Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology

NCCIH Lecture: Dr. Alan Leshner on Communicating Science to the Public

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) presents:

Communicating Science to the Public: Follow the Science

Alan I. Leshner, PhD, Chief Executive Officer Emeritus at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, will speak about the need for engaging with the public about science and some of the lessons he’s learned, especially in communicating about controversial or contentious areas.

Thursday, October 19, 2017
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET
Lipsett Auditorium, Bldg. 10, NIH main campus

This lecture is open to the public and will be available via NIH Videocast (https://videocast.nih.gov/) and Facebook Live. There is no registration required.

Lecture Summary

Public understanding of science benefits both the public and the scientific enterprise. However, communicating science to the public is an acquired, not innate, skill, and it is particularly difficult and complex in domains like complementary and integrative health. Fortunately, there is a growing body of scientific evidence about what works and does not that can be used to increase the effectiveness of science communication efforts.

In his talk, Dr. Leshner will discuss the need to communicate science to the public and why it is difficult, share effective (and ineffective) approaches for engaging the public around science and provide insight into the research base for science communication and the nature of unanswered questions.

About Dr. Leshner

Alan I. Leshner is Chief Executive Officer Emeritus, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and former Executive Publisher of the Science family of journals. Before joining AAAS, Dr. Leshner was Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health. He also served as Deputy Director and Acting Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, and in several roles at the National Science Foundation.

Before joining the government, Dr. Leshner was Professor of Psychology at Bucknell University. Dr. Leshner is an elected fellow of AAAS, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Public Administration, and many others. He is a member and served on the governing Council of the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. He served two terms on the National Science Board, appointed first by President George W. Bush and then reappointed by President Barack Obama.

Dr. Leshner received PhD and MS degrees in physiological psychology from Rutgers University and an AB in psychology from Franklin and Marshall College. He has been awarded seven honorary Doctor of Science degrees.

Accommodations

Sign Language interpreters will be provided. Individuals with disabilities who need reasonable accommodations to participate in this event should contact Afomeya Agonafer at Afomeya.Agonafer@nih.gov or 301-435-6826 or via the Federal Relay at 1-800-877-8339.

This lecture is part of the NCCIH Integrative Medicine Research Lecture Series – https://nccih.nih.gov/IMLS.

Urban Disparity and Opportunity Research Fellow

The Kinder Institute for Urban Research is a multi-disciplinary “think-and-do tank” housed on the Rice University campus in central Houston, focusing on urban issues in Houston, the American Sun Belt, and around the world.

Under the supervision of the Director of Research Management, the UDO Research Fellow will be primarily responsible for conducting research and producing work products for the Urban Disparity and Opportunity program ( UDO ). The program studies the existence and causes of unequal opportunities for different social statuses within a society. Areas of research within the program include studies on inequality issues based on characteristics such as gender, race, and ethnicity, location in income and wealth, employment, social mobility, education, health, and community-engaged research. The UDO Research Fellow will conduct assigned tasks and produce final work products within project’s specified timeline and requirement. The UDO Research Fellow will assist the program director in shaping the overall research agenda, methods and dissemination of research, and collaborating with the communications team.

In the course of research, the UDO Research Fellow may be asked to join the program director for meetings with partner organizations and government representatives. In addition, the UDO Research Fellow will work with the research team at the Kinder Institute to prepare data sets and documentation following the standard data management practice.

This position is funded by a research grant; the appointment is expected to continue for a period no more than 24 months.

Neukom Fellows Program

The Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth College is pleased to announce the Neukom Postdoctoral Fellows competition for positions starting September 1, 2018.

Neukom Fellows are interdisciplinary positions for recent PhDs, DMAs, or MFAs whose research interests or practice cuts across traditional disciplinary boundaries, and has some computational component, whether it be a framing concept for intellectual exploration or an explicit part of the work that is pursued. The successful candidate should have a history of collaborative work across disciplines, but still show evidence of independence and initiative.

The Fellowships are two- to three-year appointments, with the third year extension considered upon request after a review early in the second year. Neukom Fellows will be mentored by faculty in two departments at Dartmouth College, take up residence in one department, and will teach one seminar course each year on a subject of their interest. Beyond that there are no additional duties. Neukom Fellow stipends are $60,000 for 2018-2019. Additional funds are available for equipment, travel, and research materials.

For information and application details: Application process page.

