Mo Al-Khalaf, PhD – Page 2 – The Early Career Voice

Lurking: The Art of Passive Learning in Meetings

November 18, 2020November 17, 2020 Mo Al-Khalaf, PhD

The types of annual society meetings are as diverse as there are professional societies worldwide. Some medical, scientific, and academic societies are made up of extremely specialized sub-subfields. While other professional societies cast a wide net, bringing in members from different specialties that share some but not a lot of similarities. And of course, there are some associations that have evolved over the years to provide the best of both worlds, acting like a big umbrella for a very diverse membership, and providing space for the subspecialties to find their own niches within the structure of the whole organization. The American Heart Association is exactly this type of professional partner organization. Medical doctors from numerous specialties belong to the AHA, but so do nurses, and many other healthcare professionals, biomedical scientists, and non-medical researchers and professionals involved in fields that still contribute and promote better cardiovascular health for the public.

As an early-career biomedical researcher, I am involved in a number of these types of professional societies and organizations, each of which provides me with different and valuable experiences and opportunities to expand and develop my career path forward. Within the AHA, I slot into the council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences (BCVS), one of sixteen different councils that make up the whole association. One of the best attributes of the AHA general structure is the fact that there are specialty annual meetings organized by the different councils (check out my blog about #BCVS20 from a few months back!), as well as a general annual meeting for the whole AHA community (just like the present ongoing #AHA20). This provides someone like myself the chance to network and builds professional connections on multiple levels. It also provides everyone a chance to expand and learn from other fields, bringing in a true sense of multi-disciplinary potential.

This year, unlike any other year before, Scientific Sessions have converted into a fully virtual setting, an appropriate response to the current Covid-19 pandemic. This has promoted all of us to become much savvier (or at least in a constant state of ‘figuring it all out’) with webcam video conferencing, seminar presenting or attending, and online learning. I’m glad that Sessions this year provided an unparalleled On-Demand package, allowing everyone registered to have access extending into early 2021, giving us plenty of time to rewatch or catch up on missed sessions. This is a very welcome outcome for having a virtual meeting, one that is worth taking full advantage of.

Source: Collage from CC-0 images at www.pixabay.com

Another fun new wrinkle I’ve been fully exploiting these past few days has been the use of a very online strategy called Lurking, a term that describes (in this specific context) joining a presentation session, and passively observing the action happening without actively participating in it. What a perfect way to describe and contextualize something that almost all conference attendees have done in-person before. In a #Virtual meeting, one can employ the lurking ‘maneuver’ even more brazenly! Lurking is a perfect strategy to jump into a session midway, or switch quickly from session to session, picking up some new information, and seamlessly moving on to the next item on the schedule, without ever disturbing any other attendees or presenters. I have definitely done a lot of lurking at #AHA20, especially in sessions that are not geared towards my area of expertise in experimental lab biology. Lurking has given me the ability to try out sessions, and learn something completely unrelated to my everyday science. Lurking also gave me the ability to quickly and discreetly bailout of sessions that I couldn’t find my way into, allowing me to pivot into other sessions that better fit my train of thought. Having the chance to attend a highly multi-disciplinary professional meeting, coupled with the ability to sample and view, in a discreet and un-disturbing fashion, many types of presentations is truly a valuable and welcome learning experience.

When possible, I highly encourage the adoption and wide use of online lurking strategies, especially in virtual setting conferences that may be on your calendars in the near future!

“The views, opinions and positions expressed within this blog are those of the author(s) alone and do not represent those of the American Heart Association. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. The Early Career Voice blog is not intended to provide medical advice or treatment. Only your healthcare provider can provide that. The American Heart Association recommends that you consult your healthcare provider regarding your personal health matters. If you think you are having a heart attack, stroke or another emergency, please call 911 immediately.”

The Year #Virtual became #Reality

November 13, 2020November 17, 2020 Mo Al-Khalaf, PhD

As we inch closer to the end of 2020 (with still a LOT left on the horizon), I’ve tried to take time here and there, to note the type of changes one calendar year has brought on to our greater science community. From my own personal, early career scientist, point of view (keeping in mind not to generalize or overextend my experiences onto others), I see a lot of lessons that scientists and healthcare professionals quickly learned and adopted. In a year where the biggest story worldwide was in fact a medical and scientific topic, it makes sense that we had to accept and innovate as much as we can, to match the needs of the moment we find ourselves in.

The annual conference meetings that our shared professional academic, medical and scientific societies have, are known to be the best conduits for a concentrated infusion of the latest information in our fields. Meetings such as the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions have the added value of connecting colleagues and creating bigger networks of potential collaborators. This has always been an essential element of early career advancement in the fields of science and medicine. Networking sessions in conferences are always the highlight events, more so than the “Current advances in ____ biology” or “Late-breaking outcomes of ___ trial” sessions (or at least as important as those really cool sessions!).

