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Russia historian on legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev
Kathryn David, Mellon Assistant Professor of Russian and East European Studies, is available for media commentary on the legacy of Russian and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Kathryn specializes in the history of Ukraine and Russia, with research interests including connections between religious and national belonging and the aftermath of World War II in the Soviet Union. In particular, she can speak to Gorbachev's mixed legacy in Ukraine. Her initial thoughts: "On the one hand, Gorbachev made the case for Russia and Eastern Europe to be closer to the West and built on a foundation of democratic values, goals that Ukraine is fighting for today. But on the other hand, as much as Gorbachev wanted deep reforms, he still wanted the USSR to stay together. While he was willing to let the countries of Eastern Europe go their own way, he tried desperately to keep Russia, Ukraine and other republics together, reluctant to let Moscow's empire break apart. For many in Ukraine, Gorbachev represents a figure that remains common in Russian society today: one who believes in liberal values, but still clings to the idea of empire."
Researchers are exploring new ways to ‘listen’ to and record electrical signals emitted from brain cells Findings could be used to help treat conditions like epilepsy and schizophrenia Project will use newly developed nanomaterials to keep removed samples of brain healthy for longer to allow more understanding of what generates epileptic seizures. A new method of examining the brain’s electrical signals could hold the key to better treatment and understanding of conditions like epilepsy and schizophrenia. Researchers at Aston University are exploring new ways to ‘listen’ to and record electrical signals emitted from brain cells, which could be used to help treat the conditions. Dr Petro Lutsyk, lecturer in electronic engineering and systems in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and member of Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies (AIPT), together with Dr Stuart Greenhill, senior lecturer in neuroscience in the College of Health and Life Sciences and member of Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN), have been awarded £100,000 by the Royal Society to conduct the project Nanomaterial Webs for Revolutionary Brain Recording. Currently, epilepsy patients who can’t be helped by drugs may undergo brain surgery in order to prevent seizures, removing the part of the brain that is the ‘focus’ of the seizures. Dr Greenhill said: “The research project will use newly developed nanomaterials to keep samples of brain healthy and active for far longer than current technology allows, whilst recording the activity of the tissue. “This allows more understanding of what generates epileptic seizures and opens up new avenues for drug development, meaning fewer surgeries may be needed in the future. “Eventually, the technology may lead to new and better ways of recording from patients’ brains before surgery.” The two-year project will see materials and electronic engineering applied to translational neuroscience research. The grant is from the Royal Society APEX Awards scheme (Academies Partnership in Supporting Excellence in Cross-disciplinary research award) which offers researchers with a strong track record in their area an opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary research to benefit wider society. For more information about studying at Aston University please visit our website.
Aston University and Partnership Medical shortlisted for knowledge transfer partnership award
Aston University and Partnership Medical (PML) have been shortlisted for an award at the KTP Awards 2022. The partnership has been shortlisted in the category of Best Knowledge Transfer Partnership for its work on a revolutionary automated cleaning system which uses synthetic chemistry to sterilise endoscopes, reducing risks of contamination to patients and lowering rates of mortality. A knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) is a three-way collaboration between a business, an academic partner and a highly qualified researcher , known as a KTP associate. The UK-wide programme helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Aston University is the leading KTP provider within the Midlands. The KTP Awards recognise the people and partnerships behind the UK’s most inspiring and successful KTP projects. At present there are more than 800 inspiring collaborations happening across the country. Endoscopes are long, thin tubes with a light and camera at one end. Due to the sensitivity of the materials and electronics they cannot be sterilised, opening up high potential for cross infection. Through their automated cleaning system, Aston University and PML achieved industry-leading levels of disinfection, reducing risks of contamination to patients and lowering rates of mortality. The automated prototype and new cleaning materials developed in the KTP produced astonishing results in clinical trials, with a simple five-minute treatment offering deep cleaning levels 1,000 times better than anticipated, providing hygiene levels far superior to those currently possible using conventional manual procedures Mark Smith, executive director of business and regional engagement at Aston University, said: "It’s truly wonderful that Aston University has been formally recognised as a sector leader for knowledge transfer programmes, reflecting the scale and quality of our work with business. Making the shortlist is a recognition of our continued growth and sustained achievements in the knowledge exchange area. “The Aston University and Partnership Medical project has resulted in a far more effective medical cleaning system that ensures that endoscopes are truly sterile, which will ultimately save lives. This is just one example of the University’s real-world support for businesses and their customers. “It is an honour to be considered for best KTP at such a prestigious event, especially when knowledge exchange activity is at a high, with over 800 collaborations happening across the UK.” Partnership Medical Ltd (PML), based in Stoke-on-Trent, are specialists in supplying cleaning equipment and consumables for flexible endoscopes with over 20 years of distributor experience. The company aims to become a leading manufacturer/provider for endoscopic departments in clinics and hospitals worldwide. The Aston University team who worked on the KTP included Dr Andy Sutherland, reader in organic chemistry and member of the Aston Institute of Materials Research, Dr Tony Worthington, associate professor in clinical microbiology and infectious diseases and member of the Biosciences Research Group together with KTP associate, Dr Thien Duong, an expert in synthetic chemistry. The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday 12 October in Liverpool and will be streamed online for those unable to attend in person.
