We need to change the culture in rodent research. Experiments in females are not a side project. They are not follow-up studies. They are not something you pawn off on your 3rd favorite grad student. They are as valuable to public health as those in males (in some cases more).
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🤬🤬🤬 seeing “this study is in males, but they will do it in females next.” Is a replication study going to make it into Nature Communications? PTSD is 2x as prevalent in women as in men. If you frame your research as relevant to PTSD, do it in both sexes (best) or females FIRST
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@doc_becca
We now do every study in both sexes and have been richly rewarded for it (intellectual stimulation and information, not money :-/. The sex differences in metabolism are fascinating.
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@doc_becca
I think the majority of postdoc fellowship applications I completed required an explanation of why a study would only include one sex so hopefully a sign of change.
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@GilleighD
Proposing both sexes for grants is an important step. Enforcing it once folks get the money is a different story.
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@doc_becca
I wish I’d seen this earlier. This is why I am so relentless on the topic of having devoted funding and studies in females. It’s not an afterthought and female health is not just about how they are different from males. Plus there is a YUGE diff btn integration & specialization
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@Aiims1742
@NeedhiBhalla
LOL I’m aware. The question is, who holds researchers accountable once they get the money?
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@doc_becca
Our most recent manuscript submission is a doozy & thank goodness we did it the way we did. Injury pattern, metabolism were vastly diff. btwn & we saw a surprising neg. effect of a compound thought to be neuroprotective. I’m sure we are gonna get thrashed over separate stats tho.
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@doc_becca
What if (& not accusing anyone in this paper) they did do it in both but only saw the effect in males & the females were messy so....
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@GArbres
This is a very misguided opinion that is not backed up by science. Please read this:
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@doc_becca
I’m happy to say that my lab members fight over the females because they’re easier to handle. We have to coax people into using the males.
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@doc_becca
At work, I have reason to write human antibody and protein names a lot. I abbreviate them w/ emoji b/c shorter & kind of fun, I use🏃♀️&🏃♂️ (e.g. 🏃♀️anti- IL24 ). I use both & try to use the woman more to subtly spread the idea women are humans too.
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