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Get to Know the TEC!

All of Us Research Program, NIH > NLM > NNLMThe All of Us Research Program Training and Education Center is a new UG4 cooperative agreement with the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in partnership with the All of Us Research Program (AoURP). The Training and Education Center (TEC) is the central repository for educational content and trainings related to the program. The TEC will be responsible for the development, design, implementation, and evaluation of a variety of educational deliverables targeted to key audiences, including AoURP participants, researchers, health professionals, and general consumer health. There will be four main staff working at the TEC—Jennifer Jones, Executive Director; Lydia Collins, Participant Engagement Lead; Program Manager (TBH); and Instructional Designer-Technologist (TBH).

The TEC uses a Team Science framework to collaborate with NLM staff and AoURP leadership to determine priorities and highlight expertise across the national AoURP consortium for material development. We will leverage existing NLM and AoURP resources, including the integration of NLM learning management system platforms to support the educational content and trainings developed. We will make sure that all projects meet federal standards to be 508-compliant with language and accessibility, and all of our participant materials will also be available in Spanish. The courses will have interactive instructional content and may include “Ask the Experts” and informative webinars aimed at AoURP participants.

In addition, the TEC will create an advisory team of professionals and consumers to assist in guiding the development, implementation and evaluation of the program. We like to think of our work as a “start-up”—there is a lot to learn and do, but we are an important part to the success and understanding of the overall program.

To learn more, and to follow what we are developing, visit the TEC website. More information about the All of Us Research Program can be found at www.joinallofus.org.

~ Jennifer R. Jones, Executive Director, Training and Education Center, All of Us Research Program

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Genomic Analysis is a Snap using SnapGene

SnapGene MapView
Image: Restriction Cloning (www.snapgene.com/products/screenshots) by SnapGene

Would you like to…

  • easily plan and simulate your DNA manipulations?
  • visualize ORFs, reading frames, and primer binding sites?
  • automatically record the steps in a cloning project?
  • share annotated sequence files with other researchers?

You can do all of this and more with SnapGene. The HSLS Molecular Biology Information Service now provides access to this popular molecular biology software, making it that much easier for Pitt researchers to easily perform in silico DNA analysis, molecular cloning, and PCR. Continue reading

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Redesigned Mobile Apps Website Launched

The Mobile Apps website has a new look! The new website has a more user friendly design and provides easier access to all of the information you need in order to get started using the apps.

All of the apps are from HSLS licensed databases that work with our institutional accounts. You’ll find instructions for accessing the Micromedex, ClinicalKey, and UpToDate apps, among others. Each app is evaluated twice per year and the content is then updated.

The new website provides:

  • Instructions on how to create an account in order to access an app.
  • Information about app updates and expirations.
  • The content that is included in each app.
  • Directions on how to find help.
  • Direct links to the Google Play Store and Apple Store for easy app downloads.

Information about UpToDate app

The website is mobile optimized and can be accessed from any device.

If you have any questions, or would like further information, please send an e-mail to Ask a Librarian.

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Tracking down Datasets Using PubMed and PMC

PubMed and PubMed Central (PMC) now offer filters to limit a search to only those articles or citations that include related data links, supplemental material, data citations, or a data availability or data accessibility statement.

The filters, detailed below, can be combined with any search by simply adding the Boolean operator “AND” and the specific filter into the search box (see the screenshots below for example syntax; the filters are highlighted in yellow).

PubMed

data[filter] in PubMed search box

Use data[filter] to find citations with related data links in either the Secondary Source ID field or the LinkOut – more resources field (both located below the abstract). Continue reading

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HSLS Staffer’s Experience at Pitt Day in Harrisburg

Pitt Day in Harrisburg travelers
Donna Perkins (front, left), Web Editor/Main Desk
Photo: Mike Drazdzinski, Office of University Communications, University of Pittsburgh

On May 23, 2018, I traveled to the state Capitol to serve as one of the enthusiastic ambassadors representing our university at Pitt Day in Harrisburg. Present for the event were Chancellor Patrick Gallagher, faculty, staff, alumni, students, plus Pitt’s mascot Roc the Panther. From departure to return I saw a number of familiar Pitt faces including Albert Tanjaya who is a student government board member and Chuck Staresinic from Academic Affairs in Pitt’s Health Sciences. The trip provides additional opportunities for forging new relationships with others who share Pitt as a common denominator. Sitting directly behind me on the motor coach were Tom Armstrong and Janet Gerster. It was lovely meeting them and learning about their very important roles as recruiters in the Office of Human Resources. Tom is a recruiter for Veterans and Individuals with disABILITIES. Continue reading

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NNLM MAR Staff Attend All of Us Launch

Flewelling and Milline (MAR) with Collins (NIH)
NNLM MAR Executive Director Kate Flewelling and All of Us Community Engagement Coordinator Veronica Leigh Milliner with NIH Director Francis Collins.

