Inaugural Issue of EHP Toxicogenomics
The development of powerful molecular tools for genomic research has provided
unprecedented research opportunities in toxicology and environmental health,
including the ability to elucidate biologic responses in the genome after exposure
to environmental toxicants and stressors. The National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences (NIEHS) has been at the forefront of these research efforts.
Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) has always strived to
provide a vehicle for dissemination of the latest research findings. Recognizing
the important role that toxicogenomics will play in future research, we have
expanded EHP's coverage of toxicogenomics by initiating a new quarterly
edition of the journal titled EHP Toxicogenomics. Areas covered include
pharmacogenomics, proteomics, metabonomics, molecular epidemiology, translational
aspects of genomic research, and molecular medicine. The journal has full-color
capabilities and features online publication of extensive data sets and supplementary
materials. EHP's policy of publishing accepted research articles within
24 hours of acceptance will also apply. These articles are citable using the
Digital Object Identifier code that is managed by CrossRef, a licensee of the
International DOI Foundation. EHP Toxicogenomics in-press articles can
be found on our website (http://www.ehponline.org/txg).
To help guide EHP's coverage of toxicogenomics, we are pleased to announce
the appointment of an outstanding scientist as the editor of EHP Toxicogenomics.
Dr. Kenneth S. Ramos of the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology of the
College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University in College Station,
Texas, has agreed to serve in this role. Dr. Ramos is at the forefront of the
emerging field of toxicogenomics and will help formulate the future directions
for the journal's coverage of this critical area of research.
Dr. Ramos is a molecular toxicologist with long-standing interests in redox-regulated
mammalian transcription and the genomic basis of environmental vascular and
renal disease. He is currently director of the NIEHS Center for Environmental
and Rural Health and Chester Reed Professor of Toxicology at Texas A&M University.
After 14 years at Texas A&M University, Dr. Ramos will be leaving in February
to join the University of Louisville Medical School as distinguished professor
and chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and director
of the Center for Genetics and Molecular Medicine.
Dr. Ramos received his Doctor of Philosophy in biochemical pharmacology and
toxicology in 1983 from the University of Texas at Austin. He has published
over 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is currently a member of the
Board of Scientific Counselors for the NIEHS and has served in an editorial
capacity for many journals, including In Vitro Cellular and Developmental
Biology, American Journal of Physiology, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental
Health, Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Cell Biology and Toxicology, Vascular
Pharmacology, Chemico-Biological Interactions, and Cardiovascular Toxicology.
We are excited about EHP Toxicogenomics and extremely pleased to have
Dr. Ramos help us advance our goals. As we craft the new publication, your feedback
on how EHP Toxicogenomics can help in your work is encouraged and very
much appreciated.
EHP Toxicogenomics: A Publication Forum
in the Postgenome Era
 The
availability of the genome sequences of various model organisms as well as humans
has not only revealed fundamental biologic information but has also ratified
what many long suspected--that biologic complexity arises from intricate genomic
interactions that are highly susceptible to the internal and external environments.
Indeed, our ability to define molecular mechanisms of human disease and to address
the challenges of modern medicine depends on understanding better the interaction
between genes and the environment. This is one of the greatest biomedical challenges
of the new millennium.
"Toxicogenomics" describes an emerging discipline that combines expertise
in toxicology, genetics, molecular biology, and environmental health to elucidate
the response of living organisms to stressful environments. Of particular interest
to scientists in the field is the advancement of high-throughput and computational
methodologies to study gene and protein expression at all levels, and the application
of this knowledge to enhance our understanding and therapeutic management of
human illnesses. The promise of toxicogenomics will become a reality as we begin
to fully understand how subtle variations in the environment give rise to altered
phenotypes that compromise organ and system functions.
EHP Toxicogenomics is the first journal dedicated to publication of
scientific work in genomics, proteomics, molecular medicine and computational
biology, as they relate to the impact of the environment on human health. With
this definition in hand, an outstanding editorial board has been assembled that
comprises talented scientists eager to help fulfill the promise of toxicogenomics.
Our goal is to publish the results of studies from model systems and humans
that focus on gene and protein expression profiling, functional prediction,
gene identification, and assessment of geneenvironment interactions. The
journal will also feature invited reviews and perspectives that enhance our
understanding of technologies and scientific approaches to support this new
field. To achieve rapid publication of research findings, the journal will rely
on web-based technologies for immediate online publication of accepted manuscripts.
Publishing online and following in print will offer authors flexibility for
fast dissemination of results and publication of large data sets, without losing
the advantages of permanent record and access.
The need to understand the interaction between genes and the environment has
been realized for some time, but the complexity of the biologic circuitry involved
in the cellular response to stressful environments is only poorly understood.
As such, evolution of the field will be greatly facilitated by outstanding research
that aids in the discovery of genes targeted by environmental factors, analyses
of genotypic and phenotypic profiles during the acute and adaptive response
to environmental insult, and molecular characterization of environmental triggers
of human illness. Our collective challenge will be to nurture the field by maintaining
the highest standards of excellence. The launching of the journal marks a critical
stage in the evolution of toxicogenomics. On behalf of the editorial staff and
the editorial board of EHP Toxicogenomics, I would like to invite you
to support this new venture!
Kenneth S. Ramos
Texas A & M University
College Station, Texas
kramos@cvm.tamu.edu |
