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Trump’s Threat is His Destruction of the Republican Party

In All the King’s Men, Robert Penn Warren describes Willie Stark’s final victory. “And there wasn’t any Democratic party. There was just Willie, with his hair in his eyes and his shirt sticking to his stomach with sweat. And he had a meat ax in his hand and was screaming for blood.” Warren’s description is darkly poetic and metaphorical. Stark, the populist governor of a fictional state, did not murder his rivals, but he did destroy them, along with the political party he rode to power. Like Stark, Donald Trump has carved up the Republican Party of old, and in its place, there is just Trump. This is not the first time a politician has remade a political party, but the death of the G.O.P. threatens to unbalance our political system. We are defined by close elections, tight legislative majorities, and polarized preferences. Neither side in the cultural conflict can achieve core objectives, so the temptation to put more hope and power into the Executive, to skew the system, is mounting. We can argue about the degree to which past Republicans were truly restrained, especially in government spending, but at least the G.O.P. used to advocate for two seatbelts to keep the body politic safe from accidents: character to govern the self and constitutionalism to limit what government can do to others. As the G.O.P. grew to rival Democratic power, in the 1980s and 1990s, the New Deal coalition fractured, along with the assumption that simply more power, expertly applied, could solve our problems. Democrat Bill Clinton conceded “the era of big government is over.” Justice Elena Kagan recognized, “we’re all textualists now.” The tug of war between an evolving progressivism and a robust conservatism may not have made for an ideal way to solve problems, but it did encourage humility, born of the recognition that radical actions, even if successful, would be punished. Dr. Mark Caleb Smith serves as Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Center for Political Studies at Cedarville University. He teaches courses in American Politics, Constitutional Law, and Research Methodology/Data Analysis. His primary research interest is in the field of religion and American politics. View his profile Those days are over. Donald Trump’s Republicans are no longer a restraint of any kind. The seatbelts of the past have been snipped by the same leaders who claimed to buckle them in place. The Epstein Files are the exception of congressional pushback that proves the rule of the party’s degradation. But what of the appointment of unqualified and incompetent leaders in the F.B.I., H.H.S., Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense? Illegal and extra-judicial killings in the Caribbean? An unexplained and unauthorized military buildup in the same region? Shakedowns of universities and media outlets? Crypto corruption? Tariffs? Strong-arming law firms and firing career civil servants for seeking justice in our courts? The Republican response has mostly been crickets. There is no longer a major party that pretends to restrain the president through the law out of principle. The real disagreement between Trump Republicans and Biden Democrats is not about should the president abuse his power, but how. Unless something dramatic happens, the politics of the meat ax will come for us all. Mark is available to speak with the media regarding the state of politics in America. Simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview.

Dinosaurs in New Mexico Thrived Until the Very End, Study Shows

For decades, many scientists believed dinosaurs were already dwindling in number and variety long before an asteroid strike sealed their fate 66 million years ago. But new research in the journal Science from Baylor University, New Mexico State University, the Smithsonian Institution and an international team is rewriting that story. The dinosaurs, it turns out, were not fading away. They were flourishing. A final flourish in the San Juan Basin In northwestern New Mexico, layers of rock preserve a hidden chapter of Earth’s history. In the Naashoibito Member of the Kirtland Formation, researchers uncovered evidence of vibrant dinosaur ecosystems that thrived until just before the asteroid impact. High-precision dating techniques revealed that fossils from these rocks are between 66.4 and 66 million years old – placing them in the catastrophic Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. “The Naashoibito dinosaurs lived at the same time as the famous Hell Creek species in Montana and the Dakotas... They were not in decline – these were vibrant, diverse communities.” – Daniel Peppe, Ph.D. “The Naashoibito dinosaurs lived at the same time as the famous Hell Creek species in Montana and the Dakotas,” said Daniel Peppe, Ph.D., associate professor of geosciences at Baylor University. “They were not in decline – these were vibrant, diverse communities.” Dinosaurs in their prime The New Mexico fossils tell a different story than originally thought. Far from being uniform and weakened, dinosaur communities across North America were regionally distinct and thriving. Using ecological and biogeographic analyses, the researchers discovered that dinosaurs in western North America lived in separate “bioprovinces,” divided not by mountains or rivers, but by temperature differences across regions. “What our new research shows is that dinosaurs are not on their way out going into the mass extinction,” said first author Andrew Flynn, Ph.D., ‘20, assistant professor of geological sciences at New Mexico State University. “They're doing great, they're thriving and that the asteroid impact seems to knock them out. This counters a long-held idea that there was this long-term decline in dinosaur diversity leading up to the mass extinction making them more prone to extinction.” Life after impact The asteroid impact ended the age of dinosaurs in an instant – but the ecosystems they left behind set the stage for what came next, the researchers said. Within 300,000 years of their extinction, mammals began to diversify rapidly, exploring new diets, body sizes and ecological roles. The same temperature-driven patterns that shaped dinosaur communities continued into the Paleocene, showing how climate guided life’s rebound after catastrophe. “The surviving mammals still retain the same north and south bio provinces,” Flynn said. “Mammals in the north and the south are very different from each other, which is different than other mass extinctions where it seems to be much more uniform.” Why the discovery matters today The discovery is more than a window into the past – it’s a reminder of the resilience and vulnerability of life on Earth. Conducted on public lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the research highlights how carefully protected landscapes can yield profound insights into how ecosystems respond to sudden global change. With a clearer understanding of the timeline of the dinosaurs’ final days, the study reveals not a slow fade into extinction but a dramatic ending to a story of flourishing diversity cut short by cosmic chance.

