My Hobby and Interest - Research

 This article is about scientists talking to press, but I think that the advice works equally well for scientists speaking directly to the community/public! Can I quote you on that? Tips to help scientists talk to the press By  Adam Ruben Jan. 25, 2021 , 1:20 PM I’ve probably talked to the media more than the average scientist has. In fact, sometimes I  am  the media. So when I received a random email from a television news program last month asking to interview me, I thought I knew what I was doing. All I’d have to do—I told myself—was candidly, plainly, maybe even amicably answer the questions as they came. Oldest delusion in the book. The topic was Dr. Jill Biden’s choice to use her doctoral honorific. I don’t know Dr. Biden—which is odd, I guess, given that we’re both from Delaware, and our state only has like 40 people—but I wrote  a column  a few years ago about Ph.D.s choosing whether to use the title “doctor,” so presumably they thought I could spea...

  NEWS ROUND-UP     27 JANUARY 2021 COVID variants test immunity, NIH chief and China’s mixed vaccine data The latest science news, in brief. Link to  PDF version Vials of CoronaVac are inspected in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Credit: Amanda Perobelli/Reuters COVID vaccines might be less potent against new viral variants Emerging, fast-spreading variants of the coronavirus might reduce the protective effects of two leading vaccines. Michel Nussenzweig at the Rockefeller University in New York City and his colleagues analysed blood from 20 volunteers who received 2 doses of either the Moderna or the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines (Z. Wang  et al . Preprint at bioRxiv  https://doi.org/frdn ; 2021). Both vaccines carry RNA instructions that prompt human cells to make the spike protein that the virus uses to infect cells. This causes the body to generate antibodies that recognize the spike protein. Between 3 and 14 weeks after the second jab, study participants developed seve...

The National Postdoctoral Association is hosting the session below. As MMCRI is a sustaining member of the National Postdoctoral Association, everyone has access to the content and events. Just register with an account at  HERE  and state Maine Medical Center as your affiliation. Getting to Yes: The Art of Influence    Wednesday, February 3, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. ET    What does it take to compel people to take action? Whether you want someone to fund your work, become a collaborator, or support your recommendations, it takes more than just making an ask. Amy Aines will help you harness the power of communication to build your advocacy skills. She will share five principles that increase the odds of getting people to say YES! Through stories and advice, she will provide a roadmap for having conversations that build support for the outcomes you desire. Register here Amy Aines , CEO  Damianakes Communications ; Founder, Talking STEM    Aines uses t...

Thanks to Deanna Williams for this contribution!  MMCRI is pleased to announce that as of 2/1/21, MaineHealth is hosting its own REDCap environment! REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a free, secure, HIPAA-compliant web-based application for data collection and management. It is available to all individuals who are employed within the MaineHealth network and their active non-MaineHealth collaborators.  You will still be able to use the Tufts CTSI REDCap  for your ongoing projects,  in which case no further action is needed. Visit us at  mmcri.org/REDCap   for more information .

Picture a Scientist Screening and Discussions Thursday, February 18, 2021 - 12:00am Feb 18–25, 2021 Join the School of Engineering in February to watch the documentary Picture a Scientist and to discuss the questions it raises about sexism and equity in STEM fields. The film will be available to watch from February 18-20, and students, faculty, and staff will host discussion sessions the following week. Register to screen the film and to join a session! All interested members of the Tufts community are invited to attend. Location Details : Hosted virtually Event Type : Special Events Event sponsor (school, institute, center, etc.) : School of Engineering, University-wide Event Sponsor : Tufts School of Engineering RSVP Information : Registration required:  go.tufts.edu/PictureAScientist Admission : Free Open to Public : No More info :  go.tufts.edu/PictureAScientist Department:  Biomedical Engineering Chemical and Biological Engineering ...

  VIDEO CHAT The pandemic's toll on mental health Thursday, Feb. 25, at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT LINK TO REGISTER Isolation. Job loss. Anxiety about getting sick. For all the disease and death that the pandemic has caused, it is also having a stark impact on people's mental well-being.  At this event, STAT will speak with global experts about how mental health clinicians have responded, the lasting effects of the crisis, and how the mental health system can be strengthened to better serve people even beyond the pandemic.   Speakers:  Dévora Kestel , director, Department of Mental Health and Substance Use, World Health Organization Jessi Gold, M.D., M.S. , assistant professor and director of wellness, engagement, and outreach, Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St Louis  Andrew Joseph , general assignment reporter , STAT (moderator) Anamaria Jorga , senior director, CNS, pain and inflammation, U.S. medical affairs, Viatris (sponsor speaker) ST...

  CAREER NEWS     25 JANUARY 2021 LINK TO ARTICLE  (contains references) ‘The problem is greater than it’s ever been’: US universities urged to invest in mental-health resources National Academies report finds that graduate students are at risk in mental-health ‘crisis’ on campuses nationwide. Chris Woolston Graduate students are struggling to find healthy coping mechanisms during the pandemic. Credit: Getty Even at a time of great financial strain and uncertainty, universities and colleges across the United States must invest more resources to address a growing mental-health crisis among students, according to  a report from the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine . “The problem is as great or greater than it’s ever been, and it’s not getting better,” says Alan Leshner, who chaired the committee behind the report and is chief executive emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “Unless there’s concerted attenti...

  January 25, 2021   MMC COVID-19 Daily Update is a M-F communication to all MMC and MMP colleagues containing information about our ongoing response. Distribution time is about 4 p.m. Non-COVID news of operational importance to the entire medical center may run in Monday’s Updates. The deadline for this news is the preceding Monday. Submissions for this newsletter made via  this  intake form .    Information Resources:   •           MaineHealth COVID-19 Intranet homepage •           MaineHealth COVID-19 Internet Website •           COVID-19 FAQs •           Employee Health Info Line •           MMC COVID-19 Daily Update Archive   COVID-19 Population Update:   •           Numbe...