Announcements

MDPI is honored to announce the recipients of the 2025 Best Paper Awards, celebrating exceptional research for its scientific merit and broad impact. After a rigorous evaluation process conducted by Academic Editors, this year’s awards showcase papers that stand out for their innovation, relevance, and high-quality presentation.

Out of a highly competitive pool, 396 winning papers have been recognized for their exceptional contributions. We congratulate these authors for pushing the boundaries of their respective disciplines.

At MDPI, we are dedicated to broadening the reach of innovative science. To learn more about the award-winning papers and explore research projects in your field of study, please visit the following links:

• Biology and Life Sciences;
• Business and Economics;
• Chemistry and Materials Sciences;
• Computer Sciences and Mathematics;
• Engineering;
• Environmental and Earth Sciences;
• Medicine and Pharmacology;
• Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities;
• Physical Sciences;
• Public Health and Healthcare.

About MDPI Awards:

To reward the global research community and enhance academic dialogue, MDPI journals regularly host award programs across diverse scientific disciplines. These awards, serving as a source of inspiration and recognition, help raise the influence of talented individuals who have been credited with outstanding achievements and whose work drives the advancement of their fields.

Explore the Best Paper Awards open for participation, please click here.

We are delighted to announce the 1st International Online Conference on Behavioral Sciences (IOCBS2026), chaired by Prof. Dr. Jerrell Cassady (Department of Educational Psychology, Ball State University, Muncie, 47306, United States), which will take place from 1 to 3 April 2026.

IOCBS2026 warmly invites researchers from academic institutions and professionals in the behavioral sciences industry to share their original research, innovative ideas, scientific insights, and practical experiences.

We welcome contributions that align with the following thematic areas:
S1. Psychiatric, emotional, and behavioral disorders;
S2. Cognition;
S3. Developmental psychology;
S4. Educational psychology;
S5. Social psychology;
S6. Health psychology;
S7. Child and adolescent psychiatry;
S8. Organizational behaviors;
S9. Experimental and clinical neurosciences.

Important deadlines:
Deadline for abstract submission: 4 January 2026;
Notification of acceptance: 29 January 2026;
Deadline for registration: 27 March 2026.

Guide for Authors:

To submit your abstract, please click on the following link: https://sciforum.net/user/submission/create/1351.

To register for the event for free, please click on the following link: https://sciforum.net/event/IOCBS2026?section=#registration.

For more information, you may refer to: https://sciforum.net/event/iocbs2026.

For any enquiries regarding the event, please contact us at iocbs2026@mdpi.com.

We look forward to seeing you at the 1st International Online Conference on Behavioral Sciences.

MDPI is delighted to announce the establishment of the Michele Parrinello Award. Named in honor of Professor Michele Parrinello, the award celebrates his exceptional contributions and his profound impact on the field of computational physical science research.

The award will be presented biennially to distinguished scientists who have made outstanding achievements and contributions in the field of computational physical science—spanning physics, chemistry, and materials science.

About Professor Michele Parrinello

"Do not be afraid of new things. I see it many times when we discuss a new thing that young people are scared to go against the mainstream a little bit, thinking what is going to happen to me and so on. Be confident that what you do is meaningful, and do not be afraid, do not listen too much to what other people have to say.”

——Professor Michele Parrinello

Born in Messina in 1945, he received his degree from the University of Bologna and is currently affiliated with the Italian Institute of Technology. Professor Parrinello is known for his many technical innovations in the field of atomistic simulations and for a wealth of interdisciplinary applications ranging from materials science to chemistry and biology. Together with Roberto Car, he introduced ab initio molecular dynamics, also known as the Car–Parrinello method, marking the beginning of a new era both in the area of electronic structure calculations and in molecular dynamics simulations. He is also known for the Parrinello–Rahman method, which allows crystalline phase transitions to be studied by molecular dynamics. More recently, he has introduced metadynamics for the study of rare events and the calculation of free energies.

For his work, he has been awarded many prizes and honorary degrees. He is a member of numerous academies and learned societies, including the German Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, the British Royal Society, and the Italian Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, which is the major academy in his home country of Italy.

Award Committee

The award committee will be chaired by Professor Xin-Gao Gong, a computational condensed matter physicist, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and professor at the Department of Physics, Fudan University. Professor Xin-Gao Gong will lead a panel of several senior experts in the field to oversee the evaluation and selection process. The Institute for Computational Physical Sciences at Fudan University (Shanghai, China), led by Professor Xin-Gao Gong, will serve as the supporting institute for the award.

