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The text provides a summary of the winners of the 2023 Military Health System Research Symposium (MHSRS) awards. The awards recognize outstanding research accomplishments in the field of military health system research. The recipients of the Distinguished Service Award were Mr. Richard D. Branson and Dr. Thomas A. Davis. Dr. Steven E. Wilson received the Outstanding Research Accomplishment—Individual/Academia award for his research on vision injuries. Four different teams were awarded the Outstanding Research Accomplishment—Team for their significant research contributions. The text also mentions the winners of the Young Investigator Competition and the MHSRS Poster Competition. The winners come from various institutions and organizations, showcasing a diverse range of research and expertise. [Extracted from the article]

BACKGROUND: The surgeon-scientist brings a unique perspective to surgical research. The Association of Academic Surgeons and Society of University Surgeons foster the development of surgeon-scientists through foundation awards to residents and junior faculty. We sought to evaluate the academic success of surgeons who received an Association for Academic Surgery/Society of University Surgeons award. METHODS: Information was collected for individuals who received a resident or junior faculty research award from the Association for Academic Surgery or Society of University Surgeons. Google Scholar, Scopus, and the National Institutes of Health Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools: Expenditures and Results were used to assess scholarly achievements. RESULTS: Eighty-two resident awardees were included, 31 (38%) of whom were female. Thirteen (24%) are now professors, 12 (22%) are division chiefs, and 4 (7%) are department chairs. Resident awardees have a median of 886 citations (interquartile range 237-2,111) and an H-index of 14 (interquartile range 7-23). Seven (13%) went on to receive K08/K23 awards, and 7 (13%) received R01s, with a total of about $200 million in National Institutes of Health funding (79-fold return on investment). Thirty-four junior faculty awardees were included, 10 (29%) of whom were female. Thirteen (38%) are now professors, 12 (35%) are division chiefs, and 7 (21%) are department chairs. Faculty awardees have a median of 2,617 citations (interquartile range 1,343-7,857) and an H-index of 25 (interquartile range 18-49). Four (12%) received K08 or K23 awards, and 10 (29%) received R01s, with about $139 million in National Institutes of Health funding (98-fold return on investment). CONCLUSION: Association for Academic Surgery/Society of University Surgeons research awardees experience high degrees of success in academic surgery. Most resident awardees pursue fellowship training and remain in academic surgery. A high percentage of both faculty and resident awardees hold leadership positions and successfully achieve National Institutes of Health funding.

BACKGROUND: Increasing medical school faculty diversity is an urgent priority. National Institutes of Health (NIH) diversity supplements, which provide funding and career development opportunities to individuals underrepresented in research, are an important mechanism to increase faculty diversity. OBJECTIVE: Analyze diversity supplement utilization by medical schools. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: All R01 grant-associated diversity supplements awarded to medical schools from 2005 to 2020. Diversity supplements were identified using the publicly available NIH RePORTER database. MAIN MEASURES: Main measures were the number of R01-associated diversity supplements awarded to medical schools each year by medical school NIH funding status and the number of R01-associated diversity supplements awarded to individual medical schools in the NIH top 40 by funding status. We also examined the percentage of R01 grants with an associated diversity supplement by NIH funding status and individual medical school in the NIH top 40. KEY RESULTS: From 2005 to 2020, US medical school faculty received 1389 R01-associated diversity supplements. The number of diversity supplements awarded grew from 2012 to 2020, from ten to 187 for top 40 schools, and from seven to 83 for non-top 40 schools. The annual growth rate for diversity supplement awards at NIH top 40 schools (44.2%) was not significantly different than the annual growth rate among non-top 40 schools (36.2%; p = 0.68). From 2005 to 2020, the highest number of diversity supplements that an individual medical school received was 56 and the lowest number was four (mean = 24.6, SD = 11.7). The highest percentage of R01 grants with an associated diversity supplement received by a school was 4.5% and the lowest percentage was 0.79% (mean = 2.3%, SD = 0.98). CONCLUSION: Medical schools may be missing an opportunity to address the continuing shortage of individuals historically underrepresented in biomedical science and should consider additional mechanisms to enhance diversity supplement utilization.

Federal government research grants provide limited funding to plastic surgeon-scientists, with reconstructive research taking precedence over aesthetic research. The Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation (ASERF) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization that seeks to support innovative, diverse research endeavors within aesthetic surgery. A total of 130 ASERF-funded studies and 32 non-funded applications from 1992 to 2022 were reviewed. Kruskal Wallis, Fisher's exact, and chi-squared tests were utilized to assess the potential relationship between self-identified gender, practice setting, geographical location, and study type with individual grant amounts and grant funding decision. Although significant differences were observed between male and female grant recipient h-indices (P <.05), there were no differences in the amount of funding they received (P >.05). Grant amounts were also consistent between study types as well as principal investigator practice settings and geographical locations (P >.05). The subanalysis revealed that the practice setting of the primary investigator (PI) was the only variable to exhibit a significant association with the decision to award funding (P <.05). Further, of the 61 applicants between 2017 and 2022, only 2 PIs self-identified as female. ASERF serves as an excellent funding source for global aesthetic surgery. To promote further research diversification, increased emphasis should be placed on recruiting applicants from outside academia and those who identify as female or gender nonbinary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I am extraordinarily grateful and humbled to win the ASCB Prize for Excellence in Inclusivity. However, even as I continue to center equity in all aspects of my work as a scientist, educator, and professor, I hope that we can make this award, and awards like it, obsolete. To do that, we need to recognize all the ways that academic science, and our society in general, is structured to limit who gets to fully participate as scientists and scientific leaders, limiting true innovation and advancement of science and technology. This essay is an attempt to illuminate those connections.

