movement.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time over the last few days following news of social justice movements happening around the world, in particular the Red Shirts of Bangkok, anti-dam protests in Brazil and international human rights discussions about the illegality of rape being used as a weapon of war.   Some points are more compelling than others, but to be sure, a lot is happening right now — not 50 or 100 years ago…right NOW — and some of it is too extreme, too terrible to think of.  Despite my varying levels of comfort, however, remaining uninformed about the reality of modern-day injustice is reckless and unacceptable.

Having been in Bangkok not too long before the military coup in 2006, I find it difficult to imagine what the current state of things must be like.  Violent conflict seemed a very distant reality until last week when the military and activists clashed in a rather bloody confrontation, an outcome I’m sure neither side wanted.

I have not seen anywhere a more organized and vehement grassroots movement than what I witnessed in Bangkok during my attendance at the International AIDS Conference 6 years ago.  For one to say they were working together in solidarity would have been an understated description of how activist groups and community leaders responded to the need for increased awareness of and access to HIV/AIDS  education and treatment.  As the number of people joining the protests and peaceful marches continued to increase, the momentum grew like nothing I had seen before.  Thousands of people from all sectors of the community came — from rural to urban, from male to female, from young to old — to exercise their right as citizens to make their priorities known to their elected leaders.  I was impressed and felt fortunate to be part of such a lively voice.  And the people were heard.  Thailand has one of the most comprehensive national HIV/AIDS programs, in terms of education/prevention and access to treatment, in the world.

So when I look at Thailand, and see their citizens demanding to be heard, and see their leaders responding to what is demanded of them, I can’t help but compare that level of activism to other movements around the world (and here at home).  If the people demand justice, will it come?  Will the unsanctioned, misguided, corrupt, self-interested political gestures that lead to disparity end?  I believe the answer is yes… eventually.  There are still many voices that go unheard or are ignored altogether and they are all demanding justice.  It will take time, and it will take staying the course.  I believe that true empathy, by definition, breeds moderation.  We should, therefore, work to understand one another so that we might all enjoy a little peace of mind in our lifetimes.

DemCon 2008 in Denver

I was very happy to attend the 2008 Democratic Convention speeches on Tuesday August 26th (Hillary Clinton) and Thursday August 28th (Barack Obama’s acceptance speech).  The entire event was amazing.  I have photos from Tuesday night only;  l left my camera at home on Thursday (doh!).  A good friend of mine took hundreds of pics, though, so more photos will get added to my Flickr album as soon as I get them.

I don’t usually go into politics in this blog but I couldn’t now, even if I wanted to.  I’m still processing it all.  Obama’s speech was inspirational and bold.  I’ve lived a piece of history that the world will be talking about for many years to come.

You might be a Perfectionist if…

…you read this recent article from the NY Times and suddenly feel a little exposed…

Accolades, again!

I was very pleased to read recently that Vanessa Northington Gamble, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed as University Professor of Medical Humanities at George Washington University, effective earlier this month. As a physician, historian, and activist, Dr. Gamble is an expert in the fields of medical history and humanities, bioethics and health care disparities, and is the first woman to hold this prestigious faculty position.

Early in my academic career I spent hours in the stacks of the local university’s library reading anything I could get my hands on that dealt with the history of race and ethnicity in medicine and public health in this country. Scholars such as Dr. Gamble fueled my passion, with writings and publications that vociferously addressed the state of health care as I observed it within my community, and presented to me a priceless body of knowledge from which I have drawn from over and over again.

Dr. Gamble directed the National Center for Bioethics and Research in Health Care at Tuskegee University and has served as head of the Division of Community and Minority Programs at the Association of American Medical Colleges. She is also an associate professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Many congratulations to her and to the faculty that will benefit tremendously from her wisdom.

Moving Forward in Science Policy

On August 13th, Dr. Nina Fedoroff, of Pennsylvania State University, was sworn in as the newest Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State (Ms. Condoleezza Rice). While in this position, Dr. Fedoroff will have a key influence on the future of American science policy and international scientific cooperation–

“The position of Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary (STAS) was created in 2000, to serve as the Department’s chief scientist and principal liaison with the national and international scientific and engineering communities. Dr. Fedoroff is the third person to hold this position. The Adviser is responsible for enhancing the science and technology literacy and capacity at the State Department, increasing the number of scientists and engineers working in Washington and missions abroad, strengthening and building bridges to the scientific and engineering communities, and providing advice on current and emerging science and technology issues as they impact foreign policy.” (excerpted from the U.S. Department of State’s website)

Dr. Fedoroff has been a favorite researcher of mine for quite some time because of her work with genetics and molecular biology and her studies on the societal impacts of genetically modified crops. She brings to the position an impressive body of knowledge and a well-respected plethora of experience, which includes memberships to the National Science Board and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She also served as founding Director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State and is a National Medal of Science laureate.

I look forward to hearing the dialogue her office will bring to the public policy round table.

