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SpeakerPelosi: I will be calling the House back into session early next week to save teachers' jobs and help seniors & children #FMAP

This tweet came across the @NV4Research feed just a little while ago and definitely caught our attention. Anyone who works in the DC metro area knows that the level of activity in the city trends pretty well with the level of activity on Capitol Hill (also with the amount of traffic). So it could be a big deal that the House of Representatives will continue to be in session next week instead of out in their districts as previously planned.

We weren't sure what FMAP was, so we looked it up. Federal Medical Assistance Percentages. They're an annual requirement for the Secretary of HHS, so what makes them so special this year? Also, how will they save teachers' jobs?

The New York Times does a good job covering the story and explaining how more funding for Medicaid and medical programs for states means that they can divert funding to supporting teachers and other municipal jobs.

The question now is: will this be the only thing they do? Or will they try to get some other bills passed before heading back to their districts?

Upcoming Congressional Town Hall Meetings

August recess is upon us again, and there's no better time to connect with your members of Congress than when they're in your backyard. The following are some of the members of Congress having town halls, listening sessions, or scheduled one-on-one constituent meetings between now and Labor Day.

Not sure which of these fine folks represent you? Got to yourcongressyourhealth.org, put in your zipcode and check it out! Also, this is by no means a comprehensive list, so check for more events in your area.

Alabama
Rep. Bobby Bright

Arkansas
Rep. Mike Ross

California
Rep. Sam Farr
Rep. Mike Honda
Rep. Dan Lungren
Rep. Ed Royce
Rep. Mike Thompson

Colorado
Rep. Jared Polis

Connecticut
Rep. Jim Himes
Rep. John Larson

Idaho
Sen. Mike Crapo

Illinois
Rep. Judy Biggert
Rep. Danny Davis
(check out Davis' responses to Your Congress-Your Health
and Your Candidates-Your Health)

Louisiana
Rep. Joseph Cao

Maryland
Rep. Donna Edwards

Minnesota
Rep. Keith Ellison

Montana
Rep. Denny Rehberg

Nebraska
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry
Rep. Adrian Smith
New Jersey
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen
Rep. Leonard Lance
Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr.

New Mexico
Rep. Martin Heinrich

New York
Rep. Anthony Weiner

North Carolina
Rep. Patrick McHenry

Oklahoma
Rep. Frank Lucas

Oregon
Rep. Peter DeFazio

South Carolina
Rep. Gresham Barrett

Texas
Rep. Joe Barton
Rep. Kevin Brady
Rep. Michael Burgess
Rep. John Culberson
Rep. Pete Olson

Virginia
Rep. Tom Perriello

Wisconsin
Rep. Ron Kind

The Battle Has Just Begun

Despite the seeming victory in March over health care reform, the battle is far from over. There are many states and members of Congress still fighting hard to disable the act signed into law by President Obama on March 23rd of this year. Supporters of the law need to be working just as hard to keep it alive as they did before it was passed.

The first thing threatening health care reform right now is many states and their Attorneys General in particular (including Virginia’s own Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II) who have filed lawsuits to challenge the new law. Virginia is one of more than twenty states whose attorneys general have filed lawsuits trying to prevent parts of the health care law from being implemented.

Virginia’s lawsuit was the first to pass any legal test yesterday, when it succeeded in not being thrown out before it even reached a hearing. U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson declared that the law “radically changes the landscape of health insurance coverage in America” and that the case will be heard starting on October 18th.

The health care law is being attacked from another side as well. Many Republicans in Congress, as well as those who are hoping to win seats this November are trying a different tactic. They have pledged to try and win back the House in an effort to de-fund the new law, or at least the sections they find most troubling.

However many parts of the law are already receiving funding and it might be harder to prevent those parts from continuing. That hasn’t stopped nearly 120 candidates for Congress from promising to try and stop funding for as much of the health care reform as they can (they have signed a pledge at DefundIt.org).

Supporters of health care reform must do their best to make sure these measures are not successful. Particularly do as much as they can to support and encourage others' support of candidates who will fully fund health care reform and help the 30 million without care that will be covered by this law.