BackgroundLong-term follow-up for clinician-scientist training programs is sparse. We describe the outcomes of clinician-scientist scholars in the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) K12 program in emergency care research up to 8.7 years after matriculation in the program.MethodsThis was a cohort study of faculty clinician-scientist scholars enrolled in a NHLBI K12 research training program at 6 sites across the US, with median follow-up 7.7 years (range 5.7-8.7 years) from the date of matriculation. Scholars completed electronic surveys in 2017 and 2019, with the 2019 survey collecting information for their current work setting, percent time for research, and grant funding from all sources. We used NIH RePorter and online resources to verify federal grants through March 2021. The primary outcome was a funded career development award (CDA) or research project grant (RPG) where the scholar was principal investigator. We included funding from all federal sources and national foundations.ResultsThere were 43 scholars, including 16 (37%) women. Over the follow-up period, 32 (74%) received an individual CDA or RPG, with a median of 36 months (range 9-83 months) after entering the program. Of the 43 scholars, 23 (54%) received a CDA and 22 (51%) received an RPG, 7 (16%) of which were R01s. Of the 23 scholars who received a CDA, 13 (56%) subsequently had an RPG funded. Time to CDA or RPG did not differ by sex (women vs. men log-rank test p = 0.27) or specialty training (emergency medicine versus other specialties, p = 0.59).ConclusionsAfter 7 years of follow-up for this NHLBI K12 emergency care research training program, three quarters of clinician-scientist scholars had obtained CDA or RPG funding, with no notable differences by sex or clinical training.

Objectives/hypothesisTo better understand the obstacles facing residents and K-awardee faculty in choosing a clinician-scientist career in otolaryngology.Study designAnonymous survey.MethodsAn anonymous, online Qualtrics survey was sent to residents participating in T32 training grants and K-awardee junior faculty. The survey was sent to the residents with the permission of their program chair. The results of this survey were compiled and analyzed. A separate survey was sent to current K-awardees in U.S. academic programs. Both surveys were then compared to a survey published in 2008 to determine if the concerns and obstacles faced by aspiring clinician-scientists are still present.ResultsResidents felt that combining a research and clinical career presented many obstacles, including a lower salary, competition with PhDs for grant funding, and the lack of departmental support. Prolonging their training to include a fellowship was not a deterrent. Family/spousal issues which ranked as the primary concern previously were no longer given the same level of importance. The major concerns of K-awardees were the economic disparity of clinician-scientists with their clinical counterparts, the lack of mentors, and department support. Forty percent received their K-award after first try, 100% after two revisions, and one has received an R grant funding.ConclusionsThe obstacles facing clinician-scientists in otolaryngology are highlighted by this survey and require attention by our academic programs, National Institutes of Health, and specialty societies.Level of evidenceNA Laryngoscope, 132:1555-1560, 2022.

The lack of racial diversity among the winners of United States biomedical research prizes reflects a chronic problem of the underappreciation of certain groups of biomedical scientists. Asians continue to be severely underrepresented as awardees of United States biomedical research prizes, a trend that shows no obvious recent improvement.

Study designRetrospective hospital-registry study.ObjectiveTo characterize the microbial epidemiology of surgical site infection (SSI) in spinal fusion surgery and the burden of resistance to standard surgical antibiotic prophylaxis.Summary of background dataSSI persists as a leading complication of spinal fusion surgery despite the growth of enhanced recovery programs and improvements in other measures of surgical quality. Improved understandings of SSI microbiology and common mechanisms of failure for current prevention strategies are required to inform the development of novel approaches to prevention relevant to modern surgical practice.MethodsSpinal fusion cases performed at a single referral center between January 2011 and June 2019 were reviewed and SSI cases meeting National Healthcare Safety Network criteria were identified. Using microbiologic and procedural data from each case, we analyzed the anatomic distribution of pathogens, their differential time to presentation, and correlation with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus screening results. Susceptibility of isolates cultured from each infection were compared with the spectrum of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis administered during the index procedure on a per-case basis. Susceptibility to alternate prophylactic agents was also modeled.ResultsAmong 6727 cases, 351 infections occurred within 90 days. An anatomic gradient in the microbiology of SSI was observed across the length of the back, transitioning from cutaneous (gram-positive) flora in the cervical spine to enteric (gram-negative/anaerobic) flora in the lumbosacral region (correlation coefficient 0.94, P

Diversity-focused committees continue to play essential roles in the efforts of professional scientific societies to foster inclusion and facilitate the professional development of underrepresented minority (URM) young scientists in their respective scientific disciplines. Until recently, the efforts of these committees have remained independent and disconnected from one another. Funding from the National Science Foundation has allowed several of these committees to come together and form the Alliance to Catalyze Change for Equity in STEM Success, herein referred to as ACCESS. The overall goal of this meta-organization is to create a community in which diversity-focused committees can interact, synergize, share their collective experiences, and have a unified voice on behalf of URM trainees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. In this Essay, we compare and contrast the broad approaches that scientific societies in ACCESS use to implement and assess their travel award programs for URM trainees. We also report a set of recommendations, including both short- and long-term outcomes assessment in populations of interest and specialized programmatic activities coupled to travel award programs.

