scholarly journals Can small institutes address some problems facing biomedical researchers?

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (21) ◽  
pp. 3267-3269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Sheetz
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Unfunded Mandates ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
Community Effort ◽  
Systemic Problems ◽  
The University ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

At a time of historically low National Institutes of Health funding rates and many problems with the conduct of research (unfunded mandates, disgruntled reviewers, and rampant paranoia), there is a concern that biomedical research as a profession is waning in the United States (see ”Rescuing US biomedical research from its systemic flaws” by Alberts and colleagues in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). However, it is wonderful to discover something new and to tackle tough puzzles. If we could focus more of our effort on discussing scientific problems and doing research, then we could be more productive and perhaps happier. One potential solution is to focus efforts on small thematic institutes in the university structure that can provide a stimulating and supportive environment for innovation and exploration. With an open-lab concept, there are economies of scale that can diminish paperwork and costs, while providing greater access to state-of-the-art equipment. Merging multiple disciplines around a common theme can catalyze innovation, and this enables individuals to develop new concepts without giving up the credit they deserve, because it is usually clear who did the work. Small institutes do not solve larger systemic problems but rather enable collective efforts to address the noisome aspects of the system and foster an innovative community effort to address scientific problems.

scholarly journals Understanding the human brain: A lifetime of dedicated pursuit

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenjie Xia
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Montreal Neurological Institute ◽  
Temporal Lobes ◽  
Important Landmark ◽  
Mcgill University ◽  
Distinguished Contribution ◽  
The University ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

As a pioneer in the field of neuropsychology, Dr. Brenda Milner has contributed to many important landmark discoveries in the study of memory and temporal lobes, the lateralization of hemispheric function in language, as well as the role of frontal lobes in problem-solving. She is a fellow of the Royal Society (London) and the Royal Society of Canada, and a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences (USA). She has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards throughout her career, the latest of which include the Donald O. Hebb Distinguished Contribution Award in 2001, the Neuroscience Award from the United States National Academy of Science in 2004 and the Gairdner Award in 2005. Dr. Milner received her undergraduate degree at the University of Cambridge in 1939 and completed her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Donald Hebb at McGill University in 1952. She joined the Montreal Neurological Institute in 1950 to work with Dr. Wilder Penfield. Dr. Milner is presently the Dorothy J. Killam Professor of Psychology at the Montreal Neurological Institute and the Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery of McGill University. I spent an afternoon with Dr. Milner on May 12th, 2006, where she shared with me her thoughts on her work, her perspective on the past and future of cognitive neuroscience, as well as her advice for students beginning in research.

scholarly journals A Conversation with Jacob Nachmias

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Jacob Nachmias ◽  
J. Anthony Movshon ◽  
Brian A. Wandell ◽  
David H. Brainard
Keyword(s):  
Signal Detection Theory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Harvard University ◽  
University Of Pennsylvania ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Swarthmore College ◽  
Cornell University ◽  
The University ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

We are sad to report that Professor Jacob (Jack) Nachmias passed away on March 2, 2019. Nachmias was born in Athens, Greece, on June 9, 1928. To escape the Nazis, he and his family came to the United States in 1939. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and then an MA from Swarthmore College, where he worked with Hans Wallach and Wolfgang Kohler; his PhD in Psychology was from Harvard University. Nachmias spent the majority of his career as a Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. He made fundamental contributions to our understanding of vision, most notably through the study of eye movements, the development of signal detection theory and forced-choice psychophysical methods, and the psychophysical characterization of spatial-frequency-selective visual channels. Nachmias' work was recognized by his election to the National Academy of Sciences and receipt of the Optical Society's Tillyer Award.