Self-Guided Hypnosis Significantly Reduces Menopausal Hot Flashes

Can a simple daily audio hypnosis session help women find relief from one of menopause’s most disruptive symptoms – hot flashes – without medication? A new clinical trial led by Baylor University’s Gary R. Elkins, Ph.D., professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of the Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory, suggests it can. By decreasing hot flash frequency and intensity by over 50%, self-guided hypnosis offers a nonhormonal option for the millions of women whose hot flashes interfere with sleep, mood and quality of life. Published in the journal JAMA Network Open, the multicenter randomized clinical trial evaluated the effectiveness of a six-week, self-administered hypnosis program compared to a sham control using white noise. The study enrolled 250 postmenopausal women experiencing frequent hot flashes, including nearly 25% with a history of breast cancer – a group often excluded from hormone-based treatments. “It is estimated that over 25 million women in the United States have hot flashes, with up to 80% of women in the general population reporting hot flashes during the menopause transition, and 96% of women with breast cancer report hot flashes soon after beginning anti-cancer therapy,” Elkins said. “While hormone replacement therapy is highly effective in reducing hot flashes, it is not a safe choice for everyone, and therefore, women need additional safe and effective alternatives.” After six weeks of daily self-hypnosis audio recordings, participants reported a 53.4% reduction in both frequency and intensity of hot flashes, and at the 3-month follow-up, hot flashes were reduced by 60.9% compared to a 40.9% reduction for women in the control group. The guided self-hypnosis intervention had an even larger treatment effect on reducing hot flashes in women with a history of breast cancer (64% reduction after six weeks). Self-guided hypnosis: A breakthrough approach The study is the first to compare self-guided hypnosis with an active control condition (i.e. sham white noise control group), allowing researchers to better understand how much of the benefit came from people’s expectations or the placebo effect. “This was a major breakthrough and innovation, as almost all prior studies of mind-body interventions have only used wait-list, psycho-education or simple relaxation to compare the active hypnotherapy intervention,” Elkins said. “Also, all sessions were self-administered hypnosis, which demonstrated that women could learn how to use hypnosis for hot flashes on their own with support and guidance. Elkins emphasized that self-hypnosis provides benefits that are easily learned and practiced using audio recordings or app-delivered hypnotherapy. “It can be practiced at home without needing to travel for doctor visits, and it is relatively inexpensive compared to in-person sessions,” Elkins said. “Once a person learns how to use self-hypnosis to reduce hot flashes and improve sleep, it can be used for other purposes such as managing anxiety, coping with pain and for stress management.” At the 12-week follow-up, participants in the self-guided hypnosis group showed a 60.9% reduction in hot flashes as well as significantly greater improvements in sleep, mood, concentration and overall quality of life. Nearly 90% of participants in the hypnosis group reported feeling better, compared to 64% in the control group. “We are very excited about the findings from this important study,” Elkins said. “Our ongoing research aims to further determine how self-hypnosis can significantly improve sleep for breast cancer survivors and women in the peri- to post-menopause transition.” Through this and other studies, Elkins and his team have been able to determine that hypnotherapy is the only behavioral intervention consistently shown to reduce the frequency and severity of hot flashes to a clinically significant amount among both post-menopausal women and breast cancer survivors.

