An updated and expanded characterization of the biological sciences academic job market.

Introduction: In the biological sciences, many areas of uncertainty exist regarding the factors that contribute to success within the faculty job market. Earlier work from our group reported that beyond certain thresholds, academic and career metrics like the number of publications, fellowships or career transition awards, and years of experience did not separate applicants who received job offers from those who did not. Questions still exist regarding how academic and professional achievements influence job offers and if candidate demographics differentially influence outcomes.

Research Priorities in Pediatric Asthma Morbidity: Addressing the Impacts of Systemic Racism on Children with Asthma in the United States. An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report.

In the United States, Black and Latino children with asthma are more likely than White children with asthma to require emergency department visits or hospitalizations because of an asthma exacerbation. Although many cite patient-level socioeconomic status and access to health care as primary drivers of disparities, there is an emerging focus on a major root cause of disparities-systemic racism. Current conceptual models of asthma disparities depict the historical and current effects of systemic racism as the foundation for unequal exposures to social determinants of health, environmental exposures, epigenetic factors, and differential healthcare access and quality.

Airway microbiota and immune mediator relationships differ in obesity and asthma.

Background: Asthma and obesity are both complex conditions characterized by chronic inflammation, and obesity-related severe asthma has been associated with differences in the microbiome. However, whether the airway microbiome and microbiota-immune response relationships differ between obese persons with or without nonsevere asthma is unestablished.

Objective: We compared the airway microbiome and microbiota-immune mediator relationships between obese and nonobese subjects, with and without mild-moderate asthma.

Effects of Fluticasone Propionate on and Gram-Negative Bacteria Associated with Chronic Airway Disease.

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are commonly prescribed first-line treatments for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Recent evidence has shown that ICS use is associated with changes in the airway microbiome, which may impact clinical outcomes such as potential increased risk for pneumonia in COPD. Although the immunomodulatory effects of corticosteroids are well appreciated, whether ICS could directly influence the behavior of respiratory tract bacteria has been unknown.

Microbiome, Metabolism, and Immunoregulation of Asthma: An American Thoracic Society and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Workshop Report.

This report presents the proceedings from a workshop titled "Microbiome, Metabolism and Immunoregulation of Asthma" that was held virtually May 13 and 14, 2021. The workshop was jointly sponsored by the American Thoracic Society (Assembly on Allergy, Immunology, and Inflammation) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. It convened an interdisciplinary group of experts with backgrounds in asthma immunology, microbiome science, metabolomics, computational biology, and translational pulmonary research.

Microbiome-Immune Interactions in Allergy and Asthma.

The human microbiota has been established as a key regulator of host health, in large part owing to its constant interaction with and impact on host immunity. A range of environmental exposures spanning from the prenatal period through adulthood are known to affect the composition and molecular productivity of microbiomes across mucosal and dermal tissues with short- and long-term consequences for host immune function. Here we review recent findings in the field that provide insights into how microbial-immune interactions promote and sustain immune dysfunction associated with allergy and asthma.

Advancing Equity and Inclusion in Microbiome Research and Training.

This article proposes ways to improve inclusion and training in microbiome science and advocates for resource expansion to improve scientific capacity across institutions and countries. Specifically, we urge mentors, collaborators, and decision-makers to commit to inclusive and accessible research and training that improves the quality of microbiome science and begins to rectify long-standing inequities imposed by wealth disparities and racism that stall scientific progress.

Introducing the Microbes and Social Equity Working Group: Considering the Microbial Components of Social, Environmental, and Health Justice.

Humans are inextricably linked to each other and our natural world, and microorganisms lie at the nexus of those interactions. Microorganisms form genetically flexible, taxonomically diverse, and biochemically rich communities, i.e.

A zero-inflated non-negative matrix factorization for the deconvolution of mixed signals of biological data.

A latent factor model for count data is popularly applied in deconvoluting mixed signals in biological data as exemplified by sequencing data for transcriptome or microbiome studies. Due to the availability of pure samples such as single-cell transcriptome data, the accuracy of the estimates could be much improved. However, the advantage quickly disappears in the presence of excessive zeros.

Vitamin E alpha- and gamma-tocopherol mitigate colitis, protect intestinal barrier function and modulate the gut microbiota in mice.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) including colitis are intestinal disorders characterized by chronic inflammation, barrier dysfunction and dysbiosis. Specific forms of vitamin E have been shown to attenuate colitis, but the mechanisms are not fully understood. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of α-tocopherol (αT) and γ-tocopherol-rich tocopherols (γTmT) on gut inflammation, barrier integrity and microbiota in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice.

mSphere of Influence: Frameshift-a Vision for Human Microbiome Research.

Ariangela J. Kozik studies the respiratory microbiome as it relates to asthma. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how two papers, "Time's up to adopt a biopsychosocial model to address racial and ethnic disparities in asthma outcomes" (E.