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(photo by Jacqueline Ramseyer/SVCN/January 27, 2014) The three Intel finalists from the Fremont Union High School District are, from left, Monta Vista senior Vishnu Shankar, Lynbrook senior Angela Kong, and Monta Vista senior Natalie Ng.

Three seniors from the Fremont Union High School District are headed to Washington, D.C. to showcase their scientific discoveries and possibly walk away with some serious cash.

Natalie Ng and Vishnu Shankar from Monta Vista High School and Angela Kong from Lynbrook High School are finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search. The annual pre-college science competition seeks to honor and find the most promising high school seniors in the realms of math and science.

The finalists are among a group of 40 seniors who will convene in the nation's capitol March 6-12 to compete for $630,000 in prizes, including a grand prize of $100,000.

Natalie's project is titled "Advancing Precision Medicine: MicroRNA Prognostic Signatures and Prediction Models for Distant Metastasis Free Survival in Breast Cancer." Vishnu's project is called "3D Structure of Human DP Prostaglandin G-protein Coupled Receptor Bound to Selective Antagonists from GEnSeMBLE Predictions," and Angela's project is "Transcription Factor Bcl11b Regulates Mammary Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Quiescence Partially Through Cell Cycle Progression Inhibitor CDKN1a/p21."

The Intel Science Talent Search encourages students to tackle scientific questions and develop skills to help solve some of the world's greatest challenges, according to contest officials. Students will undergo a rigorous judging process, interact with renowned scientists, display their research for the public at the National Geographic Society and meet with national leaders.

Numerous finalists have gone on to do big things after high school. Between them, talent search alumni have won eight Nobel Prizes, two Fields Medals, five National Medals of Science, 11 MacArthur Foundation Fellowships and even an Academy Award for best actress, according to Intel.

Entrants are judged on the originality and creativity of their scientific research projects as well as their achievements and leadership both inside and outside the classroom.

The competition is put on in tandem with the Society for Science and the Public, a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education. It has owned and administered the Science Talent Search since its inception in 1942.

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Monta Vista, Lynbrook seniors among finalists in Intel Science Talent Search

THE CONCEPT OF THE SCHOOL OF BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
THIS CHANNEL IS HAPPENED TO SPREAD THE LIGHT OF TRUTH. TO SPREAD THE GRACE OF DIVINITY TO THE WORLD. TO SPREAD THE DIVINE ART THAT MEETS THE NATURE AND THE E...

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THE CONCEPT OF THE SCHOOL OF BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE - Video

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With employee engagement continuing to trend towards all time lows, regardless of the economy per Gallups measure, talent management is increasingly important to organizations. In another vein, the upcoming IBM Chief HR Officer study found than only 50 percent of organizations, across 342 CHROs representing 18 industries, are using workforce analytics in this manner. The significance of talent has been increasing over the past decade, while it seems, most organizations are still not investing enough in its development.

Talent acquisition and recruiting of new employees is certainly improving with the rise of new approaches to candidate engagement and public social media listening to get a better understanding of candidates all around. Yet, talent management, motivation, and employee retention continues to be the real challenge. After all, every employee is an investment over time from the organizations point of view to develop their understanding of the company culture, operations, methodologies and network. A sense of meaning and purpose regardless of where they lie in the organization, pay grade or job role is what drives engagement.

At the IBM Connect 2014 conference, I came seeking to understand how IBM is applying their knowledge of social networks and behavioral science to this challenge. Their basis in both social network and human resources software research and development puts them at a logical advantage.

On the first day, they unveiled the new IBM Kenexa Talent Suite that combines these two key areas into to provide support for Talent acquisition with recruitment software, social sourcing of talent, and on-boarding development of the hire; Talent optimization of performance appraisals, succession planning, and compensation; Analytics that support both areas; Social networks to increase productivity through peer learning and knowledge discovery; and integration into other HR systems.

