Early Career Award Research Articles

Towards normalizing good practice across the whole modeling cycle: its instrumentation and future research topics

Choices made in modeling matter and demand more explication since they determine how much we can trust modeling insights and predictions within their social, political and ethical contexts. Good Modeling Practice (GMP) is a key research area for strengthening and maturing the modeling field and community, through identifying, formulating and sharing knowledge about the craft of modeling. This craft represents the knowledge that modelers learn in practice about how they get things done, and how they adapt their practices to new situations. This Joint Special Issue is motivated by the importance of sharing good modeling practices from a whole modeling lifecycle viewpoint. We attempt to add conceptual clarity to this research area by defining the plethora of concepts and decision points used to characterize the choices to be made throughout the modeling process, and by synthesizing some of the existing efforts on GMP. We characterize a broad list of articles in the literature on GMP and identify a list of essential topics demanding more attention. This list is only a preliminary one as we anticipate that a more comprehensive list of knowledge gaps will be unearthed from the submissions to the Joint Special Issue collection on GMP, of which this is an introduction. We also propose a vision for GMP and suggest instrumental ways that good practice can become not just well-known but normal practice. This instrumentation focuses on journal standards, collective commitment and culture especially by research community societies, early career awards for advancing GMP, and legal requirements or accreditation. A vital instrument in all this is the design and development of a modeling curriculum that distills core requisite knowledge about modeling, as well as proven-to-work routines and practices that can be scaled up in different contexts.

Serum proteomic profiling of physical activity reveals CD300LG as a novel exerkine with a potential causal link to glucose homeostasis

Background:Physical activity has been associated with preventing the development of type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. However, our understanding of the precise molecular mechanisms underlying these effects remains incomplete and good biomarkers to objectively assess physical activity are lacking.Methods:We analyzed 3072 serum proteins in 26 men, normal weight or overweight, undergoing 12 weeks of a combined strength and endurance exercise intervention. We estimated insulin sensitivity with hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp, maximum oxygen uptake, muscle strength, and used MRI/MRS to evaluate body composition and organ fat depots. Muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies were used for mRNA sequencing. Additional association analyses were performed in samples from up to 47,747 individuals in the UK Biobank, as well as using two-sample Mendelian randomization and mice models.Results:Following 12 weeks of exercise intervention, we observed significant changes in 283 serum proteins. Notably, 66 of these proteins were elevated in overweight men and positively associated with liver fat before the exercise regimen, but were normalized after exercise. Furthermore, for 19.7 and 12.1% of the exercise-responsive proteins, corresponding changes in mRNA expression levels in muscle and fat, respectively, were shown. The protein CD300LG displayed consistent alterations in blood, muscle, and fat. Serum CD300LG exhibited positive associations with insulin sensitivity, and to angiogenesis-related gene expression in both muscle and fat. Furthermore, serum CD300LG was positively associated with physical activity and negatively associated with glucose levels in the UK Biobank. In this sample, the association between serum CD300LG and physical activity was significantly stronger in men than in women. Mendelian randomization analysis suggested potential causal relationships between levels of serum CD300LG and fasting glucose, 2 hr glucose after an oral glucose tolerance test, and HbA1c. Additionally, Cd300lg responded to exercise in a mouse model, and we observed signs of impaired glucose tolerance in male, but not female, Cd300lg knockout mice.Conclusions:Our study identified several novel proteins in serum whose levels change in response to prolonged exercise and were significantly associated with body composition, liver fat, and glucose homeostasis. Serum CD300LG increased with physical activity and is a potential causal link to improved glucose levels. CD300LG may be a promising exercise biomarker and a therapeutic target in type 2 diabetes.Funding:South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority, Simon Fougners Fund, Diabetesforbundet, Johan Selmer Kvanes’ legat til forskning og bekjempelse av sukkersyke. The UK Biobank resource reference 53641. Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant (APP2017942). Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Award (DE220101226). Research Council of Norway (Project grant: 325640 and Mobility grant: 287198). The Medical Student Research Program at the University of Oslo. Novo Nordisk Fonden Excellence Emerging Grant in Endocrinology and Metabolism 2023 (NNF23OC0082123).Clinical trial number:clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01803568.

