In honor of the journal's 10th anniversary, check out these interviews with authors of some of the most influential articles over the past decade.
ACS Infectious Diseases is highlighting some of the most-influential and -cited articles from over the past ten years. As part of the journal’s 10th Anniversary celebration, we took the opportunity meet with the authors of these articles to learn more about their research, why they chose to publish in ACS Infectious Diseases, and their outlook on the field of infectious diseases research in the coming decade.
In 2024, ACS Infectious Diseases is celebrating 10 years of publishing articles encompassing different areas of research on infectious diseases, including research on pathogens, host-pathogen interactions, drug resistance, therapeutics, diagnostics, vaccines, anti-infective biomaterials, drug-delivery systems, and other biomedical technology developments pertaining to infectious diseases. In celebration of this milestone, the journal has compiled a Collection of the most-cited articles from each year since the launch of the journal in 2015. As Editor-in-Chief Jayanta Haldar remarks in his Editorial, this Collection “represents a milestone, reflecting the dedication and innovative spirit of researchers striving to address the most pressing challenges in the field of infectious diseases.”
Learn more about the authors of these influential articles and their research below.
Prof. Mark Blaskovich
Top-Cited Article: Nanomaterials: The New Antimicrobial Magic Bullet
Prof. Mark Blaskovich is an ‘antibiotic hunter’ and Director of Translation for the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at The University of Queensland, Australia. A medicinal chemist with 15 years of industrial drug development experience, since 2010 he has been developing new antibiotics, non-antibiotic therapies, and diagnostics to detect and treat resistant bacterial and fungal infections.
What made you choose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish your research, or your thoughts about ACS Infectious Diseases?
As a long-term ACS member (coming up on my 25th anniversary next year!), I strongly believe in supporting society journals. ACS Infectious Diseases nicely matches the main focus of my interdisciplinary research, marrying chemistry with microbiology, reaching an audience that spans both worlds.
Could you tell us a bit about your published ACS Infectious Diseases research article?
My published article (one of 12 commentaries, reviews, and research articles I have published in ACS ID) is a review looking at the importance of nanomaterial-based formulations in fighting antimicrobial resistance. It discusses different types of nanoparticles, and their application in directly killing bacteria, improving the formulation and delivery of existing antibiotics, or a combination of both strategies.
How do you look at the field of infectious diseases in the coming decade?
Infectious diseases, including bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic infections, are a threat to human health and the global economy. The coming decade will see an increasing effort at holistic approaches that encompass a 'One-Health' strategy, given that antimicrobial resistance spans human, environmental and agricultural sectors. Novel, non-antibiotic strategies will receive increasing attention, but traditional antibiotics will remain the mainstay of therapeutic treatments for the foreseeable future.
Prof. Cyrille Boyer
Top-Cited Article: Rational Design of Single-Chain Polymeric Nanoparticles That Kill Planktonic and Biofilm Bacteria
Prof. Cyrille Boyer, an Australian Laureate Fellow, and Highly Cited Researcher at UNSW, holds a professorial position within the School of Chemical Engineering. His pioneering research delves into the precise synthesis of functional macromolecules using photocatalysts, with diverse applications spanning nanomedicine, advanced materials, and energy storage. Particularly noteworthy is his focus on developing synthetic polymers endowed with bioactive properties, like antimicrobial activity, to combat fungal and bacterial infections effectively. He has published over 400 articles and has an H-index of 104. He is also a member of many editorial boards, including ACS Infectious Diseases.
What made you choose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish your research, or your thoughts about ACS Infectious Diseases?
We selected ACS Infectious Diseases as a publication venue due to its reputation for high-quality research in the field of infectious diseases. The journal has a rigorous peer-review process and broad readership, which offers an excellent platform to disseminate our findings and contribute to advancements in combating infectious diseases.
Could you tell us a bit about your published ACS Infectious Diseases research article?
Over the past five years, our research has yielded numerous articles centered on antimicrobial polymer design. In this specific paper, our meticulous control over copolymer microstructure allowed us to bestow these polymers with potent antibacterial properties against gram-negative bacteria, while also minimizing cytotoxic effects. Additionally, we showcased that bacteria did not develop rapidly resistance to these antimicrobial polymers, opening avenues for novel therapeutic approaches.
How do you look at the field of infectious diseases in the coming decade?
In the coming decade, I foresee significant progress in the field of infectious diseases driven by collaboration between chemists and microbiologists. The development of novel antimicrobial polymers, tailored to combat both antifungal and bacterial resistance, offers hope in tackling the critical issue of antimicrobial resistance. With a deeper understanding of pathogens, immune responses, and the structure-activity relationship of antimicrobial polymers, I anticipate transformative advancements in diagnostics, treatments, and preventive strategies against emerging and established infectious threats.