Pioneering research from Mina Bissell established the "Dynamic-Reciprocity" view of biology in which there is a bidirectional interaction between cells and their microenvironment. Her revolutionary work showed that extracellular matrix signaling and microenvironment impact gene expression, taking cancer research beyond genetics. For these contributions, she is the recipient of the 2020 Canada Gairdner International Award. Growing up in a well-educated family in Iran, Mina liked to ask many "why" questions. She spoke with Cell editor Miao-Chih Tsai about how she tackles scientific questions and life challenges. Excerpts from this conversation are presented below, and the full conversation is available with the article online.

PURPOSE: National Institutes of Health career development (K) awards mandate specific allocations of effort to research and training. The authors sought to understand pressures perceived by award recipients to change or misrepresent effort, and whether these perceptions differed by gender. METHOD: In 2010-2011 and 2014, the authors surveyed K08 and K23 award recipients. Questions evaluated perceived pressure to change or misrepresent time allocation. Multivariable logistic regression modeling of pressure to misrepresent effort evaluated associations with individual and basic job characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 1,719 faculty in the initial target population, 493 women and 573 men (1,066, 62%) responded at both time points. Most respondents reported feeling pressure to increase time spent on professional activities other than their K award-related research or career development or to decrease time on their K award-related research. The likelihood of perceiving pressure differed significantly by gender: 68% of women vs 55% of men (P < .001). A minority reported perceiving pressure to misrepresent professional time (women, 29%, vs men, 27%, P = .52). Multivariable analysis revealed that pressure to misrepresent professional time was less likely among respondents at institutions with the most extramural funding (P = .02). A significant pairwise interaction between gender and K award type suggested that female K08 awardees had higher odds than male peers of perceiving pressure to misrepresent time. CONCLUSIONS: Most K award recipients reported feeling pressure to do more non-K award-related activities. More than a quarter reported feeling pressure to misrepresent effort. Additional research is needed to evaluate the proportion of academic medical faculty who actually misrepresent professional effort.

PurposeNational Institutes of Health career development (K) awards mandate specific allocations of effort to research and training. The authors sought to understand pressures perceived by award recipients to change or misrepresent effort, and whether these perceptions differed by gender.MethodIn 2010-2011 and 2014, the authors surveyed K08 and K23 award recipients. Questions evaluated perceived pressure to change or misrepresent time allocation. Multivariable logistic regression modeling of pressure to misrepresent effort evaluated associations with individual and basic job characteristics.ResultsOf the 1,719 faculty in the initial target population, 493 women and 573 men (1,066, 62%) responded at both time points. Most respondents reported feeling pressure to increase time spent on professional activities other than their K award-related research or career development or to decrease time on their K award-related research. The likelihood of perceiving pressure differed significantly by gender: 68% of women vs 55% of men (P < .001). A minority reported perceiving pressure to misrepresent professional time (women, 29%, vs men, 27%, P = .52). Multivariable analysis revealed that pressure to misrepresent professional time was less likely among respondents at institutions with the most extramural funding (P = .02). A significant pairwise interaction between gender and K award type suggested that female K08 awardees had higher odds than male peers of perceiving pressure to misrepresent time.ConclusionsMost K award recipients reported feeling pressure to do more non-K award-related activities. More than a quarter reported feeling pressure to misrepresent effort. Additional research is needed to evaluate the proportion of academic medical faculty who actually misrepresent professional effort.

BackgroundIn 1976, the U.S. Sugar Association (SA), a globally networked trade organization representing the cane and beet sugar industry, won the Public Relations Society of America's (PRSA) Silver Anvil Award for a crisis communication campaign. Their campaign successfully limited the diffusion of sugar restriction policies to control obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and dental caries, and marked the beginning of the modern-day SA. The sugar industry continues to resist measures to reduce sugar consumption, therefore understanding and addressing industry opposition is crucial to achieving global targets to reduce non-communicable disease.MethodsWe critically analyze common crisis management rhetorical strategies used by SA to defend itself from perceived wrongdoing, and sugar from perceptions of harm using a thematic content analysis based on Hearit's Corporate Apologia theory. Data sources were internal SA documents related to the 1976 Silver Anvil Award in 1) PRSA records, 2) Great Western Sugar Company records, and 3) William Jefferson Darby Papers.ResultsSA, using prototypical apologia stances (counterattack, differentiation, apology, and corrective action) and rhetorical dissociation strategies (appearance/reality, opinion/knowledge, and act/essence) constructed a persuasive narrative to successfully defend sugar from a product safety crisis, and the sugar industry from a social legitimacy crisis. SA's overarching narrative was that restricting sugar, which it claimed was a valuable food that makes healthy foods more palatable, would cause harm and that claims to the contrary were made by opportunists, pseudoscientists, food-faddists, lay nutritionists or those who had been misled by them. SA's apologia does not meet criteria for truthfulness or sincerity.ConclusionCorporate apologia theory provides an accessible way of understanding sugar industry crisis communication strategies. It enables public health actors to recognize and predict industry corporate apologia in response to ongoing product safety and social legitimacy challenges. Industry counterarguments can be examined for truthfulness and sincerity (or the lack thereof), and explained to policymakers considering sugar restriction policies, and to the public, thereby decreasing the effectiveness of illegitimate industry communication efforts to oppose regulation and legislation.

I am deeply humbled and honored to receive the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) Prize for Excellence in Inclusivity. Thank you to the ASCB for recognizing the contributions of faculty to inclusion and diversity in STEM and the importance of this for the advancement of science. Thank you to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) for your generous support of inclusivity. The prize money will be used to fund outreach activities aimed at increasing inclusion in science and to create research opportunities for students from underrepresented groups in the sciences. In this essay, I share bits of my life's story that I hope will resonate with a broad audience, especially students from underrepresented groups in STEM, and that drive my passion for inclusion and diversity. I provide points of consideration for students to enhance their preparation for science careers and for faculty to improve the current landscape of inclusion and diversity in STEM.

