Diverse Scientists Research Articles

Adaptive and Plastic Responses to Environmental Variation: Introduction to a Virtual Symposium in The Biological Bulletin.

Adaptive and Plastic Responses to Environmental Variation: Introduction to a Virtual Symposium in The Biological Bulletin.

Responding to the Call: Building a Training Program to Diversify the Academy in Alzheimer's Disease Research.

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) are at the forefront of the United States (US) public health agenda due to their tremendous human and financial burden. Further, disproportionately high ADRD rates among racial/ethnic minorities require incorporating the unique perspectives of racially and ethnically diverse scientists, which will necessitate diversifying the scientific workforce that investigates disparities in aging. The purpose of this paper is to describe the training and mentorship initiatives of the National Institute on Aging (NIA)-funded Carolina Center on Alzheimer's Disease and Minority Research, emphasizing lessons learned from our engagement with underrepresented minority and minoritized (URM) Scientists. We highlight three aims of the Center's training and mentorship component: (1) Fund pilot projects for URM Scientists conducting research on sociocultural, behavioral, and environmental factors that influence ADRD-related health disparities; (2) Provide mentorship to build the research capacity of Center Scientists; and (3) Offer research education in Health Disparities and Minority Aging Research to Center Scientists and interested researchers at all partner institutions. Our experience may be a practical resource for others developing interdisciplinary training programs to increase the pipeline of URM Scientists conducting ADRD research.

The anatomy of the brain - learned over the centuries.

This article reports the evolution and consolidation of the knowledge of neuroanatomy through the analysis of its history. Thus, we propose to describe in a historical review to summarize the main theories and concepts that emerged throughout brain anatomy history and understand how the socio-historical context can reflect on the nature of scientific knowledge. Therefore, among the diverse scientists, anatomists, doctors, and philosophers who were part of this history, there was a strong influence of the studies of Claudius Galen (AD 129–210), Leonardo da Vinci (1452– 1519), Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564), Franciscus Sylvius (1614–1672), Luigi Rolando (1773–1831), Pierre Paul Broca (1824–1880), Carl Wernicke (1848–1905), Korbinian Brodmann (1868–1918), Wilder Penfield (1891–1976), Mahmut Gazi Yasargil (1925), and Albert Loren Rhoton Jr. (1932–2016) on the fundamentals of neuroanatomy.

The concept and the name of Isolating Gender Violence

In December 2020, the Catalan Parliament approved by unanimity the world’s first legislation of the concept of Isolating Gender Violence (IGV); in 2021, several parliaments are developing their own legislations. The elaboration of this concept and later this name has been a long and dialogic process among diverse scientists, policymakers, governments, parliaments, victims, survivors, social organizations and citizens. Since 2016, CREA (Community of Research on Excellence for All) has developed a process of elaborating the concept of IGV oriented to obtain the scientific, policy and social impact required to make a key contribution to overcoming gender violence. This process was simultaneous to the elaboration by the same researchers of the criteria of policy and societal impact of the EU’s scientific programme of research (Horizon Europe). This paper presents this dialogic research conducted to get the concept and the name IGV and the consequences of this concept along scientific, policy and social impact. The results show that the key for getting the name and the impacts of this scientific robust concept has been three of the main characteristics of the present EU research program Horizon Europe: the priority of social impact, the co-creation of knowledge between scientists and citizens and sustainability.

Challenges and Strategies of Successful Mentoring: The Perspective of LEADS Scholars and Mentors from Minority Serving Institutions.

Mentoring continues to be a salient conversation in academia among junior and senior faculty and administrators. Mentors provide guidance and structure to junior faculty so that they can meet their academic and professional goals. Mentors also convey skills in balancing life and academic pursuits. Therefore, the purpose of this descriptive study was to provide additional insight from a training program called Leading Emerging and Diverse Scientists to Success (LEADS) regarding successful strategies and challenges of mentoring relating to lessons learned from the scholars and mentees’ perspective. The LEADS program provided multiple training platforms to increase skills and knowledge regarding research to promote expertise in grant writing and submission for funding opportunities among diverse scientists. These findings reinforce the knowledge about the value of a mentor in helping define the research pathway of their mentee and underscoring the importance of mentoring.

