The American Peptide Society (APS) has a long tradition of recognizing and supporting graduate and postdoctoral students who are conducting research in the field of peptide science. These emerging leaders, whom we affectionately refer to as Young Investigators (YIs), were represented in large numbers at the 26th American Peptide Symposium in Monterey Bay, California, USA in 2019.

Understanding the importance of fostering academic discourse and networking amongst our YIs, the Student Activities Committee (SAC) of the APS developed a YI program for the 1991 symposium. That year, the program included a job fair and the inaugural student poster presentation competition. Since then, the YI program has remained an integral part of the society's biennial meeting. The program has expanded to include an oral presentation competition, the Bert L. Schram Young Scientists' Networking Luncheon and a graduate student/postdoctoral social event.

As two of the co‐chairs of the SAC, we would like to recognize the award winners from the 2019 YI Oral and Poster Presentation Competitions.

Poster Winners*:

Hyunjun Yang—University of California, Irvine, USA.

Buyan Pan—University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Colin Kelly—University of California, Santa Cruz, USA.

Samuel Melton—University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Adriana Gauna—Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria, Chile.

Timothy Reichart—Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.

Iraj Behroz—Technische Universitat Berlin, Germany.

Ari Salinger—University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA.

Mihajlo Todorovic—University of British Columbia, Canada.

Catherine Hurd—University of Cambridge, UK.

Shabnam Jafari—University of California, Davis, USA.

Jennifer Rowe—Purdue University, USA.

Ferran Nadal Bufi—Queensland University of Technology, Australia.

Monessha Nambiar—Purdue University, USA.

YI Oral Competition First Prize*:

Shehrazade Jekhmane—Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

YI Oral Competition Second Prize*:

Nina Hartrampf—Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.

*Institutional affiliations as of June 2019.

The 2019 symposium marks the first time the work of our award‐winning YIs has been extended into a special issue of the society's official journal, Peptide Science. Four of these winners, Catherine A. Hurd, Ferran Nadal‐Bufi, Nina Hartrampf, and Mihajlo Todorovic have composed review articles offering insight into emerging areas in peptide science in which they are currently conducting their research.

The first Review, by Catherine A. Hurd, Helen R. Mott, and Darerca Owen, highlights progress toward developing peptide‐based therapeutics targeting the Ras superfamily of GTPases. The authors extensively overview successful interventions employing peptide macrocyclization, N‐methylations, and peptide stapling to silence aberrant activity across each member of the superfamily, Ras, Rho, Rab, Ran, and Arf. Thus, the Review presents a strong argument that, with modifications to increase cell permeability, the surface area of peptides provides an advantage in selectively reducing the disease‐causing impacts of GTPase dysfunction.

The second article in our special issue, co‐authored by Ferran Nadal‐Bufi and Sonia Troeira Henriques, focuses on the endosomal entrapment of cell‐penetrating peptides. The pair discuss this important challenge through describing the proposed mechanisms of endosomal uptake and escape, and analyzing the properties of cell‐penetrating peptides that have been shown to avert sequestration by endosomes. The authors conclude by offering a series of practical strategies for peptide therapeutic design to promote endosomal escape and, subsequently, improved levels of efficacy.

The next Review offers a perspective on recent advances integrating peptide synthesis and engineering toward the development of a robust flow‐based method for protein synthesis. Zachary P. Gates and Nina Hartrampf begin by revisiting the fundamentals of peptide synthesis via flow chemistry and major contributions made by Erickson, Pentelute, and others who have pioneered the design of functional flow peptide synthesizers. They continue by discussing turning points and key discoveries leading to our current approach to standard Fmoc‐based solid‐phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) in addition to realized advantages of automated flow‐based SPPS (AFPS). Notably, the Review concludes by addressing some of the most prominent challenges and criticisms of flow AFPS, including technological limitations and environmental concerns.

