Meet the Editor-in-Chief

Get to know our new Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Mohit Kumar Jolly, as he answers 5 questions about his research and experience and shares his thoughts about becoming involved with the journal.

 

 

What is your research background?

I am trained as a bioengineer, developing mechanism-based dynamical models for many biological phenomena – cell polarity, angiogenesis, cell differentiation, phenotypic plasticity in metastasis. These models, mostly focused around the context of cancer biology and developmental biology, were developed in close collaboration with experimental and/or clinical colleagues who were interested in asking similar questions, but using a very complementary set of tools and techniques.
 

What is your current research focused on?

My main research goal is to inform better therapies against cancer metastasis and tumor relapse – the two major unsolved clinical challenges. We strive towards a better actionable understanding of the dynamics of how cancer cells switch their behaviour (states) reversibly while metastasizing and evading from current therapies, as a consequence of interactions among different molecules connected through feedback loops. We integrate many top-down and bottom-up systems biology concepts and tools to decode how intra-cellular and cell-cell communication regulatory networks govern the diverse trajectories of cell-state switching and how can therapeutic interventions alter these trajectories, allowing adaptive resistance. I am also keen to identify the fundamental design principles of underlying regulatory networks to elucidate salient features of specific network motifs.
 

What has been your biggest challenge and your greatest achievement in your career so far?    

Perhaps my biggest challenge has been identifying the right set of experimental collaborators who can take our mathematical model predictions to the next level by testing them experimentally.  My main achievement has been to demonstrate the existence and functional attributes of the hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal (E/M) phenotypes – now considered by the community to be the ‘fittest’ for metastasis. We continue to work on identifying therapeutic vulnerabilities of the E/M phenotypes  that can be tested experimentally, thus offering novel insights into strategies to restrict metastasis.
 

What are you most looking forward to in your role as Editor-in-Chief?

I am looking forward to creating – together with the editorial team – a platform offering quick and constructively critical peer-review process to help reach the authors the highest standards in terms of their research. Our expanding editorial board embodies the spirit of diversity on multiple axes such as, but not limited to, gender, geography, career stage, and research area of expertise. I am eager to work towards a growing repute and standing of the journal in the scientific community.
 

Why should researchers submit their work to npj Systems Biology and Applications?

We are committed to a timely and constructive peer-review process, and to establish npj Systems Biology and Applications as a premier interdisciplinary journal showcasing cutting-edge research in diverse established and upcoming areas of systems biology. We welcome experimental and/or computational manuscripts focused on understanding multi-scale dynamics of biological systems. We are also launching some themed collections to attract high-quality research and review articles.