Retrovirology Blog

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)
Paul Gorry's new recombinant DNA success
Carolyn and Paul Gorry are delighted to announce the arrival of their new son, Mitchell Timothy Gorry, born at 9.30am Wednesday 8th April. He weighed in at 3.84 kg, and is 52 cm long. Both mother and baby are doing great. Congratulations to Carolyn and Paul on another recombinant DNA success!
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 15:50 Comments (0)
Register and attend the Frontiers of Retrovirology conference, Sept 21 -23, Montpellier, France
Have you ever wanted an opportunity to go to a small conference with cutting edge speakers and be able to meet and talk to each of the speakers and for the speakers to get to know you? Large meetings where speakers are inaccessible and disappear immediately after their talks may hold great ambience for speakers, but are definitely not wonderful venues for many attendees.
From September 21 – 23, 2009, in the beautiful south of
This is your chance to hear the speakers that you have always wanted to meet. This is your opportunity to visit the south of

Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 13:21 Comments (0)
Jean-Luc Darlix participates to raise 6.3 million Euros for SIDACTION
Retrovirology editorial board member Jean-Luc Darlix participated this past weekend to help raise 6.3 million Euros for AIDS research. Jean-Luc has been involved in SIDACTION since its founding. In the inset, he discusses his views on today's HIV-1 research, the difficulties with the failed Merck vaccine study, and hopes for increased cooperation between research laboratories.

Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 16:44 Comments (0)
On behalf of the organizing committee for the International Conference of Retrovirology Society-HTLV, we are pleased to invite researchers, physicians and all the professionals interested in the HTLV field to attend the meeting that will be held in
The main information on the meeting will be available in the website (http://www.htlv2009.com.br/htlv2009/), which will be regularly updated, as soon as the details of the scientific program be defined.
We look forward to meet you in
Chair; Email: crbrites@ufba.br
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 16:50 Comments (0)
Retrovirology welcomes 7 new editorial board members
Retrovirology welcomes new editorial board members Jeremy Luban, Paul Clapham, Li Wu, Alan Engelman, Roger Pomerantz, Anne-Marie Vandamme, and Vinay Pathak. We thank departing members Janice Clement, Graham Taylor, Damian Purcell, Juan Lama, Bill Hall, and Chris Aiken for completing their services to the journal. In 2008, we also lost our dear colleague and board member Ralph Grassmann due to his untimely passing.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 17:38 Comments (0)
I received an announcement (see below) by email this past Thursday (January 29th) on the passing of Bill Harrington. Dr. Harrington was a colleague who had contributed immensely to HTLV-1 research. He will be missed.
"To all faculty, staff and students of the Miller School of Medicine, We are deeply saddened to announce that Dr. William J. Harrington Jr. has died as a result of a catastrophic event. Dr. Harrington, a professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology Oncology, was one of the nicest, most collegial and smartest physician scientists at the medical school.
His achievements, which are too many to list, have had an extraordinary impact on our patients, students and medical science. His research contributions, particularly at the intersection of viral infection and cancer, are immeasurable. Moreover, his commitment to health equity and access to the very best care for the least privileged was exemplary.
Bill was co-director of the William J. Harrington Medical Training Programs for
We have lost a truly outstanding faculty member, but even more significantly a very, very dear friend. Please join us in supporting his family through this difficult time.
Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D. Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean
Marc E. Lippman, M.D. Chair, Department of Medicine
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 20:13 Comments (0)
VIRUS & IMMUNITY course at ENS Sciences, LYON (Jan 26 to Feb 13, 2009)
Professor Jean-Luc Darlix has written me to tell me about a 'VIRUS & IMMUNITY' course that is being organized at ENS Sciences, LYON. The course will include the latest data on HIV-1 amongst other topics, and will include discussions on the relevant recent literature. Interested individuals should visit the website:
http://masterbiosciences.ens-lyon.fr/semestres-2-3-et-4/ue-europe/virus-and-immunity/virus-and-immunity
Or you can email Jean-Luc Darlix directly for more information at jldarlix@ens-lyon.fr
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 13:21 Comments (0)
Jeremy Luban has told me about a very interesting podcast site for virology. This weekly podcast site "This week in Virology" is hosted by Vincent Racaniello. You can access this site for its insightful content at the following link: http://www.twiv.tv/
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 13:23 Comments (0)
Feature articles on the web about Ali Saib
The following are links to two feature artides on the web about Ali Saib. One is in English and the other is in French. Ali is a member of Retrovirology's editorial board who has been instrumental in producing a wonderfully educational movie on Dr. Virus and Mr. Hyde .
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 20:55 Comments (0)
Top Ten accessed Retrovirology articles during October
Below is the list of the top 10 most highly accessed articles at Retrovirology in October. It is noteworthy that the Editorial by Lever and Berkhout has been read 1284 times in the abbreviated period from Oct 14 to Oct 31st. These numbers illustrate the impact of Open Access and speak to the interest shown by readers.
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Top 10 most accessed articles during October 2008
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Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 15:15 Comments (0)
Olivier Schwartz elected EMBO member
EMBO announced the election of 59 new members in 2008, adding its total to over 1,300 of Europe's foremost researchers. Olivier Schwartz of the Pasteur Institute, an editorial board member of Retrovirology, was one of the newly elected members. Congratulations, Olivier!!!
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 16:56 Comments (0)