It comes at a crucial time harnessing some of the possibilities of both analytics and social graphs. At a mere announcement it is difficult to assess what these data capabilities will look like, or how easy they will be to use for HR staff today. What it suggests is a new role in HR with a basis in data science to be able to work with the substantial data volumes that rise from social interaction. As Alistair Rennie of IBM indicated, Data is the new natural resource but just like oil it has to be refined to be put to real use We need to make those analytics much more accessible to business people.

In my most recent prior article, I suggested some new approaches to applying data science in leadership development. I had written about ways to detect informal leaders in the organization that influence the employee base independent of their position in the hierarchy. Some have said to me directly that there are organizational leaders who prefer not to know or ignore such informal leaders because it challenges the structure of hierarchical leadership. Yet, I think we all have a sense that there are such leaders out there. What we need are better means to detect them. In that article, I described a very basic approach of understanding centrality in the organizational network through Social Network Analysis (SNA), also called Organizational Network Analysis (ONA).

David Millen of Research Scientist at IBM Center for Social Software noted that I should not only talk about centrality, but also valencedoes the person have a positive or negative impact on the network. He suggested looking at energy networks as investigated by Prof Rob Cross of the Univ. of Virginia, and a pioneer of ONA. The concept was simple, map the relationships, and then ask the people if they felt energized or de-energized working with particular other people in their networkthis is done by opinion polling, rather than sentiment analysis of each person. What you end up with is a more accurate view of employees by the energy they give out to others they collaborate with.

Mr. Rennies response focused on the simplification of these techniques into tools that HR business roles could use. The IBM Kenexa Talent Suite is very unique It will sit on top of Watson solutions Make it accessible through natural language query Provide visualization of that data in the right context. Beyond that, you need know what question to ask. IBM points to the study of behavioral science as the catalyst to get to those insights.

The tools may soon be available but first we still need that drive within organizations to transform their HR operations to provide the enterprise social networks that employees need. Such networks also become the source of the data that they can apply to talent management and workforce analytics. It enhances the role of HR with new capabilities that bring it to modern data-based decision-making. While I will stop short of calling it predictive analytics, it certainly goes further to identify the reality of the complex view of your talent growing, supporting, starving or stepping to leave your organization.

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Talent Development Improves with Data Science

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

28-Jan-2014

Contact: Ben Norman sciencenewsroom@wiley.com 44-012-437-70375 Wiley

Beijing, China, January 28, 2014 - John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is pleased to announce that Shu Li from the Chinese Academy of Sciences has won the annual Wiley-IPCAS prize for excellence in Chinese psychological science. The prize, awarded for Li's research into overconfidence, was presented at the opening ceremony of the annual academic conference of the Chinese Psychological Society in Nanjing.

The Wiley-IPCAS prize, valued at $5,000, is awarded by Wiley in partnership with the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IPCAS), China's national psychology research institute.

The prize is awarded to the best article written by Chinese or China-based researchers publishing in PsyCh Journal or Acta Psychologica Sinica each year.

Shu Li, from the Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science at the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, published his winning paper in PsyCh Journal, China's first international psychology journal.

Shu Li's research used peer-comparison studies to explore methods for evaluating and understanding overconfidence; defined as a positive difference between confidence and accuracy. The existence of overconfidence remains a controversial issue within psychological research, and a precise method of evaluating it is essential for researchers to validate their findings.

In one of three studies, Li's team analyzed the perceptions of 126 sophomore students from Jilin University. The students were asked to consider their likely exam results compared to their peers and to estimate the percentage of students who would be more successful than them.

These estimations were later compared to the students' actual exam results, to examine how accurate their self-perception had been. The male participants overestimated their ability level by an average of 11.8%.

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Chinese Scientist wins Wiley-IPCAS Psychological Award for analysis of overconfidence

Alex Laskey intro_ How behavioral science can lower your energy bill

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Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring is boasting three finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search, the countrys oldest and most prestigious research contest for high school seniors.