What's next in Georgia's 2020 election saga?
All eyes are on Georgia once again, but this time it's not about an upcoming election. As we sort through the 2020 election aftermath that saw Georgia in a tug-of-war between lawyers, politicians and pundits, the actions a few important figures may now be coming to light. Rudy Giuliani, the former advisor to President Trump, may be in some serious trouble according to Augusta's leading political expert, Dr. Gregg Murray. "When politicians are involved, there are almost always political calculations," Murray said. "But there’s a lot of information suggesting there may be problematic behavior that he was heavily involved with. There are reports of investigations involving several possible Georgia law violations: solicitation of election fraud, making false statements to local officials, conspiracy, racketeering, violations of oath of office and involvement in violence or threats of violence, according to Voice of America." As for Sen. Lindsey Graham, he, too, has been summoned to appear and explain how he may or may not have attempted to influence the election outcome. A federal judge on Monday turned down Sen. Lindsey Graham’s bid to throw out a subpoena compelling him to testify before the Atlanta-area grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election. “[T]he Court finds that the District Attorney has shown extraordinary circumstances and a special need for Senator Graham’s testimony on issues relating to alleged attempts to influence or disrupt the lawful administration of Georgia’s 2022 elections,” U.S. District Court Judge Leigh Martin May wrote in a 22-page opinion rejecting Graham’s effort and sending the matter back to state courts for further proceedings. Politico, Aug. 15 According to Murray, defying the judge's request might be the likely choice for the senator. "It seems the Republican party is still clearly tied to Trump," Murray adds. "I don’t think he would be hurt politically by not showing up. It’s an interesting question if some people would hold it against him for showing up." This legal wrangling will be long and drawn out, so if you are covering this topic, let our expert help with your story. Dr. Gregg Murray is available to talk about the election audit and what it might mean for voters in Georgia and across the country. Murray’s research focuses on political behavior and psychology with specific interests in voter mobilization and turnout. He is also executive director of the Association for Politics and the Life Sciences. Simply click on Murray's icon to arrange an interview today.
Research team aims to enhance security of medical devices
Tamer Nadeem, Ph.D., the principal investigator of the VCU-based MedKnights project, explained that the project’s focus is on the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). Nadeem and co-PI Irfan Ahmed, Ph.D., both associate professors in the VCU College of Engineering Department of Computer Science, recently received $600,000 from the NSF’s Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure to put together a framework to improve IoMT security. IoMT devices are used in a range of diagnostic, monitoring and therapeutic applications. IoMT includes patient monitors, ventilators, MRI machines — even “smart beds.” Ahmed cited the internet-connected insulin pump is a good example of an IoMT device. Internet connectivity allows for both monitoring and adjusting the dosage remotely — functions that require a high degree of security for patient privacy as well as safety. All IoMT devices are potentially vulnerable to ransomware, denial of service and other malicious hacker attacks. Nadeem points out that IoMT devices have a higher security requirement than traditional IoT devices such as smart doorbells and smart thermostats in homes. “The most important thing in the medical domain is privacy,” Nadeem said. “For IoT devices in your home, you wouldn’t care that much about privacy, but for medical devices, it is an essential thing. You wouldn’t want anyone to know what your health conditions are, or what problems you might have had.” The work of the MedKnights group is important, as the IoMT domain is expanding; there is growth in terms of types of devices, number of patients using them and number of IoMT vendors. Nadeem added that the COVID pandemic and accompanying quarantine and stay-home orders increased the focus of medical-technology providers on the possibilities of IoMT. “Talking to some of the medical-device providers, I’ve learned that they are considering a line of products where they can remotely monitor patients on those devices, and they also can configure those devices remotely,” Nadeem said. Security is a large concern for the new generation of devices, because the current IoMT devices have been hit hard by hackers, he said. Security is an issue that extends from the individual patient to the institution. “Statistics show there are a lot of ransom attacks being done on the health sectors during the pandemic,” Nadeem said. “That motivated us.” The MedKnights team’s preparation for taking on the dragon of malicious IoMT attacks includes building a “test bed,” an isolated hardware/software assembly that Nadeem says will mimic the internet-enabled hospital setting. “In the hospital environment, there’s set of rooms. Each room has a lot of medical devices; they could be wired, or they could be wireless devices,” he said. “But there is no way that we can do what we want to do in a hospital.” The test bed will incorporate IoMT datasets based on typical device behavior, traffic