RSC Advances Blog

Professor Russell Cox

After over a decade of service on the Editorial Board, RSC Advances bids a fond farewell to Editor-in-Chief Professor Russell Cox, University of Hannover. Russell has been with RSC Advances since the journal’s launch, joining as an Associate Editor in 2011 and becoming Editor-in-Chief in 2018. During this time, Russell has led the journal through many key developments and milestones, including the transition to Open Access, piloting Transparent Peer Review, and even surviving a global pandemic. On behalf of the journal, RSC Advances Executive Editor Dr Laura Fisher paid thanks to Russell:

‘Russell has led RSC Advances since I joined the team in 2019. It has been my absolute pleasure to work with such an engaged, thoughtful, and committed Editor-in-Chief, and none of what we have achieved as a journal since I joined the team would have been possible without Russell. Together we have established an incredibly engaged and supportive Editorial Board and Associate Editor group, and I look forward to working with them to build on these successes into the future.‘

On his penultimate day as RSC Advances Editor-in-Chief, Russell reflected on his experiences with RSC Advances from core values to current status:

‘I think I may be the last, or one of the last, of the team who set up the journal, under the leadership of Mike Ward and Sarah Ruthven in 2011, and later Andrew Shore, and Laura Fisher of course. In 2010 when discussion about the new journal first began, it was a dramatic change for the RSC and began the process of transformation of the publishing platform, the success of which we see today. The aim of Advances was to find a home for much work that was inter- and multi-disciplinary, with a broad definition of ‘chemistry’, and a remit to support young academics, overseas authors and particularly authors in developing nations. We also had an aim to innovate and not worry too much about ‘traditional’ ideas of publishing. We published our first paper in August 2011. I think we were very successful in all those areas, and we formed a base on which the RSC could experiment and learn. In particular, the change to Gold Open Access was hugely successful for Advances and for the RSC in general. The success of the concept was clear from the fact that our competitors – both traditional and new arrivals – copied our model (and were also successful!). I have been privileged to have been present for all of it – and I must say that I also learned a huge amount!

More recently the journal has settled somewhat and is now a well recognised and regarded publishing outlet for the chemistry community, combining high volume and quality. It has been a great pleasure for me to have been involved in the leadership, with Karen Faulds, Laura Fisher, Sarah Rainford and Anna Moore, over the past 8 years. Challenges remain, of course – not least the snowballing of AI, the pressure on authors to ‘publish or perish’ and the increasing stress and ossification of academia. We rely on the good will, expertise and judgement of our board members, AEs and reviewers – but that is not guaranteed. We also rely on the professionalism of our authors and readers – and I think that continues to hold up. Our editorial system is robust for now. We can keep on top of it, but vigilance is ever needed!’

RSC Advances Editor-in-Chief Professor Karen Faulds, University of Strathclyde shared her thoughts on working with Russell:

‘It has been a genuine privilege to work with Russell who has made an extraordinary contribution to RSC Advances since its inception 15 years ago. His vision, knowledge, pragmatism and unwavering passion for the journal have been central to its development, from helping to establish its revolutionary approach at the outset to guiding it through a remarkable period of growth and success.

Professor Fabienne Dumoulin

RSC Advances was a new concept for the RSC, a broad scope chemistry journal, and has always been ambitious and innovative in terms of trying new publishing approaches, not least becoming the first journal in the portfolio to become fully open access and accessible to everyone. It has been at the forefront of changes in publishing concepts and peer review models since the outset and Russell’s leadership, dedication and commitment have left an enduring mark on the journal, shaping its reputation, impact and success.

I have personally learned a great deal from working with Russell, and I am deeply grateful for his counsel, pragmatism and our many discussions over complex ethical cases. It has been a real pleasure to work alongside Russell and he will be greatly missed by me and by the whole publishing team, but we also celebrate all that he has accomplished.’

Karen will be joined as Editor-in-Chief by Professor Fabienne Dumoulin, Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University. Later this month Fabienne will introduce herself and share her thoughts on the next steps for RSC Advances. Russell welcomed Fabienne to her new role as Editor-in-Chief alongside Karen:

‘So, I leave the journal with a lot of pride, a lot of thanks and very best wishes for the future! Karen will continue the excellent job at the top, and Fabienne is very well placed to take the EiC role into the future. ‘

Russell has published his research in RSC Advances and we are delighted to share these works with you below.

