Retrovirology Blog
Thierry Heidmann lectures in Montpellier
Earlier this month Thierry Heidmann delivered a lecture in Montpellier, France and received his Retrovriology Prize trophy. Colleagues organized a "lunch buffet" in his honor. Thierry is pictured with several colleagues below.
From left to right: Christian Devaux, Marc Sitbon, Thierry Heidmann, and Monsef Benkirane.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 18:52 Comments (0)
Retrovirology article discussed in amfAR eNews
Below is an article from amfAR eNews.
Animal Model Enables Researchers to Track the Evolution of HIV
Jeffrey Laurence, M.D., and Rowena Johnston, Ph.D.
However, sometimes a virus evolves that can out-compete the virus that initially infected the patient, due to changes that may render it less susceptible to attack by the immune system or antiretroviral drugs. These new drug-resistant viruses may also be more or less likely to be transmitted sexually. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) itself exerts “pressure” on HIV populations to evolve, leading to the natural selection of resistant viruses that may have any of the above characteristics. It is therefore crucial to understand how quickly and under which circumstances these drug-resistant viruses emerge, and whether they have any clinically relevant ramifications.
It is difficult to study the emergence of drug-resistant virus in people because of complicating factors such as the potential for repeat infections with new viral strains or imperfect HAART adherence, which is known to increase the rate at which drug resistance emerges. amfAR grantee Dr. Zandrea Ambrose, working at the University of Pittsburgh, with colleagues from the National Cancer Institute, Tufts University, and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, solved these problems by using an animal model that could better control for these possibilities and permit new studies of the evolution of HIV and HIV drug resistance.
Writing in the November issue of the journal Retrovirology, Ambrose and associates reported using a chimeric AIDS virus created in the laboratory by joining the outer envelope and other genes of the monkey AIDS virus, SIV, with the reverse transcriptase gene of the human AIDS virus, HIV. Nine different versions of this virus were injected into three monkeys. The researchers were then able to follow the fate of each of the nine virus subpopulations as they competed with each other for survival inside a single animal under three different conditions. Initially, the monkeys received no treatment, then they were treated with a single anti-HIV drug, and finally, they received a complete HAART regimen consisting of three different anti-HIV drugs.
When the monkeys were treated with a single drug, the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor efavirenz (Sustiva), viruses carrying mutations that rendered them resistant to efavirenz became dominant within about three months. However, during subsequent treatment with HAART, those viruses that were able to replicate during treatment with efavirenz alone were predominantly susceptible to more comprehensive anti-HIV therapy. This suggested that when a subject is being treated with a full complement of anti-HIV drugs, the presence or absence of at least some known drug-resistant mutations does not greatly influence which types of virus persist, in that drug-resistant virus does not necessarily overtake the original virus.
The authors concluded, “Our new method provided a valuable tool for studying HIV subpopulation emergence, persistence, and decline during ART.”
Dr. Laurence is amfAR’s senior scientific consultant and Dr. Johnston is vice president and director of research.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 16:59 Comments (0)
The 2009 Retrovirology Prize trophy
Below is a picture of the 2009 Retrovirology Prize trophy awarded to Thierry Heidmann.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 18:04 Comments (0)
Proclamation of World AIDS Day 2009 by President Obama
The following is the Proclamation of World AIDS Day 2010 by US President Barack Obama.
Presidential Proclamation-- World AIDS Day
A PROCLAMATION
Our Nation joins the world in celebrating the extraordinary advancements we have made in the battle against HIV and AIDS, and remembering those we have lost. Over the past three decades, brave men and women have fought devastating discrimination, stigma, doubt, and violence as they stood in the face of this deadly disease. Many of them would not be here today, but for the dedication of other persons living with HIV, their loved ones and families, community advocates, and members of the medical profession. On World AIDS Day, we rededicate ourselves to developing a national AIDS strategy that will establish the priorities necessary to combat this devastating epidemic at home, and to renewing our leadership role and commitments abroad.
Though we have been witness to incredible progress, our struggle against HIV/AIDS is far from over. With an infection occurring every nine-and-a-half minutes in America, there are more than one million individuals estimated to be living with the disease in our country. Of those currently infected, one in five does not know they have the condition, and the majority of new infections are spread by people who are unaware of their own status. HIV/AIDS does not discriminate as it infiltrates neighborhoods and communities. Americans of any gender, age, ethnicity, income, or sexual orientation can and are contracting the disease.
Globally, there are over 33 million people living with HIV. While millions have died from this disease, the death rate is slowly declining due, in part, to our Nation's global effort through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program. However, HIV remains a leading cause of death worldwide. Women and children around the world are particularly vulnerable due to gender inequalities, gaps in access to services, and increases in sexual violence. While the statistics are distressing, new medications and scientific advancements give us reason for hope.