On May 6, 2018, the National Institutes of Health officially launched the All of Us Research Program. Launch events took place in seven cities across the country and online.

MAR All of Us Community Engagement Coordinator Veronica Leigh Milliner and I attended the launch event at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York City. The event consisted of a Community Education Fair and an impressive line-up of speakers. The event was organized by the All of Us Research Program NYC Consortium that includes Columbia University Medical Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, NYC Health + Hospitals Harlem and New York-Presbyterian.

At the fair, Veronica and I promoted the use of high quality health information resources such as MedlinePlus, encouraged attendees to think of public libraries as partners in a health community, and talked about our role with the All of Us Research Program. Continue reading

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Annual American Osler Society Meeting Held in Pittsburgh

Jonathon Erlen
Jonathon Erlen

American Osler Society

The 48th Annual American Osler Society (AOS) meeting was held May 13-16, 2018, in Pittsburgh, PA, and was co-hosted by the University of Pittsburgh and the C.F. Reynolds Medical History Society. Jonathon Erlen, History of Medicine Librarian, along with Georgia Duker, Professor of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, co-chaired the Local Arrangements Committee. The meeting attracted over 125 participants from around the world.

The final AOS program contained over fifty-five papers, an all-time high for an AOS meeting. Topics ranged from aspects of ancient history of medicine to current medical issues. The meeting officially began with several songs performed by part of the University of Pittsburgh Female Choir. Then the Chancellor, Patrick Gallagher, warmly welcomed the AOS, followed by welcoming remarks by Bernard Goldstein, President of the C. F. Reynolds Medical History Society. Continue reading

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Befriend That Bear!

Keogh Zoologia Medicinalis HibernicaJohn K’eogh (1681-1754) was an Irish naturalist and the author of Botanologia Universalis Hibernica (1735), an early Irish herbal, and Zoologia Medicinalis Hibernica (1739). His intent with both works was to show that his country was self-sufficient to produce all remedies to cure the locals of any sickness without the need to import foreign medicines.

Zoologia Medicinalis Hibernica, owned by Falk Library, is quite rare. It is bound in a modern Morocco leather, with gilded lettering on the spine. The paper used by the Irish printer might have come from the local mill, but one used by a binder has a clearly visible watermark of “Maid of Dort” which ties in to a Dutch master papermaker of the 18th century.

The book on the medicinal virtues of animals, written before the standardization of FDA regulations or the need to prove efficacy, offers information on remedies in a typical hearsay fashion for the times. K’eogh is familiar with medical classics. He cites Galen, Avicenna, and Rhases. He also refers to earlier naturalists such as Pliny the Elder, Albertus Magnus, Johann Hartmann, Jan Jonston, Ulisse Aldrovandi, and others. Continue reading

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HSLS Staff News

The HSLS Staff News section includes recent HSLS presentations, publications, staff changes, staff promotions, degrees earned, etc.

Welcome

Jennifer Jones, MPH, joined HSLS on May 8 as the Executive Director of the All of Us Research Program Training and Education Center. Jen received her MPH from the Pitt Graduate School of Public Health, and earned a BS from Juniata College. She has worked at the University for 7 years. Prior to joining HSLS she was the Community Engagement Senior Coordinator at the Pitt Clinical & Translational Science Institute.

Publication

Author name in bold is HSLS-affiliated

C.G. Escobar-Viera, D.L. Whitfield, C.B. Wessel, Head of Research Initiatives, et al., published “For Better or for Worse? A Systematic Review of the Evidence on Social Media Use and Depression among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Minorities” in JMIR Mental Health, 2018. Continue reading

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Classes for July 2018

HSLS Classes

Trim Down Your Search: Focusing PubMed in on a Topic, Monday, July 9, 4-5 p.m.

Photoshop First Look: An Introduction to Image Editing, Tuesday, July 10, 10-11 a.m.

Painless PubMed*, Wednesday, July 11, 12-1 p.m.

EndNote Basics, Thursday, July 12, 9-11 a.m.

Introduction to the Pitt Data Catalog, Thursday, July 19, 1-2 p.m.

Presentation Zen: Effective Visuals and Design, Thursday, July 19, 3-4 p.m.

Box for Storing and Sharing Research Data, Tuesday, July 24, 9-10 a.m.

Painless PubMed*, Tuesday, July 24, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Molecular Biology Information Service

ChIP-Seq & Galaxy, Wednesday, July 11, 1-4 p.m.