Kinetic characterisation of the FAD dependent monooxygenase TropB and investigation of its biotransformation potential
Amira Abood, Ahmed Al-Fahad, Alan Scott, Alaa El-Dein M. S. Hosny, Amal M. Hashem, Azza M. A. Fattah, Paul R. Race, Thomas J. Simpson and Russell J. Cox
RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 49987.

O-Methylation steps during strobilurin and bolineol biosynthesis
Karen E. Lebe and Russell J. Cox
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 31527.

Function of pathway specific regulators in the ACE1 and pyrichalasin H biosynthetic gene clusters
Verena Hantke, Chongqing Wang, Elizabeth J. Skellam and Russell J. Cox
RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 35797.

Reengineering the programming of a functional domain of an iterative highly reducing polyketide synthase
Oliver Piech and Russell J. Cox
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 18469.

Investigating the biosynthesis of Sch-642305 in the fungus Phomopsis sp. CMU-LMA
Francesco Trenti, Karen E. Lebe, Emilie Adelin, Jamal Ouazzani, Carsten Schotte and Russell J. Cox
RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 27369.

In vitro studies of maleidride-forming enzymes
Sen Yin, Steffen Friedrich, Vjaceslavs Hrupins and Russell J. Cox
RSC Adv., 2021, 11, 14922.

Molecular methods unravel the biosynthetic potential of Trichoderma species
Mary L. Shenouda and Russell J. Cox
RSC Adv., 2021, 11, 3622.

Sporothioethers: deactivated alkyl citrates from the fungus Hypomontagnella monticulosa
Henrike Heinemann, Kevin Becker, Hedda Schrey, Haoxuan Zeng, Marc Stadler and Russell J. Cox
RSC Adv., 2023, 13, 29768.

Investigation of chain-length selection by the tenellin iterative highly-reducing polyketide synthase
Katharina Schmidt and Russell J. Cox
RSC Adv., 2024, 14, 8963.

Synthesis of l-β-(6-azulenyl)alanine and the fluorescent actin disruptor (6-azuleno)chalasin H
Maurice Hauser, Katharina Schmidt, Leonard Beiderwieden, Cheng Yi, Kjeld Gerdes, Markus Kalesse, Jennifer Gerke, Theresia E. Stradal and Russell J. Cox
RSC Adv., 2025, 15, 26048.

ent-Kaurene, ent-kauran-16-ol, and shunted diterpenoids from an engineered strain of Aspergillus oryzae
Ahmed Arafa, Yuechen Jiang, Jennifer Gerke, Jakob Franke and Russell J. Cox
RSC Adv, 2026, Advance Article now available: https://doi.org/10.1039/d6ra05338f

We at RSC Advances compile an annual collection of all Review articles published in RSC Advances. We are proud to present the complete  in RSC Advances in 2025.

We hope you enjoy reading and as always, all of our articles are open access so you can easily share your favourites online and with your colleagues.

Explore the collection!

From Logic Gates to Biomass Production and everything in between, read selected reviews from 2025 below:

Five-membered heterocycles as promising platforms for molecular logic gate construction
Alexander Ciupa*
RSC Adv., 2025, 15, 10565-10572

A review of commercial plastic waste recycling into graphene materials
Phuoc-Anh Le*
RSC Adv., 2025, 15, 20239-20267

Sustainable coagulative removal of microplastic from aquatic systems: recent progress and outlook
Ahmad K. Badawi*, Raouf Hasan & Bushra Ismail
RSC Adv., 2025, 15, 25256-25273

Multifunctional s-triazine-BODIPY conjugates: synthetic strategies, photophysical insights, and emerging applications
Laxmipriya Nayak, Subhadeep Acharya, Supriya Routray, Simran Pattnaik & Rashmirekha Satapathy*
RSC Adv., 2025, 15, 27951-27994

Silicon-based anodes for solid-state batteries: challenges, opportunities, and multiscale strategies
Zhenjun Zhang, Xiangyong Xue*, Zuxue Mo, Xiaoxu Lei, Xuerui Xie, Haiqing Qin, Yilong Wu, Haowen Jiang & Huijie Tan
RSC Adv., 2025, 15, 33561-33585

The science of minerality
Hui-Chung Tai* & Evmorfia Kostaki
RSC Adv., 2025, 15, 40245-40251