This is why at every conference I virtually attended this year, I looked with great anticipation beforehand to know if networking events are still scheduled? And if so, then how is this essential element of connecting participants and attendees getting the attention it needs? In 2020, not all annual meetings for professional societies were able to be held, it’s not easy to switch gears from a tried and true in-person gathering to a completely #Virtual experience. Some meetings managed to make the switch to the online-based delivery, but had an understandably much-reduced networking and connection elements involved. But as the seasons progressed from spring to summer to fall, I was happy to see continued innovation and application of everything possible, to deliver information and promote interaction, in increasingly impressive state-of-the-art platforms for presenting conferences.

(Collage from CC-0 images at www.pixabay.com)

Another important element now of conference attendance is the increased integration of Social Media as part of the immersive conference experience. Online presence and connection, using platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, between various conference participants and attendees, has been a welcome additional element over the past few years. It’s very useful for someone who wants to catch the talk of a conference presenter when that presenter would tweet where and when the talk is starting, prompting all their “followers” to know exactly where to go, or in a virtual setting, when and which links to click!

Conference organizers have utilized social media accounts to provide vital data such as agendas, video highlights, links, and ways to tag and spotlight the various individuals who are active and participating in these conferences. I would personally recommend Twitter as the best online tool for adding to a conference attendance! Conference “ambassadors”, like myself and many others, as well as representatives from different institutions and committees, are all actively Live-tweeting sessions, providing quick-takes and summary recaps, and initiating discussions on the topics presented in conferences. This virtual way of connecting and interacting in meetings has added an exciting dimension to conference attendance, both in-person and probably even more so this year for virtual meetings, allowing for an extra level of networking, which has always been a core element of attending conferences.

Adaptation and innovation have a lot to say in 2020 – and we’ll see where we go in 2021. But it’s good to know that, even in a virtual setting, we can still learn novel science, connect with one another, and advance the role that our shared community has – Delivering better health to the world.

Interviewing a first-time conference attendee

August 11, 2020August 11, 2020 Mo Al-Khalaf, PhD

Conference attendance is a core component of the journey graduate students go on, seeking to advance their knowledge and expand their network within the field of their academic pursuit. This year, unlike any other year before it, some students and early career professionals are experiencing their very first major conference participation and attendance in a virtual setting. The current global pandemic and response to it has forced many major conferences to cancel their planned in-real-life settings, and many have opted to switch these important annual gatherings to a brand new all-virtual format. This of course is a valiant effort to continue providing a platform for networking and sharing knowledge within the community.

While many of us have had the chance in previous years to attend and participate in classic conference formats, I continued to think recently while attending #BCVS20 about how is this unique virtual experience being perceived by the first time major conference attendees? The all-new format and change in typical factors that come into play when one is attending a conference, normally in an unfamiliar location in a city or country, all add up to a very novel introduction to this core component of career advancement. It would be quite illuminating to engage and discuss with a first-time attendee about this experience, and there at #BCVS20, I was lucky to know and have a chance to interview a first-timer to major conference attendance, one who also happens to be my friend and soon-to-be Master’s in Science degree holder, Ms. Supriya Hota (Twitter: @supriyahota28).

Here is a lightly edited version of the interview we conducted on webcam (Zoom meeting!), shortly after the end of the #BCVS20 meeting:

Mo: To start with a big-picture view of the experience, could you tell us how the overall experience was like, after many hours of content, over 4 days of back-to-back sessions, full of novel basic science research?

SH: If I were to summarize my overall experience in three words, it would be: thrilling, fascinating, and inspirational! My colleagues and mentors, including yourself (Blogger note: Happy to be part of the team!) have always told me great things about the AHA conferences, and I must say #BCVS20 was truly one-of-a-kind, even when it was a virtual one this year. Every day of the conference, I was able to feel the energy and enthusiasm right from my small computer screen! #BCVS20 was also a life-changing experience for me because it truly encouraged me to pursue higher education in the field of cardiovascular sciences. So here I am, looking forward to attending more conferences like #BCVS20 and networking with potential supervisors in the near future!

Mo: Focusing on the virtual format for the event, as a first-time attendee for a major international meeting, do you think the setting was adequate and sufficient in meeting your expectations and intentions for attending a meeting like this?

SH: Primarily, my expectation was to get an update of the basic science research that is happening in the field, especially in the area that I study, which focuses on the role of inflammation in heart failure. I also intended to interact with the presenters by asking questions. The virtual format was more than sufficient to meet those intentions. For example, I was able to jump from one concurrent session to the other, so that I didn’t miss a presentation I was interested in. Therefore, I leave #BCVS20 with a substantial amount of information, not only in my research area, but also other areas in the field of cardiovascular science. On top of that, accessing materials and on-line sessions was very convenient via the BCVS Heart Hub. Moreover, I was able to focus on the presentations and take note of the specific details on images or graphs via the virtual format more so than I would’ve been if I had attended the real-life conference, because either I would have been sitting too far from the screen or distracted by attendees leaving or entering the room. Also, the virtual format gave me the courage to ask questions to the presenters, because as a graduate student who is very early in her career, I would have been hesitant to ask a question in a big room full of well-known scientists. Lastly, most of the sessions were on-time, giving everyone the opportunity to discuss the scientific data and personally encourage the presenters via supportive messages in the chat window, like “Looking forward to your presentation”, “Good Luck” and appreciate the presenters’ work by saying “Fascinating work”, “thank-you for sharing your research”, which I don’t think would have been as possible in a real-life conference.