Tackling this disease will take an aggressive, steadfast approach. My Administration is developing a national HIV/AIDS strategy to bolster our response to the domestic epidemic, and a global health initiative that will build on PEPFAR's success. We will develop a strategy to reduce HIV incidence, improve access to care, and help eliminate HIV-related health disparities. We have already ensured that visitors to our shores living with HIV are not marginalized and discriminated against because of their HIV status. We have also secured the continuation of critical HIV/AIDS care and treatment services. Today, we recommit ourselves to building on the accomplishments of the past decades that have dramatically changed the domestic and global HIV/AIDS landscape.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December 1, 2009, as World AIDS Day. I urge the Governors of the States and the territories subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and the American people to join in appropriate activities to remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS, and to provide support and comfort to those living with this disease.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
BARACK OBAMA
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 22:34 Comments (0)
Citations to Retrovirology articles continue to trend positively
We and others have made the point that a much better measure of scientific importance is reflected in actual citation numbers rather than in the often difficult to understand term “Impact Factor” (see http://www.retrovirology.com/content/6/1/82 ). Accordingly, it is informative to consider periodically how total citations to Retrovirology as a journal stack up. Below, you will see a graph of data captured from ISI Web of Science tabulating annual citations to Retrovirology from 2005 to November 20, 2009. Please keep in mind that there is a bit more than a month remaining in 2009, so the final number for 2009 will be higher. Nevertheless, the slope of annual citations to Retrovirology articles continues in 2009 in an encouragingly positive manner.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 13:50 Comments (0)
This morning Maureen Shuh, a former post doctoral fellow with David Derse, wrote me to say "It is with great sadness that I inform you that Dr. David Derse passed away last night. He had advanced stage liver cancer which was not diagnosed until several weeks ago at which point it was too late. He did not suffer, and he was surrounded by his family."
David was a valued member of the Retrovirology editorial board; he was an esteemed colleague and a good friend. We will miss David very much. We plan to publish an obituary of David in Retrovirology soon.
David Derse
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 21:43 Comments (0)
Postdoctoral position available in Vienna Austria
Retrovirology / Cancer Research / Stanislav Indik, Walter Günzburg
University of
A four year PostDoc position is available in the
Large body of scientific evidence suggests that a retrovirus that is closely related to the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV), which is associated with mammary adenocarcinomas and T-cell lymphomas in mice, is responsible for breast carcinogenesis in humans. A number of independent laboratories identified DNA sequences of MMTV-like virus as well as the presence of anti-MMTV antibody-crossreactive proteins in human breast cancer tissue. Furthermore, recently our laboratory unequivocally demonstrated that MMTV is capable of infecting various human breast cancer cell lines. This evidence further supports the idea that MMTV (or a virus that is very closely related to MMTV) is enzootically transmitted from mouse to human, similarly as it has recently been suggested for another retrovirus - xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) that was shown to be associated with human prostate cancer.
Our aim is to isolate MMTV-like virus from a human breast cancer tissue and demonstrate its potential to productively infect human cells and cause carcinogenic transformation in an animal in vivo model. Furthermore, we would like to investigate a possible role of the newly discovered MMTV-encoded accessory proteins in tumorigenesis.
Successful candidate must hold a PhD degree in life sciences or Dr. med.vet. or Dr. med. degree. Applicants should have a keen interest in cancer research and a strong background in molecular biology. Application should contain: full CV, publication list, application letter, 2 letters of recommendation and should be submitted electronically to: rektorat@vetmeduni.ac.at ; stanislav.indik@vetmeduni.ac.at ; Walter.Guenzburg@vetmeduni.ac.at (Also for informal enquiries).
Further information:
http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/jobs/107174-Postdoctoral-Fellowships
http://www.vetmeduni.ac.at/en/research/postdoc/pd190/
Closing date for proposals: Oct 30th 2009
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 20:12 Comments (0)
Nomination period open until October 31st for the 2009 Retrovirology Prize
The Retrovirology Prize alternates yearly between recognizing a non-HIV retrovirologist (2009 and odd years) and an HIV retrovirologist (2008 and even years). There can be some discretion on this guideline, exercised from time-to-time by the selection committee. Any individual can initiate a nomination of others or self-nominate. A nomination includes a statement (1000 words or less) of the nominee's significant contributions to retrovirus research, a curriculum vitae of the nominee, and a statement by the nominator that the nominee has agreed to be nominated. The selection committee consists of the Editors of Retrovirology (currently, M. Benkirane, B. Berkhout, M. Fujii, K.T. Jeang, M. Lairmore, A. Lever, and M. Wainberg). All nominations submitted to the selection committee must be communicated through an Editorial Board member of Retrovirology. Hence, an individuals who is not an Editorial board member but who wishes to make a nomination should seek out a Retrovirology Editorial board member to communicate his/her information to the selection committee. A list of current Editorial Board members can be found at the Retrovirology website http://www.retrovirology.com webcite. Within the stipulated age limits (age 45 to 60), all Retrovirology Editors and Editorial Board members are eligible to be nominated with the exception of the Editor-in-Chief who will administer the final selection.
For 2009, nominations will be accepted until October 31th. All members of the retrovirology community are encouraged to participate in this process for recognizing a deserving colleague. Inquires may be directed to editorial@retrovirology.com .
