Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal (CSBJ) is an online gold open access journal publishing research articles and reviews after full peer review. All articles are published, without barriers to access, immediately upon acceptance. CSBJ is composed of the following Sections:

    CSBJ: General Section
    CSBJ: The Smart Hospital Section
    CSBJ: Nanoscience & Advanced Materials Section
    CSBJ: Quantum Biology & Biophotonics Section

CSBJ: General Section focuses on functional and mechanistic understanding of how molecular components in a biological process work together through the application of computational methods. Structural data may provide such insights, but they are not a pre-requisite for publication in this section. For more details and specific areas of interest within this section, please visit: https://www.csbj.org/

CSBJ: The Smart Hospital Section focuses on new digital and automated technologies transforming health and care systems. Clinical and piloting data may provide practical insights on implementing digital and automated technologies in real-world smart hospital setting, but they are not a pre-requisite for publication in this section. For more details and specific areas of interest within this section, please visit: https://csbj-smarthospital.org/

CSBJ: Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Section focuses on advancing the scientific knowledge and technological innovation at the crossroads of nanoscience, materials science, chemistry, physics, and biomedical engineering. The section welcomes submissions covering a wide spectrum of topics within the overarching domains of nanoscience and advanced materials, enhancing our understanding of the nanoscale world and its transformative applications. For more details and specific areas of interest within this section, please visit: http://csbj-nano.org/

CSBJ: Quantum Biology and Biophotonics Section places a strong transdisciplinary emphasis on understanding biological systems that potentially harness quantum-mechanical processes. This section also focuses on the development and application of optics and photonic tools, methods, and technologies to address questions in quantum biology and its implications for biomedical and health sciences. Studies based on experimental approaches, computational simulations, and theoretical developments that are focused on this emphasis are welcome but are not a prerequisite for publication in this section. For more details and specific areas of interest within this section, please visit: http://csbj-qbio.org/

The journal welcomes the submission of manuscripts that meet the general criteria of significance and scientific excellence and enables the rapid publication of papers under the following categories:

o Research Articles o Review Articles o Mini Reviews o Innovation Reports o Short Communications o Method Articles o Database Articles o Software/Web Server Articles o Editorials

CSBJ is published by Elsevier on behalf of Research Networks.

Special Issue on Health Digital Twins in Precision and Personalized Medicine
Submission Date: 2024-12-30

In this special issue focused on health digital twins in precision and personalized medicine, we will explore the potential of the design, development, evaluation, and translation of the digital twins technology in biomedical research and medical practice.

Guest Editors:

Mohan Zalake
Research Assistant Professor
Biomedical and Health Information Sciences
University of Illinois at Chicago, United States of America
Email: zalake@uic.edu

Jacob Krive
Clinical Associate Professor
Biomedical and Health Information Sciences
University of Illinois at Chicago, United States of America
Email: krive@uic.edu

Special issue information:

Digital twin is a digital simulation of a real-world human subject or a system that allows studying effects and outcomes of various novel methodologies using computer technology. It has significant potential to revolutionize medical care and biomedical research by improving patient safety, clinical quality, and optimization of the care delivery models.

Scope of the Special Issue:

In this special issue focused on health digital twins in precision and personalized medicine, we will explore the potential of the design, development, evaluation, and translation of the digital twins technology in biomedical research and medical practice. Digital twins is a novel subject and represents a big opportunity for applied and academic research, hence we accept a broad scope of manuscripts: methodology papers, original research, technical implementation papers, preliminary research, and literature review.

This special issue will cover a broad scope within the following (but not limited to) areas:

    Simulations in provider/community care settings.
    Applications in drug discovery, particularly in clinical trials.
    Facilitation of communications between providers and patients in community care settings.
    Conducting provider training in medical education, by applying a virtual patient model.

Manuscript submission information:

The Journal's submission system will be open for submissions to our Special Issue from May 6, 2024. When submitting your manuscript please select the appropriate sub-category “VSI: Health Digital Twins" In the additional information section. Please submit your manuscript before December 30, 2024

All manuscripts will receive expedited handling and the accepted version will appear online within one week. Please note that every accepted paper is subjected to a processing fee as per Elsevier's open access journal policies.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at publications.assistant@csbj-rncsb.org

Special Issue on Generative AI in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Submission Date: 2024-12-31

The main scope of the upcoming special issue focused on "Generative AI in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics" would be to offer highlights in the field covering the relevant topics from generative AI to computational biology and bioinformatics.