VR Technology Offers Lessons in Navigating a Snow Squall

WCBS-TV, WPIX 11, and WNYW Fox 5 interviewed Dr. Jase Bernhardt, Hofstra associate professor of geology, environment, and sustainability, about his virtual reality program designed to teach the public about the danger of driving in a snow squall. Funded by a $100,000 Road to Zero Community Traffic Safety Grant from the National Safety Council, Dr. Bernhardt’s project emphasizes the importance of heeding emergency weather advisories and what drivers should do if they are on the road when a snow squall occurs. Users wear a headset and hold a device – like a video game controller – in each hand to replicate the movements of a steering wheel. Bernhardt’s collaborators include Assistant Professor of Sustainability Sasha Pesci; software developer Frank Martin ’22, ’23, who earned both a BS and an MS in Computer Science from Hofstra University; and John Banghoff and other meteorologists at the U.S. National Weather Service (NSW) Office, State College, PA.

Why Are Canadian Banks Not Protecting Seniors? The $40 Billion Dollar Question

After an 89-year-old Victoria man lost $1.7 million to phone scammers despite bank red flags, retirement expert and authour, Susan Pimento, exposes a critical protection gap: while U.S. banks like Bank of America offer "Trusted Contacts" (designated people banks call to verify suspicious transactions) for all accounts, Canadian banks restrict this safeguard to investment accounts only—leaving everyday banking vulnerable where most fraud occurs. In Canada, senior fraud is vastly underreported (RCMP estimates only 5-10% surface), and banks are treating this as a cost issue rather than a moral crisis.  Susan Pimento is available for interviews to discuss practical solutions, industry insights from her decades of work within financial institutions, and why Canadian banks are failing to implement a simple fix that could save seniors' life savings. Connect with her directly through ExpertFile to schedule TV, radio, podcast, or print interviews.  As I was polishing this post for Canadian Financial Literacy Month, another senior fraud story flashed across my screen. This one stopped me cold. According to this CBC story, an 89-year-old man in Victoria, B.C., was tricked into handing over nearly $1.7 million of his life savings in a months-long phone scam. The caller claimed to be from the fraud department at CIBC and said he was helping with a national money-laundering case. (Spoiler: he wasn't.) Despite red flags and staff awareness, the bank still allowed large in-person withdrawals. He was told to buy gold bars — yes, actual gold bars — with drafts of up to $395,000, which couriers then collected like some twisted Uber Eats retirement fraud. Every week in Canada, we see another heartbreaking headline: a senior sends thousands, sometimes millions, to a scammer pretending to be their grandchild, the CRA, or — the ultimate irony — their bank.  These scams targeting seniors don't require fancy hacking. They rely on fear, isolation, and misplaced trust. Once the money's gone, it's gone—no refund policy. And here's the kicker: what we're reading about is just the tip of the iceberg. For seniors, fraud now ranks as the top crime, and most fraud goes unreported—especially in this demographic. In a previous post, I showed how the data suggests the real figures could be 10 to 20 times higher than what's officially reported.  The RCMP estimates that only 5-10% of fraud victims come forward. Many victims never speak out due to embarrassment, fear, or confusion. Translation? For every story that makes the news, countless others suffer in silence. How The Banking Industry Can Actually Fight Fraud I've worked within financial institutions for decades. Let's just say I understand how the process works. Banks have billion-dollar tech stacks, layers of compliance, and advanced fraud detection systems that can flag a suspicious $47 transaction in milliseconds. But the solution for this type of fraud isn't a multimillion-dollar algorithm or a new "AI-powered fraud prevention dashboard." Instead, it's a human-based approach called a Trusted Contact. What's a "Trusted Contact," Anyway? It's not an app, a chatbot, or some new gadget that requires a firmware update every Thursday. It's a person.  Someone you trust — a family member, attorney, accountant, or another third-party who you believe would respect your privacy and know how to handle the responsibility of communicating with your bank in your best interests if something suspicious occurs. They don't access your money or view your accounts. They can't see that you spent $47 at the LCBO last Tuesday (Your secret is safe). They're simply your human safety net — a fraud wing person, if you will. The Origins of the Trusted Contact The concept began in the U.S. in 2018, when FINRA mandated investment firms to request a Trusted Contact Person. Canada followed in 2022, when the Canadian Securities Administrators introduced similar guidance for investment accounts. What things can be discussed with a trusted contact? As its name implies, a Trusted Contact is a designated person who is inherently trusted by the individual (and has no authority to transact business on a client’s account), so there is little to no danger that any reasonable disclosure would violate a client’s trust or give rise to any material issue.” What Canadian Banks Are Doing...And Not Doing Here's the good news. If you invest through Wealthsimple, RBC Direct Investing, TD Direct, or BMO InvestorLine, you can already designate a Trusted Contact. But here's where it gets ridiculous: RBC Direct might have that security feature — but your regular RBC chequing account? Not so much. That protection vanishes the moment Mom or Dad logs into their everyday banking. And that's where most fraud actually occurs. It's like installing a state-of-the-art security system on your front door but leaving the back door wide open with a welcome mat that says "Scammers Enter Here!" Fraud in Canada for Banks is Still a Budget Item: Not a Moral Crisis Here's the uncomfortable truth: For banks, fraud is considered a "cost of doing business." And since most of those losses are borne by customers, not the bank, there isn't much urgency to innovate.  