradition for years to come, creating connections within the Serbian research community.
Visit to the Science Fund of Serbia and The Ministry of Science
During my visit to Belgrade, I had the opportunity to join my colleagues Emir Ramadani (Operations Manager) and Nevena Blagojev (Journal Relations Manager) in meetings with the Science Fund of Serbia and the Ministry of Science, where we received strong support for our work in Serbia.
Both organizations highly value our presence in and commitment to Serbia, where we employ over 640 staff across our two offices in Belgrade and Novi Sad. We take great pride in creating job opportunities and supporting the community in Serbia.
“There’s a lot of exciting activity happening in MDPI Serbia”
Speaking with our Serbian Colleagues
Finally, I had the opportunity to speak with our Serbian colleagues about our initiatives to expand and to improve our marketing & communication and public relations activities.
It was great to have an open discussion with colleagues – both in person and with the hundreds who joined online.
This visit to Belgrade had been a long time coming for me. Serbia is our largest operation in Europe and there’s a lot of exciting activity happening in MDPI Serbia, including the launch of a new office floor in Novi Sad and the growth and expansion of our teams.
I look forward to returning soon and continuing to support our colleagues across our Serbian offices.
Chief Executive Officer
MDPI AG
1 April 2025
Meet Us at the 6th Nitrogen Biogeochemical Cycle Academic Forum, 11–13 April 2025, Nanjing, China
24 March 2025
World Tuberculosis Day 2025—“Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver”, 24 March 2025
Tuberculosis is a disease that is both preventable and treatable, significantly affecting people’s health and quality of life worldwide. Every year, we commemorate World Tuberculosis Day to raise public awareness of the devastating health, social, and economic consequences of tuberculosis (TB) and to intensify efforts to end the global TB epidemic. The date signifies the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of the bacterium responsible for TB, which paved the way for diagnosing and curing this disease. We hope that established journals in the fields of Biology Life Sciences and Medicine & Pharmacology at MDPI, including Pathogens, Microorganisms, Reports, Medical Sciences, Healthcare and Diagnostics will continue to serve as a communication platform for innovative ideas regarding prevention and treatment.
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“Impact of Severity of COVID-19 in TB Disease Patients: Experience from an Italian Infectious Disease Referral Hospital”
by Virginia Di Bari, Carlotta Cerva, Raffaella Libertone, Serena Maria Carli, Maria Musso, Delia Goletti, Alessandra Aiello, Antonio Mazzarelli, Angela Cannas, Giulia Matusali, Fabrizio Palmieri, Gina Gualano and on behalf of the TB-INMI Working Group
Infect. Dis. Rep. 2025, 17(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/idr17010011
“Cigarette Smoking as a Risk Factor for Tuberculosis in Adults: Epidemiology and Aspects of Disease Pathogenesis”
by Charles Feldman, Annette J. Theron, Moloko C. Cholo and Ronald Anderson
Pathogens 2024, 13(2), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13020151
“Situation Analysis of Early Implementation of Programmatic Management of Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment among Household Contacts of Pulmonary TB Patients in Delhi, India”
by Yasir Alvi, Sairu Philip, Tanu Anand, Palanivel Chinnakali, Farzana Islam, Neeta Singla, Pruthu Thekkur, Ashwani Khanna and BK Vashishat
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2024, 9(1), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed9010024
“HLA-DPB1*05:01 and HLA-A*11:01 Is Associated with Adverse Drug Reactions to Isoniazid and Rifampin for Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in South Korea”
by Bomi Kim, Jungok Kim, Sun-Young Yoon, Hae Suk Cheong, Min-Jung Kwon, Joon-Sup Yeom, Han-Na Kim and Eun-Jeong Joo
Clin. Med. 2024, 13(12), 3563; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13123563
“Pharmacists’ Role in Global TB Elimination: Practices, Pitfalls, and Potential”
by Alina Cernasev, Jonathan Stillo, Jolie Black, Mythili Batchu, Elaina Bell and Cynthia A. Tschampl
Healthcare 2024, 12(11), 1137; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12111137
“Metabolic Rewiring of Mycobacterium tuberculosis upon Drug Treatment and Antibiotics Resistance”
by Biplab Singha, Sumit Murmu, Tripti Nair, Rahul Singh Rawat, Aditya Kumar Sharma and Vijay Soni
Metabolites 2024, 14(1), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo14010063
“Exploring the Impact of Silicosis Incidence on Tuberculosis Mortality and Morbidity: A Multi-Country Study”
by Muayad Albadrani
Med. Sci. 2023, 11(4), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/medsci11040063
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“Prevention, Treatment and Diagnosis of Tuberculosis, 2nd Edition” |
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“Tuberculosis in Special Populations: Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Interventions” |
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“The Old and New Faces of Epidemiology: From the Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases to Social Epidemiology” |
21 March 2025
World Oral Health Day 2025—“A Happy Mouth Is a Happy Mind”, 20 March 2025
World Oral Health Day is an annual observance dedicated to raising global awareness about the significance of maintaining good oral health and its impact on overall well-being. It serves as a call to action for people worldwide to take charge of their oral hygiene and to understand the critical role it plays in their quality of life. The date marks the World Health Organization’s very first World Health Day back in 1950. Since then, 20 March has been recognized as a day to highlight the importance of oral health.