Bioinformatics Data Analysis: Options 4 Rigor, Wednesday, July 25, 1-2 p.m. Continue reading

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DistillerSR Systematic Review Software: Users Share Their Experiences

“I consider undertaking a systematic review/meta-analysis an invitation for nightmares… this software makes the process infinitely more doable and accountable.”—DistillerSR User

In 2015, HSLS licensed DistillerSR, a web-based systematic review product, to assist researchers with their systematic review projects. Since HSLS began offering the product to teams that included a primary investigator affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh schools of the health sciences, and an HSLS librarian, over 300 users have registered for accounts and have used it to begin 93 systematic review projects. Continue reading

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A Reflection on HSLS Technology Classes

Julia (Jankovic) Dahm, CMC Intern, May 2008

Ten years ago, I was hired as a summer intern with Falk Library’s Computer and Media Center. My main task was to update class content that was affected by the change from Microsoft 2003 to Microsoft 2007. As a recent Pitt graduate about to enter library school, I was eager to take on the challenge of investigating the changes in our software classes and creating sleek, new handouts.

In my current position as Coordinator of Technology Integration Services, a decade of preparing software classes has taught me a lot about how our health sciences community uses these programs and what they hope to get out of the one or two hours I spend showing them the ropes. Continue reading

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National Network of Libraries of Medicine Sponsors Virtual Wikipedia Edit-a-thon

McGill University librarians participating in the NNLM Wikipedia Edit-a-thon

Did you know that people consult Wikipedia more often than trusted National Institutes of Health and National Library of Medicine resources to look for health information? Studies even suggest that our healthcare providers and students in health professions turn to Wikipedia for much of their health research. Recognizing this, a group of National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) coordinators recently organized a virtual Wikipedia Edit-a-thon to improve citations and pages on various health topics. Our goal was to work towards making Wikipedia a more reliable evidence-based resource by incorporating citations from trusted resources like PubMed, MedlinePlus, Genetics Home Reference, and the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center. We held a public, virtual training session with a physician and active WikiProject Medicine editor, Dr. James Heilman. Dr. Heilman explained through the importance of providing evidence-based citations to Wikipedia and showed attendees how to add citations, and improve existing content. Continue reading

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HSLS Participation at the Medical Library Association’s Annual Conference

HSLS librarians were active participants in the Medical Library Association’s Annual Meeting held Atlanta, GA, from May 18-23.

Paper Presentations

Carrie Iwema, Coordinator of Basic Science Services, presented “Creating New Research Services: Library Support for Electronic Lab Notebooks.” Co-author was Melissa Ratajeski, Coordinator of Data Services.

Rose Turner, Research and Instruction Librarian, presented “Exploring the Role of DistillerSR in Successfully Completing Systematic Reviews.” Co-author was Mary Lou Klem, Research and Instruction Librarian.

Lightning Talks

Carrie Iwema, Coordinator of Basic Science Services, presented “Programming for Biology: Learning the Language to Meet the Needs of Biomedical Researchers.” Co-authors were Melissa Ratajeski, Coordinator of Data Services, and Ansuman Chattopadhyay, Assistant Director for Molecular Biology Information Services.

Melissa Ratajeski, Coordinator of Data Services, presented “Leading the Data Discovery Charge: A Cross-Institutional Collaboration to Index Research Data.” Co-authors were Carrie Iwema, Coordinator of Basic Science Services, Joel Marchewka, Web and Application Programmer, Angela Zack, Knowledge Integration Lead, et al.

Special Content Session

Kate Flewelling, NNLM MAR Executive Director, and Elaina Vitale, NNLM MAR Academic Coordinator, presented “Training, Program Ideas, Health Information Resources, Funding,” as part of a special symposium for public librarians.

Other Conference Activities

Barbara Epstein, HSLS director, concluded her year as MLA President by chairing the Board of Directors’ meeting, the MLA Business Meeting, and several other sessions. She also delivered her presidential address, titled “Engaging the Future.”

Michele Klein Fedyshin, Research and Clinical Instruction Librarian, and Andrea Ketchum, Research and Instruction Librarian/Scholarly Communication Liaison, co-chaired the MLA Ad Hoc Committee to Review Core Clinical Journals meeting.

Kate Flewelling, NNLM MAR Executive Director, was elected to the MLA Nominating Committee. Her one year term began at the end of MLA 2018. She also completed a three-year term as Section Council liaison to the Membership Committee.

Carrie Iwema, Coordinator of Basic Science Services, was a panelist for the Data Catalog Collaboration Information Session, and attended committee meetings as the Education Steering Committee liaison to the Education Annual Programming Committee.

Melissa Ratajeski, Coordinator of Data Services, chaired the Chapter Council meeting, attended the MLA Board of Directors’ meeting as a member, and was a panelist on the Data Catalog Collaboration Information Session.

Elaina Vitale, NNLM MAR Academic Coordinator, was appointed to the Broering Hispanic Heritage Grant Jury. Her one-year term began at the end of MLA 2018.

~Jill Foust