Finally, Mihajlo Todorovic and David M. Perrin catalog the significant advancements made in the area of noncanonical amide bond formation over the past 10 years. Their thorough Review details the progress made developing catalysts for direct and indirect amidation, including the use of boron‐based catalysts, metal‐based catalysts, organocatalysts, and redox catalysts. In sum, Todorovic and Perrin depict the immediate and significant impact that a reliable and robust method for catalytic amide bond formation would have on the field.

These review articles are prime examples of what we observe as SAC co‐chairs at each APS symposium: the next generation of peptide scientists will undoubtedly elevate the level of research and stretch the boundaries of our understanding as they continue on to their professional careers. We are proud of their achievements and thankful for the mentors, role models, and benefactors that have fostered their growth. This includes Dr Elizabeth A. Schram, chairwoman of the ESCOM Science Foundation and sponsor of the Bert L. Schram Young Scientists' Networking Luncheon, who we sadly lost this past year. She was a champion for the engagement of youth in science and equal access to a scientific education. Likewise, the coordination and success of our YI events would not have been possible without the hard work of the late Judy Warner. Judy's behind‐the‐scenes efforts and thoughtfulness will be truly missed at future APS symposia. Recognizing the impact that Judy, Dr Schram, and the other members of the APS community have on our YIs, we hope this special issue extols our Young Investigators' accomplishments while providing excitement for what the future of peptide science holds.

Dedicated to the memories of Dr Elizabeth A. Schram (1945‐2019) and Ms Judy Warner (1959‐2020).

The young investigators of the 26th American Peptide Symposium (seated) with the Student Activities Committee and American Peptide Society leadership (standing)

美国肽学会（APS）拥有悠久的传统，即认可和支持正在进行肽科学领域研究的研究生和博士后。这些新兴领导者被我们亲切地称为青年研究者（YIs），他们于2019年在美国加利福尼亚州蒙特雷湾举行的第26届美国肽研讨会上有大量代表出席。

APS的学生活动委员会（SAC）了解到在我们的YI之间促进学术讨论和建立网络的重要性，因此为1991年的研讨会制定了YI计划。那一年，该计划包括招聘会和首届学生海报展示比赛。从那时起，YI计划一直是该学会两年一次的会议的组成部分。该计划已扩展到包括口头演讲比赛，Bert L. Schram年轻科学家网络午餐会和研究生/博士后社交活动。

作为SAC的两位联合主席，我们谨表扬来自2019年YI口头和海报演示比赛的获奖者。

海报获奖者*：

杨贤俊-美国加州大学欧文分校。

潘安潘-美国宾夕法尼亚大学。

柯林·凯利（Colin Kelly）-加利福尼亚大学，美国圣克鲁斯。

塞缪尔·梅尔顿（Samuel Melton）-美国宾夕法尼亚大学。

阿德里亚娜·高纳（Adriana Gauna），智利智利圣塔玛丽亚大学（Tecnica Federico）瓦尔帕莱索天主教大学。

蒂莫西·赖查特（Timothy Reichart），瑞士洛桑联邦理工学院（EPFL）。

Iraj Behroz-德国柏林工业大学。

阿里·萨林格（Ari Salinger）-美国麻萨诸塞大学医学院。

Mihajlo Todorovic-加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚大学。

凯瑟琳·赫德（Catherine Hurd）-英国剑桥大学。

Shabnam Jafari-美国戴维斯加州大学。

詹妮弗罗（Jennifer Rowe）-美国普渡大学。

Ferran Nadal Bufi-澳大利亚昆士兰科技大学。

Monessha Nambiar-美国普渡大学。

YI口头比赛第一名*：

Shehrazade Jekhmane，荷兰乌得勒支大学。

YI口语比赛二等奖：

Nina Hartrampf-美国麻萨诸塞理工学院。

*截至2019年6月的机构隶属关系。

2019年的研讨会标志着我们屡获殊荣的YI的工作第一次扩展到该学会官方杂志《肽科学》（Peptide Science）的特刊上。其中四个获奖者，凯瑟琳·赫德（Catherine A. Hurd），费兰·纳达尔·布菲（Ferran Nadal-Bufi），妮娜·哈特拉姆普（Nina Hartrampf）和米哈伊洛·托多罗维奇（Mihajlo Todorovic）撰写了评论文章，对正在开展研究的肽科学新兴领域提供了见识。

凯瑟琳·赫德（Catherine A.Hurd），海伦·莫特（Helen R.Mott）和达瑞卡·欧文（Dalerca Owen）撰写的第一篇评论着重介绍了在开发针对GTPases Ras超家族的基于肽的疗法方面的进展。作者广泛概述了采用肽大环化，N-甲基化和肽钉合来沉默超家族每个成员Ras，Rho，Rab，Ran和Arf的异常活性的成功干预措施。因此，本综述提出了一个强有力的论据，即通过修饰以增加细胞的通透性，肽的表面积在选择性减少GTPase功能障碍的致病影响方面具有优势。

我们的特刊的第二篇文章由Ferran Nadal-Bufi和Sonia Troeira Henriques合着，着重于细胞穿透肽的内体包裹。通过描述拟议的内体摄取和逃逸机制，并分析已证明可避免内体隔离的穿透细胞的肽的特性，该对成员讨论了这一重要挑战。作者最后提供了一系列肽治疗设计的实用策略，以促进内体逃逸并随后提高功效水平。

下一期综述提供了有关肽合成和工程学的最新进展的观点，这些进展将结合基于流的强大方法进行蛋白质合成。Zachary P. Gates和Nina Hartrampf首先回顾了通过流动化学合成肽的基础知识，以及Erickson，Pentelute和其他先驱性功能性流动肽合成仪的设计者所做的重大贡献。他们将继续讨论转折点和关键发现，以及导致我们目前基于标准Fmoc的固相肽合成（SPPS）的方法以及基于流程的自动SPPS（AFPS）的已实现优势。值得注意的是，该评估报告的结尾是针对流动式AFPS的一些最突出的挑战和批评，包括技术限制和环境问题。

最后，Mihajlo Todorovic和David M. Perrin列出了过去10年在非规范酰胺键形成领域取得的重大进展。他们详尽的评论详细介绍了直接和间接酰胺化催化剂开发方面的进展，包括使用硼基催化剂，金属基催化剂，有机催化剂和氧化还原催化剂。总而言之，Todorovic和Perrin描绘了一种可靠而健壮的催化酰胺键形成方法将对该领域产生的直接而重大的影响。

这些评论文章是我们在每次APS研讨会上担任SAC共同主席时观察到的主要例子：下一代肽科学家无疑将提高研究水平，并在我们继续其职业生涯的同时扩大我们的了解范围。我们为他们的成就感到自豪，并为促进他们成长的导师，榜样和恩人表示感谢。其中包括ESCOM科学基金会主席兼Bert L. Schram年轻科学家网络午餐会的赞助人Elizabeth A. Schram博士，我们在去年不幸地失去了这一职位。她是青年参与科学和平等获得科学教育的倡导者。同样，如果没有已故的茱蒂·沃纳（Judy Warner）的辛勤工作，我们YI活动的协调和成功就不可能实现。朱迪 在将来的APS专题讨论会上，您将真正错过幕后的努力和体贴。认识到朱迪（Judy），施拉姆（Schram）博士和APS社区的其他成员对我们的YI产生的影响，我们希望本期特刊能赞扬年轻研究人员的成就，同时为肽科学的未来发展提供兴奋。

献给Elizabeth A. Schram博士（1945-2019）和Judy Warner女士（1959-2020）的回忆。

第26届美国肽研讨会的年轻研究者（坐下），学生活动委员会和美国肽协会领导（常设）