Dr. R.E.W. (Bob) Hancock OC, OBC, FRSC
Top-Cited Article: New Perspectives in Biofilm Eradication
Dr. R.E.W. (Bob) Hancock is a UBC Killam Professor of Microbiology & Immunology. His research interests include small cationic host defense peptides as novel antibiofilm agents and the systems biology of innate immunity, inflammatory diseases, sepsis, and Pseudomonas. He has published >840 papers, has 86 patents awarded, and was ranked 4th worldwide amongst microbiologists on Research.com.
What made you choose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish your research, or your thoughts about ACS Infectious Diseases?
ACS Infectious Diseases is a highly read specialist journal with a good impact factor. I have published 4 times there since 2018 and have always been impressed by the high standards of editing and peer review.
Could you tell us a bit about your published ACS Infectious Diseases research article?
Our article on biofilm eradication overviewed new strategies for defeating biofilm infections, which represent two thirds of all infections and are highly multidrug adaptively resistant but lack biofilm-specific FDA approved therapies. We discussed the most promising approaches including electrochemical methods, antimicrobial compounds (e.g. peptides) exhibiting antibiofilm activity, and biomolecules targeting the biofilm architecture, as well as biofilm drug delivery methods.
How do you look at the field of infectious diseases in the coming decade?
We should focus more on the issue of antibiotic failure which goes beyond genetic antibiotic resistance. In areas like sepsis, biofilms, and infections of individuals with underlying immune deficits, antibiotics frequently fail. Solutions will require integration of knowledge of the infectious agent and addressing the patient’s immune status.
Prof. Mary Jackson
Top-Cited Article: Direct Inhibition of MmpL3 by Novel Antitubercular Compounds
Prof. Mary C. Jackson is a Professor of Bacteriology at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. She earned a Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology (1998, Pasteur Institute, Paris, France). Her laboratory focuses on the elucidation of critical pathways leading to the biosynthesis and export of (glyco)lipids, fatty acids, and polysaccharides in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other mycobacterial pathogens of clinical interest with the goal to inform novel therapeutic strategies.
What made you choose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish your research, or your thoughts about ACS Infectious Diseases?
ACS Infectious Diseases is a great fit for the type of research conducted in my laboratory. The scope of this journal is unique in that it includes topics encompassing microbial physiology, host-pathogen interactions, antimicrobial resistance and therapeutics and biomarker development, thereby bridging the gap between basic and translational research.
Could you tell us a bit about your published ACS Infectious Diseases research article?
MmpL3 is an essential lipid transporter and a high-profile therapeutic target in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria. It is the target of several inhibitors currently under development. Our research article reports on the first assays capable of determining whether the inhibitory effect of compounds on lipid export results from their direct interaction with MmpL3 or from off-effects. The studies reported in this publication laid the groundwork for the rational optimization of MmpL3 inhibitors.
How do you look at the field of infectious diseases in the coming decade?
Recent years have witnessed a wave of severe infectious disease outbreaks and the risk of such outbreaks occurring is expected to increase aided by global connectivity and demographic and climatic changes. Tackling the issues of emerging and re-emerging pathogens, increased transmission and antimicrobial resistance will require highly integrated, multidisciplinary, research efforts embracing the concepts of One Health.
Prof. Sebastian Leptihn
Top-Cited Article: Synergistic Effects of Phage–Antibiotic Combinations against Citrobacter amalonaticus
After many years abroad, in Singapore, Oxford, and China, Professor Sebastian Leptihn is now back in Germany, working on phages as biological antibiotics. Phages can be employed as bacterial killers in an approach called phage therapy. He also enjoys teaching biochemistry and microbiology as a professor in Erfurt (Germany) and at the University of Southern Denmark, in Odense.
What made you choose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish your research, or your thoughts about ACS Infectious Diseases?
I like all journals of the American Chemical Society with their fair and transparent publishing process. It’s not the easiest to get a paper “in review”, but the respectful and constructive interaction with editors and reviewers always has been a very positive experience. Moreover, ACS journals have a very good reputation and reach a wide field of readers of diverse disciplines.
Could you tell us a bit about your published ACS Infectious Diseases research article?
Aside from phage resistance, our research goal is to understand the complex relationship between chemical antibiotics and phages. Surprisingly, even with completely drug-resistant bacteria, the addition of antibiotics together with phages can lead to a more efficient bacterial eradication, compared to either substance alone. This synergy can be explored in the clinic.
How do you look at the field of infectious diseases in the coming decade?