Why do members of some species live in groups while others are solitary? Group living (sociality) has often been studied from an evolutionary perspective, but less is known about the neurobiology of affiliation outside the realms of mating and parenting. Colonial species offer a valuable opportunity to study nonsexual affiliative behavior between adult peers. Meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) display environmentally induced variation in social behavior, maintaining exclusive territories in summer months, but living in social groups in winter. Research on peer relationships in female meadow voles demonstrates that these selective preferences are mediated differently than mate relationships in socially monogamous prairie voles, but are also impacted by oxytocin and HPA axis signaling. This review addresses day-length dependent variation in physiology and behavior, and presents the current understanding of the mechanisms supporting selective social relationships in meadow voles, with connections to lessons from other species.

There is growing concern that the physician-scientist is endangered due to a leaky training pipeline and prolonged time to scientific independence (1). The NIH Physician-Scientist Workforce Working Group has concluded that as many as 1,000 individuals will need to enter the pipeline each year to sustain the workforce (2). Moreover, surveys of postgraduate training programs document considerable variability in disposition and infrastructure (3). Programs can be broadly grouped into two classes: physician-scientist training programs (PSTPs) that span residency and fellowship training, and research-in-residency programs (RiRs), which are limited to residency but trainees are able to match into PSTPs upon transitioning to fellowship (Figure 1). Funding sources for RiRs and PSTPs are varied and include NIH KL2 and T32 awards, charitable foundations, philanthropy, and institutional support. Furthermore, standards for research training and tools for evaluating programmatic success are lacking. Here, we share consensus generated from iterative workshops hosted by the Alliance of Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) and the student-led American Physician Scientists Association (APSA).

Cellular physiology depends on the alteration of protein structures by covalent modification reactions. Using a combination of bioinformatic, genetic, biochemical, and mass spectrometric approaches, it has been possible to probe ribosomal proteins from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae for post-translationally methylated amino acid residues and for the enzymes that catalyze these modifications. These efforts have resulted in the identification and characterization of the first protein histidine methyltransferase, the first N-terminal protein methyltransferase, two unusual types of protein arginine methyltransferases, and a new type of cysteine methylation. Two of these enzymes may modify their substrates during ribosomal assembly because the final methylated histidine and arginine residues are buried deep within the ribosome with contacts only with RNA. Two of these modifications occur broadly in eukaryotes, including humans, whereas the others demonstrate a more limited phylogenetic range. Analysis of strains where the methyltransferase genes are deleted has given insight into the physiological roles of these modifications. These reactions described here add diversity to the modifications that generate the typical methylated lysine and arginine residues previously described in histones and other proteins.

PURPOSE:To elucidate the effects of growth differentiation factor-6 (GDF6) on: (i) gene expression of inflammatory/pain-related molecules and structural integrity in the rabbit intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration model, and (ii) sensory dysfunction and changes in pain-marker expression in dorsal nerve ganglia (DRGs) in the rat xenograft radiculopathy model. METHODS:Forty-six adolescent rabbits received anular-puncture in two non-consecutive lumbar IVDs. Four weeks later, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or GDF6 (1, 10 or 100 µg) was injected into the nucleus pulposus (NP) of punctured discs and followed for 4 weeks for gene expression analysis and 12 weeks for structural analyses. For pain assessment, eight rabbits were sacrificed at 4 weeks post-injection and NP tissues of injected discs were transplanted onto L5 DRGs of 16 nude rats to examine mechanical allodynia. The rat DRGs were analyzed immunohistochemically. RESULTS:In GDF6-treated rabbit NPs, gene expressions of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, vascular endothelial growth factor, prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2, and nerve growth factor were significantly lower than those in the PBS group. GDF6 injections resulted in partial restoration of disc height and improvement of MRI disc degeneration grades with statistical significance in rabbit structural analyses. Allodynia induced by xenograft transplantation of rabbit degenerated NPs onto rat DRGs was significantly reduced by GDF6 injection. Staining intensities for ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule-1 and calcitonin gene-related peptide in rat DRGs of the GDF6 group were significantly lower than those of the PBS group. CONCLUSION:GDF6 injection may change the pathological status of degenerative discs and attenuate degenerated IVD-induced pain.

