It is the grand finale for a PhD Candidate. The 'viva voce' which is Latin for 'living voice.' What does it take to defend a PhD during a viva?  #thread


First, you must write up your dissertation, synthesizing your research, insights, and conclusions into a comprehensive document that demonstrates your expertise and contributes to your field.

This gets submitted to a Reading Committee of experts in your field. 

On the date of the 'viva' or defense, the PhD candidate will present a summary of their dissertation. This is an oral examination and the public is invited to attend. It's a unique opportunity for you to showcase 4+ years worth of research and findings. 


After the public exits, the committee dives into a private session with you.  They probe deeper, testing your critical thinking and scientific rationale. They want to hear about the future trajectory of your work and its potential impact.

Know someone who is considering a PhD? check this thread: https://x.com/idlidosa2/status/1777939596997009565

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/idlidosa2/qrZRmfo

PhD Viva: Defending Your Research

The world cannot stop talking about #Lenacapavir. Just 2 jabs a year could prevent #HIV. Gilead stocks are soaring. 
Here's what you need to know 🧵 #thread

 ZERO new HIV infections in a trial of 2,134 young cis-women (16-25yrs old) in Uganda and SA. 

In fact it was so successful, the trial was stopped and everyone on the standard of care drug, #Truvada, were switched to #Lenacapavir https://x.com/iasociety/status/1803800350182314113
 

@GileadSciences stock #GILD surged 7%. Now they need to prove similar success in a Phase 3 study for MSM. 

Market debut? As early as Q4 2025. 
https://x.com/GileadSciences/status/1803777296136040468

Advocacy groups are already demanding affordable, widespread access to the drug. 
https://x.com/TAGTeam_Tweets/status/1803890903909638412

The race is on to develop long-acting injectables—the future of HIV prevention.
https://x.com/AmeshAA/status/1804127815110914228

Read about the latest on HIV and STI innovations https://x.com/idlidosa2/status/1664164917916868610

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/idlidosa2/VM5TLw6

The Buzz Around Lenacapavir

Don't get stuck because you booked a flight with complicated connections.
There's an easier way to hack your next trip.
Let me show you how.

Paste these into ChatGPT:

Prompt: "Choose the best flight from these 3 itineraries. Consider connection times, total connections, and complexity." 

Here's the answer: 

Quote 1 offers the best route: minimal connections mean less hassle, plenty of buffer time, and reduced stress during transfers. 👌

Quote 2 has more connections, making the return trip exhausting, and raising the risk of missed flights and mishandled luggage.

Quote 3 offers decent connection times but a complex return route adds to travel fatigue.

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/idlidosa2/qQhDmwW

Simplified Flight Options

Big news from the IMPAACT 2017/MOCHA study!

Promising results for HIV-1 positive teens with long-acting injectables #CABLA & RPV-LA – potentially freeing them from daily pills. Long waiting lists to be in the study, no attrition. #HIVResearch #AdolescentHealth @iasociety 

Currently being studied in Botswana, SA, Thailand, Uganda, and US.  MOCHA study is breaking new ground by evaluating long-acting HIV jabs for youth. No significant major safety concerns so far, with injection site reactions manageable. A big step towards treatment adherence! 

Feedback from adolescents & their caregivers in the MOCHA study underscores the acceptability of long-acting injectables for managing HIV. This could be a game-changer in improving treatment satisfaction & adherence among young people.  

More information on the study here: https://www.impaactnetwork.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/_IMPAACT%202017_LongSummaryForWebsite.pdf  
Co-investigator is Dr Carolyn Bolton Chief Medical Officer @cidrzinfo 

US FDA Approvals are in place. Regulatory approvals underway in Zambia. 
https://viivhealthcare.com/en-us/media-center/news/press-releases/2022/march/viiv-healthcare-announces-us-fda-approval-of-cabenuva/

Breakthrough Study: Long-Acting HIV Treatment for Teens

Romantic poems that will crack your ribs OPEN, and leave you gasping for air!!!!!  #thread #poetrylovers

https://x.com/aliner/status/1752526015920799957?s=20

https://x.com/amor_fatti/status/1756698125157409087?s=20

https://x.com/spilledbot/status/1756430339730231502?s=20

https://x.com/bakingpoetry/status/1756194221747478845?s=20

https://x.com/bloodsigns/status/1755815704765382985?s=20

https://x.com/WriterACMcHugh/status/1755717807713485112?s=20


https://x.com/MayaCPopa/status/1742892972880929121?s=20

https://x.com/sheegolden/status/1748364765083140354?s=20

Print these tweets with https://tweethunter.io/tweetpik, sign, laminate and share with the one it's meant for. Tie it with a ribbon to a single flower. You're welcome. 🥰  #ValentinesDay

Romantic Poems That Will Leave You Breathless

Publications are a racist currency. The more papers you have, the more you are valued.

Can we play the game while changing the game?

