McGoogan News

Miracle to Menace: A Conversation with Dr. Lydia Kang

Date: Thursday, November 7
Time: noon–1 p.m. CST
Location: McGoogan Library (WHM 6032) and via Zoom

Join McGoogan Library on Thursday, November 7, for a conversation with physician and author, Lydia Kang, to discuss her research related to substance misuse and its varied acceptance in society as seen in her writing, Opium and Absinthe, Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything, and A Beautiful Poison. This event will take place in-person at the library (WHM 6032) and online via Zoom.

Throughout history substance misuse has been a constant among all classes of people. Yet, the acceptability of “using” has changed with time, the substance, the user, and scientific understanding of the nature of addition. This social, moral and political conflict has played out in legislation and in fiction writing. Dr. Kang will explore the overlaps and implications of the history, stigma, and acceptance of substance misuse as seen through her historical research, fictional characters, and her career as an internal medicine physician. This program is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Pick Your Poison: Intoxicating Pleasures & Medical Prescriptions, created by the National Library of Medicine and on display at McGoogan Library (located on Level 6) through November 17. An online exhibition is also available.

About Lydia Kang

Lydia Kang is an author of young adult fiction, adult fiction and non-fiction, and poetry. She graduated from Columbia University and New York University School of Medicine, completing her residency and chief residency at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. She is a practicing physician and associate professor of Internal Medicine who has gained a reputation for helping fellow writers achieve medical accuracy in fiction. Her poetry and non-fiction have been published in JAMA, The Annals of Internal Medicine, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Journal of General Internal Medicine, and Great Weather for Media. She believes in science and knocking on wood, and currently lives in Omaha with her husband and three children.

Data Carpentries Workshop for Researchers and Students

Due to high demand, this workshop has reached capacity. Join the waitlist.

McGoogan Health Sciences Library is bringing The Carpentries curriculum to the Omaha community through a two-day workshop on basic research computing skills (UNIX shell, GIT and Python).

Students and researchers in higher education from across the metro area are encouraged to sign up for this two-day workshop on October 7 and 8. Attendees must be able to attend both days in-person on UNMC’s campus. Lunch will be provided.

Workshop Schedule:

Day 1 (October 7):

Morning: The Unix Shell

Afternoon: Version Control with Git

Day 2 (October 8):

Programming with Python (all day)

Join the waitlist for this free two-day workshop.

Previous knowledge of the tools that will be presented is not required. This workshop is for learners with little to no prior computational experience. Instructors will put a priority on creating a friendly environment to empower researchers and enable data-driven discovery. Those with some experience will benefit as well. Learn more about Software Carpentry.

Participants must bring a laptop with a Mac, Linux or Windows operating system (not a tablet, Chromebook, etc).

This workshop is sponsored by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Region 3, a part of the National Institutes of Health. The Carpentries teach foundational computational and data science skills worldwide to improve data literacies across the globe. Data, Software, and Library Carpentries classes are taught by volunteer instructors who have a passion for teaching learners at all stages of their data literacy journeys.

Take Advantage of Open Access Publishing Discounts

Cambridge University Press has been added to the list of publishers offering Open Access (OA) publishing discounts to UNMC authors.

UNMC authors whose articles are accepted on or after January 1, 2024, for publication in most Cambridge University Press journals (download list of participating journals) can choose to publish their work OA at no cost to themselves. Eligible article types include research articles, rapid communications, review articles, brief reports, and case reports with a UNMC corresponding author.

Open Access Publishing at UNMC

The McGoogan Health Sciences Library supports OA publishing at UNMC through participation in agreements with a number of scholarly publishers. These agreements enable UNMC authors to publish their articles OA in selected journals at no cost to themselves.

View a list of current OA publishing agreements.

For questions regarding these agreements, contact Heather Brown, Scholarly Communications Librarian.

Grammarly Subscription Cancellation

UNMC’s subscription to Grammarly will end on November 14, 2024. The vendor has recently implemented a new pricing structure, which has made the subscription cost prohibitive. The library is committed to retaining critical content such as journal subscriptions, course textbooks, and essential databases, which cannot be accomplished with the untenable vendor increases in other areas.

