Archive for July, 2009
Feedback request on Journal Decisions for LHL
The UAB Lister Hill Library staff is requesting input from researchers and clinicians on journals the library will license for 2010. Journal renewal for 2010 began in July. Their vendor, EBSCO requested that they return a renewal list in August because they’re making significant changes and cutbacks. Your opinions, suggestions, input, etc are very important to them as they make these subscription decisions. They aim to keep all core titles that they can; what they need most from you is to know what specialty journals you and your colleagues would like them to subscribe to . Please reply to Lee Vucovich (lvucovi@uab.edu) or contact Liz Lorbeer, Associate Director for Content Management directly at lorbeer@uab.edu . Please let them know the journals that you use regularly and any additional information about the journal (s) or its importance you would like to include to help inform the decision. The deadline date for feedback is August 7 as the list of list of core and faculty requested titles will be submitted August 14. Please be sure if you have residents, post-docs, or graduate students working with you, to ask them what they need. Most of the requests they received during the year were from this group. Thank you for your assistance!
The Most Laurel
Do you remember a school experience where “superlatives” were given? Some people were The Coolest or The Best Dressed or The Most School Spirited (perhaps in some of these…can you say “peaked in high school”?) Well…have I got one for you: The Most Laurel.
After three illustrious years, Laurel Iverson Hitchcock is leaving UAB and the CCTS. She has finished her doctoral dissertation, will successfully defend it soon, and is moving on to a faculty position at another institution. Yeah for Laurel! Boo for us! You know Laurel …she coordinates the Scientific Writing Seminars, she manages the application and review process for the CCTS Pilot Projects, she has guided our foray into the cyberspace with this blog , she is the go-to-gal for many questions and projects in the CCTS Research Commons.
What else does she do? Laurel is a do-er. She is capable and dependable. She is a fabulous listener. She has been committed to serve the variety of programs she has worked on within our former Office of Program Planning and Educational Research and our place here in the Research Commons of the CCTS. She has been an extraordinary colleague and officemate. Plus she is just downright fun. So as we search to replace her, we also want to thank her for all she is and present her with her very own superlative The Most Laurel.
(psst, Laurel…the sash and pageant wave are optional!)
Melissa
The Vocabulary of Clinical and Translational Science
Sponsored by the Research Education, Training and Career Development component of the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), the Vocabulary of Clinical and Translational Science is a two-week course designed to: (1) help attendees understand clinical and translational science in a way that better prepares them to read and interpret the medical literature through their understanding of types of research design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation; (2) prepare attendees to make informed decisions regarding whether or not to pursue clinical and translational science as part of their career path; and (3) provide a foundation for further clinical training for participants in UAB’s Clinical and Translational Science Training Program.
This course is mandatory for all School of Medicine Fellows who are beginning their fellowships in July of this year and are enrolled in fellowships of more than one year’s duration. For fellows who have completed training programs with similar content in the past, requests to opt out must be made in writing to Dr. Edward Hook at ehook@uab.edu.
The course will be held Monday-Friday, September 14-25, 2009 from 4-6pm in Finley Conference Center, located on the balcony of the Hugh Kaul Human Genetics Building. To receive more information about the course, please contact Audrey Wrenn at awrenn@uab.edu. To register for this course, click here http://cctsvocab2009.eventbrite.com/.
The Good, Bad and Ugly on Developing Scientific Presentations by Dale Benos
Dr. Dale Benos gave a seminar today on how to develop a good scientific presentations, speaking to an audience of over 150 people from across campus. A big Clint Eastwood fan, Benos used clips and references from some of Eastwood’s best movies to show the participants how to improve their presentation skills.
The Good: The outcome of good presentation according to Benos is stimulate further self-directed learning among the participants. The best thing your presentation can do is to motivate someone to go out and learn more on their own about your topic. A good presenter will be able to this while being enthusiastic, confident, and sincere.
The Bad: Benos recommends using simple, clear wording during a presentation and limit the use of jargon. If you know your topic well, you can describe it without complex words or techinical concepts. Someone who understands your topic well will not be offended, and someone who doesn’t know your topic well will be grateful. Also try not to be offensive, arrogant, or argumentative with audience members when giving a presentation. This will just offend people and ruin the impact of your presentation.
The Ugly: Be careful how you design your PowerPoint slides. Think about colors, fonts, and graphics when creating your slides. Benos suggests keeping your slides simple. If you add a lot of content on your slide, it will be distracting and will encourage your audience to ask questions about things you are not prepared to answer or are distracting to your talk. Remember to that some people are color- blind so never use red font.
To see the Dr. Benos’ PowerPoint Slides from the presentation, visit the CCTS website: http://www.ccts.uab.edu/pages/pres_dev.aspx
