Postdoctoral Research Articles

Management of High Acuity Patients in Pediatric Medical Settings: The Role of Consultation/Liaison Psychologists During the Growing Mental Health Crisis.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, consultation/liaison (C/L) psychologists had to drastically shift their practices to care for psychiatrically acute pediatric patients admitted to medical settings. The aim of the current study was to provide an updated state of the field surrounding these changes and their implications for clinical practice. Psychologists and psychology post-doctoral fellows completed an anonymous, 51-item survey distributed via a national professional organization listserv. The results review responses, by percentages, about C/L team composition and practice patterns, as they relate to suicide risk assessments, transfers to inpatient psychiatric and other levels of care, intervention for boarding patients, and disposition and safety planning. Thematically coded qualitative responses regarding impact and management of high acuity patients are also summarized. The state of the field outlined by this survey suggests an increase in C/L assessments and interventions delivered to pediatric patients with acute psychiatric needs, as well as a reverberating effects on provider wellness. Ensuring providers establish competency for this subset of patients is vital to the continued provision of optimal patient care and to sustained provider wellness. Considerations for the field are explored.

Un especialista en realismo político clásico y en la obra de Hans Kelsen: entrevista a Robert Schuett

Robert Schuett, a former career civil servant (2011-2022), is currently a non-resident professor in international relations at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, a visiting fellow at the Department of Political Science at the University of Salzburg, as well as an honorary member of the School of Governance and International Affairs at the University of Durham, England. Robert Schuett was awarded a master’s degree by research in 2005 and a PhD in 2009, both in Political Science from the School of Governance and International Affairs at Durham University; the supervisor of his doctoral thesis was John C. Williams (Durham University), and his external evaluators were Chris J. Brown (London School of Economics) and Richard Little (University of Bristol). In 2007, he completed a doctoral research stay at LUISS University in Rome and, in 2010, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, San Diego, USA. He currently lives and works in Vienna. Robert Schuett’s main areas of interest are political philosophy, international relations, and political methodology. He is particularly interested in the classical approach to political and legal theory, economics and society, ethics, and justice. Professor Robert Schuett has authored and edited numerous works, including Hans Kelsen’s Political Realism (2021), The Edinburgh Companion to Political Realism (2018), The Concept of the State in International Relations: Philosophy, Sovereignty, Cosmopolitanism (2015), and Political Realism, Freud, and Human Nature in International Relations: The Resurrection of the Realism Man (2010).

A structured curriculum supporting biomedical trainees’ transition into independent academic positions and early career success

The United States government makes a substantial investment in biomedical training programs each year. However, for most trainees, these opportunities do not translate into career progression in academic research pathways. Only about one-fifth of postdoctoral fellows eventually secure a tenure-track faculty position, and even among these candidates, attrition is high. Although a number of factors govern career choices and career longevity, the transition from trainee to faculty is a challenging process and requires knowledge and skills that are not necessarily developed during a traditional university experience. Many postdoctoral fellows receive adequate training in research skills and scientific communication, but new faculty report not being sufficiently prepared for the job search process and for starting their labs. To address this critical training gap, the ITERT core (Interdisciplinary Translational Education and Research Training) and the Office of Postdoctoral Fellows at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center implemented a structured course for both postdoctoral fellows and senior PhD students to provide formalized training for successfully navigating academic positions in biomedical research. Here we report on the pilot Navigating Academic Careers course conducted in 2021–2022 for 30 PhD students and postdocs. The nine-module course was conducted over 13 weeks in 25.5 h instructional sessions. The key educational objectives included 1) navigating the job application and the interview/negotiation process, 2) hiring, leading, and mentoring lab personnel and program support staff, 3) project administration and financial stewardship, 4) managing time and work-life balance and 5) developing collaborations, branding, personalized niche, and networking. Survey-based analysis at the time of the course was used to capture the participants’ assessment of the course content, organization, and delivery, with a follow-up survey conducted approximately 2 years post-course (2024) to evaluate longer-term impacts of the training. Initial in-course assessment revealed that 89.9% of respondents found the scope and instructional content appropriate, and 91.1% found the course relevant and applicable to their career needs. Longer-term post-course evaluation indicated that 80% of respondents applied the learnings of the course, that 80% reported feeling more confident in navigating an academic job search, and that 66.6% continued to report agreement with the course preparing them for their current role/ongoing job search, with 46.7% already securing jobs in academic research, including as independent faculty. The outcomes of this pilot course suggest that integrating this into the broader postdoctoral training curriculum can enhance both the transition and early-career success of talented scientists-in-training into working professionals in biomedical careers, as faculty and science-trained staff.

