2011 News
On December 5, 2011
DBIO webinar: Building a Digital Archive on a Health Sciences Campus: A Case Study from the University of Maryland
Please join us for a free educational webinar series sponsored by the SLA Biomedical and Life Sciences Division (DBIO) that will explore how three different health science libraries have successfully implemented IRs. For more information and useful resources go to: http://digitalcommons.bepress.com/med2011/
A growing number of medical schools and health science centers, including Thomas Jefferson University, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and the Inova Health System are launching institutional repositories (IRs), to preserve and showcase the intellectual output of their institutions and to fulfill open access mandates. The second seminar in the series will explore the presenter’s own experiences, speaking directly to challenges faced, lessons learned, and best practices moving forward.
Date: December 5, 2011
Title: Building a Digital Archive on a Health Sciences Campus: A Case Study from the University of Maryland
Time: 11:00 AM Pacific (2:00 PM Eastern)
Presenter: M.J. Tooey, University of Maryland Health Sciences and Human Services Library
Register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/487486002
November 2, 2011
Fall 2011 issue of Biofeedback is available
In this issue: Chair's Message, Election Results, Webinar Series, Medical Section Report, Book Reviews, and more! Download the PDF.
On November 1, 2011
DBIO webinar: Challenges and Opportunities for Medical Institutional Repositories
Please join us for a free educational webinar series sponsored by the SLA Biomedical and Life Sciences Division (DBIO) that will explore how three different health science libraries have successfully implemented IRs. For more information and useful resources go to: http://digitalcommons.bepress.com/med2011/
A growing number of medical schools and health science centers, including Thomas Jefferson University, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and the Inova Health System are launching institutional repositories (IRs), to preserve and showcase the intellectual output of their institutions and to fulfill open access mandates. The first seminar in the series will introduce some of the challenges and opportunities for medical librarians in exposing the intellectual content produced by their organizations.
Date: November 1, 2011
Title: Challenges and Opportunities for Medical Institutional Repositories
Time: 11:00 AM Pacific (2:00 PM Eastern)
Presenters: Dan Kipnis and Ann Koopman, Thomas Jefferson University; Lisa Palmer, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/821160250
October 31, 2011
DBIO Election Results for Chair-Elect and Secretary (2012)
The DBIO Nominations & Elections Committee is pleased to announce the results of the 2011 DBIO Election for Chair-Elect and Secretary.
Congratulations Howard and Nalini! Their term of service begins January 1, 2012.
Chair-Elect: Howard Fuller
Howard currently serves as the Director of Library Services for Heald College in San Francisco, CA. He has been a member of SLA since 1991. Howard has served as chair of the DBIO Career Guidance & Employment Committee and chair of the 2011 Program Planning Committee. He was the chair of the Medical Section from 2002-2003 and served on the Program Planning Committee and Fund Development Committee at that time. Howard is also active in the Medical Library Association.
Secretary: Nalini Mahajan
Nalini is currently the Director and Webmaster of the Medical Library at the Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton, IL. An SLA and DBIO member since 2002, she has served on the DBIO Public Relations Committee, Fund Development Committee, and the Vendor Relations Committee. She was the chair of the Vendor Relations Committee from 2009 to 2011.
2011 DBIO Nominations and Elections Committee:
Diane Schmidt, Chair
Jean Crampon
John Tebo
August 25, 2011
NIH-Oxford collaboration may offer clues into human brain diseases
Researchers from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and from Oxford University in the United Kingdom, published a description of the new atlas of gene expression in the mouse brain in the Aug. 25, 2011, journal Neuron.
The study describes the activity of more than 11,000 genes in the six layers of brain cells that make up the cerebral cortex. The international collaborators have made the new atlas freely available at http://genserv.anat.ox.ac.uk/layers.
Mice and people share 90 percent of their genes, so the atlas, which is based on the study of normal mice, lays a foundation for future studies of mouse models for human diseases and, eventually, the development of treatments.
"This study shows the power of genomic technologies for making unexpected discoveries about the basic biology of life," said NHGRI Director Eric D. Green, M.D., Ph.D. "The brain is our most complex organ. Until we understand how it is built and how it functions based on our genetic blueprint, we will be hampered in keeping the brain healthy or dealing with its terrible diseases."
This NIH News Release is available online at: http://www.nih.gov/news/health/aug2011/nhgri-24.htm.
(1) Belgard T. Grant, Ana C. Marques, Peter L. Oliver, Hatice Ozel Abaan, Tamara M. Sirey, Anna Hoerder-Suabedissen, Fernando García-Moreno, Zoltán Molnár, Elliott H. Margulies, Chris P. Ponting. "A Transcriptomic Atlas of Mouse Neocortical Layers." Neuron - 25 August 2011 (Vol. 71, Issue 4, pp. 605-616)
August 23, 2011
Recommendations from NIH for conducting mixed methods health research
The National Institutes of Health released recommendations or best practices for scientists conducting mixed methods health research http://obssr.od.nih.gov/scientific_areas/methodology/mixed_methods_research/index.aspx.
Mixed methods research combines the strengths of quantitative research and qualitative research. Despite the increased interest in mixed methods research in health fields and at NIH, prior to this report, there was limited guidance to help scientists developing applications for NIH funding that featured mixed methods designs, nor was there guidance for the reviewers at NIH who assess the quality of these applications.
The recommendations
This NIH News Release is available online at:
http://www.nih.gov/news/health/aug2011/od-23a.htm.
August 20, 2011
Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management site
The National Library of Medicine released Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM).
