Assessing Research Collaboration through Co-authorship Network Analysis

This is the final version. Available from Society of Research Administrators International via the link in this recordMaterial used with permission from Society of Research Administrators InternationalInterdisciplinary research collaboration is needed to perform transformative science and accelerate innovation. The Science of Team Science strives to investigate, evaluate, and foster team science, including institutional policies that may promote or hinder collaborative interdisciplinary research and the resources and infrastructure needed to promote team science within and across institutions. Social network analysis (SNA) has emerged as a useful method to measure interdisciplinary science through the evaluation of several types of collaboration networks, including co-authorship networks. Likewise, research administrators are responsible for conducting rigorous evaluation of policies and initiatives. Within this paper, we present a case study using SNA to evaluate interprogrammatic collaboration (evidenced by co-authoring scientific papers) from 2007-2014 among scientists who are members of four formal research programs at an NCI-designated Cancer Center, the Markey Cancer Center (MCC) at the University of Kentucky. We evaluate change in network descriptives over time and implement separable temporal exponential-family random graph models (STERGMs) to estimate the effect of author and network variables on the tendency to form a co-authorship tie. We measure the diversity of the articles published over time (Blau's Index) to understand whether the changes in the co-authorship network are reflected in the diversity of articles published by research members. Over the 8-year period, we found increased inter-programmatic collaboration among research members as evidenced by co-authorship of published scientific papers. Over time, MCC Members collaborated more with others outside of their research program and outside their initial dense co-authorship groups, however tie formation continues to be driven by co-authoring with individuals of the same research program and academic department. Papers increased in diversity over time on all measures with the exception of author gender. This inter-programmatic research was fostered by policy changes in cancer center administration encouraging interdisciplinary research through both informal (e.g., annual retreats, seminar series) and formal (e.g., requiring investigators from more than two research programs on applications for pilot funding) means. Within this cancer center, interdisciplinary co-authorship increased over time as policies encouraging this collaboration were implemented. Yet, there is room for improvement in creating more interdisciplinary and diverse ties between research program members.This research was supported by the Research Communications Office as well as the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics and the Cancer Research Informatics Shared Resources of the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, funded by the National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant (P30CA177558). Dr. Eddens’ contribution was supported in part by a Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health grant (#K12 DA035150) from the Office of Women’s Health Research, administered by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the College of Medicine, University of Kentucky. Dr. Vanderford is supported by the University of Kentucky’s Cancer Center Support Grant (NCI P30CA177558) and the Center for Cancer and Metabolism (NIGMS P20GM121327)

The Use of a Book Club to Promote Biomedical Trainee Professional Development

Professional development for biomedical doctoral and postdoctoral trainees is vital, especially due to the increase in individuals pursuing non-faculty career paths. We created a professional development-focused discussion group between trainees and faculty/staff by utilizing a book club format in which monthly small group meetings occurred over an 8-month period. A pre- and post-survey consisting of Likert and free-response questions was completed by participants. Results demonstrated that after the book club, trainees: 1) were more knowledgeable about a variety of career paths; 2) had improved awareness of their interests in relation to their career; 3) were more knowledgeable of their transferrable skills; 4) were more comfortable engaging with their PI and completing/updating an Individual Development Plan; 5) were more likely to find mentors in addition to their PI to address career specific needs; and 6) were more likely to seek opportunities to conduct informational interviews or experiential learning. Additionally, we found that faculty/staff: 1) were more knowledgeable about careers outside of academia; 2) had greater consideration for their mentee\u27s values and interests in relation to their career; 3) had a better understanding of their mentee\u27s transferable skills; and 4) were more comfortable engaging with their mentee about their career path and addressing an Individual Development Plan. Overall, we found that the utilization of a book club consisting of trainees and faculty/staff as a professional development tool was beneficial for both groups of participants, and this format is feasible for use in biomedical education professional development