This month's Magnet® Perspectives column spotlights recipients of the 2024 ANCC Magnet Program® National Magnet Nurse of the Year® (MNOY) awards and the ANCC Magnet Prize®, sponsored by Press Ganey, recognized during the colocated ANCC National Magnet Conference® and the ANCC Pathway to Excellence Conference® in New Orleans, Louisiana, October 29 to November 1, 2024. The MNOY awards recognize 5 exceptional clinical nurses in Magnet-designated organizations who demonstrate outstanding contributions in innovation, consultation, leadership, and professional risk taking. The ANCC Magnet Prize recognizes a Magnet organization whose nursing team spearheaded exemplary achievements including initiative(s) in healthcare delivery and research leading to innovations in patient care services. Press Ganey sponsors the Magnet Prize by providing a $125 000 purse to further develop and advance the organization's innovative program/project., Competing Interests: The author declares no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2025 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Gratitude is a powerful emotion. In healthcare, where patients and families navigate the complexities of illness and recovery, expressing gratitude can become a significant force for healing and connection. The DAISY Award, established to honor the extraordinary compassion and skill of nurses, has become a conduit through which patients and families can articulate their appreciation. This column explores how expressions of gratitude facilitate healing for patients and families, highlight meaningful care attributes, and foster a deeper connection to the healthcare organization., Competing Interests: The author declares no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2025 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the longevity of a large sample of Olympic Games participants, considering the interaction between different types of sports and medal awards., Methodolgy: Data scraping from Wikipedia and Wikidata allowed us to collect a sample of 102,993 famous athletes. We selected 20 of the most populated disciplines to make the groups comparable. We conducted a comparison of life duration on a subset of 17,194 elite athletes, predominantly male, dead at the time of analysis., Results: Olympic medalists' lifespan was shorter than non-medalists. Athletes in such disciplines as boxing, weightlifting, ice hockey, cycling, football, swimming, and wrestling lived significantly shorter lives than the mean of the group of athletes. In contrast, the duration of life in athletes involved in athletics, rowing, fencing, artistic gymnastics, shooting, cross-country skiing, sailing, and equestrian sports was highest compared with the mean of the group., Conclusions: Disciplines classified as engaging mostly power were linked to shorter lifespans, whereas those involving predominantly skill were associated with longer life durations. The interaction of being a medalist and sport was found to be significant. Medalists in the disciplines of athletics, basketball, boxing, equestrian sports, wrestling, and water polo had significantly shorter lives (the final item was insignificant after correction for multiple comparisons). Olympic achievement was linked to length of life in mainly individual, not team, sports., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: DJ declares that he is a voluntary, non-paid member of the Board of Trustees of Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit publisher of Wikipedia and Wikidata.

This is an extended version of the speech given by Garrett Brown in accepting the Alice Hamilton Award from the Occupational Health and Safety Section of the American Public Health Association. The award recognizes the life-long contributions of individuals who have distinguished themselves through a career of hard work and dedication to improve the lives of workers. Alice Hamilton (1869-1970) was considered the founder of occupational health in the U.S. and was a tireless activist and physician who dedicated her life to improving the health and safety of workers. She was committed to science, service, and compassion., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) is a monocarboxypeptidase that cleaves Ang II (angiotensin II) among other substrates. ACE2 is present in the cell membrane of many organs, most abundantly in epithelial cells of kidney proximal tubules and the small intestine, and also exists in soluble forms in plasma and body fluids. Membrane-bound ACE2 exerts a renoprotective action by metabolizing Ang II and therefore attenuating the undesirable actions of excess Ang II. Therefore, soluble ACE2, by downregulating this peptide, may exert a therapeutic action. Our laboratory has designed ACE2 truncates that pass the glomerular filtration barrier to target the kidney renin-angiotensin system directly and, therefore, compensate for loss of kidney membrane-bound ACE2. Membrane-bound ACE2 is also the essential receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Soluble ACE2 proteins have been studied as a way to intercept SARS-CoV-2 from binding to membrane-bound ACE2 and prevent cell entry of SARS-CoV-2 altogether. We bioengineered a soluble ACE2 protein, termed ACE2 618-DDC-ABD, with increased binding affinity for SARS-CoV-2 and prolonged duration of action, which, when administered intranasally, provides near-complete protection from lethality in k18hACE2 mice infected with different SARS-CoV-2 variants. The main advantage of soluble ACE2 proteins for the neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 is their immediate onset of action and universality for current and future emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. It is notable that ACE2 is critically involved in 2 dissimilar functions: as a receptor for cell entry of many coronaviruses and as an enzyme in the metabolism of Ang II, and yet in both cases, it is a therapeutic target., Competing Interests: D. Batlle and J. Wysocki are coinventors of patents entitled “Active Low Molecular Weight Variants of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2)” and “Soluble ACE2 Variants and Uses Therefor.” D. Batlle is founder of Angiotensin Therapeutics Inc and has received consultant fees from AstraZeneca, Renibus, and Advicenne unrelated to this work. J. Wysocki reports scientific advisor capacity for Angiotensin Therapeutics Inc. The other author reports no conflicts.

