My hiatus sucks for me too, little muffins. There are so many, many things I want to tell you about -- illegal immigrants, shoes, blogging and your career, and where I found a leech this weekend. I also need to finish my Silence is the Enemy stuff.
A few minutes ago Harold left a comment on my ScienceBlog:
So, ummm, how will we know that the problem's been fixed? Has anyone seen the offending ads lately?
I haven't seen them today and have left a note from the overlordz asking if they are gone. As soon as I get a thumbs up, I'll move back to ScienceBlogs.
In the meantime, my hat's off to Zuska for joining me in self-imposed exile. That woman's moral compass is always spot on.
Earlier today Mr. Isis sent me some artwork, created in the Isis house.
First:
This is apparently the result of Little Isis's request that Mr. Isis "draw Mommy." I think I look a bit skeleton-y, but otherwise he is largely spot on. You will notice that Dr. Isis is shown here with blue hair. Dr. Isis's hair is not blue, but it is kind of a purple color right now. Apparently there was no purple crayon in our home and Mr. Isis made due with what he had.
Then Little Isis felt inspired to create a little something of his own:
Dr. Isis has now taken to decorating the fridges in the laboratory with Little Isis's artwork and that of her colleague's children. I think it makes it a happier place.
I mean, can you really look at that and tell me it doesn't make you happy?
This will be Dr. Isis's final post here at Blogger.
This week, as I prepared my shiny, new, and fancy-pants ScienceBlogs site, thoughts of leaving this blog didn't cross my mind at all. I realized pragmatically that in the transition I would leave this site and move to the new one, but I found myself so focused on the new that I don't think the impact of leaving my original blog impacted me before today.
Though, I can see why I might be a little emotional closing up shop here at Blogger. I began this humble little blog back in July as an outlet to unabashedly discuss the challenges that women in academia face. And to post pictures of shoes. When I began I averaged 9 readers a day, until I caught the eye of a foul-mouthed scamp and his partner in crime a month later. Since that first meager month, Dr. Isis has received 75,000 visits and morphed into a beast that I could never have forseen when I began this site as a side project last summer.
More importantly, I treasure the connections that I have made while I have been here. In a short time I have met a number of terrifically talented female scientists that I am proud to call my colleagues and friends (even when we don't always agree, which I value more than unquestioning worship although I'll never publicly admit it) and some wonderfully supportive (although occasionally pervy) male scientists that I think are genuinely interested in creating a level playing field for men and women in science.
I hope that in the time we have begin together I have challenged you to think about the societal and cultural norms that define how we interact with each other. I hope you had the opportunity to see that there are women in academia trying desperately to be good wives and mothers while having a successful research career. I hope that you have learned that Dr. Isis believes that the biggest hindrance to brilliant science is feeling anxious over who you are. I hope I have created an environment where you felt comfortable being snarky when you felt I deserved it. And most importantly, I hope that you were chided into buying at least one pair of totally hot shoes.
But finally, I hope that you will come join me over at ScienceBlogs. Here's the address to Dr. Isis's shiny new temple:
On Tuesday night Dr. Isis took Little Isis to swimming lessons. Little Isis loves to swim and I value the fact that this is a structured activity, written into Dr. Isis's weekly schedule, whose formality forces me to guard the time slot from the science that pays the bills. There is absolutely nothing more cathartic after a day of wrestling with papers or dealing with lab crises than getting in a circle with 10 other parents and their babies and singing "The Wheels on the Bus."
Video 1: Go ahead and watch it. It will make you feel better. Occasionally, when things get especially tense in lab meeting, Dr. Isis intervenes and requires the participants to sing a verse of "Five Little Monkeys" before continuing.
Little Isis gets very very excited about swimming lessons. He gets especially excited at the end when the instructor brings out the big barrel of toys and allows the children to have their pick to play with for the remainder of the class. This week, Little Isis became fixated on a shiny silver ball that another baby had chosen. He tried to kick and wriggle away from Dr. Isis to get to the ball, (even though he had his own shiny red ball). He splashed and fought. Eventually, when he could not have his way, he threw the red ball at the other child, causing the other child to drop the silver ball, and lunged toward the now freely available prize. At that point, Mommy and child vacated the pool, sat down on a bench, and had a talk about how, even though we may want something very badly, we have to consider the effect our actions have on others before we act.
Figure 1: Sometimes Dr. Isis has to lay down the law.