and known malicious attacks. Nadeem explained that MedKnights will explore vulnerabilities of various IoMT hardware and software by subjecting the elements of the IoMT test bed to a range of attacks. “We will try to see in real time how efficient our technologies to monitor or detect these attacks, then try to intervene if we notice any change in the activities on the network,” he said. “Now, if the attacks manage to get into the device, we would like to also to start to see whether we can monitor these devices and observe abnormality or any misbehavior.” Nadeem said the next step is to isolate the source of fishy activity in the test bed network and begin to reverse-engineer the malware. He explained the group will work on understanding the question by looking for the “hole” that created the vulnerability. Ahmed said the MedKnights will bring undergraduates into the project through DURI, the Dean’s Undergraduate Research Initiative at the VCU College of Engineering. High school students will have an opportunity to join the team through a similar program known as the Dean’s Early Research Initiative, or DERI. DURI and DERI are just two ways of getting younger scientists and engineers involved in actual research. “For the last couple of years, I’ve been contacted by local high schools to host a couple of their students during the summer,” Nadeem added. “The students were really excited about it. We came up with some nice ideas about how to extend that work to their classrooms. As we continue this project, we will reach out to the schools, because we would love having a couple of their students involved.”
Monkeypox and children - A leading virologist explains
Though the CDC has stated there are no confirmed cases of the monkeypox virus among patients under 18 in Connecticut, a handful of cases involving children have been reported across the country. Paulo Verardi, associate professor of virology and vaccinology at UConn, is taking on some of the important questions about monkeypox and children and offering his expertise and clarity regarding a topic that has many Americans and parents concerned: Are children specifically at risk? A: “Anyone is at risk of contracting monkeypox and spreading it to other people, typically by direct, close contact, such as skin to skin contact. That includes touching monkeypox lesions that sometimes can be hard to notice, or touching and using objects such as toys, clothes, and bedding of someone that is infected. “In this context, it is important to point out that the virus can stay in the environment without losing infectivity for quite some time. Children are very active, social, and tactile, so spread in settings like schools and day care facilities is something we need to consider, particularly if the outbreak continues to evolve and infections become more widespread in diverse populations.” Does the disease traditionally present differently in younger people? Is the symptomology different? A: “In general, symptoms are similar in adults and children, although for this outbreak with this specific strain of the virus, our clinical experience in children is limited because we have had only a few cases so far. “Rash or skin lesions are typical, and fever and swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy) are also common symptoms. However, children may be at higher risk of more severe disease and complications from monkeypox, particularly if they are very young, have skin conditions like eczema, or are immunocompromised.” If you are a journalist looking to cover this topic, let us help with your stories. Paulo Verardi is a virologist who specializes in vaccine research and development and is a member of the Center of Excellence for Vaccine Research. Dr. Verardi is available to speak with media regarding virology, monkeypox, COVID-19, and other viruses – simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.
Driving the Ambitious $30M Plan for an Autonomous Vehicle Test Track and Research Center
Innovation and the automobile industry are on the move at UConn -- after four years of planning, coordinating, and developing, a major project is moving closer to reality in Connecticut: UConn’s Board of Trustees recently approved an option agreement to sell 105 acres in the southwest portion of the school’s Mansfield Depot Campus to a private company — Promesa Capital LLC — headed by Cortese, who would lead a group of investors in developing the site as the region’s first-ever connected and autonomous vehicle test track and research facility. Such a facility, Jackson and Cortese said, would be a boon for the university and region, helping make UConn a leader in autonomous vehicle research, technology and safety. “My goal is to raise the stature of UConn to a school where world-class research takes place on this technology, and students come to UConn specifically to work with leading faculty on projects that will change the way we travel,” Jackson said. “UConn will be transformational in terms of research and will provide a world-class facility to open opportunities we’ve never had before for the future of transportation.” August 15 - Hartford Business Journal The endeavor has the potential for lasting positive impact in areas including innovation, research, investment, and the economy, and Eric Jackson -- director of the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center at UConn -- is at the forefront of this exciting development. If you are a journalist looking to know more, let us help. Simply click on Jackson’s icon to arrange an interview today.
