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Young Talents in Medicinal Chemistry

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 888

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Discipline of Clinical Pharmacology, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Bedfor Park, SA 5042, Australia
Interests: drug and biomarker discovery; drug repurposing; aging; cancer; cardiovascular disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy, University of Genova, Viale Benedetto XV 3, 16132 Genova, Italy
Interests: medicinal chemistry; antiproliferative agents; neuroprotective agents; phosphodiesterase inhibitors; antioxidant compounds; protein kinase inhibitors; antibacterial agents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last 20 years, there have been considerable advances in the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients with cancer worldwide. The discovery of new anti-cancer drugs and therapeutic modalities has been instrumental in improving the quality of life and clinical outcomes of this group. Although the use of recombinant antibodies has been effective, small-molecule drugs offer several advantages over recombinant proteins, including better pharmacokinetic properties, lower cost of production, and accessibility to different formulations. At the same time, the ever-improving knowledge on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underpinning the onset and progression of different type of cancers requires ongoing efforts to design novel, effective drugs with innovative mechanisms of actions and targets, favourable physicochemical properties, and thorough toxicity profiles.

This Special Issue “Young Talents in Medicinal Chemistry” aims to attract outstanding contributions from early- and mid-career scientists focusing on cutting-edge research on the synthesis and biological evaluation of novel anti-cancer compounds (small molecules and natural products). Studies that investigate the early effects of these compounds in cellular and/or animal models will also be considered.

Eligibility for Contributors:

To highlight emerging scientific leadership, submitting authors must meet the following criteria:

  • Be no older than 40 years at the time of submission;
  • Have obtained their PhD degree within the past 10 years;
  • Demonstrate ≥8 publication in the last 5 years.

Prof. Dr. Arduino Mangoni
Dr. Chiara Brullo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • medicinal chemistry
  • cancer
  • drug discovery
  • drug synthesis
  • pharmacology
  • toxicology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

39 pages, 5561 KB  
Review
USP7 at the Crossroads of Ubiquitin Signaling, Cell Cycle, and Tumorigenesis
by Matteo Lusardi, Federica Rapetti, Andrea Spallarossa, Marta Massone, Elena Cichero and Chiara Brullo
Molecules 2025, 30(20), 4038; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30204038 - 10 Oct 2025
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Abstract
Protein homeostasis is a dynamic process essential for cellular function and survival, tightly controlled by the ubiquitin–proteasome system. Within this system, ubiquitin-specific protease 7 (USP7) plays a key role as a deubiquitinating enzyme, thus modulating the stability, localization, and activity of a wide [...] Read more.
Protein homeostasis is a dynamic process essential for cellular function and survival, tightly controlled by the ubiquitin–proteasome system. Within this system, ubiquitin-specific protease 7 (USP7) plays a key role as a deubiquitinating enzyme, thus modulating the stability, localization, and activity of a wide variety of substrates. USP7 is involved in critical cellular processes such as DNA repair, apoptosis, immune response, and epigenetic regulation. The dysregulation of USP7 expressions or activity has been linked to several pathological conditions, including cancer, neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases, and viral infections. This enzyme exerts its biological functions through the stabilization of both oncogenic and tumor suppressor proteins, highlighting its sensitive role in tumorigenesis. Despite the identification of selective USP7 inhibitors with promising preclinical activity, the development of clinically effective compounds remains a major challenge. This review summarizes the current understanding of USP7 structure, function, and biological relevance, with a particular emphasis on its potential as a therapeutic target in oncology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Young Talents in Medicinal Chemistry)
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