The Big Five earned over $40 billion in total last year. They have the means to care. They're not particularly motivated to actually do so. The Big Opportunity for Banks: Add a Little Humanity to the System Banks like to boast about their AI, blockchain, and next-gen fraud analytics. But most scams don't occur because of breached firewalls — they happen because of breached hearts. A Trusted Contact provides an additional simple, low-tech layer: human verification. Picture this: The bank spots an unusual transaction — a large new payee, an international wire transfer, or a sudden gold-bar purchase (it happens). Instead of sending another automated text alert, the system could ask: "This looks unusual. Would you like us to confirm with your Trusted Contact before proceeding?" or “Just a heads-up: scammers often use urgent or unusual requests. Prefer we run this by your Trusted Contact before we proceed?” That's it. One additional step. One extra set of eyes. One brief conversation could save someone's life savings. This isn't about limiting independence — it's about safeguarding autonomy. Ensuring your decisions are genuinely yours, not the scammer's. Banks could even call it "Senior Protection Mode." I'd sign up tomorrow. Heck, I'd pay extra for it. (Shhh, don't tell them that.) Here's the Proof Trusted Contacts Work: Bank of America Did It In 2022, Bank of America became the first major bank to extend Trusted Contacts beyond investment accounts to everyday banking clients. Customers can now add a trusted person the bank can call if something seems wrong, if they can't reach you, or if staff suspect undue influence. That person can't access your money — they're just the human speed bump before disaster: one simple form, one phone number, and much heartbreak avoided. If Bank of America can do it, why can't ours? Canadian banks already have the tech — and indeed the profits — to make it happen. What's Holding Canada's Banks Back? Cue the usual excuses: "Our legacy systems can't handle that." Sure — some of your code still thinks "Y2K" is an active threat. But if you can build an app that tracks my latte points and sends me notifications about my "spending insights,"  you can add one field for a Trusted Contact. "Privacy laws make it risky." Nope. FINRA and the CSA already provide safe-harbour protections. With consent, banks can legally contact a Trusted Person. Just add a checkbox. You love checkboxes. You make us check dozens of them every time we update our password. "Customers haven't asked for it." They're asking now. Loudly. With megaphones. And pointing at stories like the Victoria gentleman who lost $1.7 million in gold bars. The business case has historically been weak because most fraud losses affect customers, not the bank's balance sheet. But here's the catch: every fraud story damages trust. And in banking, trust is supposed to be the core of the business. For Canadian Banks There's a Competitive Advantage in Caring Rolling out a Trusted Contact feature isn't just good ethics; it's good business. Imagine the marketing campaign: "We don't just protect your password — we protect your peace of mind." Seniors would love this. So would their kids. That's multi-generational loyalty money can't buy. If EQ Bank or any challenger brand wanted a PR home run, this would be it. It's Time to Take Action on Fraud To the Banks: Stop waiting for regulators to force your hand. Lead. Be the first to offer Trusted Contacts for all customers — not just investors. You have the framework, the talent, and the budget. You absolutely do not need another consultant to tell you this is the right thing to do. To Policymakers: The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada should update its Code of Conduct to include a mandatory Trusted Contact option for all customers, safe-harbour rules allowing banks to pause suspicious transactions, and annual public reporting on outcomes. Because sunshine is the best disinfectant, even in banking. To Consumers: Don't wait for policy — be the policy. Ask your bank today if you can add a Trusted Contact. If they say no, ask why not — and post it. Loudly. Talk to your family. Choose your Trusted Person now. Write your MP or MPP and ask why U.S. banks protect seniors better than ours. Remember the $3 ATM Fee Rebellion?  Canadians once revolted over paying $3 to access their own money at ATM's. We later got no-fee accounts, digital challengers, and a whole new generation of more innovative banking.  If we can rally over an ATM fee, surely we can rally to protect our parents and grandparents from losing their life savings. Fraud isn't an inevitable part of aging — it's a solvable problem. And Trusted Contacts are one of the simplest, most human solutions we have. Don't Forget Two-Factor Authentication for the Soul Adding a Trusted Contact won't stop all fraud — let's be clear about that. But it will go a long way toward slowing it down, adding a common-sense pause, and potentially saving even one senior from losing any part of their hard-earned money. It's unfortunately too late for that gentleman and his family in BC, but it's not too late for countless others. This won't crash legacy systems or drain bank profits. It just adds a little humanity back into banking — right where it belongs. Because the best kind of security isn't just two-factor authentication. It's two people who care. And if we don't care about protecting our elders, who exactly do we care about? Sue Don’t Retire…Re-Wire! Want to become an expert on serving the senior demographic? Just message me to be notified about the next opportunity to become a "Certified Equity Advocate" — mastering solution-based advising that transforms how you work with Canada's fastest-growing client segment.