The three Montgomery Blair students tapped by the Intel Foundation as finalists in this years competition are:

Shaun Datta, whose research project is Saturated Nuclear Matter in the Large Nc and Heavy Quark Limits of Quantum Chromodynamics

Neil Davey, with Early Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment through the Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells using Drop-based Microfluidics

Jessica Shi, with The Speeds of Families of Intersection Graphs

In addition, Benjamin Freed, a student at Governor Thomas Johnson High School in Frederick, also has been named a finalist. His project is Identification of Novel Regulatory Mechanisms of the K-Ras Oncoprotein.

There were no finalists from Virginia.

The Intel Science Talent Search, a program of Society for Science & the Public (SSP), chose 40 finalists from about 1,800 entrants across the country. They were judged on the originality of their research projects as well as their achievement inside and outside the classroom, according to contest organizers.

The finalists created projects that touched a variety of scientific disciplines, including behavioral science, biochemistry, bioengineering, chemistry, computer science, earth science, engineering, environmental science, materials science, mathematics, medicine, microbiology, physics and space science.

The 40 finalists will gather in Washington March 6 to 12 to compete for $630,000 in awards. They will undergo a judging process, meet prominent scientists and national leaders and show their work to the public at the National Geographic Society.

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Montgomery Blair produces 3 Intel finalists

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) January 22, 2014

Flo Gelo, D.Min, NCPsyA, Associate Professor in the Department of Family, Community and Preventive Medicine and the Behavioral Science Coordinator for the Family Medicine Residency Program at Drexel University College of Medicine, as well as the Director, of the Humanities Scholars Program, has recently been nominated for a Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation Innovation Award for distribution of her emotional and evocative short film, Emmas Haircut. This film is an intimate and bittersweet glimpse into the life of Emma Mon, a 32 year old wife and mother of two young children, who, when newly diagnosed with breast cancer, is faced with her own mortality and uncertainties about how to explain her illness to her young children. As Emma asks in the film, When a mothers most basic instinct is to protect her children, how does she go about telling them she has cancer? With the support of her husband Tom, Emma orchestrates an innovative and proactive way to safeguard the mental and emotional health of their young children and ultimately, promote coping for the family. Dr. Gelos film compassionately and thoughtfully illustrates how breast cancer impacts not only an individual, but also the whole family.

According to Kelly Harris, Director of the Cancer Support Community of Greater Philadelphia who nominated the project for this award, Emmas Haircut addresses difficult issues in a sensitive, informative way. We know first-hand how important it is to have support, information and education while going through a cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment. This film, coupled with a discussion group, will be an invaluable resource for families in the most difficult of situations." By sharing the struggles of Emma and her family, Dr. Gelo hopes to raise awareness of the importance of emotional, as well as physical, health in caring for young mothers and families facing cancer.

Interested individuals can to http://www.scattergoodfoundation.org/innovideas/cancer-support-community-greater-philadelphia# to view Emmas Haircut and leave a comment. Comments are being accepted until February 1, 2014, to inform the judges of the award. If chosen, the Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation Innovation Award will fund the creation and distribution of an educational and resource guide to supplement the film enhancing support for thousands of families coping with cancer.

The body of Dr. Gelos work focuses on helping those with chronic and terminal illness, particularly on cultural and religious diversity and medical decision-making at the end of life. As a former hospital and hospice chaplain, Dr. Gelo brings over twenty-five years experience working with patients receiving palliative care to her roles as pastoral psychotherapist in private practice and as Clinical Interventionist at Fox Chase Cancer Center. In her ongoing efforts to disseminate information to mental health providers, Dr. Gelo authored Integrating Spirituality into the Care of Medically Ill Patients: The Ethical Role of the Mental Health Professional a continuing education course available at HealthForumOnline, a nationally-approved provider of online CE courses for psychologists, social workers, counselors, and other allied health professionals.

