Subject: Re: [AUDITORY] Sorry | Thank You | Onward From: Maria Geffen <mariageffen@xxxxxxxx> Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2023 16:18:23 -0400--Apple-Mail=_99FA029F-5768-4F48-8F86-A61DFE1AD5D8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Dear all, I want to chime in to say thank you to everyone who has spoken out = pointing to the inequities and biases that dominate academia, from = peer-review to criteria for promotion. I would like to acknowledge the = brave voices of not just senior researchers, but also those of the = trainees, especially Alexandria Lesicko, who inspired me with with her = wisdom, grace and courage. I am so proud of our trainees who are = committed to making this world a better place. I agree with KC that many of us are working to make the systems better, = but what we=E2=80=99re doing is not enough to level the playing field. = We continue disproportionally losing women, scientists of color and = members of other underrepresented minorities throughout the training and = faculty appointments, every year, every promotion step. We have to do = more! =46rom acknowledging and checking our own bias to fighting to = bring about institutional change, and opening up the opportunities and = giving a platform to voices that are heard too rarely, we have to = actively work on helping and promoting scientists from diverse = backgrounds. I know many of you are already working on this, but if you don=E2=80=99t, = consider starting locally, in your own laboratory or institute. For = example, in my lab, we have been making an effort to participate in = training programs for undergraduate students from Penn and other = institutions that recruit students from diverse backgrounds. We also run = a series of presentations by our lab members on the work of scientists = of color. And we read literature on anti-racism, had discussions on how = to combat bias in science and participated in community outreach. As to the original topic of peer review, to me, posting to a preprint = server at the same time as submitting the paper to a peer-reviewed = journal is a no brainer. We have been doing this for about 6 years, and = have only had positive experience with it. On the other hand, publishing = in peer-reviewed journals has become considerably slower in recent years = =E2=80=94 for example, we=E2=80=99re in final bouts of revisions for a = peer-reviewed journal for a paper that was originally posted to BioRXiv = in 2021. =46rom grant review panels to promotion reviews, pre-prints = made it possible for those evaluating our work to see for themselves = what experiments were performed and what work was done despite the = delays in peer-review process. And reading pre-prints from other = laboratories has in turn informed our experiments and interpretation. With kind wishes, -Maria ______________________________ Maria N. Geffen, Ph.D. (she/her) Professor Department of Otorhinolaryngology Department of Neuroscience Department of Neurology Co-Director, Computational Neuroscience Initiative Stemmler Hall G14 3450 Hamilton Walk Philadelphia PA 19104 (215)898-0782 mgeffen@xxxxxxxx <mailto:mgeffen@xxxxxxxx> My zoom room = <https://pennmedicine.zoom.us/my/mgeffen?pwd=3DeWVFbUJFUGRJZ3g1eU9YZEZic2V= wZz09> Follow me @xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx <https://mastodon.world/@xxxxxxxx> http://hosting.med.upenn.edu/hearing = <http://hosting.med.upenn.edu/hearing> Twitter: @xxxxxxxx <http://twitter.com/neimarkgeffen> > On Jun 14, 2023, at 12:15 PM, Adrian KC Lee <akclee@xxxxxxxx> wrote: >=20 > Dear all >=20 > I joined this list over 2 decades ago and I am particularly saddened = by the discourse we have had in the past 3 weeks. >=20 > Sorry: I want to apologize to all the trainees and junior faculty on = this list. I have heard from many of you privately. I want to apologize = that I have not spoken up against the problematic gatekeeping practices = that the recent email threads have once again exposed. Be assured that = many of us who are in the position to make institutional change is = working to make the systems better for everyone. I know we are not going = to make a difference by generating more discussions on this list. The = mistake that I have personally made is to think that I should just keep = my blinders on and chalk these emails as just the outliers from the = system of the past and that I can safely ignore them. I was wrong and I = hope you would all accept my apologies. >=20 > Thank you: I want to thank all the senior folks who use their = privileges positively to painstakingly point out that we need to finally = reconcile with our collective fragility in academia. Thank you for your = bravery and well crafted emails. We must not continue to blindly defend = our system being purely meritocratic. Only through accepting we are = falling short from this ideal that we can improve in the future.=20 >=20 > Onward: Make no mistakes, many trainees and junior faculty are = observing this thread in total frustration. Many respected colleagues = have apparently left this list a long time ago because of these biased = experiences. I hope you don=E2=80=99t. I hope that we would use this = list to lift everyone up in our field and help each other to improve the = ecosystem that we are all codependent on. >=20 > With respect and humility > KC > =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D > Adrian KC Lee, ScD > Professor and Chair > Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences > University of Washington, Box 357988 > Seattle, WA 98195-7988 >=20 > Phone: (206) 616-0102; Fax: (206) 221-6472 > Email: akclee@xxxxxxxx <mailto:akclee@xxxxxxxx> > Web: www.akclee.com >=20 >=20 >=20 --Apple-Mail=_99FA029F-5768-4F48-8F86-A61DFE1AD5D8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 <html><head><meta http-equiv=3D"Content-Type" content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Dutf-8"></head><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; = -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=3D""><span= style=3D"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D"">Dear= all,</span><div style=3D"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, = 0);" class=3D""><br class=3D"">I want to chime in to say thank you to = everyone who has spoken out pointing to the inequities and biases that = dominate academia, from peer-review to criteria for promotion. I = would like to acknowledge the brave voices of not just senior = researchers, but also those of the trainees, especially Alexandria = Lesicko, who inspired me with with her wisdom, grace and courage. I = am so proud of our trainees who are committed to making this world = a better place.</div><div style=3D"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: = rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D""><br class=3D"">I agree with KC that many of us = are working to make the systems better, but what we=E2=80=99re doing is = not enough to level the playing field. We continue = disproportionally losing women, scientists of color = and members of other underrepresented minorities throughout the = training and faculty appointments, every year, every = promotion step. We have to do more! =46rom acknowledging and = checking our own bias to fighting to bring about institutional = change, and opening up the opportunities and giving a platform to = voices that are heard too rarely, we have to actively work on helping = and promoting scientists from diverse backgrounds.<br class=3D""><br = class=3D"">I know many of you are already working on this, but if you = don=E2=80=99t, consider starting locally, in your own laboratory or = institute. For example, in my lab, we have been making an effort to = participate in training programs for undergraduate students from Penn = and other institutions that recruit students from diverse backgrounds. = We also run a series of presentations by our lab members on the work = of scientists of color. And we read literature on anti-racism, had = discussions on how to combat bias in science and participated in = community outreach.<br class=3D""><br class=3D"">As to the original = topic of peer review, to me, posting to a preprint server at the same = time as submitting the paper to a peer-reviewed journal is a no brainer. = We have been doing this for about 6 years, and have only had = positive experience with it. On the other hand, publishing in = peer-reviewed journals has become considerably slower in recent = years =E2=80=94 for example, we=E2=80=99re in final bouts of revisions = for a peer-reviewed journal for a paper that was originally posted to = BioRXiv in 2021. =46rom grant review panels to promotion reviews, = pre-prints made it possible for those evaluating our work to see for = themselves what experiments were performed and what work was done = despite the delays in peer-review process. And reading pre-prints from = other laboratories has in turn informed our experiments and = interpretation.</div><div style=3D"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: = rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D""><br class=3D""></div><div style=3D"caret-color: = rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D"">With kind wishes,<br = class=3D"">-Maria</div><div class=3D""> <meta charset=3D"UTF-8" class=3D""><div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"caret-color:= rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; text-align: = start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; = word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: = none; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: = after-white-space;" class=3D""><div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"caret-color: = rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; text-align: = start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; = word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: = none; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: = after-white-space;" class=3D""><div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"caret-color: = rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; text-align: = start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; = word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: = none; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: = after-white-space;" class=3D""><div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"caret-color: = rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; text-align: = start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; = word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: = none; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: = after-white-space;" class=3D""><div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"caret-color: = rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; text-align: = start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; = word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: = none; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: = after-white-space;" class=3D""><div>______________________________<br = class=3D""><br class=3D"">Maria N. Geffen, Ph.D. (she/her)<br = class=3D"">Professor<br class=3D"">Department of Otorhinolaryngology<br = class=3D"">Department of Neuroscience<br class=3D"">Department of = Neurology<br class=3D"">Co-Director, Computational = Neuroscience Initiative<br class=3D"">Stemmler Hall G14<br = class=3D"">3450 Hamilton Walk<br class=3D"">Philadelphia PA 19104<br = class=3D"">(215)898-0782<br