Georgia Southern University computer science professor awarded NSF grant to advance protein imaging research

Proteins, often called the building blocks of life, play a central role in drug development. When scientists develop new treatments, they must understand how drugs interact with proteins involved in disease mechanisms and with proteins in the human body that influence drug response. Scientists commonly use cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) 3D imaging data to study proteins. While recent advances have enabled higher-resolution images that are easier to analyze, medium-resolution images—which are more difficult to interpret—are still the most common for larger protein complexes. Salim Sazzed, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the computer science department of Georgia Southern University’s Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing, has been awarded a two-year National Science Foundation grant of about $175,000 to lead a groundbreaking project to develop novel Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques for determining protein secondary structures from medium-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) images. Improved modeling from medium-resolution images will help researchers study more proteins efficiently, giving new insights into diseases and potentially guiding the development of new treatments and future drugs. At its core, this research will combine biology and machine learning to study protein structures. The multidisciplinary approach and potential impacts on public health are what most excite Sazzed. “The impetus behind this research is the positive impact on public health and possibly contributing to the biomedical workforce,” he said. “Seeing biology and computer science combine for that kind of impact is incredibly moving.” As the Principal Investigator (PI) for the project, Sazzed will use his expertise in deep learning computer models to focus on a major challenge in structural biology: identifying the two main secondary structures of proteins—the alpha helix and the beta sheet. These structures are critical for a protein’s overall shape and function, but in medium-resolution cryo-EM images they often appear indistinct or lack clear detail, making them particularly difficult to analyze. Sazzed’s research will focus on two main goals. First, he will quantify the variability of alpha helices and beta sheets in medium-resolution images, comparing them to idealized structures. Second, by integrating this structural variability with the image data in a deep learning model, he will aim to generate more precise and accurate representations of protein secondary structures. “When we feed this information into a deep learning model along with the image data, the model should be able to determine protein secondary structures more precisely,” Sazzed elaborated. Sazzed believes students will greatly benefit from this multi-disciplinary approach. In addition to a Ph.D. student, several undergraduate students will be directly engaged in the research. A full-day workshop will also be organized, allowing Georgia Southern students from diverse disciplines to participate. This initiative will build on Georgia Southern’s strong tradition of involving undergraduates in research and will support the University’s recent focus on biomedical and health sciences. “There are many different knowledge areas coming together in this work,” Sazzed said. “It involves computer science, biology, chemistry, and even public health. I look forward to students following the research and exploring these different fields themselves.” Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering & Computing Interim Associate Dean of Research, Masoud Davari, Ph.D., echoes this sentiment and emphasizes its importance to the University’s research profile. “Sazzed’s interdisciplinary research, which bridges the gap between biology and computer science, will foster multidisciplinary research in our college—as it is cutting-edge and potentially groundbreaking in drug development to impact people’s lives nationally and globally,” Davari said. “It’s also well aligned with the college’s strategic research plan—as we make the move to R1 status to be aligned with ‘Soaring to R1,’ which is among the transformational initiatives for the University.” Looking to know more about Georgia Southern University or connect with Salim Sazzed — simply contact Georgia Southern's Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.

