Bethany M Usher
@bethany-usher.bsky.social
Biological anthropologist; Provost at Radford University who uses too many cemetery and evolution metaphors.
Trying to make the world a little better every day.
❤️💀📕🚲🥾🦮🧶🥗🇩🇰🇺🇸
Views my own
Trying to make the world a little better every day.
❤️💀📕🚲🥾🦮🧶🥗🇩🇰🇺🇸
Views my own
Science and policy together protect everyone from vaccine-preventable diseases. So proud of seeing Ciara's (@ciaramweets.bsky.social) valuable thesis work published!
NEW 🧪🦠😷🚨 Vaccine-preventable diseases pose a resurgent threat, yet enforceable policies offer a chance to boost routine vaccination when paired with healthcare access. Here, we identify and analyze vaccination policies from 194 nations. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Strengthening health security through routine vaccination policy: A comprehensive analysis of childhood vaccination laws across 194 countries
Vaccine preventable diseases (VPD) present a resurgent threat to global health security and jeopardize decades of advancements in public health and ec…
www.sciencedirect.com
April 15, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Science and policy together protect everyone from vaccine-preventable diseases. So proud of seeing Ciara's (@ciaramweets.bsky.social) valuable thesis work published!
Reposted by Bethany M Usher
Peer observation of teaching doesn't have to be evaluative. Formative observations can be very useful, especially if the observation is reciprocal. New on the UVA Teaching Hub: A collection of resources on reciprocal peer teaching observations from Dorothe Bach. teaching.virginia.edu/collections/...
Reciprocal Peer Teaching Observations — UVA Teaching Hub
<p>Peer observation of teaching need not happen only as part of faculty evaluation processes. Observing each others' classes with the purpose of reflecting and providing feedback to one another benefi...
teaching.virginia.edu
February 14, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Peer observation of teaching doesn't have to be evaluative. Formative observations can be very useful, especially if the observation is reciprocal. New on the UVA Teaching Hub: A collection of resources on reciprocal peer teaching observations from Dorothe Bach. teaching.virginia.edu/collections/...
"We need scientific research to support the health and safety of people and our planet. We need policy decisions that are grounded in research and data. We need researchers and educators who will seek scientific truths and prepare the next generation to carry on this critical work."
Letter
unitedsciencealliance.org
February 13, 2025 at 8:48 PM
"We need scientific research to support the health and safety of people and our planet. We need policy decisions that are grounded in research and data. We need researchers and educators who will seek scientific truths and prepare the next generation to carry on this critical work."
Reposted by Bethany M Usher
If you're working on home lesson plans for your kids -- or just need a distraction from doomscrolling -- here are links to all the content from our #MOOC on epidemics:
On Coursera: coursera.org/learn/epidem...
On Youtube: www.youtube.com/@centerforin...
On Coursera: coursera.org/learn/epidem...
On Youtube: www.youtube.com/@centerforin...
Epidemics - the Dynamics of Infectious Diseases
Offered by The Pennsylvania State University. Not so long ago, it was almost guaranteed that you would die of an infectious disease. In ... Enroll for free.
coursera.org
November 18, 2024 at 12:46 PM
If you're working on home lesson plans for your kids -- or just need a distraction from doomscrolling -- here are links to all the content from our #MOOC on epidemics:
On Coursera: coursera.org/learn/epidem...
On Youtube: www.youtube.com/@centerforin...
On Coursera: coursera.org/learn/epidem...
On Youtube: www.youtube.com/@centerforin...
Ciara (and colleagues) analyzed how the WHO disseminated information about infectious disease outbreaks during the pandemic (and the surprising twist on what was under-emphasized). Also, great graphs! @ciaramweets.bsky.social
🧪😷NEW: What happened to outbreak reporting during Covid-19 and the mpox clade II outbreak? We highlight shifts in what was reported and how information was communicated, providing insight into how decisions were made and communicated during these health emergencies🔓 journals.plos.org/globalpublic...
The WHO Disease Outbreak News during the Covid-19 pandemic
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) was an important public source of information – not only about the pandemic, but also thousands of other potential health emergencies....
journals.plos.org
January 28, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Ciara (and colleagues) analyzed how the WHO disseminated information about infectious disease outbreaks during the pandemic (and the surprising twist on what was under-emphasized). Also, great graphs! @ciaramweets.bsky.social
Reposted by Bethany M Usher
New: Trump officials have paused all external communications at health agencies like CDC, FDA, NIH.
No health alerts and the famed MMWRs; no updates to key websites or social media posts.
And no indication how long the pause will last.
With @rachelroubein.bsky.social + Lena Sun.
No health alerts and the famed MMWRs; no updates to key websites or social media posts.
And no indication how long the pause will last.
With @rachelroubein.bsky.social + Lena Sun.
Trump officials pause health agencies’ communications, citing review
The agencies are charged with making decisions that touch the lives of every American and are the source of crucial information to health-care providers.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 22, 2025 at 12:30 AM
New: Trump officials have paused all external communications at health agencies like CDC, FDA, NIH.
No health alerts and the famed MMWRs; no updates to key websites or social media posts.
And no indication how long the pause will last.
With @rachelroubein.bsky.social + Lena Sun.
No health alerts and the famed MMWRs; no updates to key websites or social media posts.
And no indication how long the pause will last.
With @rachelroubein.bsky.social + Lena Sun.
Reposted by Bethany M Usher
Here we go! The first issue of Nature Reviews Biodiversity is now live🥳🎉🥂.
Thank you to our authors, reviewers, and community for the support! We hope you enjoy the reading. www.nature.com/nrbd/volumes...
Thank you to our authors, reviewers, and community for the support! We hope you enjoy the reading. www.nature.com/nrbd/volumes...
January 15, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Here we go! The first issue of Nature Reviews Biodiversity is now live🥳🎉🥂.
Thank you to our authors, reviewers, and community for the support! We hope you enjoy the reading. www.nature.com/nrbd/volumes...
Thank you to our authors, reviewers, and community for the support! We hope you enjoy the reading. www.nature.com/nrbd/volumes...
Look at this brilliant kid (and her team) publishing on biodiversity and disease! Love the message that protecting the environment directly impacts public health.
🧪😷 Biodiversity loss and disease emergence share common drivers - meaning that there are opportunities to create shared solutions for biodiversity and health. Global and national governance efforts to combat disease events must be integrated with environmental protection and sustainable development
If you take one thing away from our paper, I hope it's this: there's no safe path through the Pandemicene without action on environmental protection, sustainable development, and health system strengthening. Single-issue advocacy and siloed solutions put the world at greater risk from pandemics.
January 15, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Look at this brilliant kid (and her team) publishing on biodiversity and disease! Love the message that protecting the environment directly impacts public health.
Reposted by Bethany M Usher
Navigating the proliferation of GAI and determining how/if to use it in research is difficult. Published in PLOS One today, we evaluated the performance of GAI against a team of SMEs to highlight limitations and regional biases in a GAI tool. Read our study here: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Evaluating generative artificial intelligence’s limitations in health policy identification and interpretation
Policy epidemiology utilizes human subject-matter experts (SMEs) to systematically surface, analyze, and categorize legally-enforceable policies. The Analysis and Mapping of Policies for Emerging Infe...
journals.plos.org
December 13, 2024 at 2:58 PM
Navigating the proliferation of GAI and determining how/if to use it in research is difficult. Published in PLOS One today, we evaluated the performance of GAI against a team of SMEs to highlight limitations and regional biases in a GAI tool. Read our study here: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...