CHEMM enhances and builds on the successes of the suite of Emergency Medical Management tools that began with the Radiation Emergency Medical Management (REMM) web-based resource, which provides information for health care providers about clinical diagnosis and treatment of radiation and other injuries anticipated following radiological and nuclear emergencies.
CHEMM is a web-based resource that is downloadable in advance so that it is available during an event if the Internet is not accessible. It provides evidence-based information and guidance on a wide variety of topics, including quick chemical identification, acute patient care guidelines, and initial event activities.
CHEMM and REMM are the result of collaborative efforts between the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) - Office of Preparedness and Emergency Operations (OPEO), the National Library of Medicine - Division of Specialized Information Services (NLM/SIS), as well as many medical, emergency response, toxicology, industrial hygiene, and other experts.
August 1, 2011
Medical School Faculty Satisfaction with the Library
Primary Research Group has published The Survey of Medical School Faculty: Level of Satisfaction with the Medical Library, ISBN 1-57440-172-6.
This report explores the levels of satisfaction of medical faculties with their medical libraries on topics ranging from comfort and hours of access to interlibrary loan services and the quality of the collections for their scholarly pursuits, among others. 141 universities are represented, from both the United States and abroad, covering a wide range of medical specialties. Extensive data is presented about faculty opinions on library spending as well as on library databases.
Just a few of the report’s many findings are that:
• 7.8% of participants would increase library spending on traditional print books if given the opportunity, while 35.46% would push to spend more on e-books
• 26.87% of non-tenured faculty not on a tenure track were “highly satisfied” with the expertise of library subject specialists at their respective medical libraries, as compared to 8.33% of non-tenured faculty on a tenure track.
• 46.67% of medical faculty from private universities rate the availability and quality of instruction in library resources at their medical libraries as “excellent”
The 81-page study is available for $95.00. The PDF version is currently available and the print version is ready to ship. Site licenses are also offered for $189.00.
August 12, 2011
Biofeedback, Summer 2011 (.pdf format)
June 7, 2011
The Final 2011 DBIO Program has been posted
May 9, 2011
Biofeedback, Spring 2011 (.pdf format)
April 29, 2011
New Journal: Translational Behavioral Medicine
Springer has published a new journal, Translational Behavioral Medicine: Practice, Policy, Research (TBM), from the Society of Behavioral Medicine. The journal will debut with a special section, “Information Technology and Evidence Implementation,” to be presented at an event titled Behavioral Informatics for Health at the Washington Press Club on 26 April 2011 from 12:00 to 3:00 pm. The first issue has an article of interest to all of us (1).
(1) Gibbons, Michael C., Renee F Wilson, Lipika Samal, Christoph U Lehmann, Kay Dickersin, Harold P Lehmann, Hannan Aboumatar, Joseph Finkelstein, Erica Shelton and Ritu Sharma, et al. Consumer health informatics: results of a systematic evidence review and evidence based recommendations. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 1(1): 72-82. DOI: 10.1007/s13142-011-0016-4
April 28, 2011
Study uncovers genes that aid malarial resistance
A team at Harvard University and the Broad Institute in Boston used advanced gene-hunting technology to search the genetic code of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. They published their results in a recent article (1). They found 10 previously undiscovered genes that help the mosquito-borne parasite quickly develop resistance to malaria treatments. Adding extra copies of just one of these genes, PF10_0355, to a parasite still vulnerable to malaria drugs made it more resistant to three standard treatments. Understanding the processes used by the parasite to avoid the effects of the antimalarial treatment, will allow the scientists to develop new drugs that can circumvent the strategies employed by the drug-resistant malaria parasite.
(1) Van Tyne D, Park DJ, Schaffner SF, Neafsey DE, Angelino E, et al. 2011 Identification and Functional Validation of the Novel Antimalarial Resistance Locus PF10_0355 in Plasmodium falciparum. PLoS Genet 7(4): e1001383. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1001383
April 28, 2011
NIH working group on the future of the biomedical research workforce
A new working group will recommend actions to the NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D, NIH Director to ensure a diverse and sustainable biomedical and behavioral research workforce. The questions under considerations are:
-- What is the right size of the workforce?
-- What are the appropriate types of positions that should be supported to allow people to have successful careers and to continue to advance biomedical and behavioral sciences?
-- What is the best way to support these various positions?
-- What types of training should be provided?
To do this, the group will gather input from the extramural community, including students, postdoctoral fellows, investigators, scientific societies, and grantee institutions. In addition, the group will develop a model for a sustainable and diverse U.S. biomedical research workforce using appropriate expertise from NIH and external sources. The model can help inform decisions about how to train the optimal number of people for the appropriate types of positions that will advance science and promote health.
This NIH News Release is available online at http://www.nih.gov/news/health/apr2011/od-27.htm
April 25, 2011
Evidence-based information for health care providers
A new online resource, designed to give health care providers easy access to evidence-based information on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), was unveiled by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) of the National Institutes of Health.
The portal on the NCCAM website at http://nccam.nih.gov/health/providers/ is tailored to fit the needs of all health care providers, including physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and CAM providers. It includes information on the safety and efficacy of a range of common health practices that lie outside of mainstream medicine -- natural products, such as dietary supplements, herbs, and probiotics, as well as mind-body practices such as meditation, chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage.
This NIH News Release is available online at: http://www.nih.gov/news/health/apr2011/nccam-26.htm
February 2011
Biofeedback, Winter 2011 (.pdf format)
Rev. December 2011