HealthForumOnlines resource library incorporates continuing education courses that reflect a sensitivity to patient and caregiver demands. In addition to Dr. Gelos CE course, HealthForumOnlines extensive online CE library includes courses such as Anticipatory Mourning in Alzheimers Family Caregivers, Bereavement: A Comprehensive Guide for Health Professionals, Cancer in the Couple: Clinical and Ethical Considerations within the Dyad, Facilitating Adjustment in Families with a Chronically-Ill Child, and Self Care for Professional Alzheimers Caregivers. HealthForumOnline provides health professionals with nationally-approved online CE courses that are easily accessible and cost-effective, enabling them to assist patients and their caregivers in coping with illness.

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HealthForumOnline CE Course Author Flo Gelo, D.Min, NCPsyA Nominated for Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation ...

Matt Wallaert, Behavioral Scientist for Bing Skypes with Westwood Students
Matt Walleart Skypes with the 2nd period Intro to Computer Science class with teacher Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher and her students. They talk about behavior ...

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After selling Edusoft, the educational software company he founded, to publishing giant Houghton Mifflin in 2004, Dan Yates went on a yearlong road trip from Alaska to Argentina. The trip inspired him to think about energy conservation, and he decided to dedicate his next venture to preserving what's left of the planet. In 2007, with his longtime friend Alex Laskey, he founded Opower, which combines behavioral science, data analytics and customizable software that helps utilities help their customers save energy.

The privately backed company has contracts with several of the nation's leading utilities, including PG&E, and recently signed a business partnership with Tepco, the largest utility in Japan. Opower says it saved more than 3 terawatt-hours (TWh), or 3 billion kilowatt-hours, of energy as of the end of 2013, which the company says is equivalent to removing more than 450,000 passenger vehicles from the roads for a full year.

Opower's headquarters are in Arlington, Va., but 210 employees work out of its growing San Francisco office; the company also has offices in London and Singapore. This newspaper recently met with Yates in Opower's San Francisco Street office. His comments have been edited for length and clarity.

Q One of Opower's first products is a "Home Energy Report" that is mailed to customers. It shows how much energy you save compared with similar homes, tracks your electricity and gas usage over the past 12 months and gives three quick tips on how to save energy further. I'm a PG&E customer and I get Opower's statements. But we live in a pretty energy-efficient household: We had a full energy audit of the house done, we have an efficient heating system, we have a Nest thermostat. There's not much more that we can do to reduce our energy use, and to be honest, I don't think the Opower reports influence my behavior all that much.

A I believe it. Most of the people who get our reports are really high energy users, and we get less savings from really efficient people. Everyone says that the reports don't influence their behavior, but we see about a 2 percent reduction in energy consumption. That doesn't sound like a lot, but for the utility in aggregate, that's huge. The average American spends only about six minutes a year thinking about their energy use. We've also found that when utilities turn off our program, there's a drop-off in the savings. From the utility's perspective, we've become a huge part of their portfolio. We're one of their most compelling options for hitting their energy-efficiency goals. We are plucking the lowest-hanging fruit, but today only 10 million homes actually get our energy reports. That's 10 million out of 120 million homes in the United States. There's a lot of room to grow.

Q The crux of Opower is behavioral science, and how you message that to different market segments. How has the thinking around that evolved as the company has grown?

A The monthly Home Energy Report that you get in the mail is our first product; we now have five products in the market. We've learned that "normative comparisons," as they say in behavioral science nomenclature, is a very powerful lever. But it's one of just many behavioral methodologies. We've learned to say "You've lost $300 this year by not doing XYZ" instead of saying "You could save $300" because it turns out that loss language is more effective. We have three energy tips on the back of each statement, and these work because they feel authoritative. We've done tests, and when we've switched to beautiful pie charts that are personalized, we see a 10 to 15 percent reduction in the energy savings. But that's just the report. We have a suite of products, including automated calls, mobile apps and a partnership with Honeywell. We do predictive high-bill alerts, and call you in advance of a high bill.

Q So which utilities are really on the ball in terms of embracing the Opower platform?