“I Don’t Want to Spend the Rest of My Life Feeling Alone”: Postdoctoral Scholars’ Experiences of (Dis)Connection

Previous research about postdocs has focused on the challenges they face in terms of pay and job security. This study expands upon this narrative to explore postdoctoral scholars’ experiences of connection and disconnection, or (dis)connection. The present study employed socialization theory in combination with a definition of professional socialization to frame how personal communities, institutions, and professional disciplines/associations facilitated postdocs’ sense of (dis)connection. Interviews with 30 postdocs demonstrated the ways in which postdocs described both connection and support alongside disconnection and isolation when asked about their experiences. The present study extends theory on socialization to consider postdocs and has implications for institutions employing postdocs.

Associations between food insecurity and diet quality among graduate students and postdoctoral trainees in the health sciences at a private university in Boston: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundFood insecurity is a pivotal determinant of health outcomes. Little evidence exists on the association between food insecurity and health behaviors and outcomes, including diet quality, among graduate students or postdoctoral trainees. ObjectiveExamine the association between food insecurity and diet quality among graduate students and postdoctoral trainees at three health-focused graduate schools (public health, medical, and dental medicine) within Harvard University. MethodsBetween April-June 2023, 1,287 graduate students and 458 postdoctoral trainees at the health-focused schools within Harvard University completed a web-based survey. The primary exposure was food security status, assessed using the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module. The primary outcome was diet quality, measured using the 30-day Prime Diet Quality Score screener (ranges from 0 to 126, with higher scores indicating healthier diets). The associations between food insecurity and diet quality were examined using multivariable regression models, adjusting for sociodemographic covariates. ResultsAmong graduate students, compared to those with high food security, diet quality was significantly lower among those experiencing marginal food security (β=-4.7, 95%CI=-6.5, -2.9), low food security (β=-5.4, 95%CI=-7.6, -3.3) and very low food security (β=-4.4, 95%CI=-7.4, -1.4). Poor diet quality included lower intake frequencies of vegetables, fruits, beans/peas/soy products, nuts/seeds, poultry, fish, low-fat dairy, and liquid oils, and higher intake frequencies of refined grains/baked products, sugar-sweetened beverages, and fried foods. Among postdoctoral trainees, compared to those with high food security, diet quality was significantly lower among those experiencing low food security (β=-5.1, 95%CI=-8.8, -1.4) and very low food security (β=-5.2, 95% CI=-10.2, -0.2). Poor diet quality included lower intake frequencies of dark green leafy vegetables, other fruits, and whole grains. ConclusionsGraduate students and postdoctoral trainees who experienced degrees of food insecurity reported lower diet quality. These observations underscore the need for policies and interventions to simultaneously reduce food insecurity and improve diet quality.