Mo: Conferences usually serve two main advances to folks that attend them, (1) acquire the newest and most cutting-edge knowledge of what’s happening in the field, and (2) expand one’s network of professional connections within the field. Do you think those two components of conference attendance were served well in a virtual format?

SH: I think the program planning committee has done an outstanding job with displaying the newest and most cutting-edge research. The virtual format has fully served this purpose. As for networking, I do not think the virtual format can ever be equal to in-person meetings. Communicating via message chat is not as engaging as face-to-face communication, which, in the virtual format, might also be a limitation to some people for various reasons, (e.g. they might not have a working camera, they don’t feel comfortable engaging with other attendees from home, etc.). Despite these drawbacks of the virtual format, I think the planning committee and the early career committee have made a significant effort in providing networking opportunities to the attendees. At the same time, most attendees have made good use of those opportunities.

Mo: Follow up – Do you think paring and amplifying social media engagement between conference attendees (and organizers) can help with filling-in some of the networking gaps that precipitate by the virtual format compared to in-person meetings?

SH: I am in full support of amplifying social media engagement because it does assist with networking in a convenient way. For example, I saw that many presenters are actively recruiting talented individuals for open positions in their research programs. What would be a faster way to advertise for this position in the scientific community other than social media? I was disappointed every time some principal investigators were not on social media (Twitter). Even though I could tweet exciting facts about their research, I am still unable to engage with them one-on-one and it will not benefit them in return because others cannot follow their research. Therefore, social media, especially Twitter, assists in promoting one’s research to those who were not able to attend the conference and to the rest of the scientific community. I think social media and its ability to privately message individuals fills in a gap as well, because it gives the attendee the comfort and privacy to have a conversation with another attendee, which is not possible in the chat window of a virtual format where hundred others are listening or using the same message chat box.

Mo: Some of the advantages of virtual meetings include ease of access, lower financial commitments, increased diversity of participants and content being shared at those meetings. Would you say these advantages are persuasive enough for you to recommend this experience to another potential first-timer attending a major conference?

SH: I would definitely recommend BCVS to other potential attendees. As mentioned earlier, the two main purposes of conferences are to acquire the newest and most cutting-edge knowledge in the field, and expand one’s network of professional connections, which the #BCVS20 provided to its attendees. In addition, for sure the lower financial commitments and ease of access due to virtual format are persuasive enough for international graduate students like me to attend.

Mo: Any other comments or advice to give to future conference attendees that have a virtual meeting coming up on their calendars?

SH: I would recommend the following to future virtual conference attendees:

Before the start of the conference:

Create your own schedule for the conference, outlining the sessions you will be attending and when you will have breaks (very important! virtual conferences, like in-person meetings, can still be tiring.)
Make sure that your computer is connected to a working camera and microphone and has all the necessary plug-ins and applications installed for you to watch and participate in the online sessions.
Take the time to explore the Home Page from where you will access all the materials, on-line sessions, and on-demand options.

On the days of the conference:

Actively take notes – this prevents you from getting distracted!
Ask questions and/or provide a supportive or appreciative comment on the presenter’s work (that’s the least you can do)
Tweet about the presentation that fascinates you (Don’t forget to mention and follow the presenter!). Try to make your tweet intriguing by stating takeaways and attaching eye-catching scientific diagrams and results from the presenter’s talk, when allowed.

After the conference:

Organize your notes and create a recap or summary to share the valuable knowledge with your team.

Mo: Thank you so much for this illuminating discussion! And I look forward to attending more conferences where we get a chance to chat and share how those experiences translate to our common goal of advancing our professional career journeys.

A New Way To Participate

July 30, 2020July 30, 2020 Mo Al-Khalaf, PhD

One of the characteristics of attending medium to large scientific sessions is the time-honored act of… running from room to room trying to catch glimpses of talks that interested you, but have of course ended up in different rooms, minutes apart. Many of us have done this, and to an extent, I don’t mind it! I can always count on being able to reach my daily step count targets whenever I’m attending a conference, without needing to set aside 30mins dedicated to a walk or morning run.

The current global health crisis has ushered in new and accelerated inevitable changes in the way science research is conducted, disseminated, and discussed within the community. Each one of these aspects has shown the malleable and highly valued ability for science, and society, to adapt to new paradigms of work. There have been many challenges and losses in the way research has been affected (a partial or total work-from-home status doesn’t translate to equal productivity for lab based work). But at the same time, this ongoing pandemic response has also provided a launching pad for some very innovative and future friendly adjustments.