"We hope the Michele Parrinello Award will recognize scientists who have made significant contributions to the field of computational condensed matter physics and at the same time set a benchmark for the younger generation, providing clear direction for their pursuit—this is precisely the original intention behind establishing the award."

——Professor Xin-Gao Gong

The first edition of the award was officially launched on 1 November 2025. Nominations will be accepted before the end of March 2026. For further details, please visit mparrinelloaward.org.

About the MDPI Sustainability Foundation and MDPI Awards

The Michele Parrinello Award is part of the MDPI Sustainability Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing sustainable development through scientific progress and global collaboration. The foundation also oversees the World Sustainability Award, the Emerging Sustainability Leader Award, and the Tu Youyou Award. The establishment of the Michele Parrinello Award will further enrich the existing award portfolio, providing continued and diversified financial support to outstanding professionals across various fields. 

In addition to these foundation-level awards, MDPI journals also recognize outstanding contributions through a range of honors, including Best Paper Awards, Outstanding Reviewer Awards, Young Investigator Awards, Travel Awards, Best PhD Thesis Awards, Editor of Distinction Awards, and others. These initiatives aim to recognize excellence across disciplines and career stages, contributing to the long-term vitality and sustainability of scientific research.

Find more information on awards here.

Conference: American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting 2026
Organization: American Psychiatric Association
Date: 16–20 May 2026
Place: San Francisco, USA

In a time when psychiatrists face increasing administrative demands, workforce shortages, and rapid changes in how care is delivered, the 2026 Annual Meeting theme, “Empowering the Psychiatric Workforce: Taking Control of Our Practices One Step at a Time”, captures both the challenges and opportunities ahead. It is a call to focus on what each of us can do, day by day, to strengthen our profession and the care we provide.

Empowerment begins with small, deliberate actions. It happens when psychiatrists find new ways to simplify processes, build more collaborative teams, or advocate for systems that support meaningful, patient-centered care. By taking ownership of these incremental changes, we begin to transform not only our practices, but also our collective confidence in shaping the future of mental health.

The 2026 Annual Meeting in San Francisco will highlight practical, evidence-based approaches to navigating today’s complex environment, through workshops, discussions, and shared strategies that meet psychiatrists where they are. It is an opportunity to connect, learn, and reenergize our sense of purpose.

MDPI will be attending the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting 2026. We welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest ideas with us.

The following open access journals will be represented:

• Children;
• Healthcare;
• Psychiatry International;
• Adolescents;
• Behavioral Sciences;
• CTN;
• Disabilities;
• EJIHPE;
• IJERPH;
• NeuroSci;
• Nursing Reports;
• Psychoactives;
• Psychology International;
• Sexes.

If you will be attending this conference, please feel free to visit our booth. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the official website: https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/meetings/annual-meeting.

Conference: 35th International Congress of the European Society of Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care
Date: 16–19 June 2026
Location: Valletta, Malta

MDPI will be attending the 35th International Congress of the European Society of Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care, which will be held from 16 June to 19 June 2026, as an exhibitor. We welcome researchers from various backgrounds to visit our booth and share their latest ideas with us.

The European Society for Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care (ESPNIC) is the world’s premier paediatric and neonatal critical care medicine society. ESPNIC is one of the oldest and largest paediatric scientific societies in Europe and the only one exclusively dedicated to critical care, that is, to the sickest children affected by complex disorders needing vital support, complex techniques, and multidisciplinary emergency management.

The ESPNIC promotes the delivery of the highest quality of care to critically ill children throughout Europe. The core values are truly multidisciplinary and multi-professional, focusing on intensive care medicine for the most critically ill patients and their families that we are daily taking care of in the neonatal (NICU) and the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

The ESPNIC will be held from 16 June to 19 June 2026, at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. We invite you to join us in Valletta, Malta, as we work together to promote the collective advancement of domestic research levels in the field of intensive care medicine.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Children;
• Pediatric Reports;
• IJERPH;
• Trends in Public Health;
• Clinics and Practice;
• Anesthesia Research;
• JCM;
• Reports;
• Diagnostics;
• Antibiotics;
• Diseases;
• Therapeutics;
• Nursing Reports.