Metallogeny and Mineral Exploration – Some Personal Reminiscences

The following personalised narrative aims to document the highlights of my involvement in some of the ground breaking developments in Economic Geology and their direct application to mineral exploration and discovery over the past half century. The story begins with my introduction to geology at secondary school and university, followed by doctoral research based on fieldwork in the Andes of South America. Then, as an employee of the Chilean Geological Survey, I got my introduction to porphyry copper deposits before returning to the UK to take up a post-doctoral research fellowship. This formative period concluded with my starting out as an independent geological consultant to the global exploration and mining industry. These early years happened to coincide with the plate tectonics revolution and its radical implications for metallogeny. I realised that porphyry copper and related deposits are integral parts of volcano-plutonic arcs generated during subduction of oceanic lithosphere, and volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits in ophiolite complexes must have formed at oceanic spreading centres. At approximately the same time, application of K-Ar dating to copper deposits led to definition of metallogenic belts and corresponding epochs in the Andes, and then established the timing of their economically important supergene oxidation and enrichment. Subsequently, using more modern and precise U-Pb zircon and Re-Os molybdenite methods, collaborative attempts were made to determine porphyry copper deposit lifespans and ages of various copper belts, deposits and prospects around the world, including the Zambian Copperbelt. The focus on porphyry copper deposits led first to an appreciation of the linkage between them and subaerial volcanism and the importance of potassic alteration as a major host of hypogene copper mineralisation, and then to geological characterisation of the increasing number of gold-rich examples. Appreciation of the importance of hydrothermal breccias in porphyry copper deposits, including recognition of mineralised diatremes, resulted in a classification scheme for breccias that may be extended to related deposit types. Extensive fieldwork showed that zones of advanced argillic alteration, termed lithocaps, constitute the shallow parts of porphyry copper systems. The role of tectonic uplift in both porphyry copper formation and subsequent supergene modification was also charted. The end result of this body of work was a porphyry copper model that can be used as a basic exploration guide. In response to a marked increase in the world gold price in the late 1970s, more effort was devoted to gold concentrations in magmatic arc terranes, commencing with epithermal gold deposits in the shallow lithocaps of porphyry copper systems. This led to an input to classification schemes for epithermal precious metal deposits and, eventually, to assignment of the three main epithermal types to specific tectono-magmatic settings. After years of speculation, porphyry gold deposits were recognised for the first time in northern Chile, followed by definition of a new gold deposit class in association with relatively reduced granitic intrusions. A magmatic-hydrothermal origin for Carlin-type gold deposits was steadfastly supported over many years, notwithstanding its unpopularity until relatively recently, culminating in a proposal for modern analogues. For decades, metallogenic provinces and corresponding epochs have been widely appreciated, but debate concerning their origin(s) persists. The nature of accompanying magmatism could well provide an adequate explanation for at least some provinces (e.g., tin, molybdenum and possibly silver), but precursor metal enrichment in the lowermost crust and/or subcontinental lithospheric mantle may well be required in the case of gold and copper provinces. The story concludes with brief commentary on mineral exploration, which has been my lifelong (pre)occupation. Requirements for success in mineral exploration are discussed, based primarily on familiarity with the circum-Pacific region, followed by analysis of the types of companies and individuals involved and the burgeoning challenges to the exploration process, which, if not remedied, will have dire consequences for future metal production and global plans for the energy transition. My involvement as a lone practitioner in both mineral exploration and metallogenic research probably says something about my independent character traits, but nonetheless has been largely unstructured and certainly unplanned. I have no hesitation in recommending a similar career path for any recent graduate who relishes adventure and is prepared to endure significant work-life imbalance.

ECR Spotlight – Jordan Glass

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Jordan Glass is an author on ‘ A thermal performance curve perspective explains decades of disagreements over how air temperature affects the flight metabolism of honey bees’, published in JEB. Jordan conducted the research described in this article while a Graduate student in Jon F. Harrison's lab at Arizona State University, USA. He is now a Postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Michael E. Dillon at the University of Wyoming, USA, investigating how environmental factors affect the performance of pollinating insects to determine when they can be active and where they can live.

ECR Spotlight – Sulayman Lyons

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Sulayman Lyons is an author on ‘ Highland deer mice support increased thermogenesis in response to chronic cold hypoxia by shifting uptake of circulating fatty acids from muscles to brown adipose tissue’, published in JEB. Sulayman conducted the research described in this article while a PhD student in Dr Grant McClelland's lab at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. He is now a Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Dr Jacqueline Beaudry at University of Toronto, Canada, investigating how animals can partition metabolic substrates to fuel metabolism.

First person – Anne Rosfelter

ABSTRACT First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Anne Rosfelter is first author on ‘ Reduction of cortical pulling at mitotic entry facilitates aster centration’, published in JCS. Anne conducted the research described in this article while a PhD student in Alex McDougall's lab at Laboratoire Biologie du Développement (LBDV), Villefranche-sur-Mer, France. She is now a post-doctoral researcher in the lab of Yu-Chiun Wang at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), Kobe, Japan, investigating the spatial organization of cells and tissue through studying the cytoskeleton.

Neutralization of EG.5, EG.5.1, BA.2.86, and JN.1 by antisera from dimeric receptor-binding domain subunit vaccines and 41 human monoclonal antibodies.

