The last year has demonstrated the pivotal role that science plays in our society. Years of foundational research led to the successful development of, at the time of writing, two approved effective vaccines in less than 12 months after the first report of SARS-CoV-2. These first two vaccines are also a testament to the importance of formulation sciences as they rely on delivery in lipid-based nanotechnology. Science, however, cannot fully mitigate the human cost associated with the virus. COVID-19 has had staggering health, social and economic impacts. It has also shone a bright light on the many inequities that exist in our society. Unfortunately, we must acknowledge that these same inequities exist in our scientific community. We have an opportunity to further advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in our community. This is needed to foster and accelerate innovation. And it's the right thing to do.
As we move into 2021, we are expanding and increasing the diversity of our editorial team. Please join me in welcoming two new Associate Editors: Drs. Yunching (Becky) Chen (National Tsing-Hua University, Taiwan) and Kanjiro Miyata (University of Tokyo, Japan). We also welcome Drs. Ana Beloqui Garcia (Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium), Daishun Ling (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Zhejiang University, China) and Devika Manickam (Duquesne University, US) as new Assistant Editors. The role of Assistant Editor is new to the journal and has been created to bring the voices of early career researchers onto our editorial team.
We say farewell to three editors who have played critical roles in our journal and community. We thank Drs. Hideyoshi Harashima, Wim Hennink and Akihiko Kikuchi for their many years of exceptional service. Dr. Hennink has kindly agreed to stay on as a special advisor to me and the editorial team.
2020 was a difficult year, but one which has also raised the profile of science and identified the opportunity to further embrace the principles of EDI to help drive innovation and support the betterment of our community. I look forward to working with each of you in 2021.