Next-Gen Bio Network Workshop (coordinated by Jennifer Eklund, PhD and Claudia Ludwig, MEd)
This workshop explores next-generation biological techniques and issues pertaining to the awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) with a network of biology educators from community colleges across the state of Washington. Many educators would benefit from a refresher in contemporary data literacy skills and few have received formal training to analyze large datasets in the classroom in a way that would be accessible to undergraduate students. The goal of this program is to provide education leaders with the training to promote data literacy among their students using fundamental analytic concepts.
On 03/15/2024, Sid led a 1.5 hour-discussion about his past research and addressed a variety of topics in the workshop:
– The criticality of collaboration, generosity, and trust in science.
– DEI considerations while designing clinical trials, e.g., respecting cultural traditions of vulnerable populations.
– Generalizability of human studies.
– Ensuring that peer-reviewed papers are open-access to the public and not behind a paywall.
As an added bonus, Sid also discussed heatmap visualization of large metabolomic datasets and associated statistical analyses (methods of scaling, distance metrics for hierarchical clustering, FDR-correcting p-values, etc.) with the participants.
Principles of Science for Principals (coordinated by Caroline Kiehle, MEd and Jennifer Eklund, PhD)
The goal of this program is to illuminate current practices and conceptual frameworks in STEM workplaces to K-12 education leaders. On 02/29/2024, Sid served as a guest STEM Professional and shared his past research with school principals in the Puget Sound region. Using his PhD and postdoc research projects, he illustrated how concepts such as (i) cause and effect, (ii) structure/function relationships, (iii) effect sizes, and (iv) stability and change, can be used to critically evaluate new research findings. Educating the public about these concepts is essential to combat misinformation that undermines the scientific process.