The recently circulating Omicron variants BA.2.86 and JN.1 were identified with more than 30 amino acid changes on the spike protein compared to BA.2 or XBB.1.5. This study aimed to comprehensively assess the immune escape potential of BA.2.86, JN.1, EG.5, and EG.5.1. We collected human and murine sera to evaluate serological neutralization activities. The participants received three doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines or a booster dose of the ZF2022-A vaccine (Delta-BA.5 receptor-binding domain [RBD]-heterodimer immunogen) or experienced a breakthrough infection (BTI). The ZF2202-A vaccine is under clinical trial study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05850507). BALB/c mice were vaccinated with a panel of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RBD-dimer proteins. The antibody evasion properties of these variants were analyzed with 41 representative human monoclonal antibodies targeting the eight RBD epitopes. We found that BA.2.86 had less neutralization evasion than EG.5 and EG.5.1 in humans. The ZF2202-A booster induced significantly higher neutralizing titers than BTI. Furthermore, BA.2.86 and JN.1 exhibited stronger antibody evasion than EG.5 and EG.5.1 on RBD-4 and RBD-5 epitopes. Compared to BA.2.86, JN.1 further lost the ability to bind to several RBD-1 monoclonal antibodies and displayed further immune escape. Our data showed that the currently dominating sub-variant, JN.1, showed increased immune evasion compared to BA.2.86 and EG.5.1, which is highly concerning. This study provides a timely risk assessment of the interested sub-variants and the basis for updating COVID-19 vaccines. This work was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Beijing Life Science Academy, the Bill& Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (CPSF).

SURVEY ON BIOMATERIAL SHRILK AS SUTURES IN MEDICAL FIELD

Shrilk stands as an innovative biomaterial, fusing the robustness of chitosan, a synthetic plastic, with the resilience of shrimp shells. The term "shrilk" itself is a blend of "shrimp" and "silk," emblematic of the distinctive attributes inherent in this material. Chitosan, derived from chitin present in the exoskeletons of crustaceans like shrimps and crabs, boasts biocompatibility, biodegradability, and antimicrobial qualities. Biopolymers have garnered increased attention owing to their remarkable attributes such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and functionality. These characteristics position biopolymers as promising candidates for a wide range of surgical applications, including but not limited to bioadhesives, sealants, sutures, and wound dressings. Dubbed "shrilk" by its creators, Postdoctoral fellow Javier Fernandez and Wyss Institute director Donald Ingber, this substance mimics insect cuticle, a material found in insect exoskeletons. Shrilk serves as the synthetic equivalent to one of nature's most robust, lightweight, and intriguing materials. This article underscores the potential use of shrilk in surgical applications, particularly as sutures, considering its properties in comparison to currently employed sutures.

Academic Motherhood: Considerations of STEM Postdoctoral Scholar Women

This instrumental case study explores the messages STEM postdoctoral scholar women received and understood from faculty about having children and an academic career. Of concern, women with children are less likely than men with children or individuals without children to be offered tenure-track positions or to be promoted. This reality suggests academic motherhood is in opposition to professional legitimacy in higher education. Furthermore, postdoctoral scholars who are mothers are more likely than their peers to cite children as their primary reason for not entering the faculty job market. Through inductive and deductive methods, interview transcripts of 22 demographically diverse STEM postdoctoral scholar women were analyzed using the ideal worker conceptual framework. Two themes were identified: (1) messages interpreted as disparaging suggest to STEM postdoctoral women they must sacrifice the choice to have children for an academic career and (2) messages interpreted as supportive promote the belief that academic motherhood is achievable. These findings illustrate a systemic conflict for STEM postdoctoral scholar women who have children or are considering becoming mothers in the future. Due to disparaging messages from faculty, most interviewees felt the constraints of ideal worker norms; however, through supportive messages from faculty, particularly positive modeling, these women saw the feasibility of having children and a successful academic career without the necessity of conforming to these norms. Inclusive, family friendly higher education policies and practices must be instituted to ensure more women enter and thrive in the STEM professoriate, and women who have or desire to have children are not marginalized.