The organization of informal pathways into STEM: designing towards equity

ABSTRACT The goal of inclusive design to promote participation of marginalised groups in science is ubiquitous across informal science education, and in the growing field of citizen science. Yet the aspiration of equality in the sciences continues to be met with challenges. Despite decades of educational research studying the barriers of participation in science, progress has not yet reached expectation. In this paper we apply an ethnographic approach to examine outcomes of a diversification effort of a citizen science programme in a museum-based genetics lab. We analyse data from interviews, artifacts and observations with participants from the programme inside the lab. We share findings about how being intentional while designing towards equity resulted in a more diverse and accessible programme while giving the participants the opportunity to build knowledge of, and skills in, genetics in an inclusive space. This paper concludes with findings on barriers to participation among individuals from underrepresented communities, and how relationships with diverse leaders can facilitate boundary crossings, foster positive identities in sciences and beget a new generation of diverse scientists.

Jeannine Cavender-Bares.

Jeannine Cavender-Bares.

A bivariate fatigue-life regression model and its application to fracture of metallic tools

The Birnbaum–Saunders distribution has been widely used to model reliability and fatigue data. In this paper, we propose a regression of generalized linear models type based on a new bivariate Birnbaum–Saunders distribution. This is parameterized in terms of its means and allows data to be described in their original scale. We estimate the model parameters and carry out inference with the maximum likelihood method. A case study with real-world reliability data is conducted for motivating our investigation, illustrating the potential applications of the proposed results. We obtain a predictive model which can be a useful addition to the tool-kit of diverse practitioners, reliability engineers, applied statisticians, and data scientists.

Voices on Diversity: Combating Racial Inequality to Increase Diversity

As part of our commitment to amplifying the voices of underrepresented scientists, we are publishing the insights and experiences of a panel of underrepresented scientists in a series of questions and answers. Here, they discuss ways that the scientific community can combat racial inequality and increase diversity. These are the personal opinions of the authors and may not reflect the views of their institutions.

Managing Recreation in New York's Adirondack Park: A Case Study of Public Perceptions and Preferences for Reducing User Impacts to the High Peaks Wilderness Complex

This qualitative case study research investigated public perceptions and preferences regarding management options for addressing recreational impacts to the High Peaks Wilderness Complex (HPWC) in New York State’s six-million-acre Adirondack Park. The Park is the largest in the contiguous United States, attracting local and international visitors from Philadelphia, Montreal, Boston, and New York City, major cities within 350 miles of the HPWC. The Park saw 12.4 million visitors in 2018, resulting in crowding, trail erosion, clandestine trails/campsites, water pollution, and plant/wildlife impacts. Data was gathered from 1,200 individuals via an online questionnaire, semi-structured interviews with NGOs, community influentials, and agency representatives, and participant observation. Findings showed the public strongly supported passive management options such as increased funding for education, trail reconstruction, enhanced management of the HPWC, and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) promotion of alternatives to the most popular wilderness trails during busy months. The public was split in their support of direct management techniques such as temporary trail closures, limiting the number of hikers, and mandatory permits for hikers/parking. NGOs expressed a diversity of preferences for direct wilderness management, but widely supported enhanced education, trail improvements, and funding increases for management and the hiring of more rangers. The results of this research provide insights for improving management practices that facilitate sustainable recreation while also protecting and restoring federal and state designated wilderness. This manuscript culminates in a suite of management implications based on our research findings, including filling all vacancies within the Adirondack Park Agency Board with professionally and culturally diverse individuals, including women, Tribal representatives, minority communities, environmental attorneys, natural scientists, and regional planners. Funding should be allocated for the hiring of additional rangers, Summit Stewards, and trail crews, for enhanced trail maintenance and hiker education efforts. We also recommend implementing the Wildland Monitoring Program in order to better understand trail carrying capacity and ecological limits. Limiting the number of hikers/vehicles through a permit system is but one solution if efforts to heighten ranger presence, education, and improve trails all fail to address resource degradation.