In Solidarity

To those suffering from the violence at Virginia Tech, our hearts are with you…

When the Buffalonians think you’re in trouble…

I’m from Buffalo, NY, which is, admittedly, one of the snowiest places in this country. Whenever the issue of being “snow-savvy” came up amongst my Colorado peers, I’d always test their mettle with stories that began with sentances like, “When I was a young girl I had to walk through 6 feet of snow, and uphill no less, to get to school”, or “Eh, I took my driver’s license test in weather worse than this”…and I’d be telling the truth. I’ve lived through the Blizzards of ’77, ’79, ’85, ’92 and ’01, with wonderful, tall tales to tell about each of one (even if , technically, I was too young to remember any of it).

Well, today, Coloradoans have proven themselves to be made of tougher stuff than I thought, the kind us Buffalonians won’t easily scoff at: I awoke this morning to find that a large, heavy and THICK blanket of snow had landed outside my front door! Reports are rolling in claiming that, in the last 36 hours, over 5 feet fell in various, southern parts of the state, with 2-3 feet falling in much of the remaining Denver metro areas. I could easily see that about three feet had accumulated in my neighborhood alone.

I stayed bunkered in the house for most of the time, only coming out late this afternoon after the snowfall had broken. Through it all I received phone calls of support and emails of concern from family and friends back east–most to express their best wishes, a few to have a good laugh–and I am very grateful for all of it, thank you! But the one I’ll remember the most came from my mom, who called and said:

“I thought you’d like to know, a friend of mine just called to say,

‘Those of us in Buffalo should thank our lucky stars we don’t live in Colorado.’ “

Okay Colorado, this time, you take the prize

From Bones to Batteries

(aka, what I spend time thinking about when there are more important, even urgent, matters to attend to)

Systems Biology and Emergent Properties

During the course of this semester, I’ve had the pleasure of learning about recent advances made in the field of Biological Engineering. Many efforts are being made to link the fields of traditional science and engineering, with the hope that innovation and scientific discovery will be found where they meet. One promising junction is systems biology, or the study of how the order of living biological systems (from the macroscale down to the nanoscale) determines an organism’s function. Biological systems are all around and in us: the cells in our bodies are organized to function together as a heart, or a lung, and these organs in turn function together to allow us to breathe and use oxygen; individuals within a species together make up a population, that in turn functions as an entity within an ecological niche, which in turn builds an ecosystem…the levels of organization go as high as our solar system, and beyond.

The fascinating discovery seen within these layers of life is how, as one progresses up through the levels of organization from the least to the most complex systems, properties begin to emerge that aren’t seen at lower levels. This is the idea of emergent properties.

For example, when scientists observe nerve cells under the microscope, there are many parts of the cell one can distinguish. Each cell as an individual , however, remains fairly uninteresting. But, if one gathers together many cells and forms a specific tissue, say brain tissue, suddenly those uninteresting cells, collectively, exhibit new behavior. As a result of higher organization humans can experience thoughts, memories and emotions. Systems biologists ask, what biologcal mechanisms are responsible for emergent properties?

As one whose higher education has its foundations in biology and chemistry, and who now has transitioned into engineering and space systems, I’ve become really interested in learning about how this field can improve space science and engineering. A researcher by the name of Dr. Angela Belcher at MIT has pioneered some very interesting studies into the use of biological components (viruses, proteins), which already exist in every living thing, for the manufacturing of materials essential to us. For example, using cells that are already “programmed” (via their DNA instructions) to make bone tissue to instead make silicon composites for use in solar cells. The mechanism for manufacturing is already there, but by introducing the raw materials necessary to make other composites the cells become factories of a different economy, if you will.

The reasons I find this research so novel are: 1) as a global community our energy needs require new, innovative solutions; 2) naturally occurring systems are by design clean, efficient and self-sustaining, and thereby impose minimal environmental impact (they have to be to have survived these many billions of years); 3) by mimicking the mechanisms that already occur in nature we are following a well-established and time-tested model. There are many factors to consider here, that is for sure, but I think there really is something to all of this.

Even more interesting is the scale at which most biological systems fundamentally operate: nano. This means that as the “nano-age” continues to unfold even more opportunities for scientific discovery will emerge.

Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Let’s try a quick recap of what’s been going on:

• School is going well. Homework and exams began rolling in at a regular pace a few weeks ago, so it feels real. I’m pretty confident about my ability to maintain high marks this semester. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the grant I was hoping for. That was disappointing, especially since I was told on several occasions that I had it. The most frustrating part was waiting—almost 2 months of being told it’s coming, to end with “Oops, sorry, no it’s not.”—which launched me into a long, pedantic dissertation on the unreliable state of education funding today. Don’t worry; I’ve spared this blog the gory details . If you’re interested, though, shoot me a note. I’d be happy to commiserate some more.
• New place: So yeah, since I didn’t get fully funded this year, I’m moving at the end of this month to less-expensive digs.

Colorado AIDS Walk 2006

It’s that time of year again…fundraisers, volunteerism, autumn…

For the third year in a row this weekend, I’m walking in what is probably Colorado’s largest AIDS fundraiser. The walk is 5K (and for the first time, some are running this year), and all proceeds/donations go to organizations that support the HIV/AIDS community in Colorado. Thousands participate, and there are free massages and ice cream at the end of it! Now as if THAT weren’t enough to get me involved, I also get to do some good in the community

I’ve looked forward to it each year!