The West Virginia University program in Women’s and Gender Studies (WGST; https://womensgenderstudies.wvu.edu/) invites applications for a faculty position at the rank of Service Assistant Professor. This position is for the 9-month academic year with a 3-month summer assignment. The preferred start date is July 1, 2020. Service faculty appointments at WVU are full-time, promotable, and non-tenure track.
The Service Assistant Professor normally will teach two courses per semester, including online courses, with the remainder of the appointment dedicated to administrative service as Assistant Director of Undergraduate Education to support our major, minor, and an LGBTQ+ Studies minor. This position requires a regular presence on the Morgantown campus.
WVU (https://www.wvu.edu/) is a comprehensive land-grant university that enrolls about 29,000 students. It is classified as “R1-very high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation. WVU is located in Morgantown (www.morgantownwv.gov) within 1.5 hours of Pittsburgh and 3.5 hours from the Washington/Baltimore area. Morgantown has been recognized as one of the most livable small cities in the U.S. There are extensive recreational opportunities, excellent public schools, and a supportive University environment in which to develop a visible and productive career. The WVU Dual Career Program is available to assist candidates with suitable employment opportunities for spouses or partners.
With official social distancing measures implemented, people are witnessing their many implications—from the economy to healthcare. Also implicated is education with students and educators bearing significant burdens. CSDE Affiliate LaShawnDa Pittman was featured in The Seattle Times in a recent article on the challenges of teaching college courses online. Pittman is an assistant professor of American Ethnic Studies, where her classes are smaller and require a sense of community among students. This kind of learning environment faces special challenges in an online venue. For example, her 18-student seminar-style class on health disparities and African American women this quarter is specifically designed for intimate discussion.
The Seattle Times article quotes Pittman when she explains how she plans to build such a community – by asking her students to “come with your coffee, come in your pajamas, come with your pet.” You can read the full article here.
Please note, you can learn more about Dr. Pittman’s research when she will be a speaker during the CSDE Seminar Series on May 1 where she will present “When the Ends Don’t Meet: The Economic Survival Strategies of African American Grandmothers Raising Their Grandchildren“
This Friday, CSDE will host a panel on the coronavirus and its implications. The panel will consist of CSDE affiliates from various disciplines. Here is the line-up of panelists:
- Ann Bostrom, UW Evans School of Public and Governance
- Nicole Errett, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences at the UW School of Public Health
- Steven Goodreau, UW Department of Anthropology
Last week, CSDE Affiliate Ali Mokdad discussed the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s (IHME) Covid-19 prediction models for multiple news sources such as a segment on KIRO Radio’s My Northwest, FOX 9 KMSP, and WMFE Radio. In the My Northwest segment, Mokdad explains how, for the first time, the models are beginning to predict that mortality rates will start to slow and that “the worst is behind us as a country…” A key reason for this prediction is a function of how the model is incorporating the impact of social distancing, and how thousands of individuals in the US starting distancing before official measures were in place. Mokdad is now working on a new “model detailing when we can reopen the economy.”
In November 2019, the National Institute of Health (NIH) issued a new statement on diversity that will be included on all FOAs effective immediately. This diversity statement was informed by a literature review, the reports and deliberations of several internal NIH committees, as well as input from Institute and Center officials, program staff and external stakeholders. The NIH overview statement follows:
Every facet of the United States scientific research enterprise—from basic laboratory research to clinical and translational research to policy formation–requires superior intellect, creativity and a wide range of skill sets and viewpoints. NIH’s ability to help ensure that the nation remains a global leader in scientific discovery and innovation is dependent upon a pool of highly talented scientists from diverse backgrounds who will help to further NIH’s mission.
Research shows that diverse teams working together and capitalizing on innovative ideas and distinct perspectives outperform homogenous teams. Scientists and trainees from diverse backgrounds and life experiences bring different perspectives, creativity, and individual enterprise to address complex scientific problems. There are many benefits that flow from a diverse NIH-supported scientific workforce, including: fostering scientific innovation, enhancing global competitiveness, contributing to robust learning environments, improving the quality of the research, advancing the likelihood that underserved or health disparity populations participate in, and benefit from health research, and enhancing public trust.
For more details visit the NIH Statement.
CSDE Affiliate Martina Morris was quoted in a NYT article about how the novel Coronavirus infection spreads and why some people are more infectious. Morris points out in the article that there are two factors at play. “There has to be a link between people in order to transmit an infection, … while that link is necessary it is not sufficient.” The second factor is how infectious is a person. We rarely have independent data on those two factors, which can lead to misattribution and substantial social risks.
The purpose of this Notice of Special Interest is to encourage innovative health services research that can directly and demonstrably contribute to the improvement of minority health and/or the reduction of health disparities at the health care system-level as well as within clinical settings. This will be an R01. It has certain specific interests depending on the funding agency. Read the full announcement: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-MD-20-011.html.
Submission deadline: 1 June 2020. Conference dates: September 10-11, 2020, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. This conference will provide new and experienced researchers with a forum to present preliminary results and to obtain comments and feedback from experienced PSID data users and PSID study staff. Submissions are welcome on any topic, from researchers in any field, that use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics or its supplements. A total of 20 to 25 papers will be accepted for the conference, either for presentation or as posters. Call for papers: psid.org/CallForPapers. Submissions: psid.org/Conference.
The Population Health Initiative has launched a COVID-19 rapid response grant program to support the University of Washington research community in quickly responding to the vast array of population health-related challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Awards of up to $20,000 each are available. The initiative will fund at least five grants, with one of the awards supported by the university’s Office of Global Affairs. The period of performance for these awards is four months. Applications are due on April 16, 2020. The purpose of this funding call is to rapidly accelerate, or jumpstart, novel research designed to better understand or mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on multiple facets of life. The call is broad in scope, and applications can propose interventions in areas including, but not limited to, the following:
- Basic research/understanding the fundamental mechanisms of the virus
- Basic research on population dynamics and social contexts influencing infection spread and containment
- Diagnostics
- Treatments
- Approaches to rapidly scaling production of personal protective or essential equipment like ventilators
- Preparing for effective mass immunization once a vaccine becomes available
- Economic and social impacts and recovery approaches, including addressing issues of equity
- Mental health impacts
- Risk communications/flow of information/impact of communicating interventions like social distancing/other communication
Project ideas can be proposed that will either (1) quickly bring to bear new knowledge, or (2) that will allow work on a larger, longer-term project to begin immediately as the project team continues to seek the necessary external funding for the bigger component.
Applicants are encouraged to propose projects involving interdisciplinary collaborations as the initiative views such partnerships as being critical to improving health and well-being.
Register now for the best high quality training in practical resistance. Learn: Protesting While Social Distancing, Organizing Mutual Aid Networks Online, Virtual Organizing 101 and so much more!