(Sensor Division Early Career Award) Portable Diagnostics for Cancer Management at Printed Strips

Point-of-care testing (PoC) is revolutionizing the healthcare sector improving patient care in daily hospital practice and allowing reaching even remote areas. In the frame of cancer management, the design and validation of PoC enabling the non-invasive, rapid detection of cancer markers is urgently required to implement liquid biopsy. However, despite substantial advances in sensing technologies, the development, preparation, and use of self-testing devices is still confined to specialist laboratories and users. Decentralized analytical devices will enormously impact daily lives, enabling people to analyze diverse clinical, environmental, and food samples, evaluate them and make predictions to improve quality of life, particularly in remote, resource-scarce areas. In recent years, paper-based analytical tools have attracted a great deal of attention; the well-known properties of paper, such as abundance, affordability, lightness, and biodegradability, combined with features of printed electrochemical sensors, have enabled the development of sustainable devices that drive (bio)sensors beyond the state of the art. Their blindness toward colored/turbid matrices (i.e., blood, soil), their portability, and the capacity of paper to autonomously filter/purge/react with target species make such devices powerful in establishing point-of-need tools for use by non-specialists. Depending on analytical requisites, different types of paper (filter, office) and configurations (1D, 2D, 3D) can be adopted. Focusing on stable blood-based markers with high-specificity, such as miRNAs, is of crucial importance. A wide overview regarding application ranging from DNA to miRNA detection will be provided, with the aim in showing the potentialities of portable electrochemical biosensors for improving society involvement in monitoring circulating nucleic acids associated to diverse conditions, i.e. cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, HIV.

2024 IEEE EDS Early Career Award

2024 IEEE EDS Early Career Award

Religion as a natural laboratory for understanding human behavior

What do we gain from the scientific study of religion? One possibility is that religious contexts are unique, and cognition within these contexts is worth understanding. Another possibility is that religion can be viewed as a laboratory for understanding psychology and culture more broadly. Rather than limiting the study of religion to a single context, I argue that the study of religion is useful precisely because it illuminates secular psychological and cultural processes. I first outline my practical approach to psychology and religion, focusing on how people use religion to advance mundane goals. I then discuss several domains in which studying religion has led to important insights, including culture, prejudice, and cognition. This article is an extended version of an Early Career Award address given at the International Association for the Psychology of Religion meeting in 2023 in Groningen, Netherlands.

CD4+ T Cells from Women with Preeclampsia During Pregnancy Contribute to Hypertension, AT1-AA, and Neurovascular Dysfunction in a Pregnant Rat Model of PE

Objective: Preeclampsia (PE) is characterized by new onset hypertension (HTN) during pregnancy and is associated with activated CD4+ T cells and agonistic antibodies against the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1-AA). Interestingly, having had COVID-19 during pregnancy is associated with increased incidence of a PE-like phenotype. Both PE and CV have long lasting neurological implications. We sought examine a role for CD4+ T cells from PE with or without a CV Hx to contribute to a PE phenotype and neurovascular dysfunction postpartum (PP). Methods: We utilized adoptive transfer of one million placental CD4+ T cells from PE and normotensive (NT) patients with or without a CV (Hx) during pregnancy injected i.p. into gestational day (GD) 12 nude athymic rats athymic and determined neurological consequences at 12 weeks PP. At GD19, blood pressure (MAP) and AT1-AA were measured. At 3 months PP, memory and error in navigation were assessed by Barnes maze consecutively for 5 days. CBF was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry. A two-way ANOVA was used for statistical analysis. Results: In pregnant recipient rats, MAP increased in CV Hx PE (113±2, n=8) and PE (115±2 mmHg, n=10) compared to CV Hx NT (104±4, n=7) and NT (98±2 mmHg, n=7 p<0.05). AT1-AA increased in PE (8±2 ΔBPM, n=4) and CV Hx PE (4±2 ΔBPM, n=4) compared to NT (-3±2 ΔBPM, n=4, p<0.05) and CV Hx NT (2±2 ΔBPM, n=2) respectively. At 3 months PP, PE and CV Hx PE had impaired CBF autoregulation compared to CV Hx NT and NT rats, and both PE groups exhibited greater mistakes and latency in maze navigation, however, the scores were worse in those receiving T cells from PE patients without a Hx of CV compared to all other groups. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that pregnant recipients of CD4+ T cells from PE with or without a CV Hx during pregnancy cause HTN and increased AT1-AA compared to recipients of NT or NT Hx CV-19 CD4 + T cells. Interestingly, recipients of T cells from PE patients without a Hx of CV had worse CBF and cognitive function at 3 months PP, demonstrating the importance of CD4+ T cells in HTN and impaired neurological function during pregnancy PP in patients with previous PE. This study was supported by NIH grants RO1HD067541 (BL), F31HD110230 (NC), P20GM121334 (BL, LMA), and American heart association (AHA) early career award 19CDA34670055 (LMA). This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Career trajectories of MD-PhD physician scientists: The loss of women investigators