Infectious diseases are becoming more and more important, especially with the increase in drug resistance. Most big players in the pharmaceutical industry have abandoned R&D of antibiotics, so we need explore other avenues to treat bacterial infections. I firmly believe that phages are going to be one part of the solution to treat antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.
Prof. Gang Liu got his Ph.D. from Beijing Medical University in 1994 and had postdoctoral appointment at The Scripps Research Institute and University of California Davis. He built his laboratory in 2000 at Institute of Materia Medica, CAMS, and moved to Tsinghua University in 2011 to establish currently renamed School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. His lab is interested in the R&D of drug development to prevent from cancer and infectious diseases.
What made you choose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish your research, or your thoughts about ACS Infectious Diseases?
I loved ACS Infectious Diseases since it opened in 2014 because it covered a ranged scope on various infection diseases defined as a transformative journal, in particular on the research fields of integrating chemistry and biology.
Could you tell us a bit about your published ACS Infectious Diseases research article?
Our published papers on this journal covering the new fluorescent diagnosis probe of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the novel disruptors of intrabacterial pH homeostasis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis; the new HBV capsid assembly modulators; the new lipotrisaccharide derivatives as selectively lyse Streptococcus pneumoniae viainteraction with cell membrane. The SARS CoV peptide-based vaccine was published that there is an antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of SARS CoV infection related with specific and small number of epitopes. The generated ADE antibodies are common crossing the most infected patients.
How do you look at the field of infectious diseases in the coming decade?
The following research and transformation fields are the crucial in the next decade facing by human on infectious diseases, including continuously solve various antibiotics resistances, quick response to emerging and reemerging infection diseases, discover novel concept-based fast and safe vaccination approaches, develop ultra-highly efficient diagnosis technologies, and rational achieve proper drug PK/PD profiles etc.
Prof. Neil Osheroff
Top-Cited Article: Mechanistic and Structural Basis for the Actions of the Antibacterial Gepotidacin against Staphylococcus aureus Gyrase
Prof. Neil Osheroff joined the faculty of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1983. Currently, he is Professor of Biochemistry and Medicine and the John G. Coniglio Chair in Biochemistry. His laboratory focuses on type II topoisomerases, which are the targets for a number of widely prescribed antibacterial and anticancer drugs.
What made you choose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish your research, or your thoughts about ACS Infectious Diseases?
I have always been drawn to the high quality of ACS journals. As my laboratory moved into the field of antibacterials targeted to type II topoisomerases (gyrase and topoisomerase IV), ACS Infectious Diseases was a natural fit for my research. It is a highly visible and outstanding journal for our mechanistic work.
Could you tell us a bit about your published ACS Infectious Diseases research article?
The article describes the mechanism of action of gepotidacin against gyrase and the structure of the compound within the active site of the enzyme. It is the seminal paper on the mechanism of action of gepotidacin, which has the potential to become the first new class of antibacterials to enter the clinic in decades.
How do you look at the field of infectious diseases in the coming decade?
The development of vaccines to prevent infectious diseases will play a key role in the future. However, there also needs to be a greater investment in developing new classes of antibacterials/antivirals to cure infectious diseases in patients. Lacking this investment, we will find ourselves moving back to the pre-antibiotic era.
Prof. Kim Hamad-Schifferli
Top-Cited Article: Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy-Based Sandwich Immunoassays for Multiplexed Detection of Zika and Dengue Viral Biomarkers
Prof. Kim Hamad-Schifferli's group works in the area of nanobiotechnology, where they develop low-cost paper sensors and diagnostics for infectious diseases. They use novel properties of nanoparticles and assay design to impart new capabilities to tests. Prof. Hamad-Schifferli obtained her degrees in chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and University of California, Berkeley, was a postdoc and faculty at MIT, and is now at University of Massachusetts Boston.
What made you choose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish your research, or your thoughts about ACS Infectious Diseases?
Like many others developing diagnostics, our research is interdisciplinary, representing a cross section of many different fields. We were primarily publishing in chemistry and materials science journals beforehand but chose ACS Infectious Diseases for this work because we wanted to share our results with the broader infectious disease community where it could have the largest impact.
Could you tell us a bit about your published ACS Infectious Diseases research article?
A limitation of paper tests is that visual readout has limited sensitivity. We sought to combine the simplicity of paper tests with a more sensitive readout, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS).To do so, we used SERS Nanotags, which are tailored gold nanoparticles. The assay was 15X more sensitive and could detect zika and dengue in a single test.
How do you look at the field of infectious diseases in the coming decade?
