Editorial
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M. Ardekani, Ali
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Reproductive Biotechnology Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
Editorial: In this first editorial for the “first issue” of Avicenna Journal of Medical Biotechnology (AJMB), I thought I should provide our dear readers a little background as well as the reasons used in making decision to publish an English journal in the field of Medical Biotechnology in Iran.
Although the field of Medical Biotechnology is still at its infancy in many ways, it has travelled a long journey since its inception in early 1980s, a period parallel to the emergence of DNA recombinant technology and genetic engineering. At that time, the impact of genetic engineering in medicine was predicted to be great and this proved to be correct since the science of Medical Biotechnology expanded later on to include a variety of fields such as molecular medicine, cellular and molecular therapies, applied immunology, nanomedicine, genomics and proteomics, bioinformatics, tissue engineering, biosensors and pharmaceuticals. As a consequence of the great impacts that Medical Biotechnology has had in commercial, legal, ethical and social areas, AJMB is intending to provide a venue for articles discussing these issues in specific areas pertaining to the application of technologies in medicine in general.
Since the establishment of biotechnology research centers in Iran, including National Center for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering more than 15 years ago as well as Avicenna Research Institute, several English language journals have been published in the field of Biotechnology in Iran. AJMB is another English journal in this field but what makes it distinguishable from other journals is its scope of coverage and the comprehensiveness of the fields in medical biotechnology.
Regarding the journal’s name, after many hours of deliberations, the scientific staff at Avicenna Research Institute voted for the selection of the name “Avicenna” because of three reasons: 1. Avicenna simply best represents the Iranian-Islamic scientific culture and medicine in history 2. Avicenna is a name that is well recognized and respected in science and medicine throughout the world. 3. Avicenna is a name that has been chosen for a research institute that is focused on the application of biotechnologies in the areas of reproductive biology and cancer. Therefore, it is most appropriate to have Avicenna as the name for a Journal that publishes articles in Medical Biotechnology.
As we all know, Avicenna is a Latinized name of Ibn-e-Sina and his contributions to almost all fields of medical sciences and philosophy in the world is well known. Recently, Avicenna’s contributions to science and medicine have been recognized by major international organizations. For example, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has established a virtual campus dedicated to open distance learning in eleven Mediterranean countries under the name of The Avicenna Virtual Campus Project. Also another project with the name of Avicenna Directories of Educational Institutions for the Health Professionals has been initiated under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO).
I hope the name of “Avicenna” at both Avicenna Research Institute and Avicenna Journal of Medical Biotechnology provides the inspiration for conducting good science and become a place where high quality articles are published. I look forward to receiving your articles in the future and hope the readers of AJMB make this journal, the journal of their choice to publish the results of their research work in the field of Medical Biotechnology.
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