Guest Editors:

Ka-Chun Wong
Associate Professor
University of Hong Kong
Email: kc.w@cityu.edu.hk 

Xingjian Chen
Postdoctoral Fellow
Harvard University
Email: xchen57@mgh.harvard.edu 

Shankai Yan
Associate Professor
Hainan University
Email: skyan@hainanu.edu.cn 

Shixiong Zhang
Associate Professor
Xidian University
Email: zhangsx@xidian.edu.cn 

Xiangtao Li
Professor
Jilin University
Email: lixt314@jlu.edu.cn

Special issue information:

Generative AI, a subfield of Artificial Intelligence (AI), has shown promising impacts in computational biology and bioinformatics. Specifically, it can be developed to create models capable of generating interesting data with the same statistical properties as the training set. This technology has been instrumental in simulating biological systems, predicting 3D molecular structures, and generating genomic sequences. The fusion of generative AI with computational biology and bioinformatics offers potential in understanding complex biological phenomena, drug discovery, and personalized medicine. However, the inherent complexity of biological systems poses challenges that necessitate further research and development in this interdisciplinary field.

Scope of the Special Issue:

The main scope of the upcoming special issue focused on "Generative AI in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics" would be to offer highlights in the field covering the relevant topics from generative AI to computational biology and bioinformatics.

In this special issue, we will explore the potential of generative AI in the wide domains related to computational biology and bioinformatics with good performance at different V’s (volume, velocity, veracity, value, and variety) in the era of big data.

Possible research topics include but are not limited to:

    Biotechnology Development with Generative AI
    Data Integration with Generative AI in Biology
    Ethics of Generative AI in Biology
    Foundation Models in Biology
    Multimodal Generative AI in Biology
    Software Tools with Generative AI in Biology
    Translational Studies with Generative AI in Biology
    Generative AI in Biological Networks, Biological Text Data, Biomedical Images, Cellular Biology, Disease Modelling, Drug Discovery, Epigenetics, Genomics, Genetic Engineering, High-throughput Sequencing, Medicine, Metagenomics, Microbiome Research, Proteomics, and Systems Biology

Manuscript submission information:

The Journal's submission system will be open for submissions to our Special Issue from May 6, 2024. When submitting your manuscript please select the appropriate sub-category “VSI: Generative AI in Computational Biology" In the additional information section. Please submit your manuscript before December 31, 2024

All manuscripts will receive expedited handling and the accepted version will appear online within one week. Please note that every accepted paper is subjected to a processing fee as per Elsevier's open access journal policies.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at publications.assistant@csbj-rncsb.org

Special Issue on Artificial Intelligence in Community based Mental Health Promotion, Health Management and Injury Prevention for Quality of Life
Submission Date: 2025-01-30

Transformative potential of artificial intelligence for improving mental health, managing chronic diseases, and preventing injuries underscores the need for concerted efforts to overcome these obstacles and achieve the vision of AI-enabled improvements to quality of life for all.

Guest editors:

Francisco Sampaio
Assistant Professor
Nursing School of Porto
Porto, Portugal
Email: franciscosampaio@esenf.pt

Latha Parthiban
Assistant Professor
Pondicherry University Community College
Pondicherry, India
Email: lathaparthiban@pondiuni.ac.in

Special issue information:

For AI to be effective in community-based mental health promotion, health management, and injury prevention, a variety of challenges need to be overcome. AI-powered tools and platforms present significant challenges when it comes to ensuring privacy and security. Developing robust data governance frameworks and adhering to privacy regulations are essential for ensuring confidentiality and leveraging AI-driven insights to their full potential. A lack of access to AI technologies and digital literacy also affects equitable healthcare delivery, especially in underserved communities. It is imperative that targeted outreach efforts and tailored solutions are implemented to bridge the digital divide and foster inclusive AI-driven interventions. AI algorithms in diverse community settings pose additional technical challenges, such as bias mitigation, algorithmic transparency, and algorithmic fairness. In order to overcome these challenges, interdisciplinary collaboration, ongoing evaluation, and iterative refinement of AI-driven solutions are required. Even so, the transformative potential of artificial intelligence for improving mental health, managing chronic diseases, and preventing injuries underscores the need for concerted efforts to overcome these obstacles and achieve the vision of AI-enabled improvements to quality of life for all.