The Impact of Inclusive Mentoring and Identity Work on Self-Efficacy in Career Advancement and Career Commitment among Underrepresented Early-career Faculty and Post-doctoral Fellows

The Impact of Inclusive Mentoring and Identity Work on Self-Efficacy in Career Advancement and Career Commitment among Underrepresented Early-career Faculty and Post-doctoral Fellows

Oliver Smithies. 23 June 1925—10 January 2017

Oliver Smithies was born in Copley, near Halifax in Yorkshire, UK. He received his doctorate from Oxford in 1951, then began working at the Connaught Laboratories in Toronto, where he developed starch gel electrophoresis. This technology allowed identification of genetic variants in human serum proteins and revolutionized protein analysis. After moving to the University of Wisconsin, he studied the genetics of antibody variability, then turned to nucleic acid methods, developing safe cloning vectors, driving production of software for genetic analysis, sequencing several human genes and finally creating genetically engineered animals, for which he later received the Nobel Prize. He then moved to the University of North Carolina, where he developed methods for altering gene dosage in mice, which he used to develop ways to attack complex physiological questions, including blood pressure regulation. Finally, he formulated a new hypothesis to explain kidney glomerular filtration, then devised methods that confirmed the hypothesis. Oliver collaborated with his wife, Nobuyo Maeda, during a long and happy marriage. While maintaining separate laboratories, they stimulated each other's scientific understanding and frequently published together. During a 70-year life in science, he mentored many students, postdoctoral fellows and collaborators, nearly all remaining his friends for life.

Citizenship status and career self-efficacy: An intersectional study of biomedical trainees in the United States.

This study examines the intersectional role of citizenship and gender with career self-efficacy amongst 10,803 doctoral and postdoctoral trainees in US universities. These biomedical trainees completed surveys administered by 17 US institutions that participated in the National Institutes of Health Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (NIH BEST) Programs. Findings indicate that career self-efficacy of non-citizen trainees is significantly lower than that of US citizen trainees. While lower career efficacy was observed in women compared with men, it was even lower for non-citizen female trainees. Results suggest that specific career interests may be related to career self-efficacy. Relative to US citizen trainees, both male and female non-citizen trainees showed higher interest in pursuing a career as an academic research investigator. In comparison with non-citizen female trainees and citizen trainees of all genders, non-citizen male trainees expressed the highest interest in research-intensive (and especially principal investigator) careers. The authors discuss potential causes for these results and offer recommendations for increasing trainee career self-efficacy which can be incorporated into graduate and postdoctoral training.

Evaluation of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) Program.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) K99/R00 award is intended to help postdoctoral scholars transition in a timely manner to research independence and to foster their development of an impactful cancer research program that is competitive for subsequent independent funding. Here we analyzed factors that impact peer review outcomes and evaluated whether NCI K99/R00 awardees have achieved the goals of the K99/R00 funding mechanism. Our analysis of the K99/R00 review criterion scores demonstrates that while all review criterion scores are positively correlated with the overall impact score, the Research Plan criterion is the strongest predictor of the overall impact score and funding outcomes. In addition, our analysis shows the NCI K99/R00 award facilitated the successful transition of postdoctoral scholars to research independence and enhanced the likelihood of K99/R00 awardees to secure subsequent R01-equivalent NIH grant support although not in an accelerated fashion as originally intended. An NCI K99/R00 award was not determined to be a prerequisite to obtain a faculty position, but for some awardees, it was an asset in that transition. Our results suggest that the NCI K99/R00 award is an important component for training and retention of the next generation of independent cancer researchers and to increasing the percentage of women and promoting the diversity of the cancer research workforce.