COVID-19 has brought to everyone’s attention the importance of infectious diseases and greatly accelerated innovation and discovery, such as with vaccine development. COVID-19 has also exposed many shortcomings, and I hope that the momentum in research will continue help fill in these gaps. Cross-disciplinary efforts and integration with AI are now much more seamless, which undoubtedly enhance discovery.
Prof. Donatella Tondi
Top-Cited Article: Ten Years with New Delhi Metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1): From Structural Insights to Inhibitor Design
Prof. Donatella Tondi is an Associate Professor at the Department of Life Sciences - University of Modena Reggio Emilia, Italy. Her research interests include the structure based drug design and development of inhibitors targeting proteins involved in microbial resistance such as the hydrolytic enzymes beta-Lactamases and the bacterial DNA repair system SOS response.
What made you choose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish your research, or your thoughts about ACS Infectious Diseases?
ACS Infectious Diseases, with its mission to bring together chemistry and biology of infectious diseases as well as its outstanding level of published science represented the best choice for publishing our work. The incredible visibility we have obtained in just few years is the best reward for us and the proof we opted for the most suitable publication.
Could you tell us a bit about your published ACS Infectious Diseases research article?
NDM-1 represent one of the major causes of carbapenem resistance in the Enterobacterales, while the design of NDM-1 inhibitors remains challenging. The studies dedicated to the development of effective NDM-1 inhibitors, as well as the structural analysis of NDM-1 binding site flexibility orienting enzyme broad spectrum of action were evaluated.
How do you look at the field of infectious diseases in the coming decade?
Infections resistant to all available anti-infective drugs is a serious menace to human health. To fight resistant microorganisms, the development of new drugs hitting new targets, thus able to escape preexisting mechanisms of resistance, represent the desired valid solution to counteract the continuing emergence of resistant infections.
Prof. Gary Whittaker
Top-Cited Article: Proteolytic Activation of SARS-CoV-2 Spike at the S1/S2 Boundary: Potential Role of Proteases beyond Furin
Prof. Gary Whittaker conducts research on the structure and function of viral envelope proteins—in particular how genomic mutations lead to changes in the spike glycoproteins and control viral pathogenesis, for influenza viruses and coronaviruses—SARS-CoV-1 and -2, MERS-CoV and feline coronaviruses, particularly in domestic cats and their spillover potential to urban wildlife. His work informs novel therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostic test development.
What made you choose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish your research, or your thoughts about ACS Infectious Diseases?
I firmly believe that the biggest advances in science occur at the interfaces of disciplines. We chose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish our research as it sits firmly at the in vitro-in vivo interface, in our case spanning virology and chemical engineering/biophysics. We reasoned that both reviewers and reader alike would appreciate the unique aspects of our team, and the relevance of our work to biomedicine and public health.
Could you tell us a bit about your published ACS Infectious Diseases research article?
The article was written at the height of the pandemic—with the goal of informing the scientific community about the biochemical nuances of proteolytic activation of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, a feature that was a 'hot topic' at the time but one that we considered was incompletely covered in other published studies.
How do you look at the field of infectious diseases in the coming decade?
Infectious diseases will continue to be very important, and the field will be generating a lot of data from structural biology, genomics and other 'omics, cell biology, immunology, epidemiology etc. It will be crucial not to over-specialize, and to be able to integrate large datasets into coherent models and discoveries. As a high quality trans-disciplinary journal, I hope ACS Infectious Diseases can help lead the way!
Dr. Edgar Wong
Top-Cited Article: Rational Design of Single-Chain Polymeric Nanoparticles That Kill Planktonic and Biofilm Bacteria
Dr. Edgar Wong trained as a polymer chemist and graduated with a Ph.D. in 2011. Since then, he has been working at the intersection of polymer science and microbiology. Currently, his group is developing new ‘smart’ antimicrobial peptides and mimics that could be activated by specific triggers with the aim of overcoming inherent toxicity issues associated with this class of compound.
What made you choose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish your research, or your thoughts about ACS Infectious Diseases?
When I first heard of ACS Infectious Diseases 10 years ago, I was very happy as I knew that this journal would be an excellent platform to publish my group’s work given the journal’s unique focus on highlighting research at the intersection of (polymer) chemistry and infectious diseases.
Could you tell us a bit about your published ACS Infectious Diseases research article?
This is the first of our several articles in the journal and it describes the investigation of ternary copolymers, which self-fold into single-chain polymer nanoparticles in water, as antimicrobial agents. The study crucially highlights the importance of having a ‘third’ neutral hydrophilic component like PEG besides cationic and hydrophobic functionalities in the polymer chain to confer improved biocompatibility and antimicrobial activity.