Potential topics included, but not limited to:

    AI in community-based programs of mental health promotion for various demographic and cultural contexts
    Mobile apps, telehealth and wearable devices in mental health and health management for community settings
    AI in community partnerships for health initiatives
    Community based interventions in health disparities for underserved communities
    AI in youth and adolescent mental health programs for preventing injuries and manage health issues
    AI in resilience and coping strategies of community health for health management and injury prevention
    AI in impact of social and environmental factors of community health for health management
    AI technologies in health disparities and social determinants of health for targeted interventions and resource allocation strategies
    Artificial intelligence in evaluation and measurement of community health programs for health management and injury prevention

All manuscripts will receive expedited handling and the accepted version will appear online within one week. Please note that every accepted paper is subjected to a processing fee as per Elsevier's open access journal policies.

Manuscript submission information:

When submitting your manuscript please select the appropriate sub-category “VSI: Artificial Intelligence in Community based Mental Health Promotion, Health Management and Injury Prevention for Quality of Life" In the additional information section. Please submit your manuscript before 30 January 2025.

Editorial Submission Site https://www2.cloud.editorialmanager.com/csbr/default2.aspx 

We believe that this Special Issue will provide a timely and comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-art in AI applications for biology and medicine, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and inspiring future research directions in this rapidly evolving field.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at managing.editor@csbreports.org

Special Issue on Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy for Biology
Submission Date: 2025-02-28

This special issue seeks to encompass a wide spectrum of research endeavors centered on inter-biomolecular properties investigated by coherent optical multidimensional spectroscopy (e.g., two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy, two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy, time-resolved Raman spectroscopy, and sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy) and spectro-microscopy.

Guest editors:

Minjung Son

David R. Dalton CD Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Division of Materials Science & Engineering
Boston University, United States of America
Email: mson@bu.edu

JunWoo Kim

Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Department of Chemistry
Chungbuk National University, Republic of Korea
Email: jwkim0@cbnu.ac.kr

Special issue information:

The intersection of nonlinear spectroscopy and biological systems offers a fascinating arena for scientific innovation, particularly through the lens of coherent multidimensional spectroscopy. This technique stands at the forefront of expanding our understanding of complex biological processes at the molecular level. The special issue on 'Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy for Biology' aims to highlight the transformative impact of these methodologies in studying biological phenomena.

This special issue seeks to encompass a wide spectrum of research endeavors centered on inter-biomolecular properties investigated by coherent optical multidimensional spectroscopy (e.g., two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy, two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy, time-resolved Raman spectroscopy, and sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy) and spectro-microscopy. We invite contributions spanning theoretical frameworks, experimental methodologies, and applications across diverse biological systems. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, photosynthetic energy transfer, spectroscopic property of florescent proteins, protein-ligand interactions, and nonlinear spectro-microscopy studies on biological systems. By assembling a collection of cutting-edge studies, this special issue aims to illuminate the potential of revealing the electronic wavefunction dynamics and inter-molecular interactions in biological systems.

Scope of the Special Issue:

The main scope of the special issue focused on ‘Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy for Biology’ would be to offer highlights in the field covering optical multidimensional spectroscopy, spectro-microscopy, bioimaging, photosynthetic energy transfer, fluorescent proteins, and protein-ligand interactions. Possible research topics include but are not limited to:

    Multidimensional spectroscopy for photosynthetic energy transfer
    Multidimensional spectroscopy for fluorescent proteins
    Multidimensional spectroscopy for protein-ligand interactions
    Nonlinear spectro-microscopy for biological systems.

Manuscript submission information:

When submitting your manuscript please select the appropriate sub-category “VSI: oherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy for Biology" In the additional information section. Please submit your manuscript before  February 28, 2025.

