Bit by the Research Bug: Priscilla ’s Growth as a Scientist
This is the third post in a new series highlighting NIGMS’ efforts toward developing a robust, diverse and well-trained scientific workforce.
Credit: Christa Reynolds.
Priscilla Del Valle
Academic Institution: The University of Texas at El Paso
Major: Microbiology
Minors: Sociology and Biomedical Engineering
Mentor: Charles Spencer
Favorite Book: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot
Favorite Food: Tacos
Favorite music: Pop
Hobbies: Reading and drinking coffee
It’s not every day that you’ll hear someone say, “I learned more about parasites, and I thought, ‘This is so cool!’” But it’s al...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - March 28, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Christa Reynolds Tags: Being a Scientist Bacteria BUILD Infectious Diseases Profiles Training Source Type: blogs
What Experts in Law and Medicine Have to Say About the Cost of Drugs
By ANDY ORAM
Pharmaceutical drug costs impinge heavily on consumers’ consciousness, often on a monthly basis, and have become such a stress on the public that they came up repeatedly among both major parties during the U.S. presidential campaign–and remain a bipartisan rallying cry. A good deal of the recent conference named Health Law Year in P/Review, at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, covered issues with a bearing on drug costs. It’s interesting to take the academic expertise from that conference–and combine it with a bit of commo...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 2, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Andy Oram Drug Pricing Pharma Source Type: blogs
The Framework Convention On Global Health: A Call For Leadership From The Global Health Trio
In the current issue of Health Affairs, we explore a pivotal moment of opportunity and peril in global health, while identifying the leadership challenges of “the global health trio” — the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and the World Bank. Each of the challenges we pose share a common thread: poor and other marginalized populations are most vulnerable to current and emerging health risks. Maternal and child mortality, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, health harms from climate change, and mass migration — all disproportionately affect those who are poor and less educated, indig...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - January 12, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: Eric A. Friedman and Lawrence O. Gostin Tags: Featured Global Health Policy Public Health antimicrobial resistance Ebola Source Type: blogs
Global Health Policy: A Health Affairs Resource Hub
While many readers are familiar with Health Affairs’ content focused on the many facets of health and health care in the United States, we also publish extensively on global health policy.
Global Health Policy
In any given year, Health Affairs publishes about 45 peer-reviewed global health policy articles in the journal, including at least one full theme issue on a topic in global health policy. In 2016, for example, we published a special issue featuring some of the latest global research on vaccines. Add to all that the frequent commentary and analysis taking place on Health Affairs Blog with the aim of promoting a...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - December 23, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: Health Affairs Tags: Elsewhere@ Health Affairs Global Health Policy Source Type: blogs
Countries Transitioning From Donor Health Aid: We Need A Common Research Agenda And Mechanisms For Action
Large numbers of countries that have achieved middle-income status are in the process of transitioning away from significant donor aid that they have been receiving for their health programs in recent years — notably in the areas of AIDS, tuberculosis, and vaccine-preventable illnesses, but also in other domains such as family planning. External financial and technical support to these countries is being gradually withdrawn. Millions of lives are in the balance. This is going to be one of the top issues in global health over the coming decade, as the ground shifts profoundly.
Yet neither countries nor donors are well...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - November 4, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: Robert Hecht and Sara Bennett Tags: Featured Global Health Policy HIV/AIDS vaccines Source Type: blogs
The Dangerous Expansion of Adult Vaccinations
Conclusion
The vaccination comprises a misguided and unsafe national health care program which claims to prevent disease. Many significant health injuries are associated with vaccinating adults. Government resources are being spent researching and developing new and different vaccinations. Subjecting adults to more vaccinations is likely to cause more health injury and illness.
References:
http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/2012/07/05/herd-immunity…
http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/overview/
http://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/2011/02/18/60-lab-studies…
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/adult.html
http:...
Source: vactruth.com - September 10, 2016 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Michelle Goldstein Tags: Logical Michelle Goldstein Recent Articles Top Stories adult vaccination adult vaccines new vaccines shingles vaccine truth about vaccines Source Type: blogs
Is Bill Gates a Humanitarian, Villain or Misguided Man?
Conclusion
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated money to 100 countries and the United States with their stated objective to improve education and world health. Investor Warren Buffet is a primary contributor to the foundation. Some of the foundation’s programs target schools, farmers, and sanitation needs, all worthy causes.
One of their primary programs, with significant funding, has included vaccination programs focused on developing countries. These vaccine initiatives have resulted in documented deaths and injuries for thousands of previously healthy children.
Are Melinda and Bill Gates simply misguided ...