Multiphase entrepreneurship: An academic reflection

Teaching, research, and service have traditionally been the common denominators of faculty professional responsibilities at academic institutions. In contrast, entrepreneurship has historically been considered separate from these responsibilities, often viewed as an aspirational goal above and beyond the standard expectations. This situation arises, in part, from the fact that most academic environments do not usually offer the conditions conducive for faculty to commercialize their ideas through entrepreneurship. Yet, integrating entrepreneurship with academic duties offers a unique opportunity to enhance the impact of one's work beyond the scholarly community, aligning well with the current public-facing and, the innovation-driven landscape of higher education. For faculty to succeed in academic entrepreneurship, balancing and harmonizing entrepreneurial goals with traditional responsibilities as members of the university is crucial. Furthermore, faculty need to understand the product market, the related tech-economic factors, the importance of industrial and academic partnerships, and the required financial and workforce support to achieve successful entrepreneurship outcomes. In this article, I illustrate that embracing entrepreneurship not only complements but also enriches traditional academic duties, offering a means to apply research in addressing real-world challenges. Speaking from personal experience, I recount how I set the goal early in my academic career to make entrepreneurship a significant part of my professional life, how this decision was informed by my research on multiphase reaction engineering, an area replete with examples of successful industrial processes, and how this guided my path forward in developing commercial processes of my own. I aim to elucidate the challenges of academic entrepreneurship through the lens of my entrepreneurial efforts. Through my journey spanning four decades, I highlight the rewards of academic entrepreneurship, including enhanced research applicability, increased funding opportunities, and the personal satisfaction of seeing one's work contribute to societal advancement. This journey, punctuated and highlighted with a multitude of opportunities, challenges, and experiences, has yielded several industrial processes, made possible by the support of strong, capable teams of creative and dedicated graduate students and post-doctoral research associates. I have also benefited considerably from the support of the Ohio State University (OSU) in matters such as patent filing, licensing, and startup spin-offs. The strength of the industrial partnerships I have played a part in forging has facilitated the potential realization of commercializing selected technologies—the ultimate goal of academic entrepreneurship. This article aims to demystify the challenges of academic entrepreneurship and inspire my academic colleagues to consider how they, too, can weave entrepreneurial endeavors into the tapestry of their professional careers. The journey of academic entrepreneurship is not only about achieving commercial success but also about synergistically enriching one's teaching and research goals with the dynamism of real-world problem-solving in ways that make a lasting impact on both academia and industry.

Students’ Motivation and Engagement in the Implementation of Individual Development Plan for Underrepresented Minority (URM) Students in Undergraduate STEM Training Programs

Despite recent progress, statistics show an urgent need for growth in the numbers of underrepresented minority (URM) students in STEM fields. An individual development plan (IDP) has been used to assist Ph.D. trainees in exploring career paths, developing short- and long-term career goals, and creating action plans to achieve these goals. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and many institutions require the completion of the IDP by graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and junior faculty mentees to enhance career development. However, little information exists regarding how motivated and behaviorally engaged undergraduate URM undergraduate students are in using IDP as a tool to develop their STEM career pathway. In this study, researchers present data from the motivation levels and behavioral engagement factors that are associated with the effectiveness of the IDP with 20 URM students recruited for the REP Summer program. A total of 85% of students strongly agreed that the IDP was most effective in assessing and reflecting on their academic and professional goals. The mentorship needs were met by 80% of the students, while 75% of the students agreed that the IDP was very effective in helping to identify short-term and long-term goals for their undergraduate studies. Moreover, 70% of the students were satisfied with the IDP in developing an action plan, identifying short-term and long-term goals for their professional careers, and assessing their scientific skills, interests, and values. URM students are intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to implement the IDP and pursue careers in STEM. Findings suggest that URM students’ motivation and behavioral engagement levels impact the effectiveness of the implemented IDP with these students. There is a need to identify factors that enhance the effectiveness of the IDP to determine how to maximize the career development of URM students in STEM programs.

Cathy Weis talks with Sílvia Pinto Coelho. Sept-Dec 2022, Weis Acres, Broadway SoHo, US

This interview was carried out in the context of post-doctoral research centred on attention and choreographic thinking.[1] In this research, the work of US postmodern dance choreographers such as Lisa Nelson and Yvonne Rainer are examples of a type of ethics, aesthetics and even politics that is characteristic of the arts in a particular context and that expands to various other fields, both in terms of approach and focus of interest. Following a stay in New York, another choreographer entered the "collection of US dancers with a camera in their hand", and the use of cinema elements on stage. Cathy Weis's work stands out for its originality in this area, which made me want to interview her in 2022 while staying at her loft. The pretext for my stay in New York was to consult and watch films and videos at the public library (NYPL), visit museums, watch performances, and eventually take dance classes. However, because I was living in the historical terrain of postmodern dance in the United States, I began to see research as "fieldwork" rather than just "archive work". [1] "Attention and Choreographic Thinking" is the title of Sílvia Pinto Coelho's post-doctoral project (ICNOVA, FCSH 2019-2025).

ECR Spotlight – Corbin Rasmussen

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Corbin Rasmussen is an author on ‘ Curvilinear walking elevates fall risk and modulates slip and compensatory step attributes after unconstrained human slips’, published in JEB. Corbin conducted the research described in this article while a PhD student in Nathaniel H. Hunt's lab at the Department of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA. Corbin is now a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the lab of Sara A. Myers, at the Department of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA, investigating the mechanisms of human balance recovery across commonly encountered walking environments and tasks.