In April 2021, I was appointed as Editor-in-Chief of ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science (ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci.). I am truly excited to design, direct, and shape the future of this young, promising interdisciplinary journal. The American Chemical Society (ACS) is the world’s largest scientific society and a true global leader in chemistry-based science. I have been an ACS member for about 25 years, publishing regularly in ACS journals, many of which belong to my favorites. ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. has filled a gap in the large family of ACS journals: it contributes to disseminating research and knowledge in the vital field of pharmacology and drug development, thereby promoting science, bridging the gap toward translational science, and eventually improving patients’ health and peoples’ lives by optimizing diagnostics and therapeutic drugs.
The journal, founded in 2018, is still young and has great potential. It has various manuscript formats, such as regular Editorials, Viewpoints, and Drug Discovery Stories, original full Articles and Letters as well as Reviews (including Mini-Reviews) and Perspectives. Importantly, the Instructions for Authors are detailed but allow flexibility to avoid the need of reformatting; e.g., in case a manuscript was rejected by another high-ranking journal, authors will be able to directly submit to ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. without immediate time-consuming format changes.
Pharmacology and translational science are highly interdisciplinary research fields solving complex problems for the benefit of society. ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. therefore has a very broad scope, addressing biologists and pharmacologists as well as chemical biologists and medicinal chemists. Importantly, in vivo studies are not required for publication in the journal (see Box 1).
Box 1. In vivo data are not required.
ACS Pharmacol. Trans. Sci. has a broad scope and publishes original articles presenting data from a variety of studies including but not limited to in vivo studies. In vitro studies, and in some cases also in silico studies, are welcome as outlined in the Instructions for Authors.
In the future, we will continue various initiatives, for example, special issues like the recent one on “Psychedelics: New Advances in Preclinical and Clinical Studies” by guest editor David Olson. Our next special issue will be on epigenetics, in collaboration with several other ACS journals, each one with a focus on a specific subset of the topic. ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. will highlight biomarkers and introduce recommended tool compounds for studying epigenetic targets (also see subsequent paragraph). Additional initiatives will be launched in the near future with the aim to take the journal to the next level. The following paragraphs describe some of the proposed new formats, topics, activities, and priorities.
Recommended Tool Compounds
A new initiative will be the establishment of a series of Review articles on recommended pharmacological tool compounds. There is an urgent need for a reliable source of such information provided by experts in the field. Medicinal chemists with knowledge of pharmacology, or interdisciplinary teams of authors, will be perfectly suited to write such highly useful Review articles on a specific target family, while the readers will be mainly biologists, pharmacologists, and translational scientists. Those Reviews are to contain as much information on the tool compounds as available, including their suitability for in vivo studies, data on solubility and (metabolic) stability, recommended doses for particular experiments, etc. Ideally, the recommended tool compounds should be commercially available or otherwise accessible. If this is not the case, the article may even initiate subsequent commercialization of particular best-in-class tool compounds. Biologists and pharmacologists will be extremely grateful for a resource that helps them to identify and select the right molecular tools for their studies. These recommendations will be updated on a regular basis.
Studies on Species Differences
Species can play a significant role in pharmacology. For example, tool compounds and drugs, often developed and optimized using purified human target proteins, may have very different activities in rodents. Often, such compounds are used in animal studies, e.g. in mouse or rat, without knowing the compound’s affinity in those species. Studies on different species and potential species differences will be encouraged, and ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. will provide a forum for their publication. This will lead to articles with highly useful data.
Authoritative Review Article Series
Moreover, I will establish a series of authoritative Review articles on target classes, each written by a group of leaders in the respective field, which will be regularly updated. Together with the team and the Editorial Advisory Board, I will make a plan to cover a large range of important topics. The latest upcoming topics, e.g. COVID-19, will be incorporated as well.
Important Topics and New Emerging Areas
Scientific topics and fields of research suitable for publication in ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. comprise but are not limited to:
Important target classes, such as GPCRs, kinases, ion channels, and enzymes; a particularly important novel topic is orphan GPCRs, many of which have great potential as future drug targets
Purinergic signaling/purinergic targets/roles of extracellular nucleosides and nucleotides
A broad range of indications, in particular CNS, including neurodegenerative disorders/dementias; proteinopathies; cardiovascular diseases; metabolic diseases; kidney, liver, and bronchial diseases; inflammation, cancer, and rare diseases
An important focus will be on immuno-oncology and immune diseases, including (new) checkpoint inhibitors, purine receptors, ectonucleotidases, and further innovative targets in this field
Natural products and nutrition/nutraceuticals
Biologicals, bioactive peptides, and macrocyclic drugs
Photoswitchable drugs, light-activated drugs, and other innovative prodrugs
Optopharmacology
New modalities, in particular PROTACs, other chemical knockdown approaches, and antibody–drug conjugates
RNA/DNA drugs and RNAs/DNAs as drug targets
Diagnostics (e.g., fluorescence-based and PET ligands)
Gender pharmacology
Personalized medicine
Structural biology
Organoids in drug development
These topics will get particular attention, but we welcome new suggestions, and the list will be regularly updated. Please email me to discuss potential additions.
High Ethical and Scientific Standards
The highest ethical and scientific standards, e.g. regarding statistical data analysis, repeatability, and reproducibility of experimental results, will be applied to all processes of publishing in ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. Knowing that animal models are in many cases indispensable, it is our responsibility to adhere to the strictest rules for animal welfare. Whenever possible, they have to be replaced by in vitro studies, e.g. using native tissues or primary cells. Our ACS team will promote the significance of equality, diversity, and inclusion. We will integrate and support young, emerging scientists, e.g. by inviting them as authors or reviewers and as members of the Editorial Advisory Board.
Conclusions
ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci., founded in 2018, is on its way to become one of the most widely known and highly valued journals by biologists, pharmacologists, chemists, and translational scientists in general. It has a very broad scope and welcomes in vitro as well as in vivo studies. New initiatives are being launched, including a review article series on recommended pharmacological tool compounds. The journal will set new standards in the field, support diversity, and include emerging young scientists who will play an active role, e.g. as members of the Editorial Advisory Board. Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or suggestions at eic@ptsci.acs.org, and do consider submitting your work to ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. (see Box 2 for reasons to publish in this journal). I believe passionately in the rising success of ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. and its impact on people.
Box 2. 10 Reasons to publish in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science.
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1.
High reputation: ACS is the largest scientific society in the world
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2.
Broad spectrum of research
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3.
High visibility, high impact
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4.
High scientific and ethical standards
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5.
Flexibility in initial formatting
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6.
Rapid time to publication
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7.
Possibility for easy transfer to other ACS journals
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8.
No mandatory publication charge, color images for free
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9.
ACS marketing activities
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10.
Award-winning ACS Web and Mobile Editions platforms
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and not necessarily the views of the ACS.