Retrovirology Prize Awarded To Dr. Ben Berkhout For His Contribution To HIV Research

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Genetics;  MRSA / Drug Resistance
Article Date: 13 Dec 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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Dr Ben Berkhout, a retrovirologist from the Netherlands, has been awarded the 2008 M Jeang Retrovirology Prize. He was honoured for his multi-disciplinary approach to RNA research which has provided additional important building blocks for many aspects of our current knowledge on HIV-1 replication. Dr Berkhout's research has extended our insights into the mechanisms of transcription, reverse transcription, drug-resistance, and RNA interference.

In an interview published in BioMed Central's open access journal Retrovirology, Dr Berkhout, who is Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Experimental Virology at the University of Amsterdam, and Associate Editor of Retrovirology, discusses his 20-year career.

"It really is a fantastic surprise. As editorial board member of Retrovirology, I know from previous years how fierce the competition is for the Retrovirology Prize. It is rather enjoyable being recognized at this level by my colleagues."

The Retrovirology Prize, awarded annually, recognises an outstanding mid-career retrovirologist aged 45 to 60. The prize, which consists of a $3,000 cheque and a crystal trophy, is partly sponsored by the Ming K. Jeang Foundation and alternates between HIV and non-HIV research. Last year's winner was Dr Karen Beemon, Professor and Chair of the Biology Department, Johns Hopkins University.

The M Jeang Retrovirology Prize winner is selected by Retrovirology's Editors from nominations submitted by the journal's Editorial Board.

Editor-in-Chief of Retrovirology, Kuan-Teh Jeang explained why they awarded Professor Berkhout with the Retrovirology prize. "Dr Berkhout has been a leader in our understanding of RNA-based gene regulation. His work with TAR RNA has been revolutionary."

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Notes:

1. The interview with Dr. Ben Berkhout can be viewed on the Retrovirology website: http://www.retrovirology.com/content/pdf/1742-4690-5-113.pdf
All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

2. Dr Berkhout studied molecular biology at Leiden University, and obtained his PhD in 1986 at the same university investigating the regulation of gene expression in RNA bacteriophages. He performed postdoctoral research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute of the Harvard Medical School in the field of molecular immunology, and initiated his HIV-1 research at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda.

In 1991, upon return to the Netherlands, Dr Berkhout began his own research line and has been at the Academic Medical Center (AMC) of the University of Amsterdam since then. He became Head of the Laboratory of Experimental Virology in 2002 and was appointed as Professor of Human Retrovirology in 2003.

3. Retrovirology (http://www.retrovirology.com) is a stringently peer-reviewed journal edited by Kuan-Teh Jeang (USA), Monsef Benkirane (France), Ben Berkhout (the Netherlands), Masahiro Fujii (Japan), Michael Lairmore (USA), Andrew Lever (UK), and Mark Wainberg (Canada) with the assistance of an internationally renowned Editorial Board. Retrovirology is an Open Access, online journal that publishes articles on basic retrovirus research. Retrovirology has an Impact Factor of 4.04.

4. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.

Source: Graeme Baldwin
BioMed Central

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