Evaluating Metrics Applied to the Medical Science Liaison (MSL) Role: A Survey-Based Study of Canadian MSL Leaders.

Introduction: Metrics utilized within the Medical Science Liaison (MSL) role are plentiful and traditionally quantitative. We sought to understand the current use and value of metrics applied to the MSL role, including the use of qualitative metrics.

Methods: We developed a list of 70 MSL leaders working in Canada, spanning 29 companies.

Gene discovery at the human T-cell receptor alpha/delta locus.

The human T-cell receptor (TCR) alpha/delta variable loci are interspersed on the chromosome 14q11 and consist of 57 intergenic spaces ranging from 4 to 100 kb in length. To elucidate the evolutionary history of this locus, we searched the intergenic spaces of all TCR alpha/delta variable (TRAV/DV) genes for pseudogenes and potential protein-coding genes. We applied direct open reading frame (ORF) searches, an exon-finding algorithm and comparative genomics.

Evolution of the variable gene segments and recombination signal sequences of the human T-cell receptor alpha/delta locus.

The T-cell receptor (TCR) alpha and delta loci are particularly interesting because of their unique genomic structure, in that the gene segments for each locus are interspersed. The origin of this remarkable gene segment arrangement is obscure. In this report, we investigated the evolution of the TCRalpha and delta variable loci and their respective recombination signal sequences (RSSs).