US Stem Research Articles

Does DEI reduce harm? Lessons from a study on militarism in US STEM education

Does DEI reduce harm? Lessons from a study on militarism in US STEM education

Broadening participation in STEM through equity-minded high-impact practices: a multimodal systematic review

High-impact practices (HIPs), such as undergraduate research, first-year seminars, and learning communities, have been shown to generally advance college student success. However, there are often disparities in access, participation, and outcomes between white and racially/ethnically minoritized students. While scholars have critiqued HIPs and provided alternative approaches to better serve minoritized students, we know little about how federally funded programs aiming to broaden participation can serve as a mechanism advance equity. Drawing on the literature, we developed an equity-minded HIP framework to critically examine the prominence and characteristics of 38 programs aiming to broaden participation in undergraduate US STEM education funded by the National Science Foundation. We conducted a systematic examination of multimodal data from the STEM for All Multiplex repository. Findings reveal most programs included only one to two HIPs, with undergraduate research being most prominent followed by internships. Most programs included only a few elements of equity-minded design, such as providing students additional resources and faculty training, and implemented HIPs to include peer and faculty interactions. Last, most programs utilized cognitive, psychosocial, or sociocultural measures to assess the benefits to students. Only a few measured equity-mined outcomes pertaining to institutional change such as policies, resources, and practices. We highlight two exemplar programs and offer recommendations for researchers and funders to more effectively implement equity-minded HIPs to broaden participation in undergraduate STEM education.

Navigating a Sea of Obstacles: Ocean Science for People with Disabilities

The geoscience community discussion on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) most often focuses on increasing the participation of underrepresented groups based on race, ethnicity, and gender. Disability status is often overlooked, even though people with disabilities are underrepresented in the US STEM workforce by a factor of 3 compared to factors of 1.5 and 1.3 for women and underrepresented minorities, respectively (NCSES, 2023). The unemployment rate (the proportion of the workforce population that is unemployed but actively seeking work) is twice as high for people with disabilities as it is for those without a disability, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/disabl.pdf).

LGBTQ@NASA and Beyond: Work Structure and Workplace Inequality among LGBTQ STEM Professionals.

Scholars are just beginning to understand how organizational processes shape LGBTQ workplace inequality. Using multimethod data from STEM professionals, this article examines how one such factor-the way work tasks are structured within organizations-may impact LGBTQ workers' experiences of marginalization and devaluation. Through interviews with STEM professionals at two NASA space flight centers with different work structures, we find that LGBTQ professionals at the NASA center where work is organized in dynamic project-based teams experienced less inclusive and respectful interactions with colleagues, in part because they had to rapidly establish credibility and develop new status management strategies each time they were shuffled into new teams. The stability of the traditional unit-based structure at the other NASA center, by contrast, allowed LGBTQ professionals time to navigate status management and build trust. This stability also facilitated LGBTQ community building. Analysis of survey data of over 14,000 US STEM professionals (594 who identify as LGBTQ) corroborates this work structure pattern: LGBTQ professionals across STEM disciplines and employment sectors working in dynamic project-based teams were more likely to report interpersonal marginalization and devaluation than LGBTQ professionals who worked in traditional unit-based structures. These findings highlight work structure as an important mechanism of LGBTQ inequality that demands further investigation.

STEM disparities we must measure

The National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) Survey of Earned Doctorates, an annual census of all newly minted US PhDs since 1957, has been a cornerstone in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) diversity efforts (1). Along with NSF’s other national workforce surveys, the Survey of Earned Doctorates provides critical data needed to document underrepresented groups in STEM and determine their eligibility for funding and federal resources. However, NSF’s surveys do not include sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) questions, despite the alarming disparities that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people face in US STEM fields (2).