Green chemistry spotlight: metal-free organic transformations mediated by potassium persulfate
Rapelly Venkatesh & Priyanka Chaudhary*
RSC Adv., 2025, 15, 43198-43237

Enhanced biomass production from Chlorella micro-algae species: a review of new technologies towards sustainable energy development
Folayan Adewale Johnson*, Bilal Patel & Bolanle Deborah Ikotun
RSC Adv., 2025, 15, 49809-49825

Sustainable remediation strategies for emerging PFAS contaminants in water
Lata Rani, Arun Lal Srivastav, Jyotsna Kaushal, Nitin Jangra, Mukesh Kumar & Shama E. Haque*
RSC Adv., 2025, 15, 50963-50984

Submit to RSC Advances today! Check out our author guidelines for information on our article types or find out more about the advantages of publishing in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal.

Keep up to date with our latest Popular Advances, Reviews, Collections & more by following us on Bluesky. You can also keep informed by signing up to our E-Alerts.

We are delighted to introduce the first contribution to our New Principal Investigators collection.

Read the paper

Cystine crystal nucleation and decay in the context of cystinuria pathogenesis and treatment

Kimberley Noble and Oisín N. Kavanagh

Meet the Principal Investigator

Oisín N. Kavanagh is a pharmacist and Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutics at the School of Pharmacy, Newcastle University and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He received the Gold Medal from the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland in 2017 and completed his clinical training in his hometown of Derry before moving to the University of Limerick to undertake his PhD. He was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to the School of Pharmacy, University of Michigan and was subsequently appointed to a Lectureship at Newcastle University in 2021. His research interests are centred around the relationship between drug physical properties and their pharmacokinetics. He is PI for multiple research streams funded by government and charitable organisations. This includes an EPSRC-funded project (EP/Y014596/1) investigating drug-induced crystalluria and a project funded by Action Medical Research/LifeArc focused on engineering new drug formulations for cystinosis, a rare disease.

Check out the video below where Oisín summarises his recent paper:

You’ve recently started your own group, what are the big research question/s your group will be focussing on?

The central vision for my team is to develop fundamental understanding to describe the relationships between drug supersaturation and pharmacokinetics. This has brought us to work on two applications (1) crystal engineering to modulate the pharmacokinetics of absorption and (2) contextualising supersaturation processes in the kidney with pharmacokinetics to predict drug induced crystalluria.

What inspired you to get into science?

If I cast my mind back, I can’t remember ever wanting to be anything other than a scientist. I suppose the path forward became a little clearer during my time at university, where I studied Pharmacy. There, I developed a solid foundation in pharmaceutical sciences and worked every summer in the research labs of Professor John Callan. This experience was formative for me.

What advice would you give to those who are seeking their first group leader position?

This is a difficult path and there are moments when things look bleak… in those times, try to remember why you’re doing this – and then get at it!

We are delighted to announce the winners of our 2023 Outstanding Student Paper Awards. We are celebrating this year’s winners with a series of webinars and encouraging submissions for 2024 and onwards!

The RSC Advances Outstanding Student Paper Awards recognise outstanding work published in the journal, for which a substantial component of the research was conducted by a student. For 2023 we received over 700 nominations, which were shortlisted, and the winning papers were then selected by our Editorial Board and Associate Editors.

You can view the winning contributions and hear more about the winners here:

Editorial                                                    Full Collection

Join us for our upcoming series of webinars, which will introduce the awards and award winners will present their research, with opportunity to ask the winners questions about their work.

Registration is free, so sign up now to support our winners and hear about the exciting research that helped them to win the award!

Apologies from a winner who was unable to attend: Computational & Theoretical Chemistry Songyuan Yao, University of Oklahoma, USA

Looking forward: RSC Advances Outstanding Student Paper Awards 2024 and onwards

We will continue to recognise outstanding student contributions and give out these awards each year. If you published a research article in 2024 or go on to publish with the journal in the future, and the first author or co-first author must have been a student at the time of carrying out the research, we invite them to join us in future editions of this series. Please look at our webpage for more information or submit now!

Submit to RSC Advances today! Check out our author guidelines for information on our article types or find out more about the advantages of publishing in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal.

Keep up to date with our latest Popular Advances, Reviews, Collections & more by following us on Twitter. You can also keep informed by signing up to our E-Alerts.