Providing the Opportunity to Learn: Unpacking the Role of Mindsets and Leadership in Broadening Participation in STEM at HBCUs

Current racial disparities in STEM degree attainment threaten America’s ability to be globally competitive. As the need for a more diverse STEM workforce persists, faculty leadership at many Historically Black Universities and Colleges (HBCUs) continue to support, nurture and prepare the next generation of diverse scientists to meet the demands of the 21st century. However, messages of Black student intellectual inferiority are salient in society, perpetuated by widespread emphasis on the achievement gap and low representation in STEM. Believing that intelligence can be developed through effective effort, resources and support—growth mindset—has been found to support positive student outcomes and to mitigate the negative effects of stereotypes leading to increased achievement, particularly for Black students. To date, mindsets have not been examined through the lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the four frames of academic leadership. Therefore, this qualitative study examines the experiences of 13 students and 17 faculty members at 4 HBCUs and their perspectives on their STEM programs. The analysis of focus group data suggests that student fixed mindsets may deter students from persisting as STEM majors while faculty growth mindset and support, which fall within the human resources frame of leadership, can help to mitigate those effects. Implications for HBCU leaders are discussed.

Mentoring in the time of Coronavirus.

Mentoring in the time of Coronavirus.

Inclusive conservation requires amplifying experiences of diverse scientists.

As conservation organizations seek to create inclusive communities, they should reflect on current experiences. Using interview vignettes, we bring to attention the isolation and discrimination experienced by scientists who are Black, Indigenous and people of colour, alongside additional burdens of diversity and inclusion work.

James G. Townsel (1935-2020).

Neuroscientist and devoted mentor of diverse scientists

Adventures scaling the realized niche, saving the world, and searching for values

Abstract I describe my unlikely path into marine science from a childhood in the Arizona desert and Oregon woods. Without realizing it, I developed a sense of place in nature and the value of open interdisciplinary communication among diverse scientists. My undergraduate education emphasized physiological adaptations to the environment or what might now be considered the “fundamental niche”, and my graduate thinking was inspired by a population/community based evolutionary understanding of how strong interactions define a “realized niche”. I have attempted to define strong interactions in three different ecosystems. This difficult problem is confounded by the loss of natural systems resulting from human impacts. I discuss my frustrations with eroding conservation efforts in a society that is rapidly devaluing nature and consider how we might recover our most fundamental values. I conclude that there is an urgent need to improve field-based teaching of undergraduate non-majors about nature and to be much more effective in our interactions with the general public. If we hope to have our legacy include a liveable world with natural places, we urgently need to act unilaterally to shift some of our values and reward systems towards the challenge of educating the undergraduates and especially the general public.

NCSS notable trade book lesson plan: Joan Procter, dragon doctor: the woman who loved reptiles

PurposeJoan Procter, Dragon Doctor describes the life of Joan Beauchamp Procter, renowned herpetologist, zoologist, Curator of Reptiles at the British Museum and designer of the London Zoo Reptile House. In this lesson, students reframe initial viewpoints of scientists that are not representative of a broad understanding of who scientists are and what being a scientist means. Exploring understandings and expanding their view of science to include varied areas of social sciences provokes deep discussions among students as they prepare to teach others. Using content area skills, artwork, writing, literacy and technology, students explore diverse people and fields of the sciences.Design/methodology/approachStudents engage in collaborative efforts with peers to involve themselves with content knowledge and skills in the social studies, as they integrate other areas of the curriculum including science, art, writing, literacy, literature, technology, critical thinking, research skills and inquiry-based learning. Findings include students participating in meaningful learning individually and collectively through inquiry. As students learn with and from one another, they conceptualize their own ideas through their own work in exploring relevant resources. Students plan action to move learning outside the classroom in generating changes in museums and monuments to showcase broader cultural representation of scientists in their communities.FindingsStudents engage in inquiry learning using Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor as a key text. Students explore the text and related resources, while learning with one another about scientists. Students expand their content knowledge and apply critical thinking skills, noting similarities and differences in scientists, ultimately acknowledging that what scientists do through inquiry and exploration helps them identify as scientists. Varied fields and backgrounds of scientists are explored, and students examine cultural representation in museums commemorating scientists and scientific contributions. Students create action plans to consult with museums about these issues and curate exhibits, like Joan Procter, to share with others.Originality/valueThis lesson provides students multiple avenues to deepen learning while conceptualizing and formulating their own understandings. Further, students are required to use multiple skills in conveying their ideas for social change to reflect their new broader conceptualization of scientists and the many fields that science includes. Additionally, they have to understand the topics discussed fully in order to convey their research findings to another audience in their school or community as they create museum exhibits. Finally, while students learn, they begin to see themselves represented in fields through evident, inclusive demonstrations of contributions by diverse scientists.