How do you look at the field of infectious diseases in the coming decade?
I believe the threat of new emerging infectious diseases (like COVID) or the escalation of current health challenges such as antimicrobial resistance is very real, and that we will witness an increase in interdisciplinary research providing new ideas and solutions to overcome and prepare us for these threats.
Prof. William M. Wuest
Top-Cited Article: Quaternary Ammonium Compounds: An Antimicrobial Mainstay and Platform for Innovation to Address Bacterial Resistance
Prof. Bill Wuest, a native of NY, received his B.S. magna cum laude in Chemistry/Business from Notre Dame and his Ph.D. with Amos B. Smith, III at the University of Pennsylvania, then performed postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School with Professor Christopher T. Walsh. His research focuses on the development of novel antimicrobials via natural product total synthesis and disinfectants.
What made you choose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish your research, or your thoughts about ACS Infectious Diseases?
We were early enthusiasts of ACS Infectious Diseases as we were drawn the mission and focus of the published work that was originally curated by the founding Editor in Chief, Prof. Courtney Aldrich. We currently find the venue to be one of the few that intersects organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and infectious diseases, which perfectly aligns with our group’s work.
Could you tell us a bit about your published ACS Infectious Diseases research article?
During the early stages of our pioneering work developing multicationic quaternary ammonium compounds (done in collaboration with the Minbiole Lab at Villanova University) we noticed a rarely reported phenomenon of disinfectant resistance. This review highlighted those findings and shed light on an important problem that has only been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
How do you look at the field of infectious diseases in the coming decade?
Microbial drug resistance will be one of the grand challenges facing society going forward and will only be further accelerated by climate change, economic inequality, and financial motivations. We must double down on our investment both financially and scientifically, making it comparable to that of cancer research and renewable energy, in order to keep up with this existential threat.
Prof. Lihua Yang is an associate professor at University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). She received her Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2008. She joined Sichuan University, in China, as an associate professor in 2008 and moved to USTC in 2011. Her research focuses on nanomedicine and antimicrobial resistance.
What made you choose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish your research, or your thoughts about ACS Infectious Diseases?
ACS Infectious Diseases highlights the pivotal role of chemistry within the multidisciplinary and collaborative field of infectious disease research. The journal's editors are experts and active researchers in both chemistry and infectious disease biology. With a fast peer-review process, authors benefit from constructive feedback that refines their research endeavors. Publishing in this journal ensures global exposure, fostering new collaboration opportunities.
Could you tell us a bit about your published ACS Infectious Diseases research article?
For Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, the eradication of S. aureus survivors within host phagocytes is necessary but challenging due to the limited cellular penetration capacity of most antibiotics.Our study demonstrates that nanocarriers coated with the extracellular vesicle membranes of S. aureus specifically target S. aureus infected macrophages. This specificity significantly boosts the effectiveness of nanocarriers preloaded with antibiotics, particularly in critical sites of metastatic infection within mouse models of S. aureus bacteremia.
How do you look at the field of infectious diseases in the coming decade?
The emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases, while significantly challenging global health, provide exceptional opportunities for researchers in this field to make impactful contributions. I anticipate advancements in vaccine development, invention of infection control strategies, diagnostics, surveillance systems, antiviral therapies, and particularly the transformative potential of artificial intelligence within these domains. I look forward to witnessing more research endeavors successfully being translated from research labs to the market.
Prof. Jia Zhou
Top-Cited Articles:
Broad Spectrum Antiviral Agent Niclosamide and Its Therapeutic Potential
Prof. Jia Zhou is a tenured full professor at the Chemical Biology Program, University of Texas Medical Branch, and a faculty member of Sealy Institute for Drug Discovery. He is a distinguished medicinal chemist with research interests focusing on small molecule drug discovery for various human diseases including target-based broad spectrum antiviral agents.
What made you choose ACS Infectious Diseases to publish your research, or your thoughts about ACS Infectious Diseases?
ACS Infectious Diseases is an excellent platform with great exposure to publish high-quality articles impacting the infectious diseases field. This journal consistently and professionally provides insightful research and review articles on infectious diseases, contributing significantly to our understanding of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
Could you tell us a bit about your published ACS Infectious Diseases research article?
Our articles published in ACS Infectious Diseases are related to target-based drug discovery of novel molecules as broad-spectrum antivirals. We are happy to find out these articles have been well received by the readers and highly cited in the field.
How do you look at the field of infectious diseases in the coming decade?
With the lessons learned from the COVID pandemic, the field of infectious diseases will remain dynamic and crucial to the public health. This field continues to require constant collaborative and innovative research to address both current and future potential threats to human health in years to come.