This online Academic Publishing Workshop Series, hosted by MDPI’s journal International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH, ISSN: 1660-4601) in collaboration with the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Faculty of Health Science, offers participants practical advice for their academic writing. Over the six sessions, our Journal Relations Specialists Dr. Sally Wu, Dr. Barnaby Crook and Dr. Antigona Ulndreaj will discuss the following topics: “MDPI Editorial Process: Best Practices for Authors”, “Tips for Writing a Research Manuscript”, “Navigating Peer Review: Best Practices for Authors and Reviewers”, “The Scholarly Publishing Landscape”, “Publication Ethics for Authors”, and “ Artificial Intelligence in Publishing: From Pencils to Neural Networks”. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of the academic publishing landscape and how to successfully contribute to it.

Time: All sessions will be held 18:00–19:00 SAST

Schedule:

Speakers:

We are delighted to invite you to the World Kidney Day 2026 Webinar, taking place on 12 March 2026, with the theme of “Kidney Health for All: Caring for People, Protecting the Planet”. This webinar highlights the urgent need to advance prevention, early detection, and equitable access to kidney care while also addressing the environmental impact of kidney disease and its treatments. Climate-related risks such as air pollution, heat stress, and dehydration are increasingly linked to kidney disease, and the resource-intensive nature of some therapies underscores the importance of more sustainable healthcare practices.

The webinar will feature leading experts from research, clinical practice, and public health who will share insights and strategies to improve kidney health outcomes across diverse populations. The session aims to foster collaboration, raise awareness, and support actions that protect both people and the planet through more equitable and sustainable kidney care.

Date: 12 March 2026 at 6.00 p.m. CET | 1.00 p.m. EST | 10.00 a.m. PST
Webinar ID: 812 9109 9546
Website: https://sciforum.net/event/MWKD2026-2

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

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

Register now for free!

Program (Session 2):

Webinar Speakers:

• Dr. Surya Nauli, Chapman University, United States;
• Prof. Yuri Battaglia, University of Verona, Italy.

Name: Prof. Dr. Anabela Correia Martins
Affiliations: ¹ Coimbra Health School, Polytechnic University of Coimbra, Rua 5 de Outubro, 3045-043 Coimbra, Portugal; ² H&TR-Health & Technology Research Center, Coimbra Health School, Polytechnic University of Coimbra, Rua 5 de Outubro, 3045-043 Coimbra, Portugal; ³ Center for Rehabilitation Research, Health School, Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal; ⁴ SUScita—Research Group on Sustainability, Cities and Urban Intelligence, 3045-093 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: active and healthy ageing; fall prevention, movement and mobility; walkability and age-friendly environments; social participation and community engagement; digital health in physiotherapy; gerontechnology in physiotherapy

“Health and Functioning of Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Urban and Rural Areas of Portugal—What Are the Implications for Physiotherapy Care?”
by Magda Reis, Sara Ferreira, Monserrat Conde and Anabela Correia Martins
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22(12), 1827; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22121827
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/12/1827

The following is the interview with Prof. Dr. Anabela Correia Martins:

1. Congratulations on your recent publication! Could you briefly introduce yourself and your current research focus?
Thank you very much! My name is Anabela Correia Martins. I am a Coordinating Professor at the Polytechnic University of Coimbra IPC-ESTeSC Coimbra Health School, Physiotherapy, Coimbra, Portugal, with research focused on health promotion, fall prevention, healthy ageing, and assistive technologies at the H&TR-Health & Technology Research Center and the Center for Rehabilitation Research, Health School, Polytechnic of Porto. I am a trained physiotherapist with an MSc in sociology and a PhD in psychology. Following several years of clinical practice in hospitals, I have been fully dedicated to teaching and research since 2002.
I coordinate the Falls Group within Portugal’s National Patient Safety Plan 2021–2026 and have led the FallSensing project, which developed technological solutions for fall risk screening and preventive programs.
Currently, my work focuses on studying and promoting active and healthy ageing, with a particular emphasis on fall prevention and health literacy, while being mindful of the inequalities that exist in our country and the scarcity of prevention policies in general, and of healthy ageing policies in particular. I also work in areas related to gerontechnology and the sustainability of physiotherapy care. In practice, this involves developing and evaluating exercise- and education-based interventions aimed at reducing risk and improving mobility, participation, and confidence among older adults. Empowering people throughout the life span, as well as society, together with the use of low-cost technologies and digital solutions, are key strategies to support the autonomy of older adults. For example, in projects such as FallSensing, we have evaluated and adapted formats of exercise programs for older adults, integrated with technological tools.