Objective: This study investigated whether the origin (acquired or congenital) and type of impairment affect the participation and likelihood of winning a medal in different sports at the Paralympic Games., Design: We analyzed competition data and athlete biographies web scraped from the International Paralympic Committee's website ( www.Paralympic.org )., Results: In some sports, athletes with one origin or type of impairment were overrepresented. For example, 76% of Para-snowboarders had an acquired impairment. Furthermore, mixed effects logistic regression analyses showed that the origin of impairment had no effect on the likelihood of winning a medal in most sports. However, athletes with a congenital impairment had a significantly higher likelihood of winning a medal compared to those with an acquired impairment in Para-athletics, Para-alpine skiing, and Para-biathlon (odds ratio: 1.71, P < 0.01, odds ratio: 3.69, P = 0.002, and odds ratio: 3.70, P = 0.016, respectively). Athletes with a given origin-type of impairment combination also may have an advantage or disadvantage in some sports. For example, athletes with an acquired spinal cord injury win proportionally fewer medals in Para-powerlifting., Conclusions: Understanding potential effects of the origin and type of impairment on participation and medaling chances in Paralympic sports can help shape the development of Para-sports and support talent identification., Competing Interests: Financial disclosure statements have been obtained, and no conflicts of interest have been reported by the authors or by any individuals in control of the content of this article., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Numerous eponymous awards and scholarships exist within sexual medicine. This comprehensive review is intended to summarize these awards and highlight the esteemed sexual medicine experts for whom these awards are named., Objectives: To provide historical background and context for the various eponymous awards in sexual medicine., Methods: The websites of the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) and the regional affiliate societies, including the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA), International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH), and various regional societies were identified, and all awards associated with a member of note were documented. In cases where no awards were identified within a regional society and a contact person was available, inquiries were made regarding the existence of awards. Several documents on the history of the ISSM were utilized for background on awards., Results: A comprehensive list of current awards and their history was compiled., Conclusion: This is the first comprehensive history of eponymous awards and scholarships available in sexual medicine., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Sexual Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Introduction/aims: Institutions and organizations, including the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM), have committed to embracing principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Notwithstanding this commitment, studies repeatedly demonstrate that women physicians are less likely to receive awards in medicine and research compared to their male counterparts. Whether women physicians are less likely to be recognized with AANEM awards is unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether there is a gender disparity in the AANEM's annual awards., Methods: In this retrospective observational study, lists of award winners were obtained from the AANEM website. Award winners' gender was assigned by three independent reviewers based on searches of public professional websites according to established methodology. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics., Results: Of 154 physician awards from 1957 to 2023, 24 (15.6%) were awarded to women and 135 (84.4%) to men. The first woman to win an AANEM award was in 2003. As the number of award categories increased over time (from 1 pre-1994 to 9 as of 2019), so too did the proportion of women winners. From 1994 to 2003, 3.4% of AANEM awardees were women compared to 17.1% from 2004 to 2013 and 18% from 2014 to 2023. Even over time, the greatest disparities existed for the Distinguished Physician/Researcher and Lifetime Achievement awards., Discussion: For the AANEM, there is a notable gender gap in physician awards, but this gap has narrowed over time. Further efforts to address systemic barriers contributing to this disparity are warranted., (© 2025 The Author(s). Muscle & Nerve published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Congratulations to Dr Raphaële Clément, University of California, Santa Barbara, United States, for being selected as the recipient of the 2024 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship.

Editors' note: The Ogawa-Yamanaka Stem Cell Prize recognizes groundbreaking work in translational regenerative medicine using reprogrammed cells. The prize is supported by Gladstone Institutes, in partnership with Cell Press. Winner of the 2024 Ogawa-Yamanaka Stem Cell Prize Rusty Gage made landmark discoveries that fundamentally shifted the field of neuroscience., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests Sarah Stanley is a freelance writer who regularly writes for Gladstone Institutes. This manuscript was a paid commission from Gladstone Institutes., (Copyright © 2024.)

This article evaluates disparities in neurosurgical awards, focusing on the underrepresentation of women and racial minorities. It underscores the need for transparent award selection processes and diverse judging panels to foster inclusivity. The article also highlights the importance of mentorship programs in addressing systemic biases. It calls for further research into institutional factors, including education and geographic disparities, that contribute to inequitable representation. By implementing these reforms, the field of neurosurgery can ensure a more diverse and innovative future, ultimately improving patient care and outcomes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The following article is the winning 2024 Richard Hader Visionary Leader Award entry submitted to Nursing Management in recognition of Crystal Lawson, DNP, RN, CENP, during her tenure as interim director of education at Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital in Marina del Rey, Calif. She currently serves as CEO and founder of We Rise Up, an organization dedicated to equipping, inspiring, and empowering nurse leaders, and continues working in a leadership development consultant capacity for Cedars Sinai., (Copyright © 2025 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The Gait Profile Score (GPS) and the Gait Variable Score (GVS) are summary measures used to assess the long-term effects of neuro-orthopedic surgery (NOS) in children with cerebral palsy (cwCP)., Research Question: What are the immediate changes after NOS as assessed by GPS and GVS, and how does GPS variation (ΔGPS) compare to the clinical opinion of the NOS outcome?, Methods: Prospective single-arm cohort study. CwCP were assessed before NOS and after the first month of weight-bearing. Popliteal angle, ankle passive dorsiflexion (pDF), and spasticity were collected at the bedside. During walking, pain was assessed using NPRS, and speed was obtained from gait analysis data, as well as GPS and GVS. Longitudinal variations were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test. Children were classified as Improved (I), Stable (S), or Worsened (W) according to ΔGPS and the cut-off threshold recommended in literature. Two clinicians independently classified patients either as I, S, or W based on surgical outcome. Agreement between these two classifications was analyzed using Cohen's k., Results: Twenty cwCP, 11.4 (3.4) years, were included. At the follow-up: the popliteal angle was reduced by 20° (p=0.015); pDF increased by 10° (p<0.001), and triceps surae spasticity decreased (p=0.008). Pain decreased in four children. GPS decreased from 12.7 (range 8.1-27.7) to 11.8 (7.6-17.6) (ES=0.514, p=0.046), despite a decrease in gait speed (p<0.001). GVS better highlighted the effect of NOS after single-level surgery. Clinically, 18/1/1 children were classified I/S/W. Based on ΔGPS, 9/8/3 children were classified I/S/W. Such disagreement (k=0.119, p=0.227) was mainly due to the different focus of the two assessments., Significance: Following NOS, immediate improvements in walking kinematics were observed., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Abstract: To better understand the amount of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding received by U.S. medical schools with Liaison Committee on Medical Education-accredited medical education programs, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) developed a new methodology that crosswalks faculty NIH grants with medical schools and their affiliated organizations (e.g., teaching hospitals). This approach offers a more comprehensive and methodologically transparent accounting of NIH extramural funding to academic medicine than existing processes.The AAMC Crosswalk utilized publicly available grants data from the NIH and resources unique to the AAMC, such as the Faculty Roster and Council of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems records. Using a multistep algorithm, the AAMC Crosswalk linked individual faculty with NIH grants, their organizations, and partner medical schools, aggregated at the level of the medical school and its affiliated organizations for fiscal year (FY) 2017-2021.The AAMC Crosswalk attributed, on average, $3.7 billion more per year in NIH funding to U.S. medical schools, representing a 24% increase compared to the NIH and Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research (BRIMR) methodologies. In FY 2021, the AAMC Crosswalk attributed 60% of NIH funding to U.S. medical schools compared with 47% by NIH and 50% by BRIMR. An exploration of limitations showed that no medical school affiliations were missed by the AAMC Crosswalk among 90 randomly sampled organizations, and medical school affiliations for 30 randomly sampled principal investigator faculty members were attributed correctly.These findings indicate that academic medicine's contribution to biomedical research may be greater than historically reported. Systematically accounting for grants awarded to faculty across medical schools and their affiliated organizations provides a more comprehensive understanding of NIH funding to U.S. medical schools. The AAMC Crosswalk provides a new tool to better estimate the true investment and role of academic medicine in advancing biomedical research., (Copyright © 2024 the Association of American Medical Colleges.)