Aston University and ADInstruments Ltd (ADI) enter 24-month knowledge transfer partnership to develop ground-breaking animal telemetry system World-leading expertise in neuroscience to help bring game-changing system to market Outcomes of KTP will feed directly into the product hardware and software development, ensuring technological advantage for ADI. Aston University has teamed up with research software experts ADInstruments Ltd (ADI) through a knowledge transfer partnership to develop a revolutionary dual-function wireless telemetry system for neuroscience research that is set to transform how implanted biosensors are used for data generation in animals. Telemetry is the automatic recording and transmission of data from remote or inaccessible sources to an IT system in a different location for monitoring and analysis. ADI has an established reputation for developing, supplying and supporting its customers in specific areas of life science research, particularly in cardiovascular science. The company has recently acquired Kaha Sciences, which has developed ground-breaking telemetry technology that can be used to measure neuroscience-relevant signals in free-moving animals for research. The company is looking to use the KTP to harness the world-leading expertise of Aston University to build their reputation in neuroscience. Mark de Reus, head of support at ADInstruments, said: “The evidence-base of research papers, training and support materials from Aston University will be invaluable in improving the product design, identifying development opportunities and embedding a culture of neuroscience within the company.” A knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) is a three-way collaboration between a business, an academic partner and a highly qualified graduate, known as a KTP associate. The UK-wide programme helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Aston University is the leading KTP provider within the Midlands. The Aston University team features Professor Gavin Woodhall and Dr Stuart Greenhill from its Pharmacy School’s Pharmacology and Translational Neuroscience Research Group. Professor Woodhall is co-director of the Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN) and a neuroscientist who studies epilepsy and schizophrenia in rodent models of disease. Dr Stuart Greenhill is a member of IHN and senior lecturer in neuroscience, with a longstanding track record in developing and deploying novel and difficult mechanisms of recording from brain tissue both in vivo and in vitro. Dr Stuart Greenhill said: “It is a privilege to be involved in the development of this important technology, which will be invaluable to thousands of research groups across the globe, and we are delighted to be able to help the product team realise the potential of this device.”
Potential long-term treatment for asthma found - new research
New approach tackles one of the causes of asthma, not just its symptoms In treated mice, symptoms virtually disappeared within two weeks Further research needed before the treatment can be trialled in humans. A possible way to tackle one of the underlying causes of asthma has been developed by researchers from Aston University and Imperial College London. In tests in mice, the researchers were able to virtually eliminate asthmatic symptoms within two weeks and return their airways to near normal. Just under 5.5 million people in the UK receive treatment for asthma and around 1,200 people die of the disease each year. Asthma causes the airways to become thickened and constricted, resulting in symptoms such as wheezing and shortness of breath. Current treatments, including steroids, provide short term relief from these symptoms, by either relaxing the airways or reducing inflammation. However, no current drugs address the structural changes asthma makes to the airway and lungs, in order to offer a longer-lasting treatment. Lead researcher, Dr Jill Johnson, from Aston University’s School of Biosciences, said: “By targeting the changes in the airway directly, we hope this approach could eventually offer a more permanent and effective treatment than those already available, particularly for severe asthmatics who don’t respond to steroids. However, our work is still at an early stage and further research is needed before we can begin to test this in people.” The research focused on a type of stem cell known as a pericyte, which is mainly found in the lining of blood vessels. When asthmatics have an allergic and inflammatory reaction, for example to house dust mites, this causes the pericytes to move to the airway walls. Once there, the pericytes develop into muscle cells and other cells that make the airway thicker and less flexible. This movement of the pericytes is triggered by a protein known as CXCL12. The researchers used a molecule called LIT-927 to block the signal from this protein, by introducing it into the mice’s nasal passages. Asthmatic mice that were treated with LIT-927 had a reduction in symptoms within one week and their symptoms virtually disappeared within two weeks. The researchers also found that the airway walls in mice treated with LIT-927 were much thinner than those in untreated mice, closer to those of healthy controls. The team are now applying for further funding to carry out more research into dosage and timing. This would help them to determine when might be the most effective time to administer the treatment during the progress of the disease, how much of LIT-927 is needed, and to better understand its impact on lung function. They believe that, should this research be successful, it will still be several years before the treatment could be tested in people. The research was funded by the Medical Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation and is published in Respiratory Medicine.