2. What inspired you to focus on this topic?
What inspired me to choose this topic was always my perception of the very concrete needs of the people I work with, particularly older adults who face mobility risks and limitations and who live in social and cultural contexts that are very specific to Southern Europe.
Throughout my clinical practice and later in my research work, I have seen how falls, functional decline, and a lack of health literacy limit people’s autonomy, social participation, and quality of life. This everyday reality motivated me to develop solutions that would not remain only on paper but could be used and adopted by people living in real communities.
In addition, working daily with undergraduate and postgraduate students is more than an opportunity to put ideas into practice, it is a responsibility. I see them as partners in discovering innovative, sustainable, and equitable responses to the challenges of ageing. For this reason, the projects and programs we develop and implement are grounded in the best scientific evidence available, as they must be. At the same time, we carry out complementary work to test strategies to ensure long-term adherence and sustainability across years and generations. Within our team, we value unity, solidarity, and interdependence between science and society, characterized by the sharing of values and norms and a strong sense of belonging. This approach also contributes to the training of future physiotherapists who can create interventions that are useful, fair, and lasting for communities.
This motivation led me to investigate interventions that are not only effective, but also feasible and culturally appropriate; for example, adapting fall prevention and physical activity promotion programs to rural or urban contexts, so that they can genuinely address real ageing-related problems.
To conclude, my interest emerged from the desire to respond to tangible needs—not only general ones, but also those specific to our region and culture—by helping older adults remain active, safe, and included in their communities, building solutions with equality and real-world impact.

3. Your study highlights significant health disparities between rural and urban older adults in Portugal. What do you think are the most actionable insights for public health policymakers?
Direct more resources and tailored programs towards rural areas, where functional limitations, social isolation, and social exclusion are more pronounced.
Promote self-efficacy for exercise and social participation as core pillars of active ageing policies, through community-based initiatives in both rural and urban settings.
Integrate fall prevention with the management of chronic diseases, using regular functional assessment and combined physiotherapy and health education interventions.
Adapt messages, materials, and actions to different levels of health literacy and local contexts, ensuring equity in both access to and effectiveness of interventions.
In this way, policies can become more closely aligned with current evidence on who is at greater risk and which barriers need to be removed to improve the health and functional capacity of older adults in Portugal.

4. What role can digital physical therapy or telehealth play in bridging the rural-urban gap in rehabilitation access?
Telephysiotherapy and other digital forms of care can be a practical and relatively rapid way to reach rural populations with greater health needs and fewer local resources. They can offer personalized interventions, monitored by professionals, with potential cost-effectiveness and good acceptability—especially when local support and low-cost and user-friendly materials for older adults are in place.
Portuguese society has shown strong social cohesion in times of emergency, as we witnessed during the devastating wildfires of recent summers and as we have seen in recent weeks with successive storms. For example, by involving physiotherapy students, community agents, senior clubs, or primary care units, telephysiotherapy can complement and strengthen existing services rather than compete with them, thereby increasing sustainability.

5. Could you share your vision for the future of your research and the contributions you aspire to make in your field?
I see the future of my research as an increasingly integrated path between technological innovation, social commitment, and human development. I aim to contribute to a model of physiotherapy and health promotion that is entrepreneurial and forward-looking, but also deeply empathetic, equitable, and person-centered.
Recent results from our study with older adults in Portugal revealed clear disparities between rural and urban areas. Sharing these findings showed me that, for some professionals and decision-makers, they were genuinely surprising. In Portugal, and perhaps in other parts of the world, there is an idealized belief that living in rural areas guarantees a better quality of life. This may indeed be true, if services, systems, and policies are also ensured to address residents’ needs, including some very basic ones. These differences reinforce the existence of gaps in access and functional capacity that cannot be ignored and of which decision-makers must be fully aware.
From this perspective, I envision three interconnected lines of progress:
1) Democratize access to physiotherapy for the promotion of active ageing, especially in less advantaged contexts. This includes using technology, telehealth, and artificial intelligence to deliver assessment, guidance, and exercise programs in an accessible, reliable, and culturally adapted way to rural or more isolated communities. However, technology should not be introduced for its own sake. It is essential to ensure that these tools are designed with cultural sensitivity, accessible language, local support, and continuous training for professionals and students, so that they become real instruments of inclusion rather than mere technological luxuries.
2) Foster responsible and sustainable innovation by combining technology with the humanization of care. AI and other technologies should act as allies to physiotherapy, enhancing risk analysis, program personalization, and monitoring, while simultaneously strengthening the quality of the human relationship between professionals and service users. This requires us, as clinicians, educators, and researchers, to continue developing not only technical skills but also competencies in listening, empathy, ethics, and leadership. I want the projects I lead and the students I train to be prepared to build technological solutions that respect and value everyone, regardless of where they live.
3) Create scalable and equitable solutions with genuine local impact. Inspired by the reality highlighted in our study, my ambition is to develop programs and models that can be scaled up—such as community-based fall prevention models or technology-mediated exercise and social participation programs—without losing sensitivity to the specific characteristics of each region and culture. This involves social entrepreneurship: building partnerships, exploring new funding models, developing multidisciplinary projects, and collaborating with policymakers, communities, and civil society organizations. The goal is for science to generate real impact, for interventions to reach those who need them most, and for equity to be a daily practice rather than a slogan.