Application Deadline: November 15, 2017

Questions? Email Christine Alberga or call 603 646 8737

From Tactical to Practical: Translating Positive Heath Outcomes from Military Treatment to Civilian Care

“From Tactical to Practical”: Translating Positive Health Outcomes from Military Treatment to Civilian Care

Seth D. Messinger, Department of Rehabilitation, Uniform Services University of the Health Sciences; Affiliate Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Washington

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

3:30-4:50 PM, Kane Hall – Room 110

Abstract: One of the features that distinguish military orthopedic health care from its civilian counterparts is the resource base and open lengths of stay that military service-members and their dependents can rely upon when they are ill or injured. A key question that should occupy program administrators and policy makers is how to find ways to bring the positive health outcomes generated in military health care to civilian care settings both in the United States and elsewhere. The care provided by the US Armed Forces Amputee Patient Care Program is often presented by a parade of images of patients using their prosthetic devices to run, climb, scuba dive and other intensively physical activities. These images showcase the significant financial investments that military health care programs make in biotechnology devices. However, our research has found that three features of the program’s design continue to live on in the experiences of former patients who credit their current successes in life to: the enduring relationships they forged with key clinical providers; the routine access to their whole treatment team, and recovering alongside peers. What this presentation aims to demonstrate is that health outcomes that are often represented as an illustration of potential post-human futures are possible with careful attention to human centered design of health care programs.

Dr. Seth D. Messinger is a research scientist and faculty member in the Department of Rehabilitation at the Uniform Services University of the Health Sciences as well as an affiliate faculty member of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Washington. His research interests are grounded in understanding the afterlives of extremity trauma among former Walter Reed National Military Medical Center patients who sustained extremity trauma combat casualties during deployments to Afghanistan or Iraq. More narrowly he directs two projects on community life for former patients with these injuries and oversees the qualitative research of projects in evaluating a program designed to assist patients and former patients with sexual health and intimacy challenges after injury or illness, and in evaluating a program designed to provide PTSD care through training service animals. Outside of Walter Reed research, Dr Messinger is working with the FDA on a feasibility study about risk and reward of next generation prosthetic arm technology with sensory feedback capability. He is also collaborating on two new projects including one that seeks to understand the maternal health and parenting challenges for women with orthopedic and extremity trauma, and another that will look at the burden on children of living in families with traumatically injured parents. Messinger’s work has appeared in Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, Disability and Rehabilitation, Military Medicine, and the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine.

Next speaker: 25 October – Graham Pruss, PhD Candidate Department of Anthropology, University of Washington

“An Anthropology of Vehicle Residency in Seattle”

For more information about the MAGH lecture series, please contact coordinator Marieke van Eijk (mariev2@uw.edu)

Conflict, Violence, and Ethnicity: Pakhtunwali in the Conflict of Swat, Pakistan

Sociology Speaker Series

Conflict, Violence, and Ethnicity: Pakhtunwali in the Conflict of Swat, Pakistan

Syed Wasif Azim, University of Peshawar

Tuesday, October 24

12:00-1:30 PM, Savery 409

Conflict and violence, programed and on a high level can shatter lives and crush peculiar cultures of different groups. It also generates waves of ethnic profiling and hatred along with stereotypes of people considered as ‘violent’ and ‘security threats’.

This talk investigates the impacts of conflict and violence for ethnicity and ethnic identity in Swat, Pakhtun region of Pakistan. Theoretically, it attempts to break the ‘primodialism’ within ‘constructivism’ by proposing that the impacts of conflict and violence (any type) for ethnicity and ethnic identity are complex, contextual and multidimensional. Pakhtun ‘culture’ (Pakhtunwali) and ascribed aspects of Pakhtun ethnic identity will be discussed, based on over 80 open ended interviews, discussions and observations in the conflict-ridden region of Swat Pakistan.

Syed Wasif Azim is a Visiting Research scholar in the South Asia Center at the UW through a fellowship funded by Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan. He is a graduate student in the Department of Political Science, University of Peshawar, Pakistan. His PhD is also funded by the indigenous scholar¬ship of HEC Pakistan. His broader research area is the Pakhtun society of Pakistan. His focus includes ethnicity, conflict and sense of belonging in the region.

UW Data Science Career Fair

Multiple UW departments are working together to create this opportunity for undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs working in data science to connect with companies and research labs looking for permanent employees and summer interns in data science positions. Please register in advance for the event at this link.