This week, an article in the Public Library of Science reminds us of the same thing -- that, as researchers, we need to consider the effect of our actions when using human research participants before we act. And, furthermore, those who are involved in the dissemination of our research have a responsibility to ensure its ethical conduct. Virginia Barbour describes the release of the newest version of the Declaration of Helsinki and the role PLoS and the Committee on Publication Ethics played in the revision of the document. The latest revisions to the document place a portion of the responsibility for the ethical conduct of clinical research in the hands of the publication editor, stating:
Authors, editors and publishers all have ethical obligations with regard to the publication of the results of research. Authors have a duty to make publicly available the results of their research on human subjects and are accountable for the completeness and accuracy of their reports. They should adhere to accepted guidelines for ethical reporting. Negative and inconclusive as well as positive results should be published or otherwise made publicly available. Sources of funding, institutional affiliations and conflicts of interest should be declared in the publication. Reports of research not in accordance with the principles of this Declaration should not be accepted for publication.
Dr. Isis is especially pleased with the statement about the publication of negative findings. Extraordinarily pleased.
Still, if you conduct human research, you should read the document for yourself and it should be freely available in your lab. Dr. Isis keeps a copy in the lab, where it can be easily obtained.
What Dr. Isis would like to wax poetic about today, however, it what she views as a fundamental failure in post-baccalaureate science education. You see, there is one educational area where Dr. Isis believes that MDs just do it better than the PhDs -- the training of young future professionals in ethical conduct. Allow me to illustrate with an example.
When Dr. Isis began at MRU she had to take a course in research ethics as a condition of her hire. In order to fulfill the requirement, Dr. Isis had to attend 8 sessions of this course. Initially, part of me appreciated the attempt to remind us of the need to conduct our research responsibly. Then, for two of the sessions, the discussion leader didn't show up. For the others, the participants had largely self-guided discussions. The one session she did find informative was the presentation by an MRU official explaining the formative punitive process in place at MRU if Dr. Isis did something unethical. At the end of the 8 weeks I got a fancy-pants looking certificate saying that I was ethical. I don't really feel any different.
But, the MDs largely do it up right. From the beginning of their training they are taught of their responsibility to the patient. From the beginning of their training PhDs are taught to get the freakin' data already (and occasionally reminded to not be a jerk about it). MDs are taught to do no harm. PhDs are taught to get the freakin' data already (but weigh the benefit of getting the data to the risk of participation in the study). MDs are taught of the fundamental dignity of the human person. PhDs are taught to get the freakin' data already (but humans are autonomous beings so don't forget the "informed" consent). Dr. Isis is not claiming that PhDs are fundamentally bad people, but she is claiming that their data-centered education potentially sets them up for failure.
Dr. Isis has a strong disdain for the use of the term "subject" in human research. She has never, nor will she ever, draft a document in which she describes the people who have participated in her research as "subjects." Webster's defines "subject" as follows:
That which is placed under the authority, dominion, control, or influence of something else
That which is subjected, or submitted to, any physical operation or process; specifically (Anat.), a dead body used for the purpose of dissection.
That which is brought under thought or examination; that which is taken up for discussion, or concerning which anything is said or done
In creating this power differential between the human research participant and the investigator (although Dr. Isis will not argue that there is not a power differential between doctor and patient. She's not that silly), it becomes easy to lose sight of their humanity. Dr. Isis argues that investigators have a greater responsibility to the human research participant than the human patient because they frequently receive no benefit from our actions. In fact, as is the case in Dr. Isis's work, they frequently accept some degree of physical discomfort and inconvenience to further knowledge that will benefit society -- it is often an ultimately altruistic act.
The reminder to treat each other with respect in research pleases the domestic and laboratory goddess. The degree to which we are failing our trainees, however, does not. She fears that, by not having these discussions early, frequently, formally and informally, within every context and step of our research, and freely we are creating a data-centered atmosphere in which the focus on human dignity comes after the fact (ie, at publication time).
And that, the domestic and laboratory goddess finds ultimately disdainful.
A few days ago, Dr. Isis alluded to the fact that she had some big news to share with you all.
So, here it is.
In a short (but currently undetermined) period of time, On Becoming a Domestic and Laboratory Goddess will be moving to its new home on Science Blogs. Dr. Isis has returned the paperwork to the official channels and has been greeted warmly by her new Sciblings.
Figure 1: Dr. Isis, the newest member of the Science Blogs family. PhysioProf is not pictured here, but Dr. Isis always pictures him as that sketchy uncle that drinks too much every Thanksgiving.
Dr. Isis will keep you all apprised on the details of her move. She adores her loyal worshipers and hopes you will all be pleased with her new home.
The Egyptian goddess Isis was celebrated as the ideal wife and mother. As a physiologist beginning a career at a major research university, I am working to establish my research while also being a domestic goddess. I have told students that it is possible to have both a career and a family. Now I just need to figure out how.
Profile Image: "The Goddess Isis" by Karen Frandsen. Acrylic on canvas.
About 80% of what Dr. Isis writes is the God's honest truth. About 20% is total crap. Dr. Isis makes no claims as to which is which and neither should you.