Anne McNeil awarded Guggenheim Fellowship

Anne McNeil, the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Chemistry and Macromolecular Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan, has been awarded a 2019 Guggenheim Fellowship by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. McNeil was cited for her deep commitment to supporting, promoting, and elevating the careers of people from historically underrepresented groups in the field of chemistry. She is founder of Diversify Chemistry (diversifychemistry.com), which includes a directory of diverse scientists who are available as conference speakers, peer reviewers, job candidates, and award candidates.

Using a Student-Generated Mock Magazine Issue To Improve Students' Awareness of Diverse Scientists.

This study explores whether integrating multicultural content within a genetics laboratory course affected students’ awareness of diversity and their perceptions of scientists’ identities. Genetics laboratory curricula typically focus on content and experimental procedures, with cursory references to the scientists who made these discoveries. The resulting poor racial and gender representation in the curricula propagate biases about the abilities and contributions of scientists from underrepresented groups, which may adversely affect the retention and success of students in these groups. Initially, students completed a pre-test in which they were asked to recall the names of geneticists and their scientific contributions. Later students created a mock magazine issue featuring a diverse set of experts in genetics, specifically members of traditionally underrepresented gender/sexuality and/or racial/ethnic groups. To facilitate this assignment, students were randomly assigned a geneticist from a pool of active research scientists, spanning a wide range of scientific and cultural backgrounds and identities. Each student wrote a 500-word biography of their assigned geneticist and read biographies composed by peers. Then, in groups, the students categorized biographies based on student-selected unifying themes into a table of contents. On the final exam, the pre-test was repeated as a post-test. In the pre-test, scientists listed by students were 94% male and 6% female, with no members of other underrepresented groups included. In the post-test, scientists listed by students shifted to 84% male and 16% female with 18% from underrepresented groups. These data suggest that this intervention increases awareness of the multicultural nature of scientists.

Developing a Training Program to Diversify the Biomedical Research Workforce.

The National Institutes of Health has made considerable investments to diversify the biomedical research workforce. Towards this goal, the authors partnered with representatives from several minority-serving institutions (MSIs) to develop training for the next generation of researchers. To ensure the most effective training program, the authors conducted a needs assessment with junior and senior investigators from the partnering MSIs. In 2016, the authors conducted focus groups and interviews with 23 junior investigators as well as in-depth interviews with 6 senior investigators from the partnering institutions with the goal of identifying specific areas of training and support that would help junior investigators at MSIs develop and sustain research careers. The data were transcribed and coded, and thematic analysis was conducted. The authors determined four areas in which training and support were needed: training in the "informal curriculum" (skills not covered in traditional clinical research courses), protected time for research training, opportunities to create career-advancing work products, and networking opportunities. The themes that were identified informed the development of the LEADS (Leading Emerging and Diverse Scientists to Success) program. The program consists of 10 instructor-led online modules each lasting approximately one month in duration with weekly synchronous sessions. Scholars are expected to be able to devote at least 20% of their time to the program.

Evaluating the prevalence and quality of conference codes of conduct

Efforts to increase inclusion in science face multiple barriers, including cultural and social behaviors in settings such as academic conferences. Conferences are beneficial, but the culture can promote inequities and power differentials that harm historically underrepresented groups. Science suffers when conference culture propagates exclusion and discrimination that leads to attrition of scientists. Codes of conduct represent a tool to shift conference culture to better support diverse scientists and clearly detail unacceptable behaviors. We examined the prevalence and content of codes of conduct at biology conferences in the United States and Canada. We highlight how codes of conduct address issues of sexual misconduct and identity-based discrimination. Surprisingly, only 24% of the 195 surveyed conferences had codes. Of the conferences with codes, 43% did not mention sexual misconduct and 17% did not mention identity-based discrimination. Further, 26% of these conferences failed to include a way to report violations of the code and 35% lacked consequences for misconduct. We found that larger and national conferences are more likely to have codes than smaller (P = 0.04) and international or regional (P = 0.03) conferences. Conferences that lack codes risk creating and perpetuating negative environments that make underrepresented groups feel unwelcome, or worse, actively cause harm. We recommend that conferences have codes that are easily accessible, explicitly address identity-based discrimination and sexual misconduct, provide channels for anonymous impartial reporting, and contain clear consequences. These efforts will improve inclusivity and reduce the loss of scientists who have been historically marginalized.