Dr Marguerite Evans-Galea AM @MVEG001@qoto.org

NSW Health, Australia, has set a national benchmark for standardising the preparation of pharmaceuticals and advanced therapeutic products with a new Policy Directive that outlines new and updated state-wide approaches.

Learn more about the Directive & author Kerry Watts: https://www.medicalresearch.nsw.gov.au/future-proofing-nsw-health-production-ofpharmaceuticals-and-advanced-therapeutics/ #AdvancedTherapies #CellTherapies #GeneTherapies

Falling behind: the postdoc conundrum…

From Nature: Postdoc positions are not for the faint of heart, he [Van Goethem] concludes. “When you see your contemporaries doing regular jobs that didn’t require much studying, and they’re earning more and seeming happier, you can imagine that the enthusiasm for this career path dwindles very fast.”

#STEMworkforce #CapacityBuilding #AltAc #Postdocs

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03296-9

#GeneTherapy #CellTherapy ➡️ we must ensure equitable access.

“… if we fail to take advantage of that narrowing window, everyone loses: The inevitable hodgepodge of coverage approaches will leave many without access to transformative treatments; companies will abandon promising therapies that they can’t actually sell; and new technologies will never really take flight.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/features/2023-10-15/sickle-cell-gene-therapy-will-test-how-us-pays-for-million-dollar-cures

Unis, scientists unite for first time on need for research misconduct body
https://www.theage.com.au/national/unis-scientists-unite-for-first-time-on-need-for-research-misconduct-body-20231111-p5ej92.html Finally! 🙌🏽👏🏼 #MuchNeeded

Science’s true gender gap: this study demonstrates who publishes, gets credit, moves around, receives funding, collaborates and receives citations - demonstrating deeply ingrained bias against women.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02139-x

This is a fascinating area of research that has really taken off. #MentalHealth #Microbiome
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/08/1186092825/studying-the-link-between-the-gut-and-mental-health-is-personal-for-this-scienti

#STEM has advanced on gender equity in the past decade. We know the issues and solutions, but need more action. As part of International Day of Women & Girls in Science with @RoyalSocietyVic this year, I joined a panel of informed STEM leaders for a deep-dive into STEM curiosity, creativity, challenge and fun. Beamed from the halls of power in Victoria this reignited the #diversity & #inclusion conversation. Read & watch here: https://new.parliament.vic.gov.au/news/general-news/women-in-science/

Me on Threads. 🥳 Using my fave handle: @MVEG001. Maybe I’ll see you there! 🙌🏼👏🏽 https://www.threads.net/@mveg001

This is an exceptional series of Elder interviews. Every interview is a powerful story and shares Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s history and culture. Last night, Aunty Fay Clayton Moseley shared how “art heals her hurt” as a child of the Stolen Generations.

Thank you Dan Bourchier. We’ve learnt soo much from this seminal series of Truth-telling.

A must-watch. More at: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/one-plus-one-the-elders #TheElders #OnePlusOne

A mental-health crisis is gripping science: “… recent studies, which have collectively surveyed tens of thousands of researchers worldwide, suggest that scientists’ mental-health struggles are a direct result of a toxic research culture.” #culture
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01708-4

Enriched the head & heart today with an exceptional masterclass on courageous leadership with Business Women Australia. Loved the coaching style of learning, and open and safe space for vulnerability and sharing of lived experiences. A unique approach that valued each individual’s leadership and didn’t perpetuate stereotypes. #brilliant 💫

“In STEM, as in wider society, individuals may experience direct or indirect discrimination as a result of their gender, sexual orientation, race, or socioeconomic background. Such disadvantages are compounded for members of more than one of these groups. … Intersectionality recognises the interconnectedness of social categorisations & how these combine to create overlapping systems of disadvantage and/or discrimination.”
More: https://oxsci.org/intersectionality-in-stem/
#diversity #inclusion

Prehistoric pendant’s DNA reveals the person who held it.

An innovative method reveals that an ancient trinket was handled by a woman some 20,000 years ago.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01482-3

DNA analysis shows that this pendant, which might have hung from a necklace, was made of the tooth of a wapiti (Cervus canadensis).

Photo credit: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Article by Elissa Welle.

An exceptional Bionics Institute pod.🎙️

CEO Robert Klupacs has an inspiring chat with Professor Anne Kelso AO about her international research career in immunology, leadership of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), discovery versus commercialisation in Australia, role models & mentors, and gender equity. ☕️

Tune in here: https://www.bionicsinstitute.org/podcasts-videos/taking-affirmative-action-to-achieve-equity-in-science-with-professor-anne-kelso-ao/.

#MedTechTalks

Coercion is a complex and damaging issue that can happen both at home or work. It can lead to severe behaviours like bullying, gaslighting and sexual harassment. The earlier it is addressed the better. Get informed. Know the signs. Call it out.
https://www.betterup.com/blog/workplace-coercion #leadership #management #womeninSTEMM #peopleinSTEMM

Scientists with multiple NIH grants are overwhelmingly male and white.

“… the @NIH Centre for Scientific Review is changing its review process …. investigators will be rated ‘fully capable’ or ‘additional expertise/capability needed’, and research environments will be rated ‘appropriate’ or ‘additional resources needed’.”
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01297-2

Via @nature. #Diversity #Inclusion
[Image credit: Getty]

Leaving academia for industry? Here’s how to handle salary negotiations.

“Unlike in academia, there are manifold trajectories that a person’s career can take in industry. ‘The first step out of academia is not the last.’”

Via @nature. #STEMCareers

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01299-0 [Image credit: Getty]

With 100s of talks, articles, blogs & meetings, 1,000s of social media posts, plus events & Australia’s first major symposium connecting #womeninSTEMM, sharing best practice & policy, funding & programs, and >55K GEDI allies & advocates (inter)nationally… well it’s been a thrilling journey to say the least! 🤩 Thanks Sarah Chapman & Madhu Bhaskaran, Women in STEMM Australia directors past + present, and my cofounder, Michelle Gallaher. Proud to continue as an Ambassador cheering you all on! 👏🏽💪🏼

An insightful and thought-provoking panel from Convergence Science network and led by Professor Megan Munsie:

Heritable Human Genome Editing: Where to now? #HHGE

Academic experts in top form:
💡 biotech law - Professor Dianne Nicol
💡 bioethics - Dr Christopher Gyngell
💡 philosophy - Professor Robert Sparrow

#GeneEditing #FullHouse

Mentoring an emerging #STEM leader is one of the most impactful and rewarding things you’ll ever do. I’m thrilled to mentor a rising 🌟star🌟 in bioinformatics, Neke Ibeh, as part of ATSE’s #IMNISREDIConnect. Neke was a senior bioinformatician in Canada and is now a PhD student @unimelb@aus.social and St Vincent’s Research Institute.👏🏽👏🏼