Today I’ll focus on one of those changes, related specifically to conference attendance. This is by no means a novel idea, but I find myself thinking a lot about it, and I’d like to share some of those thoughts. Online based conferences have existed before Covid-19 became a house-hold idea and reality. Even more novel are Social Media “conferences”, an example being the Royal Society of Chemistry putting on the #RSCPoster Twitter Conference earlier this year (planned in early 2019, before covid).

The fact of the matter is, the movement to have scientific meetings and conferences be better adjusted within the online space has been gathering momentum for years. I for one, have served as “Twitter Ambassador” for a handful of conferences over the past couple of years, because conference organizers, participants, and various communities, have found tangible and positive effects of having conferences be more open, interactive, and far-reaching, beyond the walls of the hotel or center that brings together the in-real-life attendees.

(photo taken by Mo Al-Khalaf, 2020)

This year the Basic Cardiovascular Sciences headline annual meeting, better known this week as #BCVS20 is a fully virtual conference. As an early career molecular biologist researching mechanisms of heart disease, this is one of the “can’t miss” events on my calendar. My previous experiences for these type of conferences has been very rewarding, and advantageous in propelling my research and career. Before Covid-19, I was very much looking forward to this meeting scheduled to be in Chicago. When it was announced that the meeting will become fully virtual, I knew that there will be some experience that’ll get lost in the format change. But I also appreciated the diligent and effective leadership that made this call, because this was definitively the right call, for the safety of the attendees, and all the workers that would be involved in administering and pulling off a successful meeting (a meeting that brings 1000+ folks, in one building for a few days).

So far, I must say I find the #BCVS20 experience to be quite rewarding. It is different, and the limited and reformatted ways of networking and engagement takes a little bit of time to get used to. But overall, I believe there is great potential to make this format, or better yet, a hybrid format where both online and in-real-life parallel options available, a very appealing and appropriate next step in the evolution of how these types of meetings can be conducted. The ability to cater to a worldwide audience, and the convenience provided to allow attendees to participate and learn from field experts without the difficulty of planning a trip, is without a doubt an advantage to students and early career professionals, who do frequently face difficulties in attending such meetings.

One thing I note: Unlike past conference going experiences, I definitely need to put in the 30-minute daily jog before or after the day’s sessions… because there is no need to run from room to room to catch talks that you’re interested in… it’s all just a mouse click or head turn to a second screen away!

Knowledge Advances Incrementally

July 20, 2020July 22, 2020 Mo Al-Khalaf, PhD

Learning and advancing one’s personal and professional goals is a dynamic and active process. We never truly “finish” learning anything. We get better and better at tasks the more we practice them. We increase the accuracy of our data the more analysis on bigger and more relevant sets of samples we collect and measure. The scientific method is built on accepting the facts as they get unveiled, fully realizing that optimization and accuracy comes gradually with more work done and more information gathering.

One of the present global issues that I want to address here is the erroneous practice of some individuals that point out shifts in recommendations and gradual changes in the understanding of a scientific/medical phenomenon, and using these shifts and changes in the information shared as basis for doubt and denial for the whole process. Certainly when it comes to complex and novel discoveries/puzzles to solve, there will be a period of optimization and incremental advancement in understanding. These could lead to changes in conclusions from where things were first reported, to where they are now, and to where they will be in the future as more and more science is uncovered and facts are checked and replicated.

The act of refuting what we presently know and understand of a novel discovery or challenge to tackle, simply because the present understanding doesn’t match exactly what was previously reported and shared, is simply an act of refusing to accept that human beings are, by nature, dynamic learners. We gain more as we try, experience, and process information. Humans are not the kind of species that begin and end their lives with the same genetically programmed set of actions and behaviors inherited from the previous generation and are carried down to their progeny. Each one of us knows more now than we knew when we were younger. Experience matters. Time to perform more measurements and analysis brings us closer to accuracy and understanding. In other words, we get wiser as a whole, the more we experience and accumulate data.

Individuals that insist on focusing on the divergence of information coming from science and medicine, that’s separated by a non-trivial amount of time, are trying to sow doubt and nullify the value gained by executing the scientific method to its fullest potential. Accuracy, and a full understanding of anything complex, requires optimization, replication and diverse set of experts working separately and together, to incrementally achieve the most precise understanding of a challenge or novel discovery.

Our society benefits from scientifically assessed and understood information. Evidence-based decision making is far superior to other forms of societal choices, made by and for the public. And as mentioned here, the precision and accuracy of scientific information gathering advances the more time is allowed for investigation and understanding. We should celebrate and embrace changes accumulated with more data analysis and scientific rigor applied to test the facts uncovered along the way.

