Congratulations to PhD student Mr. Akhil Chameettachal and his supervisor Prof. Tahir A. Rizvi for their paper entitled A purine loop and the primer binding site (PBS) are critical for the selective encapsidation of mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) genomic RNA by Pr77Gag being accepted in Nucleic Acids Research. Nucleic Acids Research is the leading journal in the areas of Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology and has an impact factor of 11.501, SJR of 8.91, and cite score of 12.502 with an overall ranking of top 1% journal.

Mr. Akhil Chameettachal is the first author on this study which is funded by a UAEU grant and was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Roland Marquet from The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Strasbourg, which is among the world's leading research institutions. This study maps the protein binding sites required to initiate MMTV gRNA packaging and enhances our understanding of virus assembly, making it not only a target for novel therapeutic interventions, but also development of safer gene therapy vectors.

This is an impressive accomplishment as a student for publishing in such a high-impact journal, which will not only build UAEU reputation worldwide but will also open career opportunities for Akhil in the future. This is indeed a great achievement and the CGS wishes to extend its compliments to all involved in this research work.