A Mini-Collection From My Time at Cell Reports Medicine

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I looked back at some of the pieces I worked on while @CellRepMed. Certain ones resonated with me, so I put together a little collection in chronological order. There’s a lot of #dei in here and interesting voices too. Enjoy! 🧵

“Voices from a Pandemic” — the pandemic was still in its infancy back then, yet it had already changed us. These are early stories from healthcare providers and patients. cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(20)30053-7 @releiter @pithypam @MoriartyLab @hilmos

“A Basis to Be Here: Stories from International Graduate Students in the United States.” One of the hardest things I had to do as an editor was help these brilliant students tone down their justified outrage. @kenziel6 @Juan_Colazo @KienkaTamina cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(20)30126-9

“Training During a Pandemic” We all trained, but these trainees did so in the midst of a pandemic! The reverse of, “In my day…” cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(21)00074-4 @LilySternMD @ersied727 @mcgillu @CRCHUM @wezisendama @phdgprotein86 @drcleecohen

“Combating information chaos: a case for collaborative clinical guidelines in a pandemic” These authors adapted to the breakneck speed of COVID-based information to create COVIDprotocols.org. cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(21)00229-9 @EdyKim5 @DrCLeeCohen

Medicine as constraint: Assessing the barriers to gender-affirming care Rooting out historically-based barriers to gender-affirming care. Psychological distress is not inherent to being trans. @JoshuaSafer @TransCareSinai cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00017-9

Medicine has come a long way in its care for trans people, but it has a long way to go to fully shed the ghosts of trans healthcare past.

“Why rare disease needs precision medicine—and precision medicine needs rare disease” How both require and benefit from the other. cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00030-1 @mattmight

A great set of Q&As on how COVID changed the practices of healthcare providers. cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/issue?pii=S2666-3791(21)X0004-3

“Advancing the inclusion of underrepresented women in clinical research” “women remain underrepresented in, and underserved by, clinical trials…and that underrepresentation is significantly more acute for women of color.” cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00059-3

“Why “sex as a biological variable” conflicts with precision medicine initiatives” cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00056-8 @genderscilab @MarinaRDiMarco @marionb_8

There’s so much good stuff in the piece from @genderscilab that I felt compelled to write a Tweetorial about how these authors provide a more precise alternative to a one-size-fits-all SABV approach. And I feel equally compelled to share it again. 😄 twitter.com/isabelgoldm/status/1518574967004311556?s=21&t=uCk1CX_7y6gPRxZzb4taoA

“Moving diversity, equity, and inclusion from opinion to evidence” Every time I think I’ve squeezed all there is to squeeze out of this work, I find something else that makes me think. ✨ cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00136-7 @marcus_phd @phdgprotein86

Transgender Day of Visibility: Representation matters @simsamtimtam @andiorerio @Tegania @microbial_maeve @krishuponastar @julia_is_about #transinstem cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00116-1

What wonderful voices these six individuals have — it is so great to see such representation in STEM.

“What’s the point of a humanities education in medical school?” “Sometimes the right words can offer solace that the right medicine cannot." A poignant piece on how the humanities make for better doctors. cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00132-X @KohrmanNathan

“Artificial intelligence in medicine: Overcoming or recapitulating structural challenges to improving patient care?” How AI must develop to deliver on its promise. cell.com.marlin-prod.literatumonline.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00139-2 @AlexJohnLondon

I echo @kdpsinghlab’s sentiment 👇. But, I would be remiss if I didn’t note that you also don’t *have to* read just one paper… 😆 twitter.com/kdpsinghlab/status/1519339596445851651?s=21&t=LJRbTK9Y25xxRSLn5gDYyw

“Legislation restricting gender-affirming care for transgender youth: Politics eclipse healthcare” cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00262-2 The targeting of trans youth for political gain. @KatieKraschel @CohenProf @jack_turban

“These proposed bills and laws share common flaws—they are based on false claims about standards of care and health outcomes for people with gender dysphoria, and they are based on inaccurate, biased, and misleading representations of the evidence base.”

And they represent politically and ideologically motivated intrusions into the practice of medicine. I’ve tweeted a lot about this here — legislators, courts and ideologues shouldn’t shape standards of care.

Speaking of which… The final entry: “Unequal reproductive justice under the law” cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00234-8

A journal’s voice is the product of its authors’ voices. In this way, I think of editors sort of as conductors. There are times, however, when a journal must speak directly. This was one of them.

I still cannot fathom that in the span of one day, the highest US court, whose motto is “equal justice under the law,” jeopardized the health of countless Americans by increasing the rights of gun owners and then removed the right to essential reproductive healthcare. 💔

This mini-collection represents work I’m really proud to have been able to work on. Thank you to all the authors tagged and I tagged here for affording me the privilege to work with them!