A PG&E, National Grid in Massachusetts, Baltimore Gas & Electric which is part of Exelon, E.ON in Europe; we just announced Tepco, the largest utility in Japan. We have contracts with 90 utilities, and we have deals with utilities that cover 40 percent of the households in the United States.

Q Opower isn't your first rodeo; you started Edusoft, built it and sold it. This time around, how does this feel to you personally, in terms of exits? Are you determined to keep Opower a stand-alone company?

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The Mercury News Interview: Dan Yates, founder and CEO of Opower

After selling Edusoft, the educational software company he founded, to publishing giant Houghton Mifflin in 2004, Dan Yates went on a yearlong road trip from Alaska to Argentina. The trip inspired him to think about energy conservation, and he decided to dedicate his next venture to preserving what's left of the planet. In 2007, with his longtime friend Alex Laskey, he founded Opower, which combines behavioral science, data analytics and customizable software that helps utilities help their customers save energy.

Dan Yates, CEO of Opower ( ERIN SCOTT PHOTO )

The privately backed company has contracts with several of the nation's leading utilities, including PG&E, and recently signed a business partnership with Tepco, the largest utility in Japan. Opower says it saved more than 3 terawatt-hours (TWh), or 3 billion kilowatt-hours, of energy as of the end of 2013, which the company says is equivalent to removing more than 450,000 passenger vehicles from the roads for a full year.

Opower's headquarters are in Arlington, Va., but 210 employees work out of its growing San Francisco office; the company also has offices in London and Singapore. This newspaper recently met with Yates in Opower's San Francisco Street office. His comments have been edited for length and clarity.

Q: One of Opower's first products is a "Home Energy Report" that is mailed to customers. It shows how much energy you save compared with similar homes, tracks your electricity and gas usage over the past 12 months and gives three quick tips on how to save energy further. I'm a PG&E customer and I get Opower's statements. But we live in a pretty energy-efficient household: We had a full energy audit of the house done, we have an efficient heating system, we have a Nest thermostat. There's not much more that we can do to reduce our energy use, and to be honest, I don't think the Opower reports influence my behavior all that much.

A: I believe it. Most of the people who get our reports are really high energy users, and we get less savings from really efficient people. Everyone says that the reports don't influence their behavior, but we see about a 2 percent reduction in energy consumption. That doesn't sound like a lot, but for the utility in aggregate, that's huge. The average American spends only about six minutes a year thinking about their energy use. We've also found that when utilities turn off our program, there's a drop-off in the savings. From the utility's perspective, we've become a huge part of their portfolio. We're one of their most compelling options for hitting their energy-efficiency goals. We are plucking the lowest-hanging fruit, but today only 10 million homes actually get our energy reports. That's 10 million out of 120 million homes in the United States. There's a lot of room to grow.

Q: The crux of Opower is behavioral science, and how you message that to different market segments. How has the thinking around that evolved as the company has grown?

A: The monthly Home Energy Report that you get in the mail is our first product; we now have five products in the market. We've learned that "normative comparisons," as they say in behavioral science nomenclature, is a very powerful lever. But it's one of just many behavioral methodologies. We've learned to say "You've lost $300 this year by not doing XYZ" instead of saying "You could save $300" because it turns out that loss language is more effective. We have three energy tips on the back of each statement, and these work because they feel authoritative. We've done tests, and when we've switched to beautiful pie charts that are personalized, we see a 10 to 15 percent reduction in the energy savings. But that's just the report. We have a suite of products, including automated calls, mobile apps and a partnership with Honeywell. We do predictive high-bill alerts, and call you in advance of a high bill.

Q: So which utilities are really on the ball in terms of embracing the Opower platform?

A: PG&E, National Grid in Massachusetts, Baltimore Gas & Electric which is part of Exelon, E.ON in Europe; we just announced Tepco, the largest utility in Japan. We have contracts with 90 utilities, and we have deals with utilities that cover 40 percent of the households in the United States.