This article analyses how the French Academy of Sciences assessed Jaime Ferrán's cholera vaccine submitted for the Prix Bréant in the 1880s. Ferrán, a Spanish independent physician, discovered the treatment in 1884 and tried it on thousands of patients during the cholera outbreak in Valencia the following year. His evaluation sparked a controversy in Spain and abroad on the vaccine's efficacy. The Bréant jury did not see any evidence for it in Ferrán's submission, a decision usually interpreted in terms of French scientific nationalism (or simple chauvinism): an outsider from the scientific periphery could not be awarded the Bréant. Drawing on the archival records of the award, we suggest that Ferrán failed instead to provide data that the Academy could consider unbiased, according to the contemporary standards for data presentation. We will illustrate these standards at work in the assessment of another submission from Spain, by Philip Hauser, who received the Bréant for the thoroughness of his statistical endeavour., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Health technology assessment (HTA) agencies assess evidence to support decision making about which technologies to provide and pay for in the health system. HTA impact is understood as the influence that HTA report findings can have in the health system, including impacts on reimbursement decisions, changes to health outcomes, or broader system or societal impacts. The International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA) is a global network of publicly funded HTA agencies. INAHTA's mission, in part, is to advance the impact of HTA to support reimbursement decisions and the optimal use of health system resources. Each year, INAHTA awards the David Hailey Award for Best Impact Story to the member agency that shares the best story, as voted by fellow members, about HTA impact. The impact story sharing program in INAHTA contributes to a deeper understanding of what works well (or not so well) in achieving HTA impact. This paper provides six impact stories from agencies that were finalists for the 2021 and 2022 David Hailey Impact Award for Best Impact Story: the Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux, the Malaysian Health Technology Assessment Section, Ontario Health, the Center for Drug Evaluation, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and Health Technology Wales. These stories demonstrate that HTA agencies can, in differing ways, effectively support governments in their efforts to place evidence at the centre of decision making.

In 2024, Mary Beth Kingston, PhD, RN, FAAN, received the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. This award honors an AONL member recognized by the nursing community as a significant leader in the nursing profession and who has served AONL in an important leadership capacity. Kingston retires in December 2024 from her position as executive vice president and chief nursing officer at Advocate Health, Charlotte, North Carolina, the nation's 3rd largest nonprofit integrated health system. As AONL Board President in 2019, she played an instrumental role in the rebranding of the organization. Kingston spoke at a thought leader session at the AONL annual conference in April 2024. The following column is based on her remarks., Competing Interests: The author declares no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Importance: It is uncertain whether current measures of achievement during medical school predict exceptional performance during surgical residency. One surrogate of excellence during residency may be awards, especially those given for teaching and annual overall accomplishment., Objective: Determine whether markers of superior performance during medical school documented in the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) application and student record correlated with receiving awards during residency., Design: Data was analyzed from ERAS and student applications of 296 residency graduates. Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated., Participants: 296 residency graduates from 14 US general surgery residency programs., Main Outcomes and Measurements: The relationship between each residency and preresidency variable and the outcome of receiving any qualifying award. Secondary analysis included the correlation with winning a teaching or annual overall award., Results: Although 140 (48%) residents received an award during residency, only 69 (23.3%) received a teaching award, while 50 (17.6%) received one for annual overall performance. Membership in Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) and honors in pediatrics rotation correlated with receiving any award. USMLE step 1 score and AOA membership reached statistically significant positively correlation with receiving a teaching award, while completing a sub-internship at that institution was negatively associated. For annual overall awards, only completing a sub-internship at the same institution reached statistical significance., Conclusions: None of the traditional metrics in the ERAS or global student record consistently correlated with receiving an award during residency. Our findings suggest that preresidency factors available on the global application, including grades, test scores, and honor society membership, poorly correlate with exceptional general surgery residency performance as measured by receiving awards. Residency programs should shift away from using traditional ERAS metrics as the primary criteria for selection, but rather as 1 component of holistic applicant review., (Copyright © 2024 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In this Prentice Medal Award lecture, I shall recount my career in vision science in the context of three types of inspiration-"being inspired," "personal inspiration," and "inspiring others." My research has derived inspiration from a variety of sources, such as contemporary and historical research doyens in the ophthalmic field and beyond, artists, Greek philosophers, and abstract constructs such as principles and adages. A given moment of inspiration can range from being a profound experience to a subtle realization during a quiet moment of reflection. Here I shall recount the primary research domains of vision science that have defined my academic career in the context of the three types of inspiration defined above. These research domains are ophthalmic markers of diabetic neuropathy, ocular response to contact lens wear, contact lens-induced parainflammation, contact lens-associated microbial keratitis, grading scales for contact lens complications, contact lens prescribing surveys, material properties of contact lenses, contact lens compliance, history of contact lenses, ocular thermography, and ophthalmic bibliometrics. The notions of "being inspired" and "personal inspiration" are necessarily subjective, although I have endeavored to present them here in a scientific context. Conversely, the notion of "inspiring others" can be objectively gauged, at least in part, by counting article citations or the number of times articles are read online or downloaded from a journal website. In conclusion, my research in the vision sciences has been inspired by others, derived from personal ideas, and perhaps in turn has inspired others., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The author received a commission from Atago Co. Ltd. (Japan) relating to the commercial production of the Atago CL-1 Soft Contact Lens Refractometer in 1985 (production of this device ceased around 1995). Hydron UK (now CooperVision) sponsored production of the Efron Grading Scales for Contact Lens Complications from 1996 to 2000, and the author occasionally receives license fees for use of these Scales. The author receives royalties from sales of his published books., (Copyright © 2024 American Academy of Optometry.)

