November 2024 Issue

In May 2023, we welcomed you to the brand-new Falk Library entrance and renovated space, as unveiled with the West Wing construction project. In the meantime, a significant portion of the library underwent a renovation phase to offer both innovative and most-loved library experiences in our physical space. With the library whole again on Monday, November 11, visitors can use an expanded array of services and resources, including:

• Individual study spaces with study carrels, some in designated quiet study areas
• Open group study spaces at tables and booths
• Return of the General Collection, Medical Humanities Collection, and Leisure Reading books
• Additional technology areas, including accessibility hardware and software
• More small consultation rooms, which are reservable along with the larger group study rooms
• Rare Book Room, featuring rotating displays of historic books and artifacts, along with more open hours for visitors
• Nancy Tannery Conference Room, a meeting room with modern display technology that repurposes the mid-century finishings from the former history of medicine reading room
• Falk Library also now houses the Health Sciences Emergent Tech Lab as well as a state-of-the-art recording studio, thanks to a partnership with Health Sciences IT. You can learn more about these new new resources in this issue of the HSLS Update.

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Today’s learners live in a complex world of multimedia, both in and out of the classroom: streaming video, podcasts, and social media are constant fixtures of everyday life. But they are more than passive consumers. Digital video content has not only become the default way that learners engage with ideas, but the visual language of digital media can also be used to communicate concepts in ways that writing and oral lectures simply cannot. By leveraging the power of technology and visual storytelling, the health sciences at Pitt are enhancing health sciences education by combining digital media with didactic classroom sessions. The hub for this educational content production is the new Health Sciences Media Studios, a collaboration between HSLS and Health Sciences IT (HS IT), opening later this month.

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This fall, the University of Pittsburgh’s health sciences faculty, staff, and students will have access to the Health Sciences Emergent Technology Lab, a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility designed to explore and experience emerging technology, including augmented reality (AR) headsets, virtual reality (VR) headsets, and a proprietary digital cadaver/case study table from Anatomage. Located within the newly renovated Falk Library, this cutting-edge lab will offer an unparalleled opportunity to experience innovative methods of teaching, learning, and understanding health sciences information. The lab is slated to open by the end of November.

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The All by All tables have recently been released for controlled tier users in the All of Us Researcher Workbench, providing a robust resource for exploring genetic and phenotypic associations. Using short-read whole genome sequencing data, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and rare variant association studies (RVAS) were conducted, offering researchers the ability to examine a wide range of complex human traits. These All by All tables contain association test results for genes, variants, and phenotypes, making them an ideal tool for researchers with little to no coding experience.

To help researchers get started, the HSLS MolBio Service offers consultations, holds office hours, and provides access to a community workspace All by All template that simplifies data import. This template is specifically designed to load the All by All tables, ensuring that users can focus on their research without being slowed down by technical barriers. Continue reading →

We’re excited to announce a new feature added to PittCat, our library catalog! You can now search for books, articles, and more in one of seven languages. While you will search your terms in English, your search results will be displayed in your preferred language, making it easier than ever to explore the resources at the Pitt Health Sciences Library System.

Available Languages

Arabic, English, Spanish, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Continue reading →

Join us for this class:
Wednesday, November 20, 2024, 1-3 p.m., Online
Taught by Srilakshmi Chaparala
Register for Gene Expression Visualization using Partek Flow and Cytoscape*

This workshop is on the visualization of gene expression data using HSLS-licensed Partek Flow, a start-to-finish software analysis solution for data applications, and Cytoscape, an open-source software platform for visualizing complex networks and integrating them with any type of attribute data. These tools enable researchers of all skill levels to confidently perform data analysis. Continue reading →

The Latin phrase corpora non agunt nisi fixata is a well-known expression in drug-receptor pharmacology that translates to “a drug will only act when bound to its target.” It was coined by German scientist Dr. Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915) who worked in many fields and left an impressive list of contributions to chemotherapy, histology, hematology, oncology, immunology, and pharmacotherapy. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1908. He formulated the idea that it is possible to kill specific microbes without killing the body, and dubbed this concept the “magic bullet.” Ehrlich’s research, with the help of Sahachiro Hata, led to the discovery of an effective treatment for a deadly disease—this first “magic bullet” drug was released as Salvarsan and used to treat syphilis until the invention of antibiotics in the 1940s. If you are interested in learning more about Ehrlich’s many contributions to pharmacology, we recommend this article by Bosch and Rosich. Continue reading →

Researchers in the School of Medicine are conducting a research project that will train health professionals and health professional students to create viral videos aimed at combating dermatological misinformation online. This project has been approved by the IRB.

To participate in the study you must be a current licensed and practicing health professional (such as MD/DO, RN, PA, PharmD) and willing to complete online training modules. Eligible participants will earn $10 for completing the online training modules.

Interested in participating? Complete the screening survey to determine your eligibility and sign up for the project.

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

News

Welcome to Shaden Al Dada, MLIS Partners Program student from the University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information. Al Dada has begun a year-long program at HSLS to gain professional experience in the History of Medicine and Special Collections department.

Presentations

Ansuman Chattopadhyay, Director for Molecular Biology Information Services, presented:

Chattopadhyay, A. (2024). Two Decades of Bioinformatics Support by University of Pittsburgh’s Health Sciences Library System and the Impact of the Molecular Biology Information Service: Specialized Bioinformatics and Data Management in Medical Libraries [guest lecture]. Evolution of Bioinformatics Services in Libraries Speaker Series, Network of the National Library of Medicine.

Alyssa Young, Research and Instruction Librarian, presented:

Young, A. and Senko, K. (2024). Harboring Success: A Collaborative Approach to Enhancing Medical Education Support [Conference presentation]. Southern Chapter and Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association Joint Annual Meeting, Charleston, SC, United States.