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Opower CEO Dan Yates, on saving power for the people

Dr Margaret Rogers Van Coops - Soul Coding
Jesse interviews Dr. Margaret Rogers Van Coops, author of several books including The Rejection Syndrome. She founded the Sumaris Psychic Education Center, i...

By: Jesse Ann Nichols George

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The importance of research between women and smoking
http://www.mdanderson.org/about-us/facts-and-history/surgeon-general-s-50th-anniversary/index.html We asked our expert, Dr. Ellen Gritz, Chair of Behavioral ...

By: MD Anderson Cancer Center

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The importance of research between women and smoking - Video

The challenges of tobacco control in the U.S.
http://www.mdanderson.org/about-us/facts-and-history/surgeon-general-s-50th-anniversary/index.html We asked our expert, Dr. Ellen Gritz, Chair of Behavioral ...

By: MD Anderson Cancer Center

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The challenges of tobacco control in the U.S. - Video

The importance of tobacco control and smoking cessation
http://www.mdanderson.org/about-us/facts-and-history/surgeon-general-s-50th-anniversary/index.html We asked our expert, Dr. Ellen Gritz, Chair of Behavioral ...

By: MD Anderson Cancer Center

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The importance of tobacco control and smoking cessation - Video

Vinod Khosla has stirred up some controversy in the healthcare community over the last several years by suggesting that computers might be able to provide better care than doctors.This includes remarks he made at Strata Rx in 2012, including that, We need to move from the practice of medicine to the science of medicine. And the science of medicine is way too complex for human beings to do.

So when I saw the news that Khosla Ventures has just invested $4Min Series A funding intoLumiata (formerly MEDgle), a company that specializes in healthcare data analytics, I was very curious to hear more about that companys vision.Ash Damle is the CEO at Lumiata.We recently spoke by phone to discuss how data can improve access to care and help level the playing field of care quality.

Ash Damle: Were bringing together the best of medical science and graph analytics to provide the best prescriptive analysis to those providing care. We data-mine all the publicly available data sources, such asjournals, de-identified records, etc. We analyze the data to make sure were learning the right things and, most importantly, what the relationships are among the data. We have fundamentally delved into looking at that whole graph, the way Google does to provide you with relevant search results. We curate those relationships to make sure theyre sensible, and take into account behavioral and social factors.

Our goal is to apply the best of medical science in every health interaction possible. In the long term, we want to optimize health. In the short term, we want to optimize care.

Ash Damle: Right now we have care as a service, but not necessarily health as a service. Care is reactive, while health is proactive. If you had a physician who could spend three hours a week looking over all of your data, he could tell you the things you need to do each week to stay healthy and be proactive. But thats not efficient. So we want to bring data science and the power of big data to bear, and we want to provide that anytime, anywhere.

Ash Damle: Theres so much medical science out there, but its really hard to apply it all within a limited amount of time. Were just in the beginning of the datification of health, but if we can computationalize medical science with all the power and nuance that computers and data analysis have to offer, then suddenly we have a way to apply the best of medical science to everyones care all the time.

The advent of the variety and volume of big data presents an opportunity to better contextually understand what is happening with the patient, and what is likely to occur in the future. Everyday we are amazed by the brilliance of physicians. We want to democratize medical science and make it easier so that all kinds of medical stafffrom advice nurses, to physicians assistants, to doctorscan apply higher quality care.

Were at the beginning of what we can do, and were excited about having such an extraordinary partner.

Ash Damle: Physicians and nurse practitioners and other providers are very empathetic people; part of why they do what they do is that they care. How do we superpower them and enable them to do the best they can by giving them the best tools?

The reality is that if a care provider is in the Southwest versus the Northeast of the United States, theyll see different things, and so the way they think about whats more likely will change based on local conditions. Experience is key and intuition is extraordinarily powerful. But intuition is the ability to synthesize huge numbers of variables and personal experience to deduce things from weak signals. In some sense, thats also what were trying to enable, because not everyone has the same level of experience that our best physicians do.We want to democratize that brilliance so that everyone gets the best care. We believe tools improving and applying the science of care should be used to augment and amplify the intangible human components.

