Tag Archives: influenza

“To pay or not to pay: a comparison of paid vs. unpaid research assistants”

Maybe you read this title and thought, “What kind of question is this, obviously it’s more convenient NOT to pay employees and get free labour in the lab you are running!” Undeniably, many employers may believe in this line of thinking as well.

However, recently we’ve had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Stephen Withers from the esteemed Withers Research Group.  Initially, we met to discuss his latest research about using newer and more efficient imaging probes that light up upon contact with influenza molecules.  But additionally, we happened to gain an understanding about his personal beliefs when it comes to paid versus unpaid research assistants.


Podcast: Delving into Dr. Stephen Withers’ life, and his road into the scientific world.

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Video: Illuminating Influenza: a look into a new type of imaging reagent.


Description:
The Withers Research Group from the Chemistry Department

 

Dr. Withers claimed, “Many labs take volunteers, but I prefer to pay my researchers, to make sure that they’re committed. There can be volunteers that don’t feel quite as committed even after you spend lots of time training them.”

 

Upon hearing this, we were curious. Did the benefits of paying their researchers outweigh the costs required to pay them?

 

A qualified volunteer in a research lab offers their time and skills in exchange for experience in a field they are looking to delve into.  Although many volunteers choose to work in labs because they’re passionate about the field that is being researched, this is unfortunately not always the case. Frequently, undergraduate students who volunteer in labs do so simply because they believe that it will help boost their resumes for co-ops, or various post-undergraduate institutes. To explore this idea, we interviewed a 2nd year undergraduate student at UBC who asked to remain anonymous about the reasons why he volunteered within a research lab.

 

Image result for research labDescription: A Research Lab Environment
Source: Google images: Ryerson University

 

“…I’m not particularly interested in what I’m researching,” He claimed, “it’s not as if I do particularly specialized tasks anyway. I’m just volunteering because it should boost my application for med[ical] school.”

Indeed, there exist students who choose to volunteer without being interested in the research. This, combined with the fact that volunteer positions are unpaid by nature, it is apparent why some undergraduate volunteers may have some issues staying committed to the research after time passes as Dr. Withers hypothesized.

 

Image result for barbara sanfilippo commitment
Description: Quote by Barbara Sanfilippo
Source: Barbara Sanfilippo’s article

 

There is indeed a difference to having paid vs. unpaid research assistants, but overall, it is important for research groups to maintain an open mind and decide which style of accepting undergraduate students to work in their labs is right for their specific environment.

 

However, the simplest solution to this question is for students to only apply if they’re ready to commit and be passionate about the research they’re aiding.

 

This way, there’s not even a question to answer.

 

  • Jin Kyu Lee, Marianita Paspuel, Mirkka Puente, Alyssa Gutierrez

Flu: A New Season Coming this Fall

Nowadays, influenza virus commonly know as the flu is treated relatively as minor illness. However, knowing that flu pandemics have caused death of millions of people in the past ,  people should be more cautious, specially those at a higher risk: children, pregnant woman, the elderly. Additionally, influenza infections can be prevented by annual vaccination.

What is Influenza?

Source:  The Medscape Network Description: Influenza virus structure and its different components and surface proteins.

Influenza is a disease caused by influenza viruses that infect the respiratory system of many animals, birds and humans. In humans, some of the symptoms that characterize these infections are cough, fever, runny nose, sore throat and headache. Interestingly, these symptoms usually appear two or three days after infection and typically do not last more than a week. The three types of influenza virus, include: A, B and C; where influenza A and B  viruses usually infect a large numbers of individuals within a population at the same time.

History of Influenza virus

An influenza pandemic occurs because of antigenic shift,  a process in which two or more viruses combine together to form a new subtype of influenza virus that spreads worldwide. Through history, influenza A viruses are responsible for all the pandemics that have occurred and they represent the greatest threat to the population. For example, the deadliest flu pandemic is the Spanish flu, it took place in 1918, causing between 40 and 100 million deaths worldwide. In 1918, there were no vaccines available against influenza, neither were there antibiotics to treat secondary infections associated with influenza infection.  According to the article published by Peter Palese, influenza viruses type A and B are responsible for the death of approximately  50,000 people in the U. S. every year.

Video: “Flu virus”  Source:  National Geographic| YouTube

Why is the influenza virus a threat to people?

According to the article published by Declan Butler,  vaccines are required to be developed each year because some regions of the outer proteins of influenza virus can undergo high mutation rates during replication. This explains why influenza viruses avoid detection by the immune system. When a person gets infected with the flu, their immune system will mount responses  based on the first encounter the person had with the virus, so the response in a second or third encounter will be stronger and it will be against the unchanged regions of the virus. However, because the virus has changed structurally the antibodies against the previous version of the virus will not be of much help.

What is the best solution?

Development of new vaccines every year that best match the strains predicted for the incoming influenza season. Flu vaccines are able to reduce the risk of serious flu complications that can result in hospitalization or even death. While the efficacy of annual flu vaccinations were not very high for the 2017-2018 flu season: 17% in Canada, 10% in Australia and 25% in the U.S.,  but they are better than nothing.

Source: Las Vegas Sun Newspaper Description: Tips to prevent the spread of the flu.

-Mariana Paspuel