Advances in biomedical research require a robust physician scientist workforce. Despite being equally successful at securing early career awards from the NIH as men, women MD-PhD physician scientists are less likely to serve as principal investigators on mid- and later careers awards. Here, we discuss the causes of gender disparities in academic medicine, the implications of losing highly trained women physician scientists, and the institutional and systemic changes needed to sustain this pool of talented investigators.

Call for Nominations: 2024 EDS Early Career Award

Call for Nominations: 2024 EDS Early Career Award

AT1-AA Induced Placental Ischemia Contributes to Hypertension in Female Offspring

Objective: Preeclampsia (PE), new-onset hypertension during the third trimester of pregnancy alongside other organ dysfunction, is associated with chronic inflammation and fetal growth restriction. Agonistic autoantibodies against the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1-AA) are produced in PE women and induce a PE-like phenotype when infused into pregnant rats. AT1-AA is still present in maternal circulation up to eight years postpartum. We have shown that AT1-AA exposure during pregnancy contributes to impairment of cerebral blood flow in the postpartum period. Moreover, PE offspring are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease and hypertension but AT1-AA’s role in this elevated risk is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine if AT1-AA contributes to the risk for hypertension in PE offspring. Therefore, we hypothesized that AT1-AA infusion during pregnancy would cause offspring to have low birth weight and hypertension in adulthood. Methods: We infused AT1-AA (1:40) starting on gestational day (GD) 14 and allowed the dams to give birth on GD21. Birth weight was measured within 12 hours. Offspring were aged to 4 months. At that time, one male and female per litter were randomly selected to undergo carotid catheterization. The following day mean arterial pressure (MAP) was measured and blood and tissues were collected. Immune cells were measured by flow cytometry. Sex hormones were measured by mass spectroscopy. AT1-AA was measured by cardiomyocyte bioassay. Renal endothelin was measured by ELISA and RT-PCR. A two-way ANOVA was used for statistical analysis. Results: AT1-AA male and female offspring (6.1±0.1g, n=19, p<0.05; 5.8±0.1g, n=19, p<0.05) were larger at birth than NP male and female offspring (5.8±0.1g, n=11; 5.5±0.1g, n=11). Female AT1-AA offspring had elevated MAP (124±2 mmHg, n=14, p<0.05) compared to NP female offspring (110±5 mmHg, n=8) while male AT1-AA offspring had similar MAP to male NP offspring. Circulating cytolytic NK cells trended higher in female AT1-AA offspring (2.73±0.37 % gated, n=9, p=0.0949) compared to female NP offspring (1.66±0.31 % gated, n=6). Female AT1-AA offspring also had elevated progesterone (41.3±6.0 pg/μL, n=8, p=0.0556) compared to female NP offspring (26.9±4.9 pg/μL, n=7). Renal PPET expression was increased in female AT1-AA offspring (2.6±0.69 fold increase, n=4, p<0.05) compared to female NP offspring. Renal endothelin-1 was increased in female AT1-AA offspring (1.02±0.23 pg/mg, n=7, p=0.062) compared to female NP offspring (0.59±0.06 pg/mg, n=6). Male and female AT1-AA offspring had increased circulating AT1-AA (9.5±2.2 ΔBPM, n=6, p<0.0001; 7.9±0.9 ΔBPM, n=8, p<0.001) compared to male and female NP offspring (-0.4±.4 ΔBPM, n=7; -0.8±0.4 ΔBPM, n=4). Conclusion: These data demonstrate that AT1-AA infusion during pregnancy can predispose female offspring to have elevated blood pressure in adulthood. This study was supported by NIH grants RO1HD067541 (BL), F31HD110230 (NC), P20GM121334 (BL, LMA), HL151407 (DCC) and American heart association (AHA) early career award 19CDA34670055 (LMA). This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