We hope that the established journals within the fields of biology and life sciences, engineering, multidisciplinary healthcare, medicine, and pharmacology in MDPI, including Microorganisms, Methods and Protocols, Healthcare, Oral, Applied Sciences, Journal of Personalized Medicine and Reports will provide a conducive platform for the sharing of cutting-edge research and innovative ideas regarding oral health care.
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“Intraoral Lipoma on the Palate of an 11-Year-Old Patient: A Case Report”
by Vasileios Zisis, Christina Charisi, Konstantinos Poulopoulos, Petros Papadopoulos and Athanasios Poulopoulos
Reports 2025, 8(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/reports8010019
“The Evolving Microbiome of Dental Caries”
by Grace Spatafora, Yihong Li, Xuesong He, Annie Cowan and Anne C. R. Tanner
Microorganisms 2024, 12(1), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12010121
“Barriers to Oral Health Care for Autistic Individuals—A Scoping Review”
by Jayne Jones, Elysa Roberts, Deborah Cockrell, Denise Higgins and Dileep Sharma
Healthcare 2024, 12(1), 103; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12010103
“Role of Oral Microbiota Dysbiosis in the Development and Progression of Oral Lichen Planus”
by Alessandro Lavoro, Giovanni Cultrera, Giuseppe Gattuso, Cinzia Lombardo, Luca Falzone, Candido Saverio, Massimo Libra and Mario Salmeri
J. Pers. Med. 2024, 14(4), 386; https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm14040386
“Malignant Transformation of Oral Lichen Planus—An Umbrella Study of Systematic Reviews”
by Saman Warnakulasuriya, Pablo Ramos-García and Miguel Ángel González-Moles
Oral 2023, 3(3), 295-306; https://doi.org/10.3390/oral3030024
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“Orthodontics and Oral Surgery in Personalized Medicine: 2nd Edition” |
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“Oral Health and Quality of Life in Older People” |
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“Oral Microbes and Human Health, Second Edition” |
18 March 2025
Meet Us at the International Virus Bioinformatics Meeting 2025 (ViBioM2025), 13–15 May 2025, Lisbon, Portugal
18 March 2025
Meet Us at the ASM Microbe 2025, 19–23 June 2025, Los Angeles, USA
27 February 2025
Meet Us at the 19th Conference of the International Society of Travel Medicine (CISTM19), 11–15 May 2025, New Orleans, USA
27 February 2025
More than 300 MDPI Journals Indexed in Web of Science
MDPI is pleased to share a significant milestone in its mission to advance scholarly research and promote the dissemination of knowledge—300+ MDPI journals are now indexed in Web of Science (WoS). This milestone highlights the global recognition, interdisciplinary impact and enhanced visibility of our journals. It also reflects our adherence to rigorous editorial standards, scientific integrity, and our mission to foster open scientific exchange in all forms, across all disciplines.
To explore the full list of our journals indexed in WoS, please visit https://www.mdpi.com/about/journals/wos. Beyond expanding the coverage of our publications in the leading academic databases, we are dedicated to ensuring that our journals are included in as many scope-specific databases as possible. This increases the visibility of our authors’ work and extends the reach of their significant data.
This milestone would not have been possible without the efforts and expertise of our academic editors, reviewers and authors. Their commitment and collaboration have been instrumental in creating an inclusive, accessible, and impactful publishing platform. We also extend our gratitude to the global research community for their trust as we continue to break new ground in academic publishing. This milestone is not just a celebration of MDPI’s progress but also recognition of the collective strides made by researchers worldwide.
As we celebrate this remarkable accomplishment, MDPI remains steadfast in its commitment to open access publishing and ensuring that high-quality research reaches and inspires a global audience.
