A Research Operations, Management, and Strategy Fellowship for Life Sciences PhD Graduates.

Problem: With less than 25% of PhD-trained scientists in the United States securing a tenure-track faculty position following training, nonacademic careers have become common. As the academic research enterprise has increased, business-oriented careers have emerged. The Research Operations, Management, and Strategy (ROMS) Fellowship was developed to increase awareness of and prepare life sciences PhD graduates for business-focused careers.

Award rate inequities in biomedical research.

Purpose: The analysis of existing institutional research proposal databases can provide novel insights into science funding parity. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between race/ethnicity and extramural research proposal and award rates across a medical school faculty and to determine whether there was evidence that researchers changed their submission strategies because of differential inequities across submission categories.

Method: The authors performed an analysis of 14,263 biomedical research proposals with proposed start dates between 2010-2022 from the University of Michigan Medical School, measuring the proposal submission and award rates for each racial/ethnic group across 4 possible submission categories (R01 & Equivalent programs, other federal, industry, and non-profit).

Toward a science of translational science.

Translational research as a discipline has experienced explosive growth over the last decade as evidenced by significant federal investment and the exponential increase in related publications. However, narrow project-focused or process-based measurement approaches have resulted in insufficient techniques to measure the translational progress of institutions or large-scale networks. A shift from traditional industrial engineering approaches to systematic investigation using the techniques of scientometrics and network science will be required to assess the impact of investments in translational research.

Response of bone subjected to optimized high dose irradiation.

Allograft tissues are used in over one million musculoskeletal procedures per year. Consequently, it is crucial tissue banks use procedures to militate against allograft associated bacterial and viral infections. Recent studies have identified an important pathogen inactivation technology for musculoskeletal allografts that utilizes high-dose gamma irradiation (50 kGy) under controlled conditions.

High-dose gamma irradiation for soft tissue allografts: High margin of safety with biomechanical integrity.

Screening and processing methods currently in place have made the risk of bacterial and viral infections from allograft tissues extremely low. However, the development of a terminal sterilization method that does not adversely affect tissue function would provide an added safety to tissues for transplantation. We assessed whether high-dose gamma irradiation could be used as an effective terminal sterilization method for allografts without impairing the preimplantation mechanical integrity of the tissues.

Effective use of optimized, high-dose (50 kGy) gamma irradiation for pathogen inactivation of human bone allografts.

The safety of tissue allografts has come under increased scrutiny due to recent reports of allograft-associated bacterial and viral infections in tissue recipients. We report that 50 kGy of gamma irradiation, nearly three times the dose currently used, is an effective pathogen inactivation method when used under optimized conditions that minimize damage to the tissue. Cancellous bone dowels treated with a radioprotectant solution and 50 kGy of optimized irradiation had an ultimate compressive strength and modulus of elasticity equal to conventionally irradiated (18 kGy) and non-irradiated control bone grafts.

Effective use of gamma irradiation for pathogen inactivation of monoclonal antibody preparations.

Gamma irradiation has been used for decades as an effective method of pathogen inactivation of relatively inert materials. Until recently, its application to biologicals has resulted in unacceptable losses in functional activity. In this report we demonstrate that the damaging secondary effects of gamma irradiation can be controlled while maintaining the pathogen inactivation properties due to damage by primary effects.