The event will be open to students and postdocs as follows:

Starting at 12pm

Masters’ students in the interdisciplinary MS in Data Science program
MSIM students taking the Data Science specialization
PhD students taking the Data Science or Advanced Data Science Option in Computer Science & Engineering, Statistics, Biology, Oceanography, Astronomy, Genome Science, Chemical Engineering, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics or the iSchool
PhD students in the IGERT, BDGN and Clean Energy programs
Graduate students in the Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology certificate program
Postdocs funded by Moore/Sloan or WRF Data Science postdoctoral fellowships

Starting at 1pm

Undergraduates pursuing a Data Science Option through Computer Science & Engineering, ACMS, or the iSchool

Starting at 2pm

Additional students will be able to participate based on space availability

Information Sessions: David L. Boren Fellowship

The application for the 2018-2019 Boren Fellowship is now open.

INFORMATION SESSIONS:

In Person Sessions:
Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017, 4 p.m., Mary Gates Hall 171*
Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, 4 p.m., Mary Gates Hall 171
Friday, Nov. 17, 2017, 1:30 p.m., Mary Gates Hall 173R

*Presented by Michael Saffle from the Institute of International Education

Webinars:
Thursday, Oct. 24, 2017, 4:30 p.m.
Register for the Oct. 24 webinar

Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017, noon
Register for a webinar

The information sessions will cover eligibility requirements, basic award information, and tips for the application process.
In the meantime, graduate and professional students are welcome to contact gradappt@uw.edu with any questions.

David L. Boren Fellowship

David L. Boren Graduate Fellowships, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, provide unique funding opportunities for U.S. graduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests, and regions that are underrepresented in study abroad programs, including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America and the Middle East. The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are excluded.

Boren fellows represent a vital pool of highly motivated individuals who wish to work in the federal national security arena. In exchange for funding, Boren fellows commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation.

The fellowships provide up to $24,000 for overseas study. In addition, Boren Fellowships can provide limited funding for domestic language study to supplement the overseas component. The maximum award for a combined overseas and domestic program is $30,000.

Eligibility

Boren Fellowships are for graduate students. You are eligible to apply if you are:

A U.S. citizen at the time of application.
Either matriculated in or applying to a graduate degree program at an accredited college or university in the United States. Boren Fellows must remain matriculated in their graduate programs for the duration of the fellowship and may not graduate until the fellowship is complete.
Planning an overseas program that meets home institution standards in a country outside of Western Europe, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Boren Fellowships are not for study in the United States.

Application process

The application can now be completed online; be sure to select the University of Washington as your current institution. Applicants from the UW are not required but highly encouraged to submit application materials by the earlier campus deadline (see deadline above) and complete an in-person interview with a campus committee in January. Following the interview, applicants will have the opportunity to make revisions based on committee feedback before final applications are submitted to the national committee. The interview process is solely intended to provide applicants with additional support prior to submission.

Deadline Extended for CSDE’s Lightning Talks & Poster Session

The deadline to apply for CSDE’s Lightning Talks and Poster Presentation Session has been extended to October 20th! The event will take place on December 1, and is a great opportunity to practice presenting your research and receive feedback from an interdisciplinary set of scholars.

Eight applicants will be chosen to present a poster of their research and give a short (~2 minute) presentation of their work to CSDE students and faculty. Students at any stage in the research process are welcome to apply.

You can submit your application through the following link: https://goo.gl/forms/zpY48pTjJM2SIqYo1

We look forward to seeing your submissions! Feel free to reach out to Christine Leibbrand (leibbrce@gmail.com) with any questions you might have.

Postdoctoral Scholar or Associate Research Scholar

The Center for Science and Society at Columbia University invites applications for a postdoctoral research scholar/scientist or associate research scholar/scientist position to begin July 1, 2018.

Columbia University is pleased to announce up to three interdisciplinary postdoctoral positions in the Presidential Scholars in Society & Neuroscience program for researchers who have earned the doctorate, or its equivalent, in:

a humanities, arts, or social science discipline – such as psychiatry, psychology, public health, law, history, economics, literature, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, political science, journalism, music and the arts – and who have extensive acquaintance with, and critical understanding of, neuroscience research;OR
neuroscience or a related discipline in the natural sciences, and who have extensive acquaintance with, and critical understanding of, another discipline in the arts, humanities, or social sciences.

These Scholars will join an innovative program, Presidential Scholars in Society and Neuroscience, which includes up to nine existing postdoctoral research scholars and a large group of mentors and affiliated faculty from the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

To Apply

Review of applications will begin on November 27, 2017 and will continue until the positions are filled. Candidates must hold a doctoral-level degree (PhD, DPhil, EdD, JD, MD, etc.) by July 1, 2018, and must have received this degree after July 1, 2013.

Please visit Columbia University’s online application site for further information about this posting and to submit your application. All submissions must include a proposal for an interdisciplinary research project, and must be submitted via the online platform.