Types of Stem Cells Used in US-Based Clinical Trials between 1999 and 2014

This study looks at the number of clinical trials involving specific stem cell types. To our knowledge, this has never been done before. Stem cell clinical trials that were conducted at locations in the US and registered on the National Institutes of Health database at ‘clinicaltrials.gov’ were categorized according to the type of stem cell used (adult, cancer, embryonic, perinatal, or induced pluripotent) and the year that the trial was registered. From 1999 to 2014, there were 2,357 US stem cell clinical trials registered on ‘clinicaltrials.gov,’ and 89 percent were from adult stem cells and only 0.12 percent were from embryonic stem cells. This study concludes that embryonic stem cells should no longer be used for clinical study because of their irrelevance, moral questions, and induced pluripotent stem cells.

Early cholangioscopy-assisted electrohydraulic lithotripsy in difficult biliary stones is cost-effective.

Background and Aims:Single-operator cholangioscopy-assisted electrohydraulic lithotripsy (SOC-EHL) is effective and safe in difficult choledocholithiasis. The optimal timing of SOC-EHL use, however, in refractory stones has not been elucidated. The following aims to determine the most cost-effective timing of SOC-EHL introduction in the management of choledocholithiasis.Methods:A cost-effectiveness model was developed assessing three strategies with a progressively delayed introduction of SOC-EHL. Probability estimates of patient pathways were obtained from a systematic review. The unit of effectiveness is complete ductal clearance without need for surgery. Cost is expressed in 2018 US dollars and stem from outpatient US databases.Results:The three strategies achieved comparable ductal clearance rates ranging from 97.3% to 99.7%. The least expensive strategy is to perform SOC-EHL during the first endoscopic retrograde cholangiography pancreatography (ERCP) (SOC-1: 18,506$). The strategy of postponing the use of SOC-EHL to the third ERCP (SOC-3) is more expensive (US$18,895) but is 2% more effective. (0.9967). SOC-EHL during the second ERCP in the model (SOC-2) is the least cost-effective. Sensitivity analyses show altered conclusions according to the cost of SOC-EHL, effectiveness of conventional ERCP, and altered willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds with early SOC-1 being the most optimal approach below a WTP cut-off of US$20,295.Conclusions:Early utilization of SOC-EHL (SOC-1) in difficult choledocholithiasis may be the least costly strategy with an effectiveness approximating those achieved with a delayed approach where one or more conventional ERCP(s) are reattempted prior to SOC-EHL introduction.

Disparities in Racial and Ethnic Representation in Stem Cell Clinical Trials.

ClinicalTrials.gov (CTG) provides integrated access to structured records of thousands of randomized clinical trials (RCT). CTG functionality allows download of the entire dataset in XML format for further knowledge discovery and analytics. This study represents an instructive use case of utilizing this functionality for identifying patient representation disparities in stem cell RCTs. The goal of this study was to determine the racial and ethnic composition of stem cell clinical trials and to identify potential disparities in minority representation. The clinical trial registration portal ClinicalTrials.gov was queried to identify stem cell trials and to compare their racial and ethnic composition to the US population data. Based on our analysis of 248 available trials, we have concluded that not all races and ethnicities are adequately represented in US stem cell trials; thus, concerted efforts are warranted for more inclusive representation of minorities in future stem cell trials.

The impact of permanent residency delays for STEM PhDs: Who leaves and why

This paper assesses whether delays in obtaining permanent residency status can explain recent declines in the share of Chinese and Indian PhD graduates from US STEM programs who remain in the US after their studies. We find that newly-binding limits on permanent visas for those from China and India with advanced degrees are significantly associated with declines in stay rates. The stay rate of Chinese graduates declines by 2.1 percentage points for each year of delay, while Indian graduates facing delays of at least 5½ years have a stay rate that is 10.6 percentage points lower. The per-country permanent visa cap affects a large share of STEM PhDs who are disproportionately found in fields of study that have been crucial in stimulating US economic growth yet enroll relatively few natives. Finally, results suggest that the growth of science in countries of origin has an important influence on stay rates, while macroeconomic factors such as GDP per capita affect stay rates only via their impact on science funding. We conclude that per-country limits play a significant role in constraining the supply of highly skilled STEM workers in the US economy.

Rapid change of a cohort of 570 unproven stem cell clinics in the USA over 3years.