Otto Meyerhof, 1884 - 1951

1954 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-200 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nobel Prize ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Artistic Development ◽  
School Life ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Long Period ◽  
University Of Edinburgh ◽  
The University ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Foreign Member

Otto Meyerhof was born on 12 April 1884 in Berlin and died in Philadelphia on 6 October 1951 at the age of 67; he was the son of Felix Meyerhof, who was born in 1849 at Hildesheim, and Bettina Meyerhof, nee May, born in 1862 in Hamburg; both his father and grandfather had been in business. An elder sister and two younger brothers died long before him. In 1923 he shared the Nobel prize for Physiology (for 1922) with A. V. Hill. He received an Hon. D.C.L. in 1926 from the University of Edinburgh, was a Foreign Member (1937) of the Royal Society of London, an Hon. Member of the Harvey Society and of Sigma XI. In 1944 he was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. Otto Meyerhof went through his school life up to the age of 14 without delay, but there is no record that he was then brilliant. When he was 16 he developed some kidney trouble, which caused a long period of rest in bed. This period of seclusion seems to have been responsible for a great mental and artistic development. Reading constantly he matured perceptibly, and in the autumn of 1900 was sent to Egypt on the doctor’s advice for recuperation.

Mathematics, Peace, and the Cold War

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 556-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brit Shields
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
New York University ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Political Role ◽  
Exchange Program ◽  
Mathematical Sciences ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

This paper seeks to combine studies of émigré scientists, Cold War American science, and cultural histories of mathematical communities by analyzing Richard Courant’s participation in the National Academy of Sciences interacademy exchange program with the Soviet Union in the 1960s. Following his dismissal by the Nazi government from his post as Director of the Göttingen Mathematics Institute in 1933, Courant spent a year at the University of Cambridge, and then immigrated to the United States where he developed the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. Courant’s participation with the National Academy of Sciences interacademy exchange program at the end of his career highlights his ideologies about the mathematics discipline, the international mathematics community, and the political role mathematicians could play in contributing to international peace through scientific diplomacy. Courant’s Cold War scientific identity emerges from his activities as an émigré mathematician, institution builder, and international “ambassador.”

Diabetic Data Warehouses

2011 ◽  
pp. 359-363
Author(s):  
Joseph L. Breault
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Massive Data ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Massive Data Sets ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Indicator Variables ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences convened in 1995 for a conference on massive data sets. The presentation on health care noted that “massive applies in several dimensions . . . the data themselves are massive, both in terms of the number of observations and also in terms of the variables . . . there are tens of thousands of indicator variables coded for each patient” (Goodall, 1995, paragraph 18). We multiply this by the number of patients in the United States, which is hundreds of millions.

Contrastive Analysis of Hedges in a Sample of Chinese and English Molecular Biology Papers

2004 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-493
Author(s):  
Xiaofang Gao
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Molecular Biology ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Contextual Analysis ◽  
Contrastive Analysis ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Chinese And English

Hedge is defined as the expression of provisionalness and possibility that makes scientific messages tentative, vague, and imprecise, thereby reducing the force of claims scientists make. Linguistic study of hedges began in the early 1970s in generative semantics. Since then, the focus has shifted from seeking linguistic properties in spoken discourse to analyzing its pragmatic functions in written contextual communication. The purpose of this paper was to analyze hedges in Chinese and English scientific articles from the perspective of contrastive pragmatics. Based on a contextual analysis of 5 Chinese and 5 English scientific articles, selected randomly, from two journals in molecular biology— Science in China and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, there were significant differences between Chinese and English scientific articles in use of hedges.

scholarly journals Valentine Louis Telegdi. 11 January 1922 — 8 April 2006

2009 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 291-304
Author(s):  
Laurie M. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Academic Career ◽  
University Of Chicago ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Wolfgang Pauli ◽  
Electromagnetic Interactions ◽  
Federal Institute ◽  
Experimental Physicist ◽  
Institute Of Technology ◽  
The University ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

Valentine Telegdi was an outstandingly original experimental physicist who contributed greatly to our understanding of the weak and electromagnetic interactions of elementary particles. Outspoken and colourful in expression, Telegdi (usually called ‘Val’) had the reputation of being a ‘conscience of physics’, known for his incisive and sometimes acerbic wit. In this respect he was reminiscent of Wolfgang Pauli, one of his teachers, whom he greatly admired. However, Val could be warm and caring to friends, professional associates and students. After receiving his doctorate from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich in 1950, he began his academic career at the University of Chicago in 1951, and his reputation grew rapidly. In 1968 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. In 1972 the University of Chicago appointed him as the first Enrico Fermi Distinguished Service Professor of Physics.

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