6. What advice would you give to young scholars seeking to get into academia or publish their work?
I know well how insecurities arise—the academic world often feels full of demands, rigorous evaluations, deadlines, doubts about whether our work will truly have an impact, and even uncertainty about the future. But I want to leave a message of hope and confidence for young scholars and younger researchers: you already carry a distinctive “DNA of extraordinary technological skills.” This is an enormous advantage. What further strengthens this potential is equally embracing human skills—teamwork, empathy, collaboration with citizens, rigor, ethics, and intellectual and scientific honesty. It is this combination that creates science that is useful, sustainable, and capable of making a real difference in people’s lives.
You master digital tools, data, technology, and cutting-edge methods. Use them to solve real problems, not merely to publish for the sake of publishing. Consider, for example, this study showing clear differences between rural and urban older adults in Portugal. These are not just statistics, they are signals of real inequalities that must be addressed. Like this one, there will be many other relevant projects that identify gaps, propose solutions, and test them rigorously.
Cultivate teamwork and cooperation with diverse stakeholders. High-quality research emerges when different minds come together: colleagues from other disciplines, frontline professionals, communities, users, and decision-makers. By embracing diverse perspectives, research becomes stronger, more grounded, and more resilient to criticism.
Practice rigor and ethics from the very beginning—this protects and enhances your work. Intellectual honesty, methodological clarity, transparency in results, and respect for the people involved are not just values, they are the foundations that make research credible, replicable, and useful in the long term. When doubts arise, returning to these principles is the safest path forward.
View every challenge or rejection as a learning opportunity, not as failure. Critical reviews, rejected papers, or difficult questions at conferences are part of the process. Do not be discouraged. Use them to improve your study, refine your message, and strengthen your methodology. The most respected researchers have all been through this.
Maintain your curiosity and take care of your human development. Studying, publishing, and teaching are also opportunities to grow as a person. Develop empathy, active listening, and cultural sensitivity. This ensures that science does not become distant or cold but instead remains a truly transformative force.

7. Could you share your experience with the publication process, and what motivated you to choose our journal for publishing this study?
We chose this journal because I recognize it as having a serious editorial team, clear policies, and wide visibility, including open access, which facilitates the rapid dissemination of results to professionals, decision-makers, and society at large.
The process was rigorous and demanding at every stage—from submission to review and final corrections—which reinforces the high standards required. At the same time, I felt genuine support in addressing questions, and a clear appreciation of the work. Communication was always smooth and transparent, making the experience constructive.

We are delighted to invite you to the World Kidney Day 2026 Webinar, taking place on 12 March 2026, with the theme of “Kidney Health for All: Caring for People, Protecting the Planet”. This webinar highlights the urgent need to advance prevention, early detection, and equitable access to kidney care while also addressing the environmental impact of kidney disease and its treatments. Climate-related risks such as air pollution, heat stress, and dehydration are increasingly linked to kidney disease, and the resource-intensive nature of some therapies underscores the importance of more sustainable healthcare practices.

This webinar will feature leading experts from research, clinical practice, and public health who will share insights and strategies to improve kidney health outcomes across diverse populations. The session aims to foster collaboration, raise awareness, and support actions that protect both people and the planet through more equitable and sustainable kidney care.

Date: 12 March 2026 at 12:00 p.m. CET | 8:00 p.m. JPT | 7:00 p.m. CST Asia
Webinar ID: 827 1459 8486
Website: https://sciforum.net/event/MWKD2026-1

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

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

Register now for free!

Program (Session 1):

Webinar Speakers:

• Dr. Kunitoshi Iseki, Nakamura Clinic, Japan;
• Dr. Jing Miao, Mayo Clinic, USA;
• Dr. Saisho Yoshifumi, Saisho Diabetes Clinic, Japan.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Paul B. Allwood, who has recently published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH, ISSN: 1660-4601). Here, he shares insights into his academic journey, research focus, and the motivation behind his recent work.