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 21:13 Comments (0)
Retrovirology completes successfully first meeting in Montpellier, France
Retrovirology completed its first meeting September 21 - 23 in Montpellier, France. The meeting was organized locally by Monsef Benkirane with support from BMC Staff, Matt McKay and Charlotte Webber. Over 260 registrants attended this first meeting organized by the journal. Abstracts from this meeting are published and can be accessed at the following link: http://www.retrovirology.com/supplements/6/S2 
Retrovirology editors Kuan-Teh Jeang, Monsef Benkirane & Mark Wainberg at the Montpellier meeting.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 21:02 Comments (0)
Meeting Abstracts published in Retrovirology
Retrovirology has recently published the meeting's abstracts from the Fifth Dominique Dormont International Conference http://www.retrovirology.com/supplements/6/S1. Other meetings that have published their abstracts in Retrovirology can be viewed at http://www.retrovirology.com/supplements/.
Why should meetings publish their abstracts with Retrovirology? First, not all colleagues can go to the meeting; and many who did not attend would like to view the abstracts of the presentations at the meeting. Making your abstracts Open Access by publishing with Retrovirology captures a much wider audience than that reached by a subscription-based journal. Second, published Retrovirology supplements are listed in PubMed, further broadening the visibiity of the abstracts. Third, published supplements are permanently archived electronically. Once a conference has been completed and the conference abstract book has been ditched, a few years later one can still return to the Retrovirology supplements site to find the abstract that one wishes to recall.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 16:10 Comments (0)
Brady-Grassmann-Harrington Retrovirology Award in Brazil
At the 14th International Retrovirology Association (IRA) Conference held in Salvador, Brazil, July 2009, Retrovirology renamed its biennial HTLV-award as the Brady - Grassmann - Harrington HTLV Prize. This renaming was done in order to honor three esteemed HTLV-1 scientists who passed away recently (John Brady, Ralph Grassmann, and Bill Harrington). The first Brady-Grassmann-Harrington HTLV Prize was presented to Carlos Brites. Previous Retrovirology HTLV prizes presented at past IRA conferences have gone to Charles Bangham and Mitsuaki Yoshida.
The Brady-Grassmann-Harrington HTLV Prize was presented by KT Jeang (left) and Luc Willems (right) to Carlos Brites (center).
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 15:50 Comments (0)
The Journal Citation Report of 2008 Impact Factors for journals tracked by ISI Thomson was released this past Friday. Amongst the top four journals that primarily publish basic (as opposed to clinical) original virological research, J. Virol., Virology, and J. Gen. Virol. experienced small reductions in their 2008 impact factors. On the other hand, the Impact Factor of Retrovirology has remained steady despite publishing more papers in 2008 than 2007. Retrovirology is now a half point ahead of Virology, almost a full point ahead of J. Gen. Virol, and more than two points ahead of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. J. Virol. continues to lead the pack. Of note, Retrovirology remains the only journal out of the five journals listed in the table below that is fully and immediately Open Access. This means that Retrovirology papers on the day that they are published are entirely accessible for all to read in full text without subscription fee. Retrovirology is also the only journal that publishes articles on an individual rolling basis. Your article once formally accepted will be published immediately without having to queue up waiting for other articles to fill up a bi-weekly or monthly issue.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 22:16 Comments (0)
Charlotte Hubbard and Matt McKay represented Biomed Central at the Society of Chinese Bioscientists (SCBA) recent meeting in Taipei. Charlotte made a presentation to the SCBA on BMC's publishing efforts with society journals.
Charlotte Hubbard (BMC), Kuan-Teh Jeang (Retrovirology), and Matt McKay (BMC) at the SCBA meeting.
The meeting was also attended by David Cyranoski, chief scientific correspondent at Nature's Tokyo Bureau, and Dennis Normile, Science magazine's Tokyo Bureau chief. Both David and Dennis appeared to be enjoying their experience in Taipei as they worked hard covering the SCBA meeting. You can also read Dennis' blog of the meeting.
David Cyranoski (Nature) and Dennis Normile (Science) hard at work in Taipei.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 00:13 Comments (0)
It is with extreme personal sadness that I learned of the passing of John Brady this past weekend after a courageous battle with colon cancer. In 1987, John and I were in the same laboratory when our mentor George Khoury passed on. Since 1987, John has been an esteemed colleague and a thoughtful friend. He and I ran the annual NIH George Khoury Lecture, and I have always admired John's insightul work on HTLV and HIV gene regulation. Our thoughts and prayers are with John's wife Larrine and his children. John --- you will be missed!!!
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 19:04 Comments (0)
Citations to Retrovirology articles continue to increase
Citations to Retrovirology articles have nearly doubled every year since 2005 for the past several years. The graph below from ISI illustrates this increasing trend. In 2008, Retrovirology published slightly more than 100 articles; in the same year Retrovirology papers were cited approximately 1,000 times. The journal continues to make excellent progress. Note that the data for 2009 are ongoing and represent only citations up to the month of April.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 19:57 Comments (0)