Source: vactruth.com - July 16, 2016 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Michelle Goldstein Tags: Logical Michelle Goldstein Top Stories Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation truth about vaccines Vaccine Death Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, April 25th 2016
This study offers one useful data point, as the authors describe a genetic alteration that can boost the supply of new immune cells in old mice. The decline in that supply with age is one of the factors leading to poor immune function - and that means more than just vulnerability to infections, as the immune system is also responsible for destroying potentially cancerous and senescent cells, as well as clearing out forms of damaged proteins and unwanted metabolic waste. Various possibilities for increasing the number of new immune cells already exist in principle, such as regenerating the thymus, or cell therapies in which...
Source: Fight Aging! - April 24, 2016 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Funding Zika But Forgetting Tuberculosis
On February 8, the day before the White House sent its Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 budget request to Congress, President Obama requested $1.8 billion in emergency funding to respond to the Zika virus at home and abroad. The World Health Organization (WHO) has proclaimed Zika a “public health emergency of international concern,” and governments have been in panic mode. But while there is certainly sufficient cause for alarm, let us not forget another grave threat to public health, which kills 4,400 people every single day and receives relatively little focus: Tuberculosis (TB).
TB has now surpassed HIV/AIDS as the leading cau...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - March 24, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: True Claycombe Tags: Costs and Spending Featured Global Health Public Health 2017 budget infectious disease Obama TB tuberculosis USAID WHO Source Type: blogs
A behind the scenes peek at BioMed Central publishing roles
What is your science background?
Ben: My main research interest has always been viruses, which started during my undergraduate degree in virology at the University of Warwick. I then spent four years researching influenza virus for my doctoral research at the University of Reading. After this I moved on to a postdoc position at Imperial College London to test safer smallpox vaccines.
Ripu: I have a PhD in human genetics specializing in human diversity and evolution in sub-Saharan African. I also have a Master’s degree in Medical Parasitology and a Diploma in infectious diseases, and while studying for these two degrees, ...
Source: BioMed Central Blog - February 11, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Dana Berry Tags: Biology Health Medicine #moretoscience careers early career researchers PhD Science>Careers Source Type: blogs
Will the Pharmaceutical Industry Learn From Past Mistakes?
By SOEREN MATTKE, MD
Awash in negative headlines, public condemnation and government scrutiny, the pharmaceutical industry faces a public relations problem that, left untreated, could bring new regulations or sanctions either from governments or the courts. At the same time, though, the recent scandals over price gouging could offer an opportunity for responsible, research-based companies to distance themselves from the profiteers.
The industry has come under fire at a time of unprecedented innovation. As a physician who trained in the 1990s, I am in awe of the recent breakthroughs. Immuno-oncology drugs like Keytruda (pem...
Source: The Health Care Blog - January 22, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Simon Nath Tags: THCB Soeren Mattke Source Type: blogs
Yet More Breakthroughs in Science and Technology
Here is yet another installment in the series on incremental change in science and technology. As ever, check out data on the improving state of the world at www.humanprogress.org.
Prawn Sex-Change Boosts Yields
Male prawns grow faster and get to be 60% larger than female prawns. As such, they are more economically valuable. By slicing the prawn genome, scientists from the Ben Gurion University found, it is possible to generate all-male populations of prawns. In trials, female prawns were injected with a molecule that silenced certain genes thus allowing for all-male prawn yields. This method eliminates the need f...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 23, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Marian L. Tupy Source Type: blogs
Is ProPublica the Paul Revere of Transparency?
By SAURABH JHA, MD
Recently, I was speaking with a “less is more” advocate. He used his superior knowledge of statistics – he had an MPH – to debunk randomized controlled trials. We discussed overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and the shakiness of medical sciences.
We spoke about measuring the quality of physicians. I remarked that quality metrics have as much evidence as Garcinia Cambogia – we had just laughed about Dr. Oz. I expected a chuckle. Instead, he became distinctly uncomfortable and, in a solemn tone, lectured me about the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, “To Err is Human.”
The physician, a bulld...
Source: The Health Care Blog - October 11, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: THCB Source Type: blogs
Profit over Safety – Centers for Disease Control Names 271 New Vaccinations
Conclusion
How many vaccinations will be considered to be a sensible number? If all of the vaccinations currently under development are deemed a success, how many of them will be added to the schedule? As there is little research to determine which ingredients are in the vaccinations listed as “under development” by the CDC, many parents are concerned about their toxicity and how best to protect their children.
I will leave you with the wise words of Robert F, Kennedy Jr: “Vaccine industry money has neutralized virtually all of the checks and balances that once stood between a rapacious pharmaceutical industry and ou...
Source: vactruth.com - August 3, 2015 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Christina England Tags: Top Stories Christina England Logical Centers for Disease Control (CDC) World Health Organization (WHO) PhRMA Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Source Type: blogs