The University of Florida’s ‘AI Queen’ is using AI technology to help prevent dementia

To help the 50 million people globally who live with dementia, the National Institute on Aging is finding researchers to develop tech-based breakthroughs that target the disease — researchers like the University of Florida’s “AI Queen.” It’s a fitting nickname for Aprinda Indahlastari Queen, Ph.D., who is applying artificial intelligence technology to study transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS — a technique that involves placing electrodes on the scalp to deliver a weak electrical current to the brain — as a possible way to prevent dementia. The assistant professor in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions’ Department of Clinical and Health Psychology is using UF’s supercomputer, HiPerGator, to perform neuroimaging and machine learning analyses to study how anatomical differences may affect tDCS outcomes. “Investigating working memory in patients with mild cognitive impairment offers an opportunity to understand how cognitive processes are disrupted in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Queen, whose study — funded by a National Institute on Aging research career development grant — integrates neuroimaging with information on brain structure that is unique to older adults and those with mild cognitive impairment. Refining the treatment with AI Using neuroimaging, Queen captures real-time changes during tDCS to the parts of the brain associated with working memory, which is the type of memory that allows humans to temporarily keep track of small amounts of information. Think of this as a mental “scratchpad.” Her study includes older adults with mild cognitive impairment as well as individuals who are cognitively healthy. In tDCS, a safe, weak electrical current passes through electrodes placed on a person’s head. The stimulation is being used in research and clinical settings for a variety of conditions and has shown partial success as a nonpharmaceutical intervention that can improve cognitive and mental health in older adults. But tDCS results can vary across individuals, and the suspected cause is both simple and complex: Everyone’s head is different. “One potential reason tDCS may not work for some individuals is the variation in head tissue anatomy, including differences in brain structure,” Queen said. “Since electrical stimulation must travel through multiple layers of tissue to reach the brain, and every individual’s anatomy is unique, these differences likely affect outcomes.” To address this further, Queen is using AI. “Artificial intelligence will play a major role in the modeling pipeline, including constructing individualized head models, conducting predictive analyses to identify which participants will respond to the stimulation, and disentangling multiple individual factors that may contribute to these outcomes,” Queen said. An estimated 10 to 20% of adults over age 65 have memory or thinking problems characterized as mild cognitive impairment. Their symptoms are not as severe as Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, but they may be at increased risk for developing dementia. “The fact that not all individuals with mild cognitive impairment progress to Alzheimer’s disease emphasizes the need to identify effective interventions that can slow the progression to dementia,” Queen said. “This project presents an opportunity to differentiate between multiple types of mild cognitive impairment and investigate how tDCS affects the brain across these subtypes.” An AI visionary Queen, who joined the UF faculty under the university’s AI hiring initiative, is an instructor in the College of Public Health and Health Professions’ undergraduate certificate program in AI and public health and health care, and the co-chair of the college’s AI Workgroup. She is also the assistant director for computing and informatics at the UF Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory Clinical Translational Research and a member of UF’s McKnight Brain Institute. Queen received her Ph.D. training in engineering with a focus on building and running computational models to investigate medical devices. She experienced a career “a-ha” moment as a postdoc, when she was a co-investigator on a large clinical trial that paired brain stimulation with cognitive training to enhance cognition in older adults. “This experience was transformative for me. I had the chance to interact directly with participants, which was both fulfilling and eye-opening. These interactions allowed me to see the immediate, real-world implications of my work and sparked a passion for pursuing aging research,” Queen said. “I realized that, through this type of research, I could have a more direct impact on addressing age-related challenges, which prompted a shift in my career plans.” The new grant will help Queen further improve her understanding of the neurobiology and progression of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. “These experiences will ultimately prepare me to become a well-rounded aging investigator, capable of making meaningful contributions to the field of aging research,” Queen said. She also credits her mentors and collaborators — Ronald Cohen, Ph.D.; Adam Woods, Ph.D.; Steven DeKosky, M.D.; Ruogu Fang, Ph.D.; Joseph Gullett, Ph.D.; and Glenn Smith, Ph.D. — with supporting her as an early career scientist. “It really takes a village to get here!” Queen said.