Awards presented by professional associations frequently carry the name of an individual who exemplifies the qualities associated with individuals who are selected as award recipients. Early in the tenure of the award, the recipients and selection committee members are familiar with the name and accomplishments of the individual whose name appears on the award but, over time, members of the Academy may lose the significance the individual played in the association and have little or no memory of how the work of the pioneer laid the foundation for today's practice. This commentary reviews the career, accomplishments, and visionary leadership of Robert K. Chalmers who the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Board of Directors chose to link with the Distinguished Pharmacy Educator Award in 2000., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None declared., (Copyright © 2024 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To understand time allocation of a national medical faculty cohort 1.5-2 years after the COVID-19 pandemic began compared with before., Method: From August 2021-April 2022, the authors conducted a retrospective survey of 1,430 clinician-researchers who received National Institutes of Health career-development awards between 2006-2009 asking about domestic and professional time allocation prepandemic and at the time of surveys (TOS). Of 915 respondents (64%), the 830 who remained in academic positions constituted the analytic sample. Multivariable regression models identified demographic factors associated with each time outcome and change in time between prepandemic and TOS, and having experienced a ≥8-hour increase of total self-reported weekly professional work hours and domestic labor hours., Results: Median self-reported weekly professional work hours were 55 hours/week prepandemic and 60 at TOS. On multivariable analysis, significant predictors of self-reported weekly professional work hours at TOS were having a non-child other dependent (+2.6 hours, P = .03), academic rank (associate -3.1 hours, assistant -9.0 hours; P < .001), and specialty ( P < .001). Average self-reported TOS weekly domestic-labor hours were 23.1 among men and 30.2 among women ( P < .001). Predictors of total self-reported TOS weekly domestic hours were being a woman (+5.6 hours; P < .001) and having children requiring supervision (+10.2 hours; P < .001). Overall, 9.3% of men (42/450) and 21.6% of women (88/407) experienced a ≥8-hour increase in domestic labor ( P < .001). On multivariable analysis, women had higher odds of substantial domestic-labor increase (OR = 2.33, 95% CI: 1.47, 3.68), as did those with children requiring supervision (OR = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.25, 2.98) or other dependents (OR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.13, 2.98)., Conclusions: This study illuminates demands on women and faculty with dependents during the COVID-19 pandemic and suggests increased flexibility and resources are of heightened importance., (Copyright © 2024 the Association of American Medical Colleges.)

The Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network Shoulder Group conducted a prospective cohort study of 452 patients with symptomatic atraumatic rotator cuff tears treated with a physical therapy program to determine the predictors of failure of nonsurgical treatment, to provide insight into indications for surgery. After 10 years, we found the following: (1) Physical therapy was effective for over 70% of patients. (2) PROMs showed statistical and clinical improvement after 12 weeks of therapy and did not decline over 10 years. (3) Cuff tear severity did not correlate with pain, duration of symptoms, or activity level. (4) Of those who had surgery, 56.7% had surgery in the first 6 months while 43.3% had surgery between 6 months and 10 years. (5) Early surgery was primarily driven by low patient expectations regarding the effectiveness of therapy. (6) Later surgery predictors included workers' compensation status, activity level, and patient expectations. (7) Only 1 patient had a reverse arthroplasty (0.2% of the cohort). These data suggest that physical therapy is an effective and durable treatment of atraumatic symptomatic rotator cuff tears and most patients successfully treated with physical therapy do not exhibit a decline in patient-reported outcomes over time. Reverse arthroplasty after nonsurgical treatment is exceptionally rare., (Copyright © 2024 by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.)

Most every new clinician practicing in nutrition support enters their practice environment with wide open eyes and a sense of curiosity as they encounter new patient and clinical experiences. As clinicians expand their expertise, they often identify challenges they are eager to address. Eagerness turns to passion as the desire to affect change grows. Malnutrition has sparked curiosity and interest in many, and, in some, it has become a passion. As a result, many major achievements have occurred both in the United States and globally that have the capability of moving the needle favorably to achieve better outcomes for our patients. This lecture will highlight how curiosity, eagerness, and passion have led to successes in addressing aspects of malnutrition. These successes offer the structure to continue our efforts to move the needle forward. Our patients deserve nothing more., (© 2024 American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.)