MaineHealth Institute for Research Community

 Check out these amazing photos here , just a teaser below. There is also voting for a People's Choice Award.

 Feel free to join us in the conference room for these sessions!  See you on Tuesday and Thursday this week Tuesday October 1 8:00-8:30am https://maine.zoom.us/j/4625543963 Thursday October 3 8:00-8:30am https://maine.zoom.us/j/4625543963

From the Undark  The Downstream Effects of Fixing a Racist Lung Test By Felice J. Freyer, Harvard Public Health As her patient  blows into a snorkel-like mouthpiece, Jennifer Winget cheers her on. “Keep going! Keep going!” she urges, voice rising all six times she says it as the patient strains to expel every last bit of air in her lungs. Winget, a respiratory therapist at Boston Medical Center, watches a display showing an image of a pair of lungs, a bolus of air swelling within. Numbers fill a grid showing how much air the patient expelled, and how fast. The patient, seated next to her in a glass booth, is using a device called a spirometer, which measures air flow in the lungs. It was installed in May as part of an equipment upgrade that included one especially notable change: Winget no longer has to ask patients for their race and ethnicity. Before, the computer program that assessed lung function sorted patients into one of four categories: Caucasian, Black, Asian, or His...

  Nearly half of companies say they plan to eliminate bachelor’s degree requirements in 2024 Many employers are dropping degree requirements to create a more diverse workforce and increase job candidate numbers, survey results show. by Carolyn Crist Forty-five percent of companies plan to eliminate bachelor’s degree requirements for some positions in 2024,  according to a Nov. 29 report  from Intelligent.com. In 2023, 55% of companies removed degree requirements, particularly for entry-level and mid-level roles, the survey shows. Employers said they dropped these requirements to create a more diverse workforce, increase the number of applicants for open positions and because there are other ways to gain skills. “Due to the expense of attending college, earning a bachelor’s degree is generally more difficult for people from traditionally marginalized groups and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds,” Diane Gayeski, higher education advisor for Intelligent.com and prof...

  6 major academic publishers face antitrust lawsuit The defendants, including Elsevier and Wiley, have done “tremendous damage to science and the public interest,” the complaint alleged. by Laura Spitalnik Dive Brief: A professor at the University of California, Los Angeles filed a class-action complaint against six major publishers, alleging that several of their policies violate antitrust law and impede academic research. The  class-action lawsuit , filed Thursday in federal district court in New York ,  names Elsevier, Wolters Kluwer, Wiley, Sage Publications, Taylor & Francis, and Springer Nature as defendants. The publishers allegedly agreed to make peer reviewing an unpaid job,   prevent academics from submitting manuscripts to more than one journal at a time,   and bar them from freely sharing their findings during the lengthy peer review process. A spokesperson for Wiley said Friday that the company could not comment on the lawsuit’s specific claims...

Feel free to join us in the conference room for these sessions!  See you on Tuesday and Thursday this week Tuesday September 24th 8:00-8:30am https://maine.zoom.us/j/4625543963 Thursday September 26th 8:00-8:30am https://maine.zoom.us/j/4625543963

 Hello all, You are invited to our next Lean-In Circle gathering on the side patio at 81 Research Drive on September 26th from 3:00-4:30pm.  Let's re-connect and make plans for our circle meetings going forward. Lean-In Circles were inspired by the book by Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In, which approaches the challenges and stories that women face in their lives.  We started our lean in circle several years ago, and have used it for several purposes: a safe place for us to gather and speak in a confidential manner and to support each other, bring in wonderful women to talk about their paths in life to build our network, focus on topics in professional development and leadership, and spend community time supporting each other.  The website LeanIn.org is a great resource and worth a visit. As an example, due to the upcoming election, they are highlighting bias against women candidates. There is information about how there is bias, and how you can respond to typical comments. ...

  What Careers Can Biomedical Scientists Have?  link to blog by Kimberly Smith Many of us enjoy learning about topics like plants, weather, or rocks, but did you know that you can make a career out of your love for science?  Scientist  is a job title, just like  carpenter ,  firefighter , or  lawyer . At NIGMS, we work to get students interested in careers in health science. Read on to learn about some of the different jobs that biomedical scientists do and the level of education they require. (Find more info on the different education paths in our  first post of this series .) And who knows, maybe this post will spark your interest in pursuing one of these jobs in the future! Principal Investigator at an Academic Institution or Government Organization One scientific job option is to become a principal investigator—a researcher who’s head of a laboratory or research project—at a college/university or a government organization such as the National ...

  Just a quick reminder that   the  Becoming a Resilient Scientist   (BRS) series will start on  September 23 rd , 2024, and will run until November 18 th , 2024.  The series is   for trainees and fellows at all levels in the biomedical, behavioral, and social sciences.   The goal of this series is to help trainees develop the resilience they need to navigate challenging situations at work and in life. The series will consist of five webinars, each followed by a small group discussion the following week. The webinars will highlight emotional intelligence competencies needed for academic success and for thriving in research and healthcare careers. We will discuss the cultivation of skills to help trainees realize resilience and identify and deal with obstacles that get in their way. The small group discussions are a chance to engage in an active, facilitated conversation with peers related to the webinar materials. This series is an excellent leade...

  Mainers to decide on $65 million in bonds on Nov. 5 by Jim Leonard AUGUSTA — Bond measures totaling $65 million will be placed on Maine’s Nov. 5 ballot. Questions 2 through 4 address funding for technology, community infrastructure, and the maintenance of outdoor trails throughout the state. All three of the bond issues were referred to the Nov. 5 ballot by the state Legislature. A two-thirds majority (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the State Legislature to place a bond issue on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 101 votes in the Maine House of Representatives and 24 votes in the Maine Senate, assuming no vacancies. State bond issues require the governor’s signature to be referred to the ballot. The wording of each bond measure is as follows: Question 2: Authorize $25 million in general obligation bonds for research, development, and commercialization of for Maine-based public and private institutions in support of technology innovation. The leg...