How To: Deliver an Elevator Pitch

Comic credit: zoitz

30 seconds to say who you are, what you do, why it's important. It just doesn't seem like enough time, does it?

An elevator pitch - or a pitch about yourself that you could deliver in the length of an elevator ride - is a great tool to have prepared for quick encounters. A good elevator pitch will include three key elements:

1. Your name. No kidding, please don't forget this part.
   
2. What you do. This should not be confused with your job title. "What you do" is a description of your goal or tasks.
3. Why it matters to the other person in the elevator.

The reason why the elevator pitch is so successful is because it not only tells who you are but it connects you to your audience (via part 3) and opens up the door for further conversation and questions. It's important to remember that elevator pitches:

• Do not have to be used in elevators alone. They are a great tool for use at social gatherings, conferences, when you're introduced to someone in a hurry, or really anytime you need to get started with an introduction.
• Do not need to take the full 30 seconds.
• Should be in simple, easy to understand terms that anyone can comprehend.

Practice makes perfect, so think about your 3 step pitch guide and use this 30 second timer to see if yours is brief enough.



How'd you do? We want to hear/read your elevator pitches! Add your 30 second (or less) self-promo in the comments section. Also, if you have any questions or can't think of a good way to simplify what you do, let us know. Think what you do is too complicated for 30 seconds? We're ready for the challenge.

The Greco Lab at Yale

This week in Images from the Lab we're taking a peek inside the Greco Lab at Yale University. The principal investigator, Valentina Greco, PhD, and her students work on studying stem cells in the hair follicles of mice.

The Greco Lab at Yale University

A bench in the lab where stem cells in the hair of mice are studied.

Hot water baths, kept at 37 degrees Celsius.

Cell culture hood with UV light on. The UV light is turned on when no one is using the hood to kill anything inside and keep everything sterile.

A centrifuge (left) and an incubator for cell cultures (right)

Thanks goes out to Elizabeth Deschene for providing these images. Come back next week for more images from the Greco Lab, including a closer look at their microscopy techniques.

We want to see images from your workspace too! Email hbenson at researchamerica.org to share your photos in New Voices Images from Around the Lab.

More with Elyse Walker, Marine Scientist

Photo credit: Florian Koch

Last week, we introduced Elyse Walker, a PhD student with Dr. Christopher Gobler in the Gobler Lab at Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. Today we're sharing the second half of that two-part interview.

NV: How did you get to where you are today?

Elyse: I have taken an unusual path. I learned about phytoplankton while volunteering at a local marine science center in 8th grade and decided then that I wanted to study them for the rest of my life. I looked up scientific articles, starting with easier-to-read journals like Science and Nature.

When choosing an undergraduate school I looked for marine science programs that supported undergraduate research and had multiple faculty that studied phytoplankton. I started working in a lab as a freshman and worked in 3 different labs at my university, as well as doing 3 summer internships, during my degree. Through working on a variety of questions about phytoplankton in those labs and internships I decided that harmful algal blooms are the best focus for my research right now.

NV: Who is your scientific role model?

Elyse: This is a hard question for me. I have had a lot of role models along the way, but always cherry pick what I like about any individual. I want to emulate how my Ph.D. advisor works with local governments to do monitoring and does interviews for journalists frequently to publish about our research.

I'm inspired by Sonya Dyhrman, who collaborated with Whyville, a youth educational game website, to add in harmful algal blooms to the game. I would love to work with the group at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute who developed the Environmental Sample Processor, which can be deployed long term to detect harmful algae species and/or their toxins in coastal waters in real time.

I have also been encouraged by a few mentors who balance their work and family life extremely well.

NV: What one thing would you change about the culture of science?

Elyse: I wish that the scientific method was more broadly applied in daily life. I think people could improve their understanding of the world around them, and their quality of life, if they understood basic principles and applied them regularly. For example, while doing a regular commute in a temperate climate, I tested the fuel efficiency of using a/c versus open windows at different speeds to help guide my a/c use in the long term. This seems crazy to most people, but the knowledge I gained empirically has saved me a lot of money over the years.