It is a self-correcting and enhancing mechanism, built into the scientific method and research process that we implement as scientists and healthcare researchers and providers. Sure this means that some data and knowledge will shift with time, but this should be seen as progress, and we should not let mis-informers and pseudoscience spreading behavior and individuals hijack the system of self-correction and improvement built into our method.

And as a last point to make: Scientists, medical researchers, and everyone involved in healthcare, research and academia should find ways to communicate and/or amplify voices of communicators that are on the front-lines of providing evidence-based information to the public. The best use of the scientific process is when the product of this process is shared with everyone.

Lessons I’ve Learned as Chair

June 12, 2020June 12, 2020 Mo Al-Khalaf, PhD

Being a recent graduate just entering the professional stage of one’s career is an especially turbulent time. This is magnified for ones that had a prolonged academic journey, such as advanced medical training, pursuing master’s/doctoral degrees, and any other unique situation that can lead to a long journey of being an official student on paper (because unofficially we’re all students of life, until the end!).

However long and winding road one takes, there comes a time when the stage is set to exit being a student and enter the professional field. This stage is simply known as Early Career (using the naming convention most widely used, including at the American Heart Association). This part of a career journey has the uniqueness of blending learning many new life skills, and professionally performing up to the standards expected from achieving the academic endpoint one has reached (MD, PhD, or any other).

One way a young professional can advance their learning curve and become professionally savvy and focused is by seeking and actively participating in committees within organizations related to their working field. Committees provide a platform where members interact regularly, discuss and plan actions related to the work environment, provide community-building opportunities, and essentially expose their members to a variety of learning experiences that are highly beneficial, both directly and indirectly, in progressing their early career professional journey.

Here I present my personal experience as an example. I have recently concluded my term as Chair of the trainee committee in my institute, and have recently been granted full employment status as part of the reorganization of the employment structure here. I’m now exactly placed in the “Early Career Professional” stage of my journey. Being part of a committee provided me with many extra layers of understanding on how everything functions within the institution. My long academic stage provided me with skills and experiences within the realm of science, laboratory research and academic scholarship, but precious few glimpses of structures and professional actions outside the lab and classroom settings.

(Image from Pixabay.com CC0)

Working within a committee, and chairing a committee in my personal example, comes with its own learning curve, which can be a daunting thought for an already overwhelmed young professional (or senior student or trainee). But the rewards are plenty, and the effort is worth it at the end. Committee membership can be a rich source for personal and professional education. Some lessons are generalized for everyone to gain, other lessons are more individually centered, for each person to uniquely grow from. Some of the many lessons I’ve learned recently I’ll share here.

I’ve learned how a budget in an institutional structure is managed (which is different from how a personal household budget is done). I’ve learned the names of so many other professionals within the organization outside of my daily interactions. I’ve learned more about the administrative structure of the place where I work in. I sat in meetings that shape the direction of the future of the institution. I learned about leadership, and even more about teamwork. I learned the great value and appreciation for creating a close-knit community within a professional organization. As human beings, we have been creating and living in villages for thousands of years, and nowadays the professional network one works in can be part of that village. Here as well is where one can find opportunities to increase the equity, diversity, and inclusiveness of the professional community within the institution or organization. I had first-hand experience in this. Providing support and a platform for the under-represented can create an entry point for the larger effort required within the whole organization, institution and wider society. We should use all the tools at our disposal (and create new tools when necessary) to continuously provide better results for members of our community that are under-represented or marginalized.

My pitch here at the end to you is to seek out, create when possible, and accept opportunities, to be active in your work organization, and professional societies, during your early career stage (and moving forward). My personal endorsement goes to being an active member of a committee at your institution, and then to expand into national and international societies that exist in your professional field. There is much to learn, a community to join, to build, and a lot to gain towards advancing your professional path, and maybe, the society as a whole.

COVID-19 Stage 2: Embracing Progress, Cautiously.

May 13, 2020May 13, 2020 Mo Al-Khalaf, PhD

In these early days of May 2020, it seems like “change is in the air”. In the northern parts of this planet (myself based in Canada’s capital), winters’ cold, icy grip has thawed, and signs of nature and life are starting to be spotted everywhere. Of course, no mention of the year 2020 is complete without placing the Covid-19 pandemic in its proper context within the topic discussed. I’ve been seeing a lot of articles and discussions online that too easily link the “spring is upon us” and “life is getting back to its normal rhythm” ethos with the recent positive stories about Covid-19 infections. Reports of daily hospital admittance and mortality rates dropping are signs of progress indeed, specifically in nation states that were hit early and hard by the disease at the start of the year, and in the ensuing first few months.

While this is welcome and encouraging news, I can’t shake the feeling that people are either consciously or subconsciously paralleling the arrival of seasonal change, an end of the typical academic school year, and the learned attitudes of past years, onto what this 2020 calendar year will be like, moving forward from this stage. Undoubtedly, overall status of the Covid-19 pandemic is now changing, with factors like spread rate seemingly decreasing (in spots), knowledge about the virus increasing (everywhere), and local and national healthcare systems all working and adjusting to better handle the situation (with some exceptions). This, in addition to coordinated social, governmental and economical efforts, working in concert to prevent a much worse outcome from unfolding, all indicate advancement and positive aspects of where we stand at the moment, in early May of 2020.

