MaineHealth Institute for Research Community

Thanks to Ilka Pinz for this contribution! We are in Elliston, Newfoundland, which has the only puffin colony accessible by foot. We were lucky because today the puffins came within 3 feet of us. We were sitting along the cliffs for quite some time enjoying them hopping between us. There were thousands of puffins on land, in the air and the water. Photos taken by Markus Frederich

 Thanks to Volkhard Lindner for this contribution! Found in our wood pile at camp - hermit thrush taking a short dinner break from incubating the eggs!

I'm joining the APO (Atenolol for Prevention of Osteoporosis) study as Study Coordinator, working with Dr. Irwin Brodsky in Scarborough.  Until this month I was an emergency department technician for 21 years, the last 13 at SMHC in Biddeford and Sanford, and before that in Iowa City, Iowa.  In my spare time I did studies of mathematical modeling of ED nursing workload (published in 2020) and accuracy of ECG electrode placement by EMS and clinical personnel (article in preparation).  I plan to continue teaching Cardiac Rhythm Recognition and 12-lead ECG Orientation in Biddeford.   In previous lifetimes I taught high school math and directed extracurricular drama; worked briefly as a quasi-engineer in medical electronics; spent 11 summers as a seasonal ranger in the U.S. National Park Service; and trained as a paramedic.  I collect rocks & minerals and enjoy classical music.  My wife and I live in Westbrook; no kids and no pets, but lots of plants and rocks.                     

  CAREER FEATURE 13 July 2022 How to bounce back from a PhD-project failure Science is riddled with stories of getting scooped, data glitches and funding crises. Five researchers share stories of how they rallied. Nikki Forrester Failure is an integral part of science. Research projects get scooped, protocols prove unsuccessful or funding limitations restrict data collection, delaying progress and sending scientists back to the drawing board. These setbacks plague researchers of all career stages, but they can feel particularly acute for PhD candidates who are racing against time to earn their degrees.  Nature  talked to five scientists about the hurdles they faced in their PhD research, how they successfully switched projects midway through and what advice they have for others in a similar situation. FRANCINAH RATSOMA: Go with what actually works Microbiology PhD student at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. I study the relationship between pine trees and their fungal pathoge

  Science Magazine  CAREERS   WORKING LIFE How my professional struggles as a new mom transformed my approach to leadership 21 JUL 2022 BY  SOPHIA X. PFISTER It was 3 a.m. I was exhausted from taking care of my 3-month-old baby, but I couldn’t sleep. As I tried to recall the topics of the five conference calls on my calendar for the morning, I again had the haunting thought that I wasn’t good enough for my job—a director position I started shortly before my baby was born. I imagined I would make mistakes in my presentations and my team would lose respect for me. Tormented by these thoughts, I reached for a book from the pile on my bedside table to distract myself. By chance I grabbed the Bible, which I had been too busy to read since my baby was born. As I opened it to a random page and happened on the verse “For when I am weak, then I am strong,” tears filled my eyes, and I could breathe again. My upbringing gave me an “achiever” personality. From childhood class president to prestigi

  Science Magazine  CAREERS   LETTERS TO YOUNG SCIENTISTS How to foster healthy scientific independence—for yourself and your trainees 25 JUL 2022 BY  JAY J. VAN BAVEL  ,  NEIL A. LEWIS, JR. ,  WILLIAM A. CUNNINGHAM ,  JUNE GRUBER One of the most paradoxical concepts in science is independence. Almost nothing that we do as scientists is the product of complete independence. We work closely under the guidance of mentors for years as trainees and, even long afterward, our very best work is often the product of a team. To paraphrase Isaac Newton, all of us are also standing on the shoulders of those who came before us. Yet, from dissertation defense to tenure, scientists are continually evaluated on their so-called independence. Strategies for achieving independence are rarely discussed when you are slogging your way through graduate school or a postdoc. The focus is often on finishing the next experiment or writing the next paper. But as you move forward in your training, a greater premi