class=3D""><a = href=3D"mailto:mgeffen@xxxxxxxx" = class=3D"">mgeffen@xxxxxxxx</a><br class=3D""><a = href=3D"https://pennmedicine.zoom.us/my/mgeffen?pwd=3DeWVFbUJFUGRJZ3g1eU9Y= ZEZic2VwZz09" class=3D"">My zoom room</a><br class=3D"">Follow = me <a href=3D"https://mastodon.world/@xxxxxxxx" = class=3D"">@xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx</a><br class=3D""><a = href=3D"http://hosting.med.upenn.edu/hearing" = class=3D"">http://hosting.med.upenn.edu/hearing</a><br = class=3D"">Twitter: <a href=3D"http://twitter.com/neimarkgeffen" = class=3D"">@xxxxxxxx</a></div></div></div></div></div></div> </div> <div><br class=3D""><blockquote type=3D"cite" class=3D""><div = class=3D"">On Jun 14, 2023, at 12:15 PM, Adrian KC Lee <<a = href=3D"mailto:akclee@xxxxxxxx" class=3D"">akclee@xxxxxxxx</a>> = wrote:</div><br class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=3D""><meta = http-equiv=3D"Content-Type" content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dutf-8" = class=3D""><div style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: = space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=3D"">Dear all<div = class=3D""><br class=3D""></div><div class=3D"">I joined this list over = 2 decades ago and I am particularly saddened by the discourse we have = had in the past 3 weeks.</div><div class=3D""><br class=3D""></div><div = class=3D""><b class=3D"">Sorry:</b> I want to apologize to all the = trainees and junior faculty on this list. I have heard from many of you = privately. I want to apologize that I have not spoken up against the = problematic gatekeeping practices that the recent email threads have = once again exposed. <font class=3D""><span style=3D"caret-color: = rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D"">Be assured that many of us who are in the = position to make institutional change is working to make the systems = better for everyone. I know we are not going to make a difference by = generating more discussions on this list. The mistake that I have = personally made is to think that I should just keep my blinders on and = chalk these emails as just the outliers from the system of the past and = that I can safely ignore them. I was wrong and I hope you would all = accept my apologies.</span></font></div><div class=3D""><br = class=3D""></div><div class=3D""><b class=3D"">Thank you:</b> I want to = thank all the senior folks who use their privileges positively to = painstakingly point out that we need to finally reconcile with our = collective fragility in academia. <span style=3D"caret-color: = rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=3D"">Thank you for your bravery and well crafted = emails. </span>We must not continue to blindly defend our system = being purely meritocratic. Only through accepting we are falling short = from this ideal that we can improve in the future. </div><div = class=3D""><br class=3D""></div><div class=3D""><b = class=3D"">Onward</b>: Make no mistakes, many trainees and junior = faculty are observing this thread in total frustration. Many respected = colleagues have apparently left this list a long time ago because of = these biased experiences. I hope you don=E2=80=99t. I hope that we would = use this list to lift everyone up in our field and help each other to = improve the ecosystem that we are all codependent on.</div><div = class=3D""><br class=3D""></div><div class=3D"">With respect and = humility</div><div class=3D"">KC</div><div class=3D""><div class=3D""> <div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; = font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; = letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; = text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; caret-color: = rgb(0, 0, 0); word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = line-break: after-white-space;" class=3D""><div dir=3D"auto" = style=3D"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; text-align: = start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; = word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: = none; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: = after-white-space;" class=3D""><div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"caret-color: = rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: = 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: = break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" = class=3D""><div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); = letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; = text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: = break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" = class=3D""><div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); = letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; = text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: = break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" = class=3D""><div style=3D"font-style: normal;" = class=3D"">=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D<br class=3D"">Adrian = KC Lee, ScD<br class=3D"">Professor and Chair<br class=3D"">Department = of Speech and Hearing Sciences<br class=3D"">University of = Washington, Box 357988<br class=3D"">Seattle, WA 98195-7988<br = class=3D""><br class=3D"">Phone: (206) 616-0102; Fax: (206) 221-6472<br = class=3D""><a href=3D"mailto:akclee@xxxxxxxx" class=3D"">Email: = akclee@xxxxxxxx</a><br class=3D"">Web: <a href=3D"http://www.akclee.com" = class=3D"">www.akclee.com</a></div><div class=3D""><i class=3D""><br = class=3D""><br class=3D""></i></div></div></div></div></div></div> </div> <br class=3D""></div></div></div></blockquote></div><br = class=3D""></body></html>= --Apple-Mail=_99FA029F-5768-4F48-8F86-A61DFE1AD5D8--