MaineHealth Institute for Research Community

I got my second dose of Moderna on Saturday, delivered by our very own Tania Strout! It was fantastic to be in person with her, as I had never met her in person before. I am so grateful to her for giving up her Saturday to make sure I and others get immunized.... and the fact that her delivery was painless. She commented that she had A LOT of practice. I know many of you are making time to volnteer, and I want to thank you. This year has been exhasuting and its hard to think about doing one more thing on top of all you are doing to keep your personal and professional lives going under these challenging circumistances. Here is the fun part of it, though--you get to be around a lot of people and interact with them in person, you get to meet new colleagues, and you get to be a part of bringing this pandemic to an end.

Thanks to Leisa Collins for this contribution! Merriam-Webster is starting off 2021 with a collection of new words that have passed our standards. Check out all of the new words added to Merriam-Webster this January from the safety of your 'pod' or 'bubble.' Words at Play We Added New Words to the Dictionary for January 2021 An update of 520 new words, from 'ASMR' to 'silver fox' Language is a measure of culture, but also, in many ways, language can be a measure of time. The words we use—if they are new or relatively new—are the words we need to express and explain our world. If these words then also become widely used, it becomes the dictionary’s job to explain this use.  Even More Coronavirus Words Our last Merriam-Webster.com update included a number of terms brought to life, or to prominence, by COVID-19—including the word  COVID-19  itself, which has the distinction of having gone from coinage to dictionary entry more quickly than any other word, i

 Thanks to Michaela Reagan for this contribution! COMMENTARY Fund Black scientists   Kelly R. Stevens, Kristyn S. Masters, P.I. Imoukhuede, Karmella A. Haynes, Lori A. Setton, Elizabeth Cosgriff-Hernandez, Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell, Padmini Rangamani, Shelly E. Sakiyama-Elbert, Stacey D. Finley, Rebecca K. Willits, Abigail N. Koppes, Naomi C. Chesler, Karen L. Christman, Josephine B. Allen, Joyce Y. Wong, Hana El-Samad, Tejal A. Desai, Omolola Eniola-Adefeso Article link HERE   Our nationwide network of BME women faculty collectively argue that racial funding disparity by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) remains the most insidious barrier to success of Black faculty in our profession. We thus refocus attention on this critical barrier and suggest solutions on how it can be dismantled. Main text We are at a historic moment in time: a mainstream awakening to the pain that stems from racial injustice, with our scientific communities openly acknowledging that our practices promote rac