Using Focus Groups to Assess Educational Programming Needs in Forestry

Extension professionals are continually faced with the challenge of effectively communicating relevant information to an ever-evolving audience with diverse interests. Using focus group data, this article highlights specific educational programming needs of nonindustrial private forest landowners (NIPFs) in Mississippi. Findings indicate NIPFs are more likely to adopt new ideas if educational programming is tailored to their specific needs, consequently indicating the need to group the audience by their interests. Data also emphasize the importance of employing new technology as means for communicating more efficiently

Evaluating Disparities in the U.S. Technology Transfer Ecosystem to Improve Bench to Business Translation

Background: A large number of highly impactful technologies originated from academic research, and the transfer of inventions from academic institutions to private industry is a major driver of economic growth, and a catalyst for further discovery. However, there are significant inefficiencies in academic technology transfer. In this work, we conducted a data-driven assessment of translational activity across United States (U.S.) institutions to better understand how effective universities are in facilitating the transfer of new technologies into the marketplace. From this analysis, we provide recommendations to guide technology transfer policy making at both the university and national level. Methods: Using data from the Association of University Technology Managers U.S. Licensing Activity Survey, we defined a commercialization pipeline that reflects the typical path intellectual property takes; from initial research funding to startup formation and gross income. We use this pipeline to quantify the performance of academic institutions at each step of the process, as well as overall, and identify the top performing institutions via mean reciprocal rank. The corresponding distributions were visualized and disparities quantified using the Gini coefficient. Results: We found significant discrepancies in commercialization activity between institutions; a small number of institutions contribute to the vast majority of total commercialization activity. By examining select top performing institutions, we suggest improvements universities and technology transfer offices could implement to emulate the environment at these high-performing institutions. Conclusion: Significant disparities in technology transfer performance exist in which a select set of institutions produce a majority share of the total technology transfer activity. This disparity points to missed commercialization opportunities, and thus, further investigation into the distribution of technology transfer effectiveness across institutions and studies of policy changes that would improve the effectiveness of the commercialization pipeline is warranted

Cancer Curriculum for Appalachian Kentucky Middle and High Schools

Background: Appalachian Kentucky faces the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates in the country due to poor health behaviors and lifestyle choices. These poor health behaviors are facilitated by a lack of cancer education. Youth represent a vulnerable population that could be greatly impacted by increased cancer education. Teachers have the power to facilitate this learning. Purpose: This study examined the need for cancer education curriculum in Appalachian Kentucky middle and high schools from the perspective of educators. Methods: An online survey was conducted with science and health teachers (n=21) in Appalachian Kentucky, consisting of questions that investigated existing cancer education efforts, relevance of cancer education, and feasibility of such curriculum being delivered in the classroom. Content analysis was used to analyze teacher comments. A 3-part cancer education curriculum was developed that is culturally relevant and aligned with science and health education standards. Results: All participating teachers agree that cancer education is important to students’ lives. Teachers also agree that there is an inconsistent amount of cancer education within schools, and qualitative content analysis revealed that cancer education likely fits best in certain course subjects. Cancer education could feasibly be integrated into science and health classrooms, although the perception of needing to teach to the academic standards and having limited time to teach additional lessons outside of the standards are significant barriers. To combat this, a cancer curriculum that aligns with state and national science and health education standards was developed. Implications: Cancer education curriculum could play an important role in improving the cancer outlook in Appalachian Kentucky. Teachers have expressed a desire for increased cancer education in the classroom. By disseminating and implementing cancer curriculum in schools in the region and revising the curriculum -based on teacher and student feedback to better fit their needs, it has the potential to increase cancer literacy and improve related health behaviors and outcomes