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The democratization of medical science

"Just Wait" by Blues Traveler performed for FSU Behavioral Science by Lindsay-Rose Sinclair
This is a video I created for Behavioral Science... P.S... I got an A+ 😉

By: Lindsay-Rose Sinclair

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"Just Wait" by Blues Traveler performed for FSU Behavioral Science by Lindsay-Rose Sinclair - Video

Smokers with HIV/AIDS find quitting easier with cell phone counseling
Download from iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/smokers-hiv-aids-find-quitting/id431848216?i=226272730 A smoking-cessation intervention delivered ...

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Jan. 9, 2014 Proposed updates to federal regulations that protect human research subjects need additional clarification when applied to the social and behavioral sciences, says a new report from the National Research Council. The report reviews an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), issued in July 2011 to strengthen protection for human subjects, and recommends how best to ensure those protections while promoting effective social and behavioral science research and also respecting the different contexts and processes of biomedical research.

Last updated in 1991, the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, popularly known as the Common Rule, outlines basic regulations for participation of human subjects in biomedical and behavioral research. Since that update, however, rapid advances in technology and the increasing volume of data available on individuals have changed the landscape for investigators and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). The ANPRM addresses how the Common Rule may need to be revised to more effectively protect research subjects and promote important research.

To first determine if research activities fall within the scope of the Common Rule, the report recommends that HHS define "human subjects research" as a systematic investigation designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge that involves direct interaction or intervention with a living individual or that involves obtaining identifiable private information about an individual. Only research that fits this definition should be subject to IRB procedures and the Common Rule.

Building on this definition, HHS should also clarify that research which relies on publicly available information, information in the public domain, or information that can be observed in public contexts does not meet the definition of human subjects research -- regardless of whether the information is personally identifiable -- as long as individuals whose information is used have no reasonable expectation of privacy. This includes digital data, some types of administrative records, and public-use data files that have been certified as protected against disclosure.

Once defined as "human subjects research," studies should be put in one of three review categories -- excused research, expedited review, or full review -- already outlined in the ANPRM.

Excused research.

The committee that wrote the report supported the ANPRM's proposal for a new "excused" category, where studies do not require IRB review if they involve only informational risk that is no more than minimal. Examples of excused research could include use of pre-existing data with private information, or benign interventions or interactions that involve activities familiar to people in everyday life, such as educational tests, surveys, and focus groups. The report notes that because the primary risk in most social and behavioral research is informational, much of this research would qualify as excused under the new regulations. In line with an ANPRM suggestion, the committee recommended that excused research remain subject to some oversight; investigators should register their study with an IRB, describe consent procedures, and provide a data protection plan. A very small sample of excused studies could be audited, to provide accountability. After it is registered, an excused study could begin within a week.

Expedited review.

As outlined in the ANPRM, research that might otherwise qualify as excused may be subject to expedited review if the study requires more consideration of human subjects protections because of the nature of the research procedures combined with the characteristics of the subject population. HHS should specify that studies with the potential for causing psychological or physical harm to participants but whose risk can be minimized by additional procedures can be subject to expedited review, the report says. The committee recommended that HHS define minimal risk as the probability and magnitude of physical or psychological harm that does not exceed that which is ordinarily encountered in daily life or in the routine medical, psychological, or educational examinations or tests of the general population. Expedited review would be recommended to take no more than two weeks.

Full review.

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Improved regulations to protect human research subjects would better protecting study participants

ROME -- The Rome Academy of Sciences is seeking nominations for the Class of 2014 into the Rome Science Hall of Fame.

The Academy has been given a wall in the City Hall to display the inductees.

The Academys goal is to recognize and honor those persons, past and present, who have contributed substantial achievements in the areas of science and to honor their achievements by entering their names into the Rome Science Hall of Fame.

The science areas under consideration are: behavioral and social sciences, biochemistry, botany, chemistry, computer science, Earth science, engineering, environmental sciences, mathematics, medicine and health, microbiology, physics, space sciences and zoology.

