Jyoti Mishra explains how to transform knowledge to help others in a global setting

Mishra, Jyoti

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 OPINION Translating Science to our global communities Short title  Translating Science to our global communities. Long title  Transforming knowledge to help others in a global setting. Authors  Jyoti Mishra​ 1 Author affiliation 1 Neural Engineering & Translation Labs (NEATLabs), University of California San Diego,                       California, USA Author bios  Dr. Jyoti Mishra is an Assistant Professor in the department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego.                               She founded the Neural Engineering and Translational Labs (​neatlabs.ucsd.edu​) and                   directs its human research. She is trained in the cognitive and computational                       neurosciences and further, translates this understanding towards improving mental                 health diagnostics and therapeutics in both local and global communities.  Date published  1st April 2019 DOI  10.5281/zenodo.2619955 Cite as (APA) Mishra, J. (2019). Transforming knowledge to help others in a global setting. ​Elephant in                           the Lab​. DOI: ​https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2619955  ‘Hello, I am here to help!’  For several afternoons as an undergraduate student in New Delhi, I would take a bus to a bustling                                   market and settle into a small office for the Childline counseling service. I was trained as a                                 volunteer responder and counselor for children in distress. All afternoon, the phone would ring.                           It would usually be a child suffering from exam stress or anxiety and a few tips would go a long                                       way. Occasionally a child would report being in danger, and we followed a protocoled                           plan-of-action to speedily ensure they are brought to safety. That was in 1999, and each incident                               left me wondering what I could do more. Twenty years later, I am recounting this at my university lab in the United States. I came to this                                     country several years ago to study human neuroscience, to understand how our brains help us                             interpret the world around us, and in turn how the world around us influences our brains. Along                                   OPINION  the way, while studying the basic sciences, I got impatient. My experiences had trained me to say,                                 ‘Hello! I am here to help!’ So how would I transform my new found knowledge to help                     others?   A few years into my scientific training, I discovered my answers in the pursuit of the translational                                 sciences. Translation is the bridge between bench to bedside science. It is the exciting                           intersection at which we can improve the state-of-the-art for clinical sciences by using new                           discoveries in the basic sciences. There are several steps in the translational pathway – testing                             new assays, drugs, technologies and interventions in animal models, testing in humans, testing                         for safety and feasibility, then testing against placebo controls, testing against standard-of-care,                       testing in large sample data, all to convincingly demonstrate efficacy. Once efficacy is established                           in translational research, implementation science kicks in to integrate a new method or practice                           within real-world care to systematically determine its effectiveness. Each step of science is challenging. The systematic progress from basic science to translation to                             implementation can take several years. Yet, it is important to consider that advances in each                             domain can be accelerated if they are not carried out in silos. For instance, a translational study                                 may make it evident that a new basic approach has low feasibility in the clinical setting, and so                                   the scientist must go back to the drawing board in pursuit of a new basic invention. As the basic                                     scientist or engineer develops a new approach, s/he would benefit from keeping open                         communication with the clinical researcher. It is the notion that innovators working alone are                           very good at creating inventions that no one needs! Instead, scientists should be innovators who                             solve real-world problems, constantly recalling ‘I am here to help!’ What does all this have to do with global science? Global science is where the boundaries of basic, translational and implementation science blur                         the most. In global science, researchers collaborate across continents to generate new basic and                           applied scientific understanding for global citizens. While most science must build upon science                         that came prior to it, many-a-times global scientists have to solve problems at entirely new                             frontiers. For instance, human studies in the western world are predominantly WEIRD, that is,                           the study subject populations are primarily people from Western, educated, industrialized, rich                       and democratic societies (Henrich et al., Behavorial & Brain Sciences 2010). Humans in these                           studies only represent 12 percent of the world's population distribution, are not only                         unrepresentative of humans as a species, but on many measures they may be outliers. Hence, the                               assumptions of prior basic science must be re-confirmed within a new global setting. With regards to translation, a new method/approach may not be feasible in the global setting not                               only because it is being tested within a new human cultural context, but also because it may not                                   be cost-effective. For instance, a single brain scan using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can                           cost hundreds of dollars; using this method in a large scale brain study in a low-income country                                 setting is not feasible. Yet, there are other brain monitoring methods such as