Here's an Anti-racist Model for Authorship presented by @webarrington on behalf of @thearchcenter #EquityInAuthorship. #thread

13.5% of all papers published on African health had NO local co-authors from 2014-2016. None. The country's scientific expertise not even represented in an entire paper about that country.


Authors from the global south are 'stuck in the middle' of publications even though ebola outbreaks primarily occur.... in the global South. @paimadhu https://x.com/paimadhu/status/1234981348013527040?s=20

Level the playing field! Power imbalances and privileges run rampant, affecting funding and authorship in scientific research.

It's time for journal publishers to step up and tackle these challenges head-on.

Equity in Authorship: Challenging Racism in Publications

Dive into the terrifying world of "1984", a dystopian masterpiece.
Unforgettable lessons we still need today. 🧵 #thread #Readwithme

Step into George Orwell's chilling dystopia: a world of government surveillance, insidious propaganda, and never ending warfare.

Unforgettable quotes that will haunt you:

MEANING:
"War is peace" unifies through hatred of an enemy.
"Freedom is slavery" urges finding freedom in serving the party. "Ignorance is strength" promotes reliance on the party's knowledge and power.


MEANING:
The past only exists in written records and in human memories. And since the Party is in full control of all records, and in full control of the minds of its members, it follows that the past is whatever the Party chooses to make it.

"War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking into the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent.”

“…the object of waging a war is always to be in a better position in which to wage another war.”

“The ideal set up by the Party was something huge, terrible, and glittering—a world of steel and concrete, of monstrous machines and terrifying weapons—a nation of warriors and fanatics, marching forward in perfect unity, all thinking the same thoughts and shouting...

...the same slogans, perpetually working, fighting, triumphing, persecuting—three hundred million people all with the same face.”


“There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler.

Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.


“Evry record has been destroyed or falsified, evry book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue & street building has been renamed, evry date has been altered...History has stopped. Nothng exists except an endlss present in which the Party is always right.”

1984: Unforgettable Lessons in a Chilling Dystopia

Global health research should not be extractive.

Honoured that @AfricaCDC and @_africaunion selected us to share how we value marginalised peoples as equal contributors to knowledge production. We are representing Zambia  🇿🇲
at @CPHIA_AfricaCDC 2023!!!
#CPBR #HIVprevention

Are we training students in #globalhealth to be "white saviours"?
7 questions: #thread ( 📸: @Savior_Barbie)

Are we teaching with a historian's lens?

You can resist elements of #whitesaviourism only when you recognize how history shapes current #globalhealth systems. Remember when French doctors said  #COVID19 vaccines should first be tested on Africans??
https://twitter.com/trtworld/status/1245739440930279424?s=20

Are we going *beyond* health?

Students are told to "stay neutral", "avoid politics and advocacy" in the name of "preserving scientific objectivity". How can we to embrace concepts like "health beyond health" so that research has *impact*?

Is #decolonizing a process or a metaphor?

It requires actions to dismantle colonial structures and political foundations. Frame it as a nuanced, ongoing process, not a watered down depoliticised term used loosely like "decolonise student thinking." https://x.com/PepePierce/status/1605614805158465536?s=20

Are we highlighting the expertise of people in LMICs & Indigenous / underserved populations in HICs? 🌍

📚 Include resources from them in courses
🎤 Invite speakers (w honoraria)
💼 Hire experts from these communities to lead + dvlp programs https://x.com/paimadhu/status/1366741808131297281?s=20

Is our field work sustainable or is it #voluntourism?

Ask communities about their goals and align students' work with local community needs.
Help students promote social accountability and collaboration.
 #LintonLies 😡  https://x.com/HBODocs/status/1699497698079003065?s=20


In #globalhealth, are we including 'local'?

Include domestic challenges from HICs in the curriculum. We cannot keep portraying LMICs as “breeding grounds” of diseases that need "fixing" or that only HICs need protecting.


Are we building a culture of power sharing, or even, *giving up* power?

To achieve true equity in global health, we must teach students to recognize the harms of monopolizing power, and encourage them to make space for marginalized voices and lived experiences.


Check out @TheLancet essay by @ananya_tb @shashikaLB @JoyeuseSenga, Nadia González-Domínguez: @paimadhu
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01629-X/fulltext

Of if you like to listen instead @ananya_tb
https://x.com/ananya_tb/status/1656326418182070275?s=20

Challenging White Saviorism in Global Health Education

Rcvd an incredible note frm @uwsph Deans Office:  "Ramya was a beacon in our class, and an actor on behalf of and *with* students. I continue to watch her successes accumulate & recognize the ways she is making this world healthier + better." Juanita Ricks @Hilary_A_Godwin

When I reflect on the unbelievable challenges I have faced, I just feel gratitude. I was able to touch the lives of my campus community in an unforgettable way. Even from a distance of 10,000km -- Seattle to Lusaka.   @uwsph @thearchcenter #Husky100