Retrovirology Blog
New Retrovirology Impact Factor leads virology journals
ISI Thomson-Reuters has just released the latest Impact Factor numbers (2010 data). Amongst virology eponymous journals, Retrovirology (based on Impact Factor) now leads the pack. In the latest ranking, Retrovirology ranks at 443 out of 8005 journals indexed by ISI for Impact Factor. By comparison the Journal of Virology ranks at 454. Retrovirology's Impact Factor and Immediacy Index are both slightly ahead of those for the Journal of Virology and well-ahead of Virology. The Retrovirology numbers also compare very favorably to two stalwarts of journal publishing, the Journal of Biological Chemistry and the Journal of Molecular Biology.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 14:19 Comments (0)
Support BMC's 10 K Charity Run
Next week 20 BioMed Central employees will be taking on Nature Publishing Group in a clash of the science publishing titans, in the form of 10K charity run through Regent's Park in London.
BioMed Central set this challenge in a bid to raise funds for our partner charity, Computer Aid International, an IT charity which refurbishes old computer equipment for use in developing countries. You can support BMC by making a donation to Computer Aid http://bit.ly/dsuw94 All contributions will go towards the cost of supplying Kenyatta University in Kenya with a container of reconditioned computer equipment, where it is urgently needed.
I think this is a very worthwhile cause. I wouldn't ask you to make a contribution if I do not do so first. I want you to know that I have made a personal monetary donation, and I hope that you will too.
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 13:51 Comments (0)
Meeting the wonderful staff at BMC in London
Last week, I had the opportunity to finally meet in person many of the folks at BMC. The realities of electronic publishing are that you are in constant contact with many people who you never see and have never met personally. On the occasion of the BMC award reception, I had the opportunity to meet some of the very capable staff who work with me daily in publishing Retrovirology. When the story of Open Access publishing is finally written, it will in part be a magical tale about BMC and these capable young people doing great things to change the face of publishing. I am immensely grateful and honored for the privilege of working with such outstanding individuals.
Ruth, Alison, Ed, Srimathy, Charlotte with Teh (not pictured Natalie Hill).
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 14:08 Comments (0)
Seven new Retrovirology editorial board members
Periodically, Retrovirology rotates a portion of its editorial board. We are delighted to welcome the following 7 new members to our board. They are Klaus Uberla (Germany), Juan Martin-Serrano (UK), Peter Cherepanov (UK), Carlos Brites (Brazil), Rob Gorelick (US), Shibo Jiang (US), and Rosemary Kiernan (France).
We wish to thank the wonderful services of the following departing editoral board members: Nafees Ahmad (US), David Brighty (UK), Warner Greene (US), Finn Skou Pedersen (Denmark), Roger Pomerantz (US), Leonid Margolis (US); and once again, we acknowldege the untimely passing of our board member David Derse (US).
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 14:18 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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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.
|
Top 10 most accessed articles during October 2008
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
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)
Deadline approaching for 2008 Retrovirology Prize nomination
There are only a few more days left to nominate a deserving scientist for the 2008 Retrovirology prize. Please read the editorial below for further instructions on how to nominate for the prize and the approaching deadline.
Recognizing mid-career productivity: the 2008 Retrovirology Prize, call for nomination
Kuan-Teh Jeang
Retrovirology 2008, 5:80 (11 September 2008)
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] [PubMed] [Related articles]
Posted by Kuan-Teh Jeang at 13:29 Comments (0)