Building Your Own Expert Network - How Expert Personas Help you Organize & Develop Your Talent Pool
As business continues to evolve at an unprecedented rate, companies need new ideas and strategies that help them rapidly transform to keep pace and grow. This explains the massive popularity that expert networks are having as companies look to connect with subject-matter experts with specialized sector and functional expertise who can accelerate their transformation efforts. Expert networks now represent a multi-billion dollar industry, helping companies in a variety of ways. From helping build primary research to assessing new market or acquisition opportunities to conducting due diligence for new technology purchases or competitive benchmarking, expert networks provide a valuable service. While many companies are increasing their use of traditional expert networks, there is also a trend toward organizing and developing internal talent by implementing a "knowledge management platform" or "employee skills marketplace." These can also be extended to engage broader audiences when experts are listed publicly as part of an Expert Center, Media Room, or Speakers Bureau. Depending on the scope and market visibility organizations wish to commit to in sharing their expertise, such programs can yield the following benefits: Improved access to shared knowledge throughout the organization Faster innovation through an improved discovery of key experts available for project opportunities Higher amount of cross-functional engagement between departments A more collaborative relationship with employees through better knowledge engagement and skills development Less reliance on outside consultants and traditional expert networks Improved brand reputation by engaging experts in thought leadership activities Increased media coverage and speaking engagements Improved business development opportunities by engaging experts earlier in the sales process Improved connection with the local community Additional ways to foster Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion throughout the organization What is an expert network? An expert network is a service that matches clients with experts who are willing to share their knowledge and advice via short conversations. These are usually in the form one hour long expert interviews conducted with the client. Expert networks such as GLG, AlphaSights, Guidepoint Global, Third Bridge, and Coleman Research help match the client's interest to specific experts in their private database of experts on call. They also look after logistics such as scheduling the expert interviews and have detailed processes for qualifying experts to ensure compliance with the exchange of information. And they handle time tracking and billing of interviews which are typically charged based on an hourly rate. They also handle the payment of fees to the experts following the interview. Building your own knowledge platform There is a growing trend towards organizing their expertise given the profound challenges organizations are facing. And these challenges didn’t just start when the pandemic hit. In a recent Deloitte survey, 63% of executives reported that work in their organizations is currently being performed in teams or projects outside of people’s core job descriptions, 81% say work is increasingly performed across functional boundaries, and 36% say work is increasingly being performed by workers outside of the organization who don’t have defined jobs in the organization at all. Yet fewer than half (42%) of respondents say their organization’s job descriptions do an “excellent job” of specifying the work that needs to be done in their positions. As work becomes far more fluid, packaging skills into rigid job descriptions leads to a lot of untapped human capital in organizations. It’s an issue that hasn’t gone unnoticed by leadership. Research shows that only 18% of executives strongly agree that their workforce is using their skills and capabilities to their fullest potential. 85% of HR and business executives say organizations should create more agile ways of organizing work to improve speed and swiftly adapt to market changes. These issues underscore the need to better organize and develop internal talent by implementing a "knowledge management platform" or "employee skills marketplace." This is for a variety of reasons. With vast amounts of acquired knowledge pooled across various departments and teams, it can be difficult for other employees to access this knowledge when it is outside their area of expertise - as the old saying goes, “people don't know what they don't know.” Organizing your expertise for external audiences also can provide huge benefits for building reputation, relationships, and revenues. How to position your experts as industry thought leaders More and more organizations are looking at employees who can advance their innovation efforts internally, often as part of a cross-functional team or special project. And there are also important revenue-generating activities, such as sharing research and perspectives through content generation (blogging, webinars, podcasting) or speaking (at internal events, industry conferences, or as an expert source for media interviews). Determining how to best identify and put experts to work isn't a simple process. That's because to do this right requires a more disciplined approach to assessing and developing the talent across your organization. One that goes beyond linear career paths and traditional job titles we assign to employees. It also requires a more progressive approach to diversity and experience. One that is not simply correlated to seniority or authority in an organization. Given the current state of the talent market, most organizations are also recognizing the importance of managing their talent, listening more to employees, and helping them achieve their goals - both professional and personal. And that extends to how best to tap into their skills that can benefit the organization both internally and externally. That's why we developed a talent framework that helps identify opportunities where subject-matter experts can best contribute as well as potential options for professional development. To make this process more intuitive, we have developed a model that outlines 4 "expert personas" that detail the various characteristics related to experts in an organization along with a potential development path. Level 1: Experts in the "Practitioner" persona group can offer their organizations