Aim: The industry of unproven stem cell clinics has rapidly mushroomed throughout the USA, posing risks to patients and the research field. In this study, the aim was to better define how this industry changes. Methods: I analyzed a large cohort of US stem cell clinic firms and their distinct clinic locations as defined in 2015-2016 for their status now in 2019. Results: About a quarter of the firms no longer marketed stem cells. Some lacked active websites, while others dropped stem cell services. Even so, the total number of clinics in this group increased because some firms greatly expanded their clinic numbers. Conclusion: Overall, the unproven clinic industry is a moving target requiring ongoing study and regulatory oversight.

No “finish line” for diversity in US STEM workforce

No “finish line” for diversity in US STEM workforce

The changing career trajectories of new parents in STEM

The gender imbalance in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields has remained constant for decades and increases the farther up the STEM career pipeline one looks. Why does the underrepresentation of women endure? This study investigated the role of parenthood as a mechanism of gender-differentiated attrition from STEM employment. Using a nationally representative 8-year longitudinal sample of US STEM professionals, we examined the career trajectories of new parents after the birth or adoption of their first child. We found substantial attrition of new mothers: 43% of women leave full-time STEM employment after their first child. New mothers are more likely than new fathers to leave STEM, to switch to part-time work, and to exit the labor force. These gender differences hold irrespective of variation by discipline, race, and other demographic factors. However, parenthood is not just a "mother's problem"; 23% of new fathers also leave STEM after their first child. Suggesting the difficulty of combining STEM work with caregiving responsibilities generally, new parents are more likely to leave full-time STEM jobs than otherwise similar childless peers and even new parents who remain employed full time are more likely than their childless peers to exit STEM for work elsewhere. These results have implications for policymakers and STEM workforce scholars; whereas parenthood is an important mechanism of women's attrition, both women and men leave at surprisingly high rates after having children. Given that most people become parents during their working lives, STEM fields must do more to retain professionals with children.

International Student Achievement Comparisons and US STEM Workforce Development

Comparisons of US student achievement to other countries, conducted since the 1960s, have received extensive media coverage in the USA. Policy studies have cited these comparisons as evidence that the quality of US educational performance in mathematics and science requires federal intervention. Policy makers have been particularly concerned that the US economy would be impacted by inadequate student achievement levels especially in technology-related industries. This paper explores evidence about whether policy makers react to the citations of international student achievement rankings by changing funding levels for educational research and whether the studies have motivated the nation’s educators to support a trend toward common educational standards.

最新のアメリカの STEM 教育の展開 ‐第 78 回 ITEEA 国際会と NSTA、STEM 教育連合、TechShop の訪問分析‐

最新のアメリカの STEM 教育の展開 ‐第 78 回 ITEEA 国際会と NSTA、STEM 教育連合、TechShop の訪問分析‐

The FDA and the US direct-to-consumer marketplace for stem cell interventions: a temporal analysis.

Hundreds of businesses in the US currently advertise a wide range of non-US FDA-approved stem cell interventions. Here we present a novel systematic temporal analysis of US companies engaged in direct-to-consumer marketing of putative stem cell treatments. Between 2009 and2014, the number of new US stem cell businesses with websites grew rapidly, at least doubling on average every year. From 2014 to 2016, approximately 90-100 new stem cell business websites appeared per year. In contrast, from 2012 to the present, regulatory activity in the form of FDA warning letters has been limited. These data point to a problematic disconnect between a rapidly expanding US direct-to-consumer stem cell industry and limited FDA oversight of this marketplace. More consistent, timely and effective FDA actions are urgently needed.