(Image from pixabay.com CC-0)

However, and you knew I was going to bring up the “however” adverb! Equating what normally is the care-free, and bright-sunshine attitude of previous years to where we are this year, at this stage in the pandemic, is simply not appropriate and could be dangerous. There are still many unknowns about how SARS-CoV-2 may change with the seasonal transitions, not just within the northern hemisphere where we are coming out of winter and into spring and warmer weather, but also minding how will the seasonal changes affect the southern hemisphere, where the temperature changes go from warmer to cooler at this time of year. There are also questions remaining about how different cities and nations are implementing the various step-wise stages of coming out of the strict physical distancing parameters, which helped limit the size of the surge of infection. Will certain districts and cities experience a second wave of infectious spread? Will citizens be able and willing to go back into physical distancing status if needed? Those and many other questions are still left unanswered presently, and it’s too difficult to forecast with the limited data we have at this stage, in early May of 2020.

Having said that, I still want to bring back the sense of positive momentum we are presently experiencing. From a bird’s eye view point: We the people of this planet, united, are more informed, have a better handle over, and are able to deal with the Covid-19 crisis today much better than we were a couple of months ago. Together we can and will progress into the desired advantageous state of preparedness and better reaction to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and resulting disease, this is a fact. We just need to continue to investigate, learn, and plan appropriate steps to take, so that we can all safely reduce the dangers that still are posed by the virus, and take note and find ways to reduce the pain and loss that our communities have experienced so far, and moving forward. Only through those careful steps, and planning ahead, would we really feel like “spring is in the air”, and not a minute before then! Be safe, stay healthy, and care for one another.

Future Planning in the Time of Corona

April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 Mo Al-Khalaf, PhD

(Image from pixabay.com CC-0)

Let me ask you this: How many articles related to COVID-19 did you read, in the past few weeks? Just like most of us, medical science professionals of all kinds, the content we have been consuming most of has been related, directly or indirectly, to the biggest pressing issue the world is dealing with presently. And I’m here to say this is totally fine & appropriate. After all, when was the last time a biomedical issue became the worldwide number 1 topic of interest. SARS-CoV-2 is harming the healthy, and vulnerable patients. It’s also harming society, economy, policy, and more, both in predictable ways and in ways we still have no solid forecast ability for yet. This is why present efforts towards containment, mitigation, and other management actions are so vital and require the buy-in from all individuals in society. In parallel, this is also why the biomedical, and more broadly, the life science field in general, is very much pivoting their attention at the moment, vigorously brainstorming and planning future directions (while #StayingHome of course) in an effort to better understand, deal with, and avoid future similar scenarios that will inevitably happen again.

One of the more crass and unpalatable statements that get thrown around in times like these, especially within the halls of certain types of political and financial power brokers is “Never let a crisis go to waste”. The point being, while people are distracted by the overwhelming day to day events that unfold in times of struggle, some individuals use the cover provided and make certain that some of their goals and demands that normally get blocked in more orderly times, can be enacted and their aims can be realized. The prevalence and precision of this type of maneuver is so well-honed and practiced that a lot of folks refer to it as part of the “playbook” in political and financial writing. And the reality is, it works! And while historically it’s been used for ways to benefit the few over the many, “Never let a crisis go to waste” is, at its core, a useful and effective strategy, that can be implemented to benefit the many, the society, and everyone in it.

A global pandemic is one of the few causes that truly brings to attention the uniting themes and areas of need that a vast majority of the world population face. Whether it’s the instability and vulnerability of the supply chains of food and goods, or the imbalance of economic status-quo that we all come to take for granted. These and many other angles that require addressing are perfect opportunities to utilize that play from the playbook “Never let a crisis go to waste”. I sincerely hope altruist economists and politicians are brainstorming, or bringing out and dusting off old shelved plans that have not had a chance to be enacted in the status-quo times. I hope they’re doing their best to ensure that once we, as world citizens, are able to turn the tide on COVID-19, we have a chance to achieve a course correction and a new balance that puts us on a path for a healthier, more egalitarian world.

To focus on the biomedical side of this equation, and the needs that should be addressed, we should face some of the facts unfolding right in front us, in real time. Looking at the healthcare systems of many cities and countries around the world, we right now see the vulnerability our healthcare providers are made to experience. Lack of personal protective equipment, lack of numbers of health care workers needed in a particular city or country, difficulty in coordination of testing and acquiring enough medicine and lifesaving equipment, and a number of other vital issues that have been uncovered by this pandemic. These are the types of factors that must be addressed so that they can be avoided in the future. These are just a handful of examples, and many others are getting documented. If I can state this in one sentence (severely oversimplifying it, but the point remains true): Cities need to have healthcare infrastructures that won’t get overwhelmed when more than 5% of the population served requires attention in a short period of time. There needs to be plans, equipment, and available reserve workforce that can quickly (in a matter of days, not weeks or more), expand and enlarge the healthcare infrastructure to accommodate the needs of the population.