(Battery Division Early Career Award Sponsored by Neware Technology Limited) Understanding Interfacial Mechanisms that Govern Performance in Solid-State Batteries

Solid-state batteries offer the promise of improved energy density and safety compared to lithium-ion batteries. Here, I will present our emerging understanding of the key differences between how high-capacity anode materials behave in solid-state batteries compared to in conventional liquid-electrolyte batteries. The electro-chemo-mechanical evolution of materials at solid-solid electrochemical interfaces is different than at solid/liquid interfaces, and contact evolution in particular plays a critical role in determining the behavior of solid-state batteries. I will focus on mechanisms governing lithium metal anodes (including lithium in the “anode-free” configuration) and alloy anodes. Lithium metal anodes in solid-state batteries are intrinsically limited by void formation during stripping and dendrite growth during plating. Anode-free solid-state batteries, in which there is no initial lithium metal at the anode interface, offer extremely high energy density, but there is a lack of understanding of how their behavior differs from excess-lithium electrodes. Using X-ray tomography, cryo-FIB, and finite-element modeling, we show that anode-free solid-state batteries are intrinsically limited by current concentrations at the end of stripping due to localized lithium depletion. This causes accelerated short circuiting compared to lithium-excess cells. Based on these results, the beneficial influence of metal alloy interfacial layers on controlling lithium evolution and mitigating contact loss from localized lithium depletion, including at low stack pressures, will be discussed. X-ray tomography is further shown to be particularly useful in observing the dynamic evolution of lithium metal, including void formation and filament growth. The second part of the talk focuses on alloy anodes. Alloy anodes typically exhibit fast capacity decay in lithium-ion batteries because of excessive solid-electrolyte interphase growth. We show that alloy anodes in solid-state batteries can exhibit improved interfacial stability and enhanced cyclability. Furthermore, in situ measurement of stack pressure evolution during cycling shows that the volume changes of alloy anodes can lead to large pressure swings within the cell, giving insight into electrode composite evolution. Based on these insights, we present a new design for dense foil alloy anodes. This design offers a paradigm that does away with slurry coating, potentially reducing manufacturing costs. Taken together, these findings show the importance of controlling chemo-mechanics and interfaces in solid-state batteries for improved energy storage capabilities.

(Battery Division Early Career Award Sponsored by Neware Technology Limited) Towards Scalable and Sustainable Battery Recycling for Circular Energy Storage

The development of electric vehicles (EVs) and grid storage heavily relies on lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) that exhibit significantly improved performance, low cost, a reduced carbon footprint, and an abundance of resources. However, the growing consumption of LIBs has led to concerns regarding resource scarcity and price hikes for lithium and critical transition metals (such as Co and Ni) that are essential for LIB production. Currently, the recycling industry utilizes pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes to treat spent batteries. Although these methods are scalable, there is a pressing need for enhanced overall energy efficiency, reduced processing costs, and minimized environmental impact.Next-generation technologies, such as direct recycling, hold promise as a more cost-effective and energy-efficient alternative. However, the scalability of these approaches must be proven at an industrial scale. This presentation aims to delve into the state-of-the-art LIB battery recycling by comparing various technologies. In particular, we will extensively discuss the technical aspects of direct recycling, focusing on different LIB materials. Furthermore, we will address the key challenges and provide insights for the future development of LIB recycling.

The 2024 James J. Morgan Early Career Award Winners: The Americas Region

The 2024 James J. Morgan Early Career Award Winners: The Americas Region

The 2024 James J. Morgan Early Career Award Winners: The Americas Region

The 2024 James J. Morgan Early Career Award Winners: The Americas Region

Awards for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology.

