The American Society of Pharmacognosy is pleased to announce that Dr Bradley Moore will become the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Natural Products. Dr Moore is a Distinguished Professor of Marine Biology and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at UC San Diego where he holds joint appointments at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. At Scripps, he also directs the Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine plus the Scripps Center for Oceans and Human Health. He is a past-president and fellow of the ASP, as well as a Norman R Farnsworth Research Achievement Awardee. He has also received the Ernest Guenther and Arthur C Cope Awards from the American Chemical Society, the Alexander M Cruickshank Award in Chemistry from the Gordon Research Conference, and the Natural Product Chemistry Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is currently an Associate Editor of Organic Letters and formerly the Commissioning Editor and Chair of the Editorial Board of Natural Products Reports.
Dr Moore leads a very active research group focusing on a diversity of topics – natural product discovery, biosynthesis, genome mining, mechanistic enzymology, bioactivity, genetics, heterologous production, synthetic biology – plus a diversity of organisms – bacteria/cyanobacteria, eukaryotic microalgae, seaweeds, marine invertebrates documenting his broad understanding of many traditional and as well as modern directions of the field of natural products.
The report of search committee to the ASP Executive Committee identified four themes that were felt to be critical for the person chosen for this role:
- Vision for the Journal (growth, impact, aiding NP community, improving the review process)
- Technology Development (how it is impacting and will impact the journal moving forward)
- Diversity and Inclusivity (peer review, editorial staff, review process)
- Time Management, Experience, and Motivation for the position of EIC
Dr Moore articulated an expansive vision for the Journal and the field of natural products, eloquently describing a vision where the Journal would be the first Journal any natural products researcher thinks about when planning to publish their research. He cherishes how JNP has welcomed generations of students and postdocs to publish in the journal. His vision includes expanding the areas of NP research published in the journal, so it will remain vibrant and welcoming for the broad natural products research community for generations to come. He also articulated the need to be intentional about succession planning, providing fresh and diverse perspectives, while continuing to grow the JNP with the community it serves.
“As a passionate natural product scientist, I’m proud and humbled to serve as the next Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Natural Products,” said Dr. Moore. “I look forward to working with an excellent team of editors to broaden the Journal’s impact, scope, and community to celebrate the many scientific disciplines involving nature’s chemical products.”
Dr Moore will officially begin his new role on January 1, 2025. Our current EIC, Dr Phil Proteau and the current Associate Editors, Drs. Cedric Pearce, Roberto Berlinck and Katherine Maloney and our ACS partners will be working with Dr Moore to ensure a smooth transition for the Journal.