NV: What's the most common misconception about scientists?

Elyse: I haven't really experienced any misconceptions. I am trying to introduce myself as a "scientist" rather than a "graduate student" and the response is usually, "I have never met a scientist before! Tell me about what you do." This offers a great opportunity to tell people about phytoplankton in general, and sometimes harmful algal blooms, too.

NV: What's your next step after you complete your degree?

Elyse: My long term plan is to start a harmful algae monitoring, research, and education program. I want to monitor local marine and freshwater locations for harmful algal blooms and notify the public of their occurrence (through website updates and occasional newsletters). I will simultaneously do research with both natural samples collected during monitoring and laboratory cultures to learn more about the causes and effects of harmful algal blooms. Finally, I hope to design educational displays for aquariums and science centers about local harmful algal blooms and their impact. I'm not sure where or how I will achieve this goal yet, but I have a few years to figure it out.


Thank you to Elyse for giving us her time via email so we could learn more about her and her career.

This is part of the ongoing Profiling New Voices series.

Public Speaking Tips

Today New Voices tackles one of America's greatest fears: public speaking.

Ryan's three tips
Practice
It's normal to be nervous public speaking and my best advice is just to keep doing it. While this tip might not help much for any individual talk, every time you step in front of people to speak, it gets easier.

Prepare
If you have a serious complex about giving a specific talk, write down what you want to say for each slide. The act of thinking through your message for every slide and putting in on paper will help you organize your thoughts and might calm you a bit as well.

Feed your audience
Here's a nontraditional tip that works: if you can provide food, even just a plate of cookies or fruit and some coffee, do it. Something about speaking to an audience chomping and chewing makes them seem non threatening. Be forewarned - if you feed them too much, they will inevitably fall asleep afterward.

Alissa's advice on slowing down
The hardest part of presenting, at least for me, is speaking at a pace that the audience can understand. It is easy to get too nervous or excited and start rushing through your talk, frantic to get to the end. However, people tune out fast or incoherent speech, so they won't listen to or retain anything you say.

So in order to make sure you get your point across, follow these rules to speak at a good pace for your listeners:

• Breathe. It seems obvious, but taking some deep breaths before your presentation and between sentences can help you slow down if you're getting ahead of yourself.
• Look people in the eye when you're speaking. This way you can see if people are understanding what you're saying and slow down if they aren't.
• Take a pause. Pausing between phrases allows your audience to absorb and make sense of what you're saying, and helps you make your point.

Heather's keys to staying still
When it comes to public speaking, I find presentations to small, intimate groups of people I know MUCH harder to speak to than rooms with 1,000 listeners (I’m guessing this has something to do with my theater background). My biggest issue has always been fidgeting. I’m of Italian heritage and talking with my hands comes pretty naturally to me – especially if I’m nervous. To keep from flailing all over the place, I try to rest my hands on the edges of the podium in front of me. If I don’t have a podium, I try to not carry pages of notes. Papers make noise in motion; so if there has to be something in my hands, it’s going to be note cards.

Also, if you find that your legs are as fidgety as your arms, slide one foot just slightly forward so they are a bit staggered. (I find placing the ball of one foot at the midpoint of the other to be least obvious and most functional.) This prevents you from rocking (unless you want to fall over) and gives you a stance to come back to if you are prone to pacing. The pictures below demonstrate what I mean: the left shows balanced even feet and the right shows how to simply slide one foot back a few inches. Staggered feed will make a huge difference in how you can (or can't) move while presenting.

Thanks to our New Voices co-blogger Emily for demonstrating!

What tips would you give to burgeoning public speakers? What is the most difficult thing for you to overcome when public speaking?

Do we really have to talk about this?

Yes, we have to. Today’s post focuses on a topic that no one really likes to talk about. It makes men uncomfortable and women anxious and apprehensive. The topic of the day is mammography.

Few women look forward to having the uncomfortable procedure, but for years women, beginning at age forty, have given in and started getting them annually. However, last fall, the US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF), changed their recommendations and said women didn’t have to start getting mammograms until age 50, and then only biennially.