SIVsm Quasispecies Adaptation to a New Simian Host

Despite the potential for infectious agents harbored by other species to become emerging human pathogens, little is known about why some agents establish successful cross-species transmission, while others do not. The simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs), certain variants of which gave rise to the human HIV-1 and HIV-2 epidemics, have demonstrated tremendous success in infecting new host species, both simian and human. SIVsm from sooty mangabeys appears to have infected humans on several occasions, and was readily transmitted to nonnatural Asian macaque species, providing animal models of AIDS. Here we describe the first in-depth analysis of the tremendous SIVsm quasispecies sequence variation harbored by individual sooty mangabeys, and how this diverse quasispecies adapts to two different host species—new nonnatural rhesus macaque hosts and natural sooty mangabey hosts. Viral adaptation to rhesus macaques was associated with the immediate amplification of a phylogenetically related subset of envelope (env) variants. These variants contained a shorter variable region 1 loop and lacked two specific glycosylation sites, which may be selected for during acute infection. In contrast, transfer of SIVsm to its natural host did not subject the quasispecies to any significant selective pressures or bottleneck. After 100 d postinfection, variants more closely representative of the source inoculum reemerged in the macaques. This study describes an approach for elucidating how pathogens adapt to new host species, and highlights the particular importance of SIVsm env diversity in enabling cross-species transmission. The replicative advantage of a subset of SIVsm variants in macaques may be related to features of target cells or receptors that are specific to the new host environment, and may involve CD4-independent engagement of a viral coreceptor conserved among primates

Biotransformation and sorption of trace organic compounds in biological nutrient removal treatment systems

This study determined biotransformation rates (kbio) and sorption-distribution coefficients (Kd) for a select group of trace organic compounds (TOrCs) in anaerobic, anoxic, and aerobic activated sludge collected from two different biological nutrient removal (BNR) treatment systems located in Nevada (NV) and Ohio (OH) in the United States (US). The NV and OH facilities operated at solids retention times (SRTs) of 8 and 23 days, respectively. Using microwave-assisted extraction, the biotransformation rates of the chosen TOrCs were measured in the total mixed liquor. Sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, and atenolol biotransformed in all three redox regimes irrespective of the activated sludge source. The biotransformation of N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET), triclosan, and benzotriazole was observed in aerobic activated sludge from both treatment plants; however, anoxic biotransformation of these three compounds was seen only in anoxic activated sludge from NV. Carbamazepine was recalcitrant in all three redox regimes and both sources of activated sludge. Atenolol and DEET had greater biotransformation rates in activated sludge with a higher SRT (23 days), while trimethoprim had a higher biotransformation rate in activated sludge with a lower SRT (8 days). The remaining compounds did not show any dependence on SRT. Lyophilized, heat inactivated sludge solids were used to determine the sorption-distribution coefficients. Triclosan was the most sorptive compound followed by carbamazepine, sulfamethoxazole, DEET, and benzotriazole. The sorption-distribution coefficients were similar across redox conditions and sludge sources. The biotransformation rates and sorption-distribution coefficients determined in this study can be used to improve fate prediction of the target TOrCs in BNR treatment systems

Neutral Dissociation of Hydrogen Following Photoexcitation of HCl at the Chlorine K Edge

Time-of-flight mass spectroscopy was used to study the relaxation dynamics of HCl following photoexcitation in the vicinity of the Cl K edge (~2.8 keV) using monochromatic synchrotron radiation. At the lowest resonant excitation to the 6ơ* antibonding orbital, almost half of the excited molecules decay by emission of a neutral H atom, mostly in coincidence with a highly charged Cln1 ion. The present work demonstrates that neutral-atom emission can be a significant decay channel for excited states with very short lifetimes (1 fs). [S1050-2947(98)03604-X

Photofragmentation of Third-Row Hydrides Following Photoexcitation at Deep-Core Levels

The relaxation dynamics of HCl, DCl, H2S, and D2S following photoexcitation in the vicinities of the Cl and S K-shell thresholds (∼2.8keV for Cl, ∼2.5 keV for S) were studied by means of ion time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. In all cases, the onset of pre-edge core-shell photoionization precedes the formation on resonance of a significant amount of neutral hydrogen as well as postcollision-interaction effects above threshold. Examination of the width of the H+ peak in spectra taken with the analyzer parallel and perpendicular to the polarization vector of the incident light indicates that on resonance, the photofragmentation asymmetry parameter, β, is approximately two for HCl, and is clearly positive for H2S