MaineHealth Institute for Research Community

JAX ONLINE MINICOURSES Free of charge and designed to meet the needs of graduate and post-doctoral students, research assistants, advanced undergraduate students, and animal care technicians. The JAX MiniCourses and Certificates offers access to online learning modules based on the live lectures JAX delivers each year in our  Courses and Workshops.  These modules enable learners to engage online at any time and at their own pace, search for specific content, document progress through digital badges, and bundle courses into certificates to demonstrate a deeper knowledge of key topics. Online MiniCourse content is reviewed by JAX scientists and educators and serves as foundational content related to the research areas in which The Jackson Laboratory has earned a reputation for scientific leadership and excellence. Topics include: NEW: Sizing Mouse Colonies Common Laboratory Mouse Strains: A Beginner’s Guide Beyond Genes: Epigenetics, Environment & Health Basic...

Know any 16-22 year olds who are leaders in their schools/communities interested in a positive outlet? - training this summer! June 29, 2020 YOGA FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE, PEACE AND WELL BEING JULY/AUGUST 2020                 Yoga for Social Justice, Peace and Well Being                                 July 23rd-August 18th, 2020 May all beings be well, content, happy and free &  May I contribute to that happiness and freedom for all.  This yoga mantra is the heart of practicing yoga in the world, in our day to day night to night life. In this summer program for 16 to 22 year olds, I'll offer philosophies, postures, pranayama (breathing with intention) and other practices that awaken and empower you for this transformative time. Building wisdom and resilience for yourself, you can then share practices w...

Thanks to Doug Sawyer for this contribution! News & Updates   Community Forum on Racial Justice and Health Equity in Research, July 2 How can we transform research to ensure an equitable, healthy, and safe future for everyone? Research designed to enhance well-being and improve health outcomes is the cornerstone of the health and welfare of our population, yet it has been impacted by structural racial bias historically embedded within our society. Join us for an  Community Forum: Moving Towards a Racially Just and Equitable Health Research Enterprise , on  Thursday, July 2, 4:00-5:00PM  via Zoom. This event will address:  Diverse workforce development. Prioritization of research interests and resources. Lack of integration of underrepresented populations and the explicit recognition of the role of racial hierarchies. Presentations by  Sara Folta, PhD, MS ;  Linda Hudson, ScD, MSPH ; and  Robert Sege, MD, PhD ...

Nature bathing, or forest bathing, is being outside in nature and connecting via our senses and clarity of mind. This activity has health promoting effects ! If you can't quite go outside and find quiet in nature yet, here is a virtual walk - enjoy!

Thanks to Tom Gridley for this contribution! Boston Globe: 5 digital museum tours to tide you over MUSEUMS 5 digital museum tours to tide you over By Murray Whyte Globe Staff, Updated June 23, 2020,  12:39 p.m. 5 Florence, Italy's Uffizi Gallery has an excellent exhibition tracking “disease and divine intervention” in Renaissance art. Featured works include this 15th-century altarpiece by Fra Angelico titled "The Healing of Justinian by Saint Cosmas and Damian." DE AGOSTINI VIA GETTY IMAGES Museum-going has been a virtual trip during the pandemic, with exhibitions feeling more or less the same whether they’re a few miles or half a world away. That’s about to change in New England, with museums all over the region aiming to reopen in mid-July, and some even in late June (the dates aren’t universal; be sure to check before heading out). In the meantime, let’s hope this is the last of our global cultural couch surfs, with five of the best ons...

Thanks to Michaela Reagan for this contribution! Please join us beginning July 8, 2020, for the inaugural  Kravis Women in Science Endeavor (WiSE) Symposium , hosted virtually by Memorial Sloan Kettering. The symposium will feature lectures by leading biomedical scientists and is free and open to all. Kravis WiSE is a new initiative aimed at supporting female scientists and promoting gender equity at MSK and beyond. In future years, the Kravis WiSE Symposium will take place during March, Women’s History Month.  Kravis WiSE Symposium Speakers July 8, 2020, 4:30 PM ET Kravis WiSE Fellowship Winners Sahana Rao , Tri-I Chemical Biology PhD Program Linde Miles, PhD , Human Oncology & Pathogenesis Program, MSK Mohita Tagore, PhD , Cancer Biology & Genetics Program, SKI • July 13, 2020, 4:30 PM ET Akiko Iwasaki, PhD Yale University School of Medicine and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Talk title: “Sex Differences in COVID-19 Immune Responses” • July 15...

Thursday July 9, 2020 12:30pm-1:30pm  To register - free Join us for Cultural Consciousness & Connections: How Culture Matters in Portland, part of the Inclusion & Diversity Series. About this Event In Portland's culturally rich environment, the ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across many cultures is an essential skill. Cultural distinctions can divide us or we can allow them to unite us. In this one-hour interactive class,  Mandy Levine  will share her experiences in the diversity and inclusion field where cultural distinctions have ultimately led to greater connection, understanding, and celebration of difference. About the Speaker: Mandy Levine is the City of Portland’s Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Specialist, serving as the City’s primary point person on employment-related diversity and inclusion initiatives. Mandy is the City of Portland’s principal investigator of alleged violat...

National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi discusses "How to Be an Antiracist." Register here - July 20, 7pm - FREE About this Event 2019 Guggenheim Fellow and New York Times bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi will discuss his renowned book “How to Be an Antiracist” on Monday, July 20 at 7:00 p.m. with Dr. Charlene M. Dukes, president of Prince George’s Community College. Dr. Dukes is the first African-American woman to serve as president of the College and has 30 years of progressive leadership experience and administrative responsibility in higher education. The conversation will be streamed live online on Crowdcast, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter/Periscope, and will air on PGCC TV on a later date.  Praised as “The most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind” (New York Times), Kendi’s groundbreaking work has provided a major new counterpoint in the national conversation about race in A...

Thanks to Katie Stieber for this contribution! This was an article I came across during a journal club. It highlights commons academic experiences that may not be as widely discussed. I feel very lucky to be a part of number of groups that facilitate discussions surrounding these topics because I firmly believe that the more these discussions are had and normalized, the more progress can be made. Jaremka, L. M., Ackerman, J. M., Gawronski, B., Rule, N. O., Sweeny, K., Tropp, L. R., ... & Vick, S. B. (2020).  Common academic experiences no one talks about: Repeated rejection, impostor syndrome, and burnout .  Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15 (3), 519-543. http://www.bertramgawronski.com/documents/JAGRSTMMRV2020PPS.pdf Abstract Academic life is full of learning, excitement, and discovery. However, academics also experience professional challenges at various points in their career, including repeated rejection, impostor syndrome, and burnout. Th...

         Published on June 10, 2020 Dora Anne Mills, MD, MPH, FAAP Chief Health Improvement Officer for MaineHealth Are uprisings and social upheaval new to pandemics? No!  BLACK PLAGUE Looking back at the deadliest pandemic known, the Black Plague, provides some insight. Although the plague cycled through Europe about every 20 years for 300 years, claiming the lives of about 20% of the population each time, it extracted its greatest toll during the first significant recorded outbreak, in the mid-1300s. Over a seven-year period, it is estimated to have killed 60% of the European population.  As a quick aside, the plague is a disease spread by rodent fleas and caused by a bacterium, Yersinia pestis. The name Black Plague comes from the swollen lymph nodes, called buboes, that turn black. Rats living aboard ships and commonly found in medieval cities carried the bacterium-infested fleas across Europe and Asia. Medieval Europe...