Their decision sparked outcries from both sides of the issue. Many cancer groups, including the American Cancer Society, vehemently disagreed with their new standards, while other groups, like the National Breast Cancer Coalition, praised the decision, saying it will allow for focus on finding more effective methods of detection and prevent excessive treatment. The decision and backlash, overall, left many women not knowing what to do in their own lives.

The Coalition for Life Sciences held a briefing on Wednesday discussing this issue, and the speaker, Dr. Ann Partridge, MD, MPH, a clinical breast cancer researcher at The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, explained how the decision was made, and what she thought women should do for themselves given this new information.

First, she discussed that the USPSTF had made its decision by reviewing the literature pertaining to mammograms given to women under age 50. The studies showed a slight improvement in mortality rates from breast cancer with annual testing from 39-49 but also greater discomfort, lower accuracy, and much higher false positive rate with the test in this age range. The studies also showed no discernible difference in mortality with biennial testing as compared to annual testing.

Given all the downsides, she said, the task force chose to stop recommending the procedure for women in this age group. However, she emphasized that this is a choice each woman needs to make with her doctor on a personal level. She should decide when to start getting mammograms and how often based on family history, possible risk, past health issues, and her own personal belief in the test.

No woman, Dr. Partridge confirmed, should feel like she cannot get the test if she wants it. It is a personal choice and the task force was merely saying that the risks might outweigh the benefits for women in their 40s, and that these women should make their own decision. So, women, talk to your doctor and make sure you understand these new standards, and make whatever decision is best for you.

One concern however, was that in some of the studies, even when assigned to the group to be tested annual, only 70% of the women got tested, meaning 30% did not. So if those who voluntarily sign up for studies don't get tested when they are told to, what does it mean for the rest of us? Will this more lenient recommendation severely lower the rate at which women get tested? Tell us what you think in the comments.

Charm, Competition, and Communication

In the early 90’s, administrators at MIT realized that many of its students, while brilliant, were socially challenged. The bastion of engineering was producing geniuses that couldn’t give a decent handshake, talk to strangers, or dress reasonably. The solution? Charm School.

The university offered students the opportunity to fill any social holes that might have developed as a byproduct of possessing a superior technical intellect. The program was deemed a huge a success, and now in its 17th year, is popular and thriving.

Science researchers are another smart group that suffers from social deficits – namely the ability to communicating the importance of their work to those outside their fields. Should they be required to attend “Communication School”?

In 2007 there was a push from Congress to require scientists to do exactly that. The America Competes Act, which was a bill that intended to funnel big bucks to research powerhouses like the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, and the Dept of Energy, contained provisions requiring graduate students “to be trained in the communication of the substance and importance of their research to non-scientist audiences”. While the 2007 Competes Act made it through both houses of Congress, and was signed by the President, select pieces of it were not funded during appropriations. One of the casualties was the science communication training.

The science outreach community was disappointed by the 2007 Competes Act, and hoped for a chance of redemption this year when the 2010 America Competes Act was being written. Unfortunately, any language concerning communicating to non-science audiences is conspicuously absent in the 2010 version. Nearly all of the outreach wording in the 2010 Competes Act specifically focuses on energy, STEM education, and commercial applications of research - a sign of the times.

There may be a glimmer of hope. For some time, NSF has required researchers to address the broader impact of their research when applying for grant money. It is unclear exactly how much weight is placed up this review criteria but applicants are supposed to emphasis how the work benefits society and/or broadens dissemination of scientific and technological understanding. This is a good start and there are murmurs the NIH will soon follow suit and require similar activities from their grant applicants.

It may seem like an impossible feat to get scientists communicating about their work, but if the students at MIT's Charm School can learn Israeli folk dance, surely scientists can learn to do a better job of explaining why people should care about their research.

Pipetting at Harvard

Azucena Ramos pipetting in a lab at Harvard.

Thank you Azucena! We want to see images from your workspace too! Email hbenson at researchamerica.org to share your photos in New Voices Images from Around the Lab.