And while it’s obvious now, it must be said that support and focus on research geared towards coronavirus specifically, and more broadly infectious disease, must be bolstered and elevated to higher priority, which it definitely was not, prior to this latest health crisis. Additionally, let’s not forget that biomedical research of all types is constantly working to investigate, and help defend the world from exactly this type of burden. Research if fields such as cardiovascular diseases (still the #1 cause of mortality worldwide, WHO data), or cancer, or any other field in bioscience or medicine is our way to avoid a future similar to this moment. Maybe (hopefully) the physicians and scientists that are in a position to “Never let a crisis go to waste” can find a way to make their causes more of a priority, and their efforts can be more widely acknowledged, and their research more efficiently utilized, to help us all in avoiding similar future healthcare challenges.

Science Communication Is The Bridge We Need

March 12, 2020March 12, 2020 Mo Al-Khalaf, PhD

Nowadays it’s typical and obvious that conversations create and maintain their existence within “bubbles” or “echo chambers”. The examples are plenty and diverse, across all topics and around the whole world. This is partly a result of the expanding space that allows for more conversations to happen, namely the interconnected world of online web. Never before has it been easier to have a conversation between individuals that reside in different continents, and have the conversation be as fluent and dynamic, in real-time, as if the individuals are all sitting around the same table. And not only is it a matter of technology that facilitates these conversations, it is also the ability to have a large, common, and easily accessible wealth of information to fuel the talks. These factors combine to create a type of communication ecosystem so rich and diverse, that it has inevitably been utilized to support wide-ranging types of microenvironments and subject matters.

New ways facilitate the ability to communicate between individuals interested in ideas, regardless of the actual quality, reason or purpose of these ideas and conversations. It is however not my goal here to debate or argue against some of the prevailing conversations that exist now on the internet. That feels like an issue that requires a different format and a different type of communication than a blogpost in a health and science geared online platform! Instead, my goal today is to spotlight and encourage more of the type of rich communication possible, especially by directing my message towards… and you probably guessed this, scientists (and physicians and all other types of academics. Scientists get the headline in this blogpost because… well I’m a scientist myself!).

I believe that in this rich ecosystem of communication possibilities, there needs to be an increased effort by scientists to engage in open discussions with as many individuals as possible. This is counter to what has been the case for the past century, where scientists placed the highest priority into communicating their knowledge, investigative findings and even their questions (with no present answers) to other scientists, in platforms that are extremely inaccessible to the vast majority of the general public. Scientists (and academics in general) almost intentionally sidelined themselves from active participation in what the world was preoccupied with and talking about at any point in time.

To that extent, it is highly encouraging and exciting, to see that in the past few years, attention and valuable effort has been put into the wide-ranging field of Science Communication (#SciComm), by a growing number of young and established scientists, that answered the call of science beyond the walls of the lab, or the research group, university or hospital that houses them. #SciComm can have many forms, and all of them are totally appropriate, depending on how it is performed, and by whom, and for what purpose. #SciComm can be an addition to the portfolio of an active scientist (student, early-career or even a fully tenured senior investigator). #SciComm can also be an entry-level job by a recent science graduate that has an interest in media and public outreach. #SciComm can also be a lengthy career all on its own, spanning decades (you know who’s basically a #SciCommer: Bill Nye! Also, David Suzuki, and Sir David Attenborough!).

Science communication to the public takes a completely different form, of course, compared to science communication between peers. Academic and medical publications read by their intended communities are perfect examples of “conversation bubbles” and echo chambers. There is no doubt a benefit in having conversations between subject-matter experts. The increased potential of collaboration and the advancement of ideas and innovations has greatly benefited from the ability to communicate within these well-structured communication bubbles. So I would not want this type of discussion to end or be discouraged at all. However, it is increasingly evident that scientists also need to utilize, and take advantage of, the widening communication avenues. Otherwise, the role scientists play in the expanding world will inevitably shrink and become marginalized.

(Collage assembled from pixabay.com images)

New avenues for scientists (and everyone else) exist in all relevant communication styles: If writing is preferred, many blogs/online magazines and newsletters are accessible (or easily created), which can be utilized to “translate” knowledge that exists in academic and medical publications, and allow far easier accessibility for the public. A word of caution here is warranted though: it is important to learn about the content provider (publisher), and vet the content on that platform, to know for sure the value and accuracy that is present there. As scientists, we must value our own output, and make sure it gets sorted into a worthwhile content provider/publisher, and never in a “predatory” or compromised communication form. We should not lend credibility to something that fosters false or biased or unproductive content.

