Tag: Women in Pathology

Dr. Beth Unger receives the 2021 Carpenter Rasch Award

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Dr. Unger is being awarded the 2021 Anna-Mary Carpenter and Ellen M. Rasch Award from The Histochemical Society. Trained as an investigative pathologist, Elizabeth (Beth) R. Unger, MD, PhD, is the Chief of the Chronic Viral Disease Branch (CVDB), Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia. chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) research falls under her department.

Dr. Unger has done extensive research at the CDC on the human papillomavirus (HPV), as well as received the Health and Human Services Career Achievement Award in 2008. Dr. Unger has represented the CDC on the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC) and is now involved in long covid studies.

Dr. Unger is a past president of the ASIP.

Dr. Elaine Bearer received an Honorary Professorship from Strømstad Akademi

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Dr. Elaine Bearer received an Honorary Professorship from the Strømstad Akademi in Sweden on Sept. 1. Bearer was nominated for this honor by Prof. Ulf Berg, a Professor of Chemistry from Lund University, who discovered Bearer some years ago  when attending one of her talks at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. 

The  Strømstad Academy, based in Sweden, is a Nordic Institute for Advanced Studies that names as members professors from Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and other Universities worldwide, including four Nobel laureates. Strømstad Academy creates a solid knowledge bank of scientific competence and proven experience. Most people in the Academy have been doing research for many years. For society, it is important to make use of these researchers’ collective resources and large networks of contacts around the world. The Academy is mainly virtual, with offices in Strömstad and local chapters in Stockholm/Uppsala, Gothenburg, Malmö/Lund, Strømstad and Falun.

More information

Dr. Bearer’s Installation speech on YouTube:

Dr. Bearer’s performance of her new string quartet:

Stråkkvartet “The Strömstad quartet” premier performance

Viken quartet presents Elaine Bearers string quartet “The Strömstad quartet” which was written special for the Scientific Festival 2021 of Strömstad Academy….

Dr. Bearer’s Lab

Dr. Alcaide receives International Society for Heart Research Award

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The Mid-Career Investigator Research Scholarship award is newly established by the International Society
for Heart Research North American section to recognize outstanding original research in the field of
cardiovascular sciences by mid-career investigators. She presented her work at the North American Section meeting in Denver, CO.

Dr. Alcaide is an ASIP Women in Pathology Leader and council member. She is the Kenneth and JoAnn G. Wellner Professor at Tufts University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Her research lab combines the areas of immunology, vascular biology and cardiac physiology to study several aspects of adaptive immunity in diverse inflammatory settings, with a particular focus in the heart in the context of heart failure. The over-arching goal in the lab is to better understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms that take place during T lymphocyte trafficking to sites of inflammation, the lymphocyte effects in tissue resident cells, and how those can potentially be targeted in therapeutically useful ways. The lab combines in vitro flow systems and real time videomicroscopy to study the mechanisms regulating T cell-endothelial cell interactions, and several in vivo mouse models of T cell mediated acute and chronic inflammation, including experimental models of autoimmunity, and heart failure.

Dr. Alcaide Twitter

Professional Branding Tips For Scientists And Researchers

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There’s no denying that scientists and researchers are the people who always have and always will make the most significant contributions and advancements to human civilization. 

However, most scientists find it challenging to either talk about themselves or their latest laboratory experiments. 

So for those who take their scientific careers seriously, those who want to approach investors, seek funding, and those who want to make the most significant difference in the world, professional branding is great for getting the word out! 

Below, we’re looking at some of the best branding tips for scientists and researchers. 

Understand Your Values And USPs

Whether you’re looking to land that lab job you’ve always dreamed of, or you’re planning on approaching investors for funding, you must showcase your skills and values so that you’ll be seen as an asset rather than a liability. 

Once you understand your values, you should treat them as your Unique Selling Points, or USPs. 

As the name suggests, a USP is simply what makes you unique and different from the hundreds and thousands of other scientists and researchers out there. 

Knowing your values and USPs will help you perfect your personal brand, enabling you to focus on those qualities during interviews and meetings. 