Holiday Anxiety Is Real — Here’s How People Can Actually Stay Sane This Season

The holidays promise joy, warmth, and “quality time,” but for many people they also deliver a cocktail of stress, expectations, forced cheer, family politics, and receipts longer than a CVS bill. Between travel chaos, financial pressure, social burnout, and attempting to assemble toys designed by engineers who clearly hate humans, holiday anxiety is soaring. The good news: experts who study mental health, behaviour, and stress management say there are ways to keep your nerves intact — and maybe even enjoy yourself along the way. Why the Holidays Stress People Out (Science Says It’s Not Just You) Adults report higher levels of stress in November and December than almost any other time of year. Common triggers include: Financial expectations: gifts, gatherings, travel, meals, and the sudden belief that every present needs to be “meaningful.” Time pressure: too much to do, too few days on the calendar. Social overload: introverts, extroverts, and “I’m-just-here-for-the-food-verts” all feel it. Family dynamics: every family has at least one person who always “starts something.” Nostalgia vs. reality: the pressure to create a “perfect holiday,” despite the fact that perfect holidays only exist in movies and greeting cards. Experts note that people often skip their routines (sleep, exercise, healthy meals) and then wonder why their stress spikes. The season demands more of people while simultaneously removing their coping mechanisms. Practical Ways to Reduce Holiday Anxiety — Backed by Psychology (and Common Sense) 1. Lower the Bar: “Good Enough” Is a Holiday Gift to Yourself Researchers consistently find that perfectionism fuels anxiety. A store-bought pie, a slightly messy house, or wrapping gifts in whatever paper you can find at 11 p.m. will not derail the season. 2. Set Boundaries (Even With the Loud Relatives) Experts often emphasize that saying “no” is one of the most effective stress-management tools. Fewer events, fewer obligations, fewer emotional landmines. 3. Budget Before You Shop Financial therapists note that anxiety drops when people pre-set limits and stick to them. You don’t need a MasterCard bill that arrives in January carrying the emotional weight of a Greek tragedy. 4. Protect Your Recharge Time A short walk, fresh air, or 10 minutes of solitude is not selfish — it’s psychological maintenance. Mental-health researchers recommend intentionally scheduling downtime before the calendar fills itself. 5. Keep Expectations Realistic Not every moment will be magical. Not every conversation will be smooth. Not every plan will unfold as imagined. Experts say acceptance, not forced positivity, lowers stress significantly. 6. Focus on Meaning, Not Perfection Studies show that people feel calmer when they shift their focus toward connection, gratitude, and small moments rather than elaborate performances of holiday cheer. Holiday Angles for Journalists The psychology behind holiday anxiety — what triggers it and why it’s so universal How family systems and old patterns surface at holiday gatherings The economics of holiday stress — debt, spending pressure, and emotional spending How introverts (and extroverts) navigate holiday overload differently Why holiday nostalgia makes people emotionally sensitive Healthy boundary-setting during family events How immigrant, multicultural, and blended families are reshaping holiday expectations Let's get you connected to an expert. The holiday season is increasingly fast-paced, commercialized, and socially demanding. Many people feel pressure to present a perfect life at a time when burnout, financial strain, and mental-health challenges are higher than ever. Helping audiences understand holiday stress — and giving them practical, research-grounded strategies — can make a measurable difference in their emotional well-being. For journalists covering mental health, family dynamics, holiday culture, or stress-management trends, ExpertFile’s roster of psychologists, counsellors, behavioural scientists, and wellness experts can offer insights, interviews, and real-world advice to support your reporting. Find your expert here: www.expertfile.com