Gender Diversity Cultural Responsiveness Education in Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Programs: A Pilot Survey

Purpose: Gender-affirming voice therapy aims to align a person’s voice and communication with their gender identity. Historically, transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) individuals have been marginalized and continue to face significant healthcare disparities. The goal of this research was to examine the self-perceived preparedness of recent speech-language pathology (SLP) graduates for working with TGNC clients. A survey was developed to include both multiple choice and open-ended questions. Topics included graduate-level training on working with TGNC individuals, perceived preparedness to work with this client population, educational resources sought by respondents, and suggested improvements for SLP graduate programs. Thirty recent (since 2016) SLP graduates completed the survey anonymously. Although a majority (83%) of respondents reported that working with TGNC clients was addressed in their graduate education, 66% of respondents felt that instruction time spent on this topic was insufficient or slightly insufficient. Those who had clinical experiences with TGNC clients, or who learned from the perspectives of the TGNC community (e.g., from a guest speaker or video), reported that their graduate education better prepared them to work with TGNC clients. One of the most common recommendations to improve graduate education was to invite TGNC speakers to share their experiences. The majority of respondents identified a need for improvement of gender diversity education in SLP graduate programs. Further research is needed to determine the efficacy of different curricula in increasing the knowledge and skills of SLP graduates specific to TGNC clients to ensure clinical competency and equitable care

Gender Diversity Cultural Responsiveness Education in Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Programs: A Pilot Survey

Purpose: Gender-affirming voice therapy aims to align a person’s voice and communication with their gender identity. Historically, transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) individuals have been marginalized and continue to face significant healthcare disparities. The goal of this research was to examine the self-perceived preparedness of recent speech-language pathology (SLP) graduates for working with TGNC clients. A survey was developed to include both multiple choice and open-ended questions. Topics included graduate-level training on working with TGNC individuals, perceived preparedness to work with this client population, educational resources sought by respondents, and suggested improvements for SLP graduate programs. Thirty recent (since 2016) SLP graduates completed the survey anonymously. Although a majority (83%) of respondents reported that working with TGNC clients was addressed in their graduate education, 66% of respondents felt that instruction time spent on this topic was insufficient or slightly insufficient. Those who had clinical experiences with TGNC clients, or who learned from the perspectives of the TGNC community (e.g., from a guest speaker or video), reported that their graduate education better prepared them to work with TGNC clients. One of the most common recommendations to improve graduate education was to invite TGNC speakers to share their experiences. The majority of respondents identified a need for improvement of gender diversity education in SLP graduate programs. Further research is needed to determine the efficacy of different curricula in increasing the knowledge and skills of SLP graduates specific to TGNC clients to ensure clinical competency and equitable care

Phylodynamics of deer tick virus in North America

The burden of ticks and the pathogens they carry is increasing worldwide. Powassan virus (POWV; Flaviviridae: ), the only known North American tick-borne flavivirus, is of particular concern due to rising cases and the severe morbidity of POWV encephalitis. Here, we use a multifaceted approach to evaluate the emergence of the II POWV lineage, known as deer tick virus (DTV), in parts of North America where human cases occur. We detected DTV-positive ticks from eight of twenty locations in the Northeast USA with an average infection rate of 1.4 per cent. High-depth, whole-genome sequencing of eighty-four POWV and DTV samples allowed us to assess geographic and temporal phylodynamics. We observed both stable infection in the Northeast USA and patterns of geographic dispersal within and between regions. A Bayesian skyline analysis demonstrated DTV population expansion over the last 50 years. This is concordant with the documented expansion of tick populations and suggests an increasing risk of human exposure as the vector spreads. Finally, we isolated sixteen novel viruses in cell culture and demonstrated limited genetic change after passage, a valuable resource for future studies investigating this emerging virus

The Origins and Future of Sentinel: An Early-Warning System for Pandemic Preemption and Response

While investigating a signal of adaptive evolution in humans at the gene LARGE, we encountered an intriguing finding by Dr. Stefan Kunz that the gene plays a critical role in Lassa virus binding and entry. This led us to pursue field work to test our hypothesis that natural selection acting on LARGE—detected in the Yoruba population of Nigeria—conferred resistance to Lassa Fever in some West African populations. As we delved further, we conjectured that the “emerging” nature of recently discovered diseases like Lassa fever is related to a newfound capacity for detection, rather than a novel viral presence, and that humans have in fact been exposed to the viruses that cause such diseases for much longer than previously suspected. Dr. Stefan Kunz’s critical efforts not only laid the groundwork for this discovery, but also inspired and catalyzed a series of events that birthed Sentinel, an ambitious and large-scale pandemic prevention effort in West Africa. Sentinel aims to detect and characterize deadly pathogens before they spread across the globe, through implementation of its three fundamental pillars: Detect, Connect, and Empower. More specifically, Sentinel is designed to detect known and novel infections rapidly, connect and share information in real time to identify emerging threats, and empower the public health community to improve pandemic preparedness and response anywhere in the world. We are proud to dedicate this work to Stefan Kunz, and eagerly invite new collaborators, experts, and others to join us in our efforts