Moving on, when audio style communication is desirable, then podcasts are the modern-day addition to the “radio” format of science communication. And finally, if video is the go-to communication medium, then YouTube is there for everyone. And just like with my words of caution regarding writing and content disseminating new avenues, one must be careful about Podcast and YouTube channels that one is thinking of contributing to; great options exist and are highly recommended, but there also exists a large number of channels and content distributors that would do more harm than benefit to the overall science and general public. Today I’m not going to tackle the world of Social Media here (Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, etc), but know that these also count towards #SciComm (and probably could be the most dominant force of communication moving forward). That’s a future topic to write about!

So, as a scientist, an early career professional, and an enthusiastic communicator of knowledge, to as a wide an audience as I can reach, I’ll continue to encourage, support and amplify the desire for more science communication, and utilization of the expanding avenues available for everyone. Because when science is available for all, the world can tackle more challenges, and everyone can benefit.

Support Starts at Self

February 7, 2020February 12, 2020 Mo Al-Khalaf, PhD

Last month I wrote about how trainees and early career professionals should approach the New Year with a focus on mentorship (from multiple sources when possible!) as a priority to advance their careers. The input we can accumulate from individuals that have the ability to “teach us the ropes”, and expose us to some new tool or perspective to enhance our professional growth and advancement, is essential. This input carries value that fuels the propagation and elevation of society upward and forward. Today I want to discuss what I envision to be the “other side of the coin” to mentorship, the way in which an individual can advance by an “output” effort, in complement to the “input” that mentors provide. Namely what I’m referring to is advocacy. Trainees and early career professionals tend to under-appreciate 2 main truths with regards to advocacy efforts:

1- We are prone, primed and sometimes advised to shy away from advocating for our own causes.

2- We underestimate our ability to advocate and support others within our professional communities.

I’ll start with the case for self-advocacy. It can be hard to dissociate the idea of being self-advocating from being self-absorbed, and that is the root cause for why most well-meaning, humble folks avoid the issue altogether. Seeming selfish or self-centered is of course a bad trait, a noxious attitude that most trainees and early career professionals want to avoid at all cost. Selfishness will lead to career derailment and loss of support from other members in the community. But self-advocacy on the other hand, stems from hard work, a desire for just outcomes, as well as confidence and pride in one’s workmanship and abilities. To advocate for yourself, you must first believe and prove that what you’re advocating for is a just and worthwhile cause.

When there is evidence to support the self-promotional effort, individuals can and should be empowered to advocate for themselves. A quick and easy framework to approach self-advocacy could flow like this:

The first step towards justified self-advocacy is identifying and analyzing the reasons why one should or should not pursue the cause. This can sometimes be difficult, we might not be the best judges of our own efforts, sometimes it helps to have “peer-reviewers” to help us assess the need for advocacy or not. Family, friends, partners, colleagues, and specialized professionals (referees, counselors, etc), are all individuals that could supply viewpoints that help us understand and decide on whether self-advocacy is warranted at present, or if there still is some distance to cross before we get to that point.

Once justified, championing your own causes has become in fact necessary in a world where competition is present, and alternatives are available, at every stage in a career, most evidently in the early career segment of professions. This necessity also brings nowadays a level of expectation from decisions makers, who may see and value self-advocacy efforts as positive traits in individuals seeking professional advancement. This is the clearest reason why one should acquire and optimize the skills needed to become a just self-champion. Of major importance in this discussion is to note that the way in which one is doing what’s needed to advance, is doing so in a manner leading to an overall benefit, and no harm to anyone else (being a champion for one self can also equal being a champion “for the greater good”).

The second point mentioned above, specifically referring to advocating and supporting others within the shared professional community, also warrants a closer look. A strong and advancing community can promote growth for everyone within it, creating momentum and a sense of altruistic advocacy that is much easier to root for and accept without any hesitation or fear of negative feedback. When professionals in a shared community see the advancement of peers as a strength and growth for the whole group, a collective effort to support and promote one another is created, and a positive feedback loop is fueled.

This is significantly more important when the community can have individuals that face some deliberate, or blind forces, that work against their growth and advancement (such as minorities, persons with disabilities, sex and gender systematic biases, and other forces that do exist in many ways). Whenever there exists a gatekeeper with unjust (knowing or blind) motivation that hinders the advancements within a professional community, it is strongly desirable (and necessary) for a whole group effort to champion and advocate for the fair advancement of the affected individuals within this community. Everyone would gain at the end. A strong community would be built and a momentum for “paying it forward” will start.

As mentioned initially in this post, early career professionals have the unique space to be very highly invested in optimizing the “input” provided to them (mentorship), and the “output” they require (advocacy, both self and community oriented). As we progress in our personal and professional journeys, we must aim to maximize the ways in which mentorship and advocacy can help us achieve the goals we aim to accomplish, both for our own benefits, and the benefits of the communities that we are a part of.