The Early Career Awards, given for the first time in 1974, recognize the large number of excellent early career psychologists. Recipients of this award may not have held a doctoral degree for more than nine years. For purposes of this award, psychology has been divided into 10 areas: animal learning and behavior, comparative; developmental; health; cognition/human learning; psychopathology; behavioral and cognitive neuroscience; perception/motor performance; social; applied research; and individual differences. Five areas are considered each year, with areas rotated in two-year cycles. The areas considered in 2023 were applied research; behavioral and cognitive neuroscience; individual differences; perception and motor performance; and social psychology. The 2023 recipients of the APA Distinguished Scientific Contribution Awards were recognized by the 2022 Board of Scientific Affairs and selected by the 2022 Committee on Scientific Awards. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Winners of 2022 Edward Norton Lorenz Early Career Awards.

Winners of 2022 Edward Norton Lorenz Early Career Awards.

ATBC 2023 Student and Early Career Awards

<scp>ATBC</scp> 2023 Student and Early Career Awards

Announcing the Journal of Chemical &amp; Engineering Data Early Career Award

Announcing the <i>Journal of Chemical &amp; Engineering Data</i> Early Career Award

B cell depletion therapy does not resolve chronic active multiple sclerosis lesions.

Chronic active lesions (CAL) in multiple sclerosis (MS) have been observed even in patients taking high-efficacy disease-modifying therapy, including B-cell depletion. Given that CAL are a major determinant of clinical progression, including progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA), understanding the predicted activity and real-world effects of targeting specific lymphocyte populations is critical for designing next-generation treatments to mitigate chronic inflammation in MS. We analyzed published lymphocyte single-cell transcriptomes from MS lesions and bioinformatically predicted the effects of depleting lymphocyte subpopulations (including CD20 B-cells) from CAL via gene-regulatory-network machine-learning analysis. Motivated by the results, we performed invivo MRI assessment of PRL changes in 72 adults with MS, 46 treated with anti-CD20 antibodies and 26 untreated, over ∼2 years. Although only 4.3% of lymphocytes in CAL were CD20 B-cells, their depletion is predicted to affect microglial genes involved in iron/heme metabolism, hypoxia, and antigen presentation. Invivo, tracking 202 PRL (150 treated) and 175 non-PRL (124 treated), none of the treated paramagnetic rims disappeared at follow-up, nor was there a treatment effect on PRL for lesion volume, magnetic susceptibility, or T1 time. PIRA occurred in 20% of treated patients, more frequently in those with ≥4 PRL (p=0.027). Despite predicted effects on microglia-mediated inflammatory networks in CAL and iron metabolism, anti-CD20 therapies do not fully resolve PRL after 2-year MRI follow up. Limited tissue turnover of B-cells, inefficient passage of anti-CD20 antibodies across the blood-brain-barrier, and a paucity of B-cells in CAL could explain our findings. Intramural Research Program of NINDS, NIH; NINDS grants R01NS082347 and R01NS082347; Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation; Cariplo Foundation (grant #1677), FRRB Early Career Award (grant #1750327); Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS).

The American Psychosomatic Society Antiracism Task Force: Implementation, Activities, and Lessons Learned.

The American Psychosomatic Society (APS) is an international professional society that aims to advance the scientific study of biological, behavioral, and social factors in health among educators, clinicians, and researchers. In pledging to be an antiracist organization in 2020, APS formed the Antiracism Task Force (ARTF) to identify different manifestations of systemic racism within the society and to make recommendations for building a more inclusive and equitable professional organization. The goal of this paper is to be maximally transparent to membership about our activities and lessons learned, as well as offer a case study to other organizations striving toward antiracism. We describe the inaugural year of activities of the APS ARTF, which included proposing amendments to the society's bylaws, collecting data on member attitudes toward diversity, and consulting on other member efforts to implement antiracism activities (e.g., increasing access to early career awards). In addition to reflecting on task force and society-specific factors that were facilitative in our first year, we describe future plans and potential challenges we may face as we support sustained commitment to APS's antiracism efforts.

Paramagnetic rim lesions predict the development of clinical MS in radiologically isolated syndrome: results from a prospective cohort study (S27.003)

Paramagnetic rim lesions predict the development of clinical MS in radiologically isolated syndrome: results from a prospective cohort study (S27.003)