Early-Career Coordinated Distributed Experiments: Empowerment Through Collaboration

Este artículo contiene 7 páginas, 1 tabla, 3 figuras.Coordinated distributed experiments (CDEs) enable the study of large-scale ecological patterns in geographically dispersed areas, while simultaneously providing broad academic and personal benefits for the participants. However, the effective involvement of early-career researchers (ECRs) presents major challenges. Here, we analyze the benefits and challenges of the first CDE exclusively led and conducted by ECRs (i.e. ECR-CDE), which sets a baseline for similar CDEs, and we provide recommendations for successful CDE execution. ECR-CDEs achieve most of the outcomes identified in conventional CDEs as well as extensive benefits for the young cohort of researchers, including: (i) receiving scientific credit, (ii) peer-training in new concepts and methods, (iii) developing leadership and communication skills, (iv) promoting a peer network among ECRs, and (v) building on individual engagement and independence. We also discuss the challenges of ECR-CDEs, which are mainly derived from the lack of independence and instability of the participants, and we suggest mechanisms to address them, such as resource re-allocation and communication strategies. We conclude that ECR-CDEs can be a relevant tool to empower ECRs across disciplines by fostering their training, networking and personal well-being.The authors were supported by the following founding: NC the support of the Beatriu de Pinós postdoctoral program of the Government of Catalonia’s Secretariat for Universities and Research of the Ministry of Economy and Knowledge (BP2016- 00215), EE by a predoctoral grant from the Basque Government (2014-2017), AB by a Generalitat de Catalunya—Beatriu de Pinós (BP-00385-2016), AMG-F by a predoctoral research grant (BES-2013-065770) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, MAr by a postdoctoral grant from the Basque Government, MIA by a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral grant (FJCI-2015-26192), PR-L by a Margalida Comas postdoctoral contract (PD/031/2018) funded by the Government of the Balearic Islands and the European Social Fund, AP by a Ramón Areces Foundation Postdoctoral Scholarship, and AL by a Kempe Foundation stipend. DOMIPEX project was founded by the First Call of Collaborative Projects among Young Researchers of the Iberian Association of Limnology (AIL; 2013-2015).Peer reviewe

Construction of an immunotoxin by linking a monoclonal antibody against the human epidermal growth factor receptor and a hemolytic toxin

Hybrid molecules obtained through conjugation of monoclonal antibodies and toxins constitute an approach under exploration to generate potential agents for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. A frequently employed toxic component in the construction of such immunotoxins is ricin, a plant toxin which inhibits protein synthesis at ribosomal level and so requires to be internalized by the cell. A hemolytic toxin isolated from the sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus, which is active at the cell membrane level, was linked through a disulfide bond to the anti-epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibody ior egf/r3. The resulting immunotoxin did not exhibit hemolytic activity except under reducing conditions. It was toxic for H125 cells that express the human epidermal growth factor receptor, but non-toxic for U1906 cells that do not express this recepto