Researching Your Ideal Customers

As a scientist, you’re not likely selling products. 

However, no matter your end goal, there is a particular type of person or organization that you’ll be targeting with your brand. 

These people or organizations should be thought of as your ideal customers or target audience. 

If you’re a scientist, you’ve already got the skills needed for research, so dive into the data and learn all you can about the people you want to engage with. 

For instance, if you’re seeking funding from a major agricultural company to study the effects of their activities on local wildlife, be sure to learn as much as you can about the company before approaching them. 

Or, if you’re looking for work in a particular field of science, you should take the time to research any companies in the area that you might be interested in working for. 

In turn, you’ll have a better idea of how your values and USPs will benefit your potential employer, which will make answering questions during an interview considerably easier. 

Marketing And Promoting Your Brand

Once you’ve got a better understanding of your values, your USPs, and your ideal customers, it’s time to get busy marketing and promoting your brand to the world. 

At a minimum, you should create a website to showcase your scientific portfolio or work experience. 

Today, platforms like Wix, GoDaddy, or WordPress, make it easier than ever to create stunning, mobile-optimized websites and get them online in no time. 

Even for those without the technical skills needed to code and program a website, these platforms allow you to build a website using “drag and drop” editors, which virtually any can learn how to use! 

It’s also recommended that you create social media accounts, especially on LinkedIn, which is primarily where you’ll find potential employers, recruiters and other like-minded scientists. 

Fortunately, there are many tools and resources available to help you get the word out there about your personal or professional brand, including tools like BusinessCards. Check it out here: https://businesscards.co

Professional Brand For Scientists

If you’re like most scientists and researchers, there’s probably a part of you that’s more introverted than most people out there. 

In other words, it can be hard to talk about yourself or promote your latest research or development. 

However, when you think of branding as a way to connect and engage with other individuals or investors, it’ll become much more manageable than when you first learned the periodic table! 

-Rufus Stokes

Dr. Heather Francis

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Heather Francis, PhD is a Professor of Medicine at Indiana University and a Research Biologist at RLR VA Medical Center. The goal of her laboratory is to investigate the synergistic role that cholangiocytes and mast cells play during cholestatic liver injury, cholangiocarcinoma and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The lab is currently funded by both the NIH and the VA and these studies examine the link between cholangiocytes, mast cells and hepatic stellate cells during liver disease focusing primarily on primary sclerosing cholangitis and NAFLD. In addition, they recently found that using OTC drugs that block histamine receptors (H1HR and H2HR inhibitors) decreases both primary sclerosing cholangitis and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) injury. The lab is particularly interested in the HDC/histamine/HR axis and the autocrine (from cholangiocytes) and paracrine (mast cells) role this axis plays in primary sclerosing cholangitis, CCA and NAFLD. Using genetic knockout mice, they have demonstrated that loss of HDC and/or loss of mast cell activation ameliorates liver damage including biliary hyperplasia and hepatic fibrosis along with decreasing NAFLD phenotypes. Mast cells also play a role in CCA tumorigenesis, angiogenesis and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). They have found that inhibition of mast cell-derived histamine using cromolyn sodium decreases these features of CCA progression. Their work has potential therapeutic benefit as most of the drugs they are studying are over the counter drugs and are safe for patient use (cromolyn sodium and antihistamines).

Current Research funding:

  • NIDDK – 2 R01’s
  • VA Merit
  • VA Research Career Scientist
  • Special past funding:
  • PSC Partner’s Seeking a Cure

Awards/honors:

  • Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award, Sul Ross State University, March 2018
  • New Investigator of the Year – APS, 2016
  • American Association for Cancer Research- Warner Fund Scholar-in-Training Award recipient, 2008
  • Chair, NIH HBPP study section, 2020-2022
  • ASIP member, presented a number of talks/posters & participated in Hepatomania

Francis Lab

The Francis lab, led by Heather Francis, PhD, focuses on understanding and identifying target therapies for chronic and often fatal liver diseases. Cholangiopathies are diseases that target cholangiocytes and include diseases like Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC), Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) and Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA).