oa Editorial [Hot Topic: Topological and Electrotopological Descriptors of Molecules: Fundamental Principles and Applications to Computer Aided Molecular Design - Part I (Guest Editors: Subhash C. Basak and Guillermo Restrepo)]

It is with great pleasure, a sense of honor, and humility that we took up the responsibility of editing a special issue of Current Computer-Aided Drug Design (CCADD) dedicated to Professor Lemont B. Kier to celebrate his eightieth birthday. One of us (Basak) has been using some of Professor Kier’s concepts and methods since the 1970s, when he started his research on the use of mathematical structural descriptors in the characterization of molecular structure and quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) of bioactive chemicals. Professor Kier continues to have an illustrious scientific career spanning over five decades (1958- till date) working on a diversity of areas including experimental and theoretical aspects of drug research and pharmacology. In the realm of computer-aided drug design, chemoinformatics, and bioinformatics, his seminal contributions have been principally in three areas: a) Use of molecular orbital theory in drug research, 2) Applications of molecular topology in QSAR, and 3) Characterization of biological complexity. He has mentored a large number of graduate students and postdocs as well as collaborated with many visiting fellows from the United States and around the world. Monty, as friends are used to call him affectionately, has published over 280 research papers, authored seven books; received grants, contracts and consultancy invitations from numerous government agencies and multinational companies, has been a member of many scientific organizations in the field of drug research, and has been on the editorial boards of numerous journals in his field, including CCADD. The above summary undoubtedly indicates a long and outstanding scientific career. The wide impact of his research is reflected in the more than 11,000 citations of his publications up to the end of February, 2012. We invited our colleagues working in the area of computer-aided drug design to contribute to the special issue of CCADD honoring Monty. A large number of contributors came forward from around the globe. We will need more than one issue of the journal to accommodate all the contributions. This issue contains the first batch of papers published in Monty’s honor. In the first article, Bernard Testa pays tribute to Professor Kier and gives a brief summary of the long lasting collaboration he has had with him in drug research going back to 1990.....