EEG                           (electroencephalography) that is one-thousandth the cost of an MRI scanner. EEG technology                       Elephant in the Lab | DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.2619955 | www.elephantinthelab.org  OPINION  may have utility, as well as potential for scalability, in the global setting for brain assessments and                                 therapies. Some of my own research investigates this, and I have learned that we need to make                                 hand-in-hand research advances at both the basic and translational level. For instance, we need                           basic advances in engineering algorithms for processing EEG-derived brain data in real-world                       settings, as well as translational applications for use in the context of real-world problems faced                             by global humans. Global science is also local At this point, it is important to emphasize that global science also applies to our local                               communities. By this, we understand that globalizing science does not just mean unifying                         scientific inquiry across the far corners of the world. In any case that is hard to accomplish                                 without a strong network of motivated collaborators. Yet, within our own country, we find                           several pockets of socio-economic disparity. The same problems and challenges that plague the                         developing world, are also within our own backyard. So whether they be global citizens of a                               country far away or our local neighbors, we need to ensure that our scientific methods are                               inclusive of the diversity around us. This means actively recruiting participants from                       under-represented backgrounds within our studies, and ensuring it is practical for them to                         participate. This again has implications for engineering new technologies that are scalable for                         greater community inclusion; if the community cannot come to the science lab, the science lab                             must go and immerse within the community. In making community science relations, it is also                             important to bring community leaders as partners and consider what the community is willing to                             participate in, and what may be an undue burden. For instance, a community that has suffered                               from specific stressors or past trauma maybe sensitive to how trauma-related questions are                         asked. Thus, the research design of community science is best shaped by a mutual understanding                             between the academic scientists and the community representatives. Notably, the implications of                       successful community science research are far-reaching in that insights from a study conducted                         in the global context can then be used to solve local problems, and vice versa. Indeed, community                                 science can be powerful in providing both local as well as global solutions.   A big hurdle Finally, I want to touch upon one of the biggest hurdles to globalizing science, and that is                                 dedicated funding. Because of funding agencies, such as the National Institute of Health’s Fogarty                           Institute, I was able to carry out translational research in a global mental health setting. I                               contributed to the design of novel digital technologies that can enhance brain function and                           cognition, and successfully demonstrated their utility and efficacy in children and adolescents in                         urban New Delhi. These studies have systematically included children from all socio-economic                       strata, even those with a history of neglect and homelessness. I consider making a sustainable                             difference in these lives as my biggest research accomplishment to-date. Global research funding                         enabled this work, and the collaborations across multiple international institutions to function                       like a well-oiled integrated machine. Now I seek funding to scale-up this initial research in both the global and local setting. This                                 means thoughtfully tailoring the research design to the community in consideration. This further                         Elephant in the Lab | DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.2619955 | www.elephantinthelab.org  OPINION  involves breaking down some of the barriers between basic, translational and implementation                       science: basic technology needs to be refined & translated to outcomes most relevant to the                             communities in the new studies. Garnering this funding support has been a challenging                         endeavor. Indeed, this is the case for all scientific funding, yet, it is especially noted that global                                 science suffers from pilotitis, i.e. the inability to scale-up beyond the initial study. The funding                             agency is often looking for a clear-cut and simply implementable solution to a global problem,                             when the reality is that each successful global science project, no matter the scale, is a complex                                 yet systematically-definable blend across the basic, translational and implementation sciences.                   To globalize science, we need to break down traditional research silos, and scientists, community                           representatives and funding agencies must align together. While global science funding remains a                         roller coaster challenge, to remain inspired and persistent, I always remind myself, ‘I am here to                               help!’  References Henrich, J., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A. (2010). The weirdest people in the world?. ​Behavioral and brain                                   sciences​, 33(2-3), 61-83. ​LINK. (accessed 1st april, 2019)   Elephant in the Lab | DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.2619955 | www.elephantinthelab.org 

Transforming knowledge to help others in a global setting.

https://zenodo.org/record/2619955/files/EitL_Mishra.pdf

Transforming knowledge to help others in a global setting.

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