All manuscripts will receive expedited handling and the accepted version will appear online within one week. Please note that every accepted paper is subjected to a processing fee as per Elsevier's open access journal policies.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at publications.assistant@csbj-rncsb.org

Special Issue on In silico exploration of ultra-large chemical libraries
Submission Date: 2025-04-30

The main scope of the upcoming special issue focused on ‘ultra-large chemical libraries’ would be to offer highlights in the field covering computational strategies to explore in a cost-efficient manner, using structure-based methods, this almost incomprehensible expanding chemical universe.

Guest editors:

Alan Talevi
Head of the Laboratory of Bioactive Research and Development
National University of La Plata, Argentina
Email: alantalevi@gmail.com

Special issue information:

In the last ten years the available chemical libraries have experienced a jump in scale, from millions to billions of available compounds both in proprietary collections and in commercial libraries on demand. This vast chemical diversity poses challenges in terms of design, management, comparison and exploration of such ultra-large spaces.
Scope of the Special Issue:

The main scope of the upcoming special issue focused on ‘ultra-large chemical libraries’ would be to offer highlights in the field covering computational strategies to explore in a cost-efficient manner, using structure-based methods, this almost incomprehensible expanding chemical universe. In this special issue, we will explore the potential of hybridization of machine learning and structure-based approximations to expand and explore massive chemical libraries.

Possible research topics include but are not limited to:

    Ultra-large chemical libraries
    Virtual screening of ultra-large chemical databases
    Ultra-large combinatorial fragment spaces
    Reaction informatics
    Multi-billion on demand libraries
    Synthesize-on-demand chemical libraries (supervised and unsupervised exploration)

Manuscript submission information:

When submitting your manuscript please select the appropriate sub-category “VSI: In silico exploration of ultra-large chemical libraries" In the additional information section. Please submit your manuscript before April 30, 2025

All manuscripts will receive expedited handling and the accepted version will appear online within one week. Please note that every accepted paper is subjected to a processing fee as per Elsevier's open access journal policies.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at publications.assistant@csbj-rncsb.org

Special Issue on Adoption and Trust of Medical Imaging AI in Clinical Settings
Submission Date: 2025-10-31

Medical Imaging has been a privileged domain for AI developers: numerous systems are being developed to address diagnostic problems or support personalised treatment decisions, reaching high performance and promising successful deployment. This advancement has attracted the interest of clinical communities, aiming to address the challenges in clinical practice and decision support, in radiology, oncology, digital pathology, cardiology, to name a few.

Guest editors:

Ioanna Chouvarda
Associate Professor
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki, Greece
Email: ioannach@auth.gr 

Sara Colantonio
Institute of Information Science and Technologies - ISTI
National Research Council of Italy – CNR
Pisa, Italy
Email: sara.colantonio@isti.cnr.it 

Special issue information:

Scope of the Special Issue:

The main scope of the upcoming special issue of CSBJ: The Smart Hospital Section focused on ‘Adoption and Trust of Medical Imaging AI in clinical settings’ would be to showcase the latest developments in Medical Imaging AI technology and its translation to clinical practice, including methods to increase trustworthiness, methods to evaluate trustworthiness and adoption, as well as experiences and lessons learnt from deployment and adoption in clinical practice.

Within the scope of AI in Medical Imaging Decision Support, possible research topics include but are not limited to.

    Methods and Applications of explainable AI
    Evaluation of explainable AI
    Fairness studies and methods – AI and Health Equity
    Studying the Uncertainty of Decisions
    Federated Learning systems and Challenges
    Clinical Validations, User Adoption and User Experience
    Methods for increasing Trust and Adoption in Clinical Settings

Manuscript submission information:

The Journal's submission system will be open for submissions to our Special Issue from December 17, 2023. When submitting your manuscript please select the appropriate sub-category “VSI: Adoption and Trust of Medical Imaging AI in Clinical Settings." In the additional information section. Please submit your manuscript before 31 October 2025

All manuscripts will receive expedited handling and the accepted version will appear online within one week. Please note that every accepted paper is subjected to a processing fee as per Elsevier's open access journal policies.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at publications.assistant@csbj-rncsb.org