Compelling Project Management

Successfully delivering a project, task, or even a group decision requires effective collaboration skills, and the great thing about skills is that they can be learned. With collaboration, you can effectively lead a team toward decision making and deliver results. In this session, we will analyze different methods of collaboration to help you build this skill and make you a more persuasive and compelling project manager

Slide Correction Case Study: SR 105 in Huntington County

During the record rainfalls of June 2015, a steeply wooded rural section of SR 105 in Huntington County experienced a side slope failure causing portions of the southbound lane to break off and drop more than a foot overnight. In this session we walk through the solution as well as the steps taken to expedite and complete design, permitting, right-of-way acquisition, and construction within a time frame of 13 months

I-69 Finish Line: EPS Fill Under the Interstate

This presentation will look inside the unique design, analysis, and construction of the I-69 bridge structure at SR-252, which utilized expanded polystyrene (EPS) fill. We will discuss the design constraints, geotechnical challenges, and construction methods used to complete this challenging project and keep the I-69 Finish Line project in Martinsville on track for completion

Community Readiness for Adopting a Physical Activity Program for People With Arthritis in West Virginia

Introduction: The health benefits of physical activity are well established in older adults with arthritis. Despite these benefits, many older adults with arthritis are not active enough to maintain health; therefore, increasing physical activity in adults with arthritis is a public health priority. The purpose of this study was to use the Community Readiness Model to assess readiness for adopting a physical activity program for people with arthritis in 8 counties in West Virginia. Methods: During 2007 and 2008, we conducted a telephone survey among 94 key informants who could provide insight into their community's efforts to promote physical activity among older adults with arthritis. We matched survey scores with 1 of 9 stages of readiness, ranging from 1 (no awareness) to 9 (high level of community ownership). Results: The survey placed the counties in stage 3 (vague awareness), indicating recognition of the need for more physical activity programming; community efforts were not focused and leadership was minimal. The interviews suggested that culturally sensitive, well-promoted free or low-cost programs conducted by community volunteers may be keys to success in West Virginia. Conclusion: Information derived from our survey can be used to match intervention strategies for promoting physical activity among people with arthritis to communities in West Virginia according to their level of readiness.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The article is published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/index.ht

The academy for future science faculty:randomized controlled trial of theory-driven coaching to shape development and diversity of early-career scientists

Background: Approaches to training biomedical scientists have created a talented research community. However, they have failed to create a professional workforce that includes many racial and ethnic minorities and women in proportion to their representation in the population or in PhD training. This is particularly true at the faculty level. Explanations for the absence of diversity in faculty ranks can be found in social science theories that reveal processes by which individuals develop identities, experiences, and skills required to be seen as legitimate within the profession. Methods/Design: Using the social science theories of Communities of Practice, Social Cognitive Career Theory, identity formation, and cultural capital, we have developed and are testing a novel coaching-based model to address some of the limitations of previous diversity approaches. This coaching intervention (The Academy for Future Science Faculty) includes annual in-person meetings of students and trained faculty Career Coaches, along with ongoing virtual coaching, group meetings and communication. The model is being tested as a randomized controlled trial with two cohorts of biomedical PhD students from across the U.S., one recruited at the start of their PhDs and one nearing completion. Stratification into the experimental and control groups, and to coaching groups within the experimental arms, achieved equal numbers of students by race, ethnicity and gender to the extent possible. A fundamental design element of the Academy is to teach and make visible the social science principles which highly influence scientific advancement, as well as acknowledging the extra challenges faced by underrepresented groups working to be seen as legitimate within the scientific communities. Discussion: The strategy being tested is based upon a novel application of the well-established principles of deploying highly skilled coaches, selected and trained for their ability to develop talents of others. This coaching model is intended to be a complement, rather than a substitute, for traditional mentoring in biomedical research training, and is being tested as such

Gene Therapy: Charting a Future Course—Summary of a National Institutes of Health Workshop, April 12, 2013

Recently, the gene therapy field has begun to experience clinical successes in a number of different diseases using various approaches and vectors. The workshop Gene Therapy: Charting a Future Course, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Biotechnology Activities, brought together early and mid-career researchers to discuss the key scientific challenges and opportunities, ethical and communication issues, and NIH and foundation resources available to facilitate further clinical advances

Indigenous cultures and communities in higher education teaching and learning

 Our initial impetus for this project stems from the development of UNCP’s Indigenous Cultures & Communities (ICC) graduation requirement and the efforts of individual faculty representing disciplines in the arts, education, humanities, library, and nursing to redesign class activities and courses and share models and templates for readers’ use and adaptation in incorporating Indigenous-centered pedagogies in their own courses. We have curated our practical and philosophical methods for engaging Indigenous knowledge and using Indigenous-centered pedagogies in college courses and curricula through the lens of faculty efforts to redesign their courses in support of a newly instituted graduation requirement focused on Indigenous cultures and communities

Myelolytic Treatments Enhance Oncolytic Herpes Virotherapy in Models of Ewing Sarcoma by Modulating the Immune Microenvironment

Ewing sarcoma is a highly aggressive cancer that promotes the infiltration and activation of pro-tumor M2-like macrophages. Oncolytic virotherapy that selectively infects and destroys cancer cells is a promising option for treating Ewing sarcoma. The effect of tumor macrophages on oncolytic virus therapy, however, is variable among solid tumors and is unknown in Ewing sarcoma. We tested the effects of macrophage reduction using liposomal clodronate (Clodrosome) and trabectedin on the antitumor efficacy of intratumoral oncolytic herpes simplex virus, rRp450, in two Ewing sarcoma xenograft models. Both agents enhanced antitumor efficacy without increasing virus replication. The most profound effects were in A673 with only a transient effect on response rates in TC71. Interestingly, A673 was more dependent than TC71 on macrophages for its tumorigenesis. We found Clodrosome and virus together induced expression of antitumorigenic genes and reduced expression of protumorigenic genes in both the tumor-associated macrophages and the overall tumor stroma. Trabectedin reduced intratumoral natural killer (NK) cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and M2-like macrophages, and prevented their increase following virotherapy. Our data suggest that a combination of trabectedin and oncolytic herpes virotherapy warrants testing in the clinical setting. Keywords: Ewing sarcoma, oncolytic herpes virus, tumor-associated macrophage, pediatric sarcoma, immunotherapy, trabectedin, myeloid-derived suppressor cell