This recognition will be in two parts.

- Upcoming Science Achievement: Given to graduating high school seniors from both RFA and RCS who have shown exceptional attributes towards the sciences.

- Lifetime Achievement: Given to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional contributions to the fields of science over a distinguished career.

In order for an individual to be nominated to the City of Rome Science Hall of Fame, that individual must either have been from the City of Rome or have lived in this area long enough to be considered their hometown and commonly associated with Rome by the general public.

The Upcoming Science Achievement category is bestowed upon graduating seniors from RFA and RCS who have achieved at least a 95 GPA in the sciences and at least a 90 overall GPA. Students must have attended at least two years in a local high school.

The Lifetime Achievement category is bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated exceptional contributions to the fields of science over a distinguished career. Anyone from the City of Rome can nominate an individual, providing they meet any of the following criteria: Continued...

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Rome Academy of Sciences seeks nominations for 'Rome Science Hall of Fame'

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

9-Jan-2014

Contact: Rachel Brody news@nas.edu 202-334-2138 National Academy of Sciences

WASHINGTON Proposed updates to federal regulations that protect human research subjects need additional clarification when applied to the social and behavioral sciences, says a new report from the National Research Council. The report reviews an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), issued in July 2011 to strengthen protection for human subjects, and recommends how best to ensure those protections while promoting effective social and behavioral science research and also respecting the different contexts and processes of biomedical research.

Last updated in 1991, the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, popularly known as the Common Rule, outlines basic regulations for participation of human subjects in biomedical and behavioral research. Since that update, however, rapid advances in technology and the increasing volume of data available on individuals have changed the landscape for investigators and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). The ANPRM addresses how the Common Rule may need to be revised to more effectively protect research subjects and promote important research.

To first determine if research activities fall within the scope of the Common Rule, the report recommends that HHS define "human subjects research" as a systematic investigation designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge that involves direct interaction or intervention with a living individual or that involves obtaining identifiable private information about an individual. Only research that fits this definition should be subject to IRB procedures and the Common Rule.

Building on this definition, HHS should also clarify that research which relies on publicly available information, information in the public domain, or information that can be observed in public contexts does not meet the definition of human subjects research -- regardless of whether the information is personally identifiable -- as long as individuals whose information is used have no reasonable expectation of privacy. This includes digital data, some types of administrative records, and public-use data files that have been certified as protected against disclosure.

Once defined as "human subjects research," studies should be put in one of three review categories excused research, expedited review, or full review already outlined in the ANPRM.

Excused research. The committee that wrote the report supported the ANPRM's proposal for a new "excused" category, where studies do not require IRB review if they involve only informational risk that is no more than minimal. Examples of excused research could include use of pre-existing data with private information, or benign interventions or interactions that involve activities familiar to people in everyday life, such as educational tests, surveys, and focus groups. The report notes that because the primary risk in most social and behavioral research is informational, much of this research would qualify as excused under the new regulations. In line with an ANPRM suggestion, the committee recommended that excused research remain subject to some oversight; investigators should register their study with an IRB, describe consent procedures, and provide a data protection plan. A very small sample of excused studies could be audited, to provide accountability. After it is registered, an excused study could begin within a week.

Expedited review. As outlined in the ANPRM, research that might otherwise qualify as excused may be subject to expedited review if the study requires more consideration of human subjects protections because of the nature of the research procedures combined with the characteristics of the subject population. HHS should specify that studies with the potential for causing psychological or physical harm to participants but whose risk can be minimized by additional procedures can be subject to expedited review, the report says. The committee recommended that HHS define minimal risk as the probability and magnitude of physical or psychological harm that does not exceed that which is ordinarily encountered in daily life or in the routine medical, psychological, or educational examinations or tests of the general population. Expedited review would be recommended to take no more than two weeks.

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Improved regulations to protect human research subjects would reduce burden on IRBs while better protecting study ...