For those who wish to continue to use Grammarly, there are options for individual free and premium subscriptions. Alternative tools to Grammarly, such as Paperpal, Quillbot, and LanguageTool, also have free and premium options for individuals.

Visit our Resource Cancellations webpage for more information on our approach to cancellations.

Get Creative at the Design Hub Open House

Join McGoogan Library staff and UNMC design thinking coaches for the Design Hub open house on Wednesday, September 18 from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. in the library (WHM, Level 6). Attendees will have an opportunity to tour the space, participate in demos and grab a snack.

For those who cannot attend in person, a virtual open house will be held from 1:00–2:00 p.m. via Zoom that day as well. Register to receive the Zoom link.

Both in-person and virtual attendees will have a chance to win one of four “creative mindset” door prizes.

Four door prizes—three LEGO kits and one Kickstart Creativity prompt cards—on a table in the Design Hub in front of a faux green vine backdrop that says Innovation Grows Here!

Why attend the open house?

Meet design thinking coaches and library staff associated with the Design Hub
Learn how you and your team can use the Design Hub
Connect with colleagues across the NU system who are also interested in design thinking

About the Design Hub

The Design Hub is aimed at fostering creativity, innovation and problem-solving among students, faculty and staff. The hub, located on Level 6 of the McGoogan Health Sciences Library, is designed to promote collaboration across disciplines in health care and medical research, encouraging users to tackle complex challenges with a fresh perspective.

“The Design Hub represents a new frontier in how we approach solving problems in health care,” said Dr. Dele Davies, UNMC Interim Chancellor. “By equipping our community with the tools and environment needed for design thinking, we hope to inspire breakthrough solutions that will improve individual and system performance and transform lives.”

The Design Hub features flexible workspaces, prototyping tools and supplies, and interactive digital platforms that allow for brainstorming and rapid development of solutions. The hub is envisioned as collaboration space for interdisciplinary projects, where medical professionals, students and researchers can come together with designers and engineers to improve patient care, health care delivery, and medical education.

The space is available to be used independently by individuals or small groups or with a trained design thinking facilitator. Guides and templates for design thinking activities are available and can be used as part of a larger project or simply to explore new solutions and points of view. The UNMC community may use the Design Hub anytime the room is free or by reservation via the library website.

The Design Hub is funded in part by an NU Collaboration Initiative Grant awarded for 2023-2025. Led by Tyler Scherr, PhD, of UNeMed, the NU Health x Design grant team includes faculty and staff from UNO, UNL and UNMC. Planning and development of the Design Hub was led by UNMC faculty and staff:

Emily Glenn, MSLS, McGoogan Health Sciences Library
Brian Maass, MLIS, McGoogan Health Sciences Library
Katherine Bravo, PhD, College of Nursing
T.J. Welniak, MD, College of Medicine, Dept. of Emergency Medicine
Bethany Lownes, PhD, College of Medicine, Dept. of Neurological Sciences
Luther Mardock, MAED, Academic Affairs

Since receiving funding in 2023, the NU Health x Design team has planned and facilitated design thinking sprints with interprofessional teams of students from UNL College Engineering, UNO Biomechanics Lab, and UNMC. The design teams have worked on real-world clinical issues presented by UNMC faculty and staff, including Dr. John Windle, Center for Intelligent Health Care and Dr. Jason Johanning, College of Medicine, Dept. of Vascular Surgery. One solution, a treadmill-based device developed by students for post-surgical ambulation for vascular surgery patients, has been prototyped by the UNO Sports Medicine and Biomechanics Research Lab and is currently part of a customer discovery project for NSF’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps).

Inaugural International Health Design Thinking Conference

The inaugural International Health Design Thinking Conference will be held at the UNMC campus in Omaha October 24-26.

Join fellow thought leaders, industry experts and change-makers who share your passion for a dynamic and inclusive academic society dedicated to the advancement of design thinking in health care practice, education and scholarship.

The conference is presented by INSIGHT, the International Society of Health Design Thinking, and aims to develop best practices and innovative approaches to address complex challenges in health care and health sciences education using design thinking.

Learn more about the conference.