BioMed Central Blog

HIV vaccine – are we there yet?

Following the announcement last month of the success of the HIV-1 vaccine clinical trial, RV144, Ben Berkhout and William Paxton discuss the implications of this positive vaccine efficacy in their Editorial, published today in Retrovirology.

The RV144 Clinical trial began in 2003 and was seen by many as being a non-starter due to each of the vaccine’s two components having been previously shown to provide no protection as individual vaccines. Researchers hoped that in combination, the components would be more effective, and they were right. However, in spite of success of the trial showing this vaccine provides mild protection against HIV-1 infection, many issues remain unresolved.

“The trial has certainly posed more new questions than it has so far answered”, Dr Berkhout says, adding “The results of the RV144 trial may indicate that we should not put all our money on basic science and ignore clinical science, as human experimentation has added value over what we can test in tubes and animal models.”

The Editorial, HIV vaccine: it may take two to tango, but no party time yet, is available online.

Posted by Anne Braae at 16:31    Comments (0)

Translational research - two new articles in Genome Medicine

When a genomic research project is planned, its medical applications may not be immediately apparent, and the subsequent process of translation to the clinic may be fraught with difficulties. Two new Correspondence articles in Genome Medicine provide insights into the challenges of moving systems biology research towards clinical utility, and the advance steps that can be taken in all types of genomic studies to improve clinical benefit.

In “Planning for translational research in genomics”, Hawkins and colleagues propose a number of key factors for consideration at the early stages of a genomic research project, which could facilitate commercialization if a clinical application is found. These include the types of collaborative agreements which must be put in place, the benefit-sharing frameworks which funders and research institutions need to consider, and the importance of informed consent from study participants.

Clermont and colleagues discuss the emerging discipline of systems medicine in “Bridging the gap between systems biology and medicine”. The authors propose a roadmap for the development of interactions and exchange between systems biology and the clinic, noting that interdisciplinary training, changes in regulations, improvements in technology at the point of care, and discussion in the mainstream literature are among the diverse factors which will help to drive the field forward.

Genome Medicine, BioMed Central’s premier medical journal, stands at the forefront of research and clinical practice in the post-genomic era. Genome Medicine and BioMed Central will be exhibiting at the upcoming American Society of Human Genetics meeting on the 21-23 Oct in Honululu, Hawaii. Please drop in at booth #603 to meet us!

Rebecca Furlong

Assistant Editor, Genome Medicine

Posted by Rebecca Furlong at 15:09    Comments (0)

BMC Medical Genomics to receive its first Impact factor in June 2010

BMC Medical Genomics has now been accepted for tracking by Thompson Reuters and will get its first impact factor in June 2010.

 This announcement further emphasizes the successful path that BMC Medical Genomics has taken to this date. Since its launch in January 2008, BMC Medical Genomics has published more than 100 high quality articles and was also recently accepted for tracking by both Medline and Scopus. All BioMed Central journals are also indexed/included in PubMed, PubMed Central, Scirus, Google Scholar, Citebase, and OAIster.

BMC Medical Genomics was one of the first journals in the BMC series to embrace the involvement of Associate Editors in the peer review process, and we would like to thank all of our Associate Editors as well as members of our Advisory Board for their help and support over the last two years – without them the success of the journal would not have been possible.

BMC Medical Genomics and BioMed Central will be exhibiting at the upcoming American Society of Human Genetics meeting on the 21-23 Oct in Honululu, Hawaii. Please drop-in at booth #603 to meet the in-house editors for the journal.

Scott Edmunds, PhD.
In-house Editor, BMC Medical Genomics.

Anastasios Koutsos, PhD.
Journal Development Editor, BMC Medical Genomics.

Posted by Scott Edmunds at 10:44    Comments (0)