Myth-free space advocacy part III: The myth of educational inspiration

I argue against a common belief among space advocates that spaceflight is “educationally inspiring” in that it has a clear, positive impact on scientific literacy and on STEM education. On the basis of a variety of survey analyses I show that, while there is some indication that being scientifically literate makes a person more likely to support spaceflight, there is no clear indication that the extent of spaceflight activities (or the extent of funding for spaceflight) makes people more likely to be scientifically literate or to be supportive of spaceflight (at least in the United States). Regarding STEM education, while there is a correlation between US spaceflight spending and STEM degree conferrals, a similar correlation obtains between spaceflight spending and degree conferrals in virtually every other discipline, and between overall US spending on science and degree conferrals in virtually every discipline. Thus there is no clear evidence that spaceflight spending is uniquely inspirational for STEM. It follows that there is little evidence that clearly supports the idea that spaceflight is educationally inspiring in the ways that many space advocates have claimed, in both academic and popular settings.

A quantitative analysis examining differences between US humanities and STEM students’ propensity toward innovation

Some scholars speculate that humanities education, as compared to STEM education, may be better able to provide students with the most in-demand twenty-first century workplace skill: innovation. Due to the lack of empirical research on this topic, this study compares US humanities and STEM students’ college gains in their ‘propensity toward innovation’ (PTI) and the academic factors that contribute to it. Findings suggest that humanities students experience greater in-college gains in PTI and also that certain academic factors may be especially beneficial for STEM students in contributing to their development of PTI at the end of college.

The New Federalism: State Policies Regarding Embryonic Stem Cell Research.

Stem cell policy in the United States is an amalgam of federal and state policies. The scientific development of human pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) triggered a contentious national stem cell policy debate during the administration of President George W. Bush. The Bush "compromise" that allowed federal funding to study only a very limited number of ESC derived cell lines did not satisfy either the researchers or the patient advocates who saw great medical potential being stifled. Neither more restrictive legislation nor expansion of federal funding proved politically possible and the federal impasse opened the door for a variety of state-based experiments. In 2004, California became the largest and most influential state venture into stem cell research by passing "Prop 71," a voter initiative that created a new stem cell agency and funded it with $3 billion. Several states followed suit with similar programs to protect the right of investigators to do stem cell research and in some cases to invest state funding in such projects. Other states devised legislation to restrict stem cell research and in five states, criminal penalties were included. Thus, the US stem cell policy is a patchwork of multiple, often conflicting, state and federal policies.

Patient‐reported physical functioning predicts the success of hematopoietic cell transplantation (BMT CTN 0902)

In hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), current risk adjustment strategies are based on clinical and disease-related variables. Although patient-reported outcomes (PROs) predict mortality in multiple cancers, they have been less well studied within HCT. Improvements in risk adjustment strategies in HCT would inform patient selection, patient counseling, and quality reporting. The objective of the current study was to determine whether pre-HCT PROs, in particular physical health, predict survival among patients undergoing autologous or allogeneic transplantation. In this secondary analysis, the authors studied pre-HCT PROs that were reported by 336 allogeneic and 310 autologous HCT recipients enrolled in the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) 0902 protocol, a study with broad representation of patients who underwent transplantation in the United States. Among allogeneic HCT recipients, the pre-HCT Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) physical component summary (PCS) scale independently predicted overall mortality (hazards ratio, 1.40 per 10-point decrease; P<.001) and performed at least as well as currently used, non-PRO risk indices. Survival probability estimates at 1 year for the first, second, third, and fourth quartiles of the baseline PCS were 50%, 65%, 75%, and 83%, respectively. Early post-HCT decreases in PCS were associated with higher overall and treatment-related mortality. When adjusted for patient variables included in the US Stem Cell Therapeutic Outcomes Database model for transplant center-specific reporting, the SF-36 PCS retained independent prognostic value. PROs have the potential to improve prognostication in HCT. The authors recommend the routine collection of PROs before HCT, and consideration of the incorporation of PROs into risk adjustment for quality reporting.

US stem cell clinics, patient safety, and the FDA

Scholarship on patients accessing unproven stem cell interventions is dominated by research addressing 'stem cell tourism' to such countries as China, India, Mexico, and the Ukraine. However, clinics marketing 'adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell treatments' are proliferating across the USA. These businesses typically claim to operate in compliance with federal regulations, but careful review of their commercial practices suggests that such clinics are marketing unapproved and noncompliant biological drugs.