Name: Dr. Paul B. Allwood
Affiliation: National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA

“Association Between Low-Level Lead Exposure and Serum Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase Concentrations as a Biomarker of Oxidative Stress in U.S. Adolescents Aged 12–19 Years”
by Wenping Hu, Tanya T. LeBlanc, Audrey F. Pennington, Cheryl R. Cornwell and Paul B. Allwood
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2026, 23(1), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23010028
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/23/1/28

Below is the interview with Dr. Paul B. Allwood:

1. Congratulations on your recent publication! Could you briefly introduce yourself and your current research focus?

I'm the branch chief for the Lead Poisoning Prevention and Surveillance Branch at CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health. My team and I work on CDC's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. Our mission is straightforward: to eliminate lead exposure as a public health threat for children. This study came out of that work. We're constantly looking at the data to understand how lead affects children's health, even at levels that were once considered safe. Understanding these effects helps us develop better strategies to protect children across the country.

2. What inspired you to focus on low-level lead exposure in adolescents rather than adults or occupational groups?

Most research on lead and oxidative stress has focused on adults in occupational settings—workers who face relatively high exposures. But adolescents are going through critical developmental changes, and their bodies may be particularly vulnerable to even small amounts of lead. What's more, adolescents are encountering lead in their everyday environments: homes, schools, and neighborhoods. We wanted to better understand whether the lead that persists in our environment today negatively impacts adolescents aged 12-19 years. The short answer is we have confirmed that even low levels of lead in the bloodstream are hazardous to a child’s health. This validates our position that there is simply no safe level of lead exposure.

3. What are the potential public health implications of linking low-level lead exposure to oxidative stress in young people?

The implications are significant. Oxidative stress is essentially cellular damage. It’s linked to a range of health problems, including cognitive difficulties, cardiovascular issues, and kidney dysfunction. If we're seeing signs of oxidative stress at lead levels five times lower than the current CDC blood lead reference value of 3.5 ug/dL, it confirms our current position that no amount of lead exposure is safe for children. From a public health perspective, this reinforces the urgency of eliminating remaining lead sources, such as paint from before the 1978 ban, aging water infrastructure with lead or lead-coated pipes, and contaminated soil, as well as emerging sources like food, cookware, cosmetics, some imported toys and jewelry, and some imported candies and traditional medicines. It's not just about preventing the dramatic lead poisoning cases we saw decades ago; it's about protecting every child and teen from subtle, chronic damage that could affect their long-term health, learning, and quality of life.

4. Your research suggests that lead might be quietly affecting our bodies in ways we don’t immediately see. What would you say is the most underappreciated source of lead exposure today?

I think many people assume lead is a problem of the past because we removed it from gasoline and paint. But lead doesn’t disappear; it persists in the environment for generations. The most underappreciated sources are probably the “invisible” ones: lead service lines delivering water to homes, deteriorating lead paint in older housing (especially in lower-income communities), and contaminated soil around homes and play areas where lead paint chips have accumulated or where leaded gasoline residue settled decades ago. These sources don't make headlines, but they result in ongoing, low-level exposures that add up over time. Children in older neighborhoods are particularly at risk, and many families have no idea they're being exposed.

5. Where do you see the field of environmental health moving in the next 5–10 years, especially regarding low-level toxin exposure?

I think we’re entering an era of greater precision and integration. Our team has worked to address this issue by lowering our blood lead reference value in 2021 and launching the Lead Detect Prize in 2023 to promote the need to enhance the detection of low levels of lead exposure through blood tests administered where medical care is given. I expect we’ll see more research on how lead, cadmium, mercury, and other environmental contaminants interact in the body. We’ll also leverage better biomarkers and more sophisticated data analysis to detect subtle health effects earlier. Technology will play a role, too, with access to better screening tools and real-time environmental monitoring. Ultimately, I hope the field moves toward true primary prevention: removing hazards before exposure occurs, rather than just managing them after the fact.

6. For researchers considering where to publish, what would you say are the strengths of IJERPH compared to other journals in environmental health?

We sought to publish in a journal that had three key features: open access, an interdisciplinary approach, and a reasonable timeframe from manuscript submission to actual publication. Open access is important so our findings can reach the widest possible audience. An interdisciplinary approach is important because it enables us to bridge environmental science, epidemiology, toxicology, and public health practice. A reasonable timeframe is important because it is important to get findings out to inform current prevention efforts.