a wide range of skills. Our research and in-field experience with companies focused on innovation reveals that organizations can realize significant gains by tapping into this broad pool of talent. To better engage practitioners, we have helped universities better engage their Ph.D. candidates who are approaching graduation to conduct research and writing content that promotes their work and institutional brand to prospective students or donors. This also extends to corporate innovation. A recent example of this was our collaboration with a Fortune 500 company in the CPG sector, where we completed the build of an internal expert network. One of the key challenges this organization faced was the inability to quickly engage with “practitioners” - subject-matter experts across the organization who could help with specific R&D and innovation projects. While this organization had legacy HR and intranet communication platforms, they had experienced a number of challenges engaging their researchers. To make things worse the pandemic forced many to work from home, creating the need for more opportunities to engage online. They needed the ability to conduct simple searches to find other researchers relevant to their work who could help them with projects. Our research/writing team started the process by taking an inventory of experts and then developed profiles for each researcher in collaboration with the company’s research/innovation team using the ExperFile SaaS software platform. With the unique data structure used to categorize this broader set of biographical information, we then enabled advanced search capabilities to build a private, SOC2 (security) compliant expert network which was easily integrated into their existing talent platforms. With thousands of researchers across the globe, they now have the ability to quickly search for experts on areas such as skills, topics, work experience, research publications, company/industry experience and IP/patents. It’s important to note that activating all this hidden expertise not only lays the groundwork for faster innovation. It also can reduce the fees associated with outside expert networks and consultants, maintains tighter internal control of proprietary research information and forges stronger collaborations between experts across the globe. Level 2: The "Ambassador" category represents experts with a more developed set of skills and a reputation both inside their organization and within their community of practice. Working with them to generate more exposure through internal speaking engagements and within their local community is a great way to create market visibility. For example, we have worked with a number of professional services firms to make experts at this level more visible in their local markets. Building reputation and generating new client opportunities with thought leadership activities such as blogging, webinars and speaking at local business events or on podcasts is a proven way to tap into this talent. These activities have allowed organizations we have worked with to bring in new clients and increase revenues across various practice areas. Ambassadors are also perfect for involvement in on-campus recruitment events where competition for talent is high. Particularly in fields such as engineering, law and accounting. One way to make these experts more approachable to a wider audience is by creating a speaker’s bureau. Remember that not all your experts will be comfortable speaking to the media, however, they can still meaningfully contribute as a keynote speaker or panelist at an event. Organizing your experts on key topics enables local event and conference organizers to find you more easily in Google search results and on your website. In addition to getting your experts on the podium, it’s a proven way to get your expert's guest appearances on webinars and podcasts. Given the growing importance of these channels, we recently formed partnerships with the leading marketplaces for webinars and podcasts - BrightTalk and Podchaser to help our clients promote their experts for speaking opportunities. Level 3: Experts in the "Authority" category have developed a strong reputation as an expert in their field, often speaking at academic or industry conferences. At this level, they have also developed a degree of proficiency in speaking as an expert source with the local or national media. They can be found speaking as a guest on podcasts to share their knowledge and are often active on social media. In higher education, these people are critical to helping media relations and other departments generate media coverage that is essential to building a reputation. We have worked with many organizations that effectively engage their Authorities by staying connected to their research and publications and collaboratively creating regular content with them to reach a broader audience. You will find regular opportunities to boost coverage with local and national media by utilizing this group of experts. We work with media teams to conduct Google Search (SEO) analysis to identify what topics their target audiences are searching for. This allows them to more strategically focus on key experts to promote. They are also focused on delivering more engaging content formats such as video interviews and Q&A to boost Google PageRank and audience engagement across their website. And they are working collaboratively with their faculty to post media advisories and a regular stream of content that contributes to higher rates of discovery by journalists looking for expert sources. Level 4: Experts in the "Evangelist" category are those go-to experts that you often see in the media as key spokespeople representing a certain topic. They are seen as notable authorities with deep domain expertise within their community of practice which has often been earned through heavy research and publications. Chances are they have also authored books that provide a path to speaking engagements at conferences and media interviews. These are also the people who have developed a regular audience through blogging or by hosting a podcast and have a well-established social media following. Ultimately, what separates this group from the others is the significantly broader market profile they have earned as a thought leader. These individuals have an intuitive sense of how to communicate complex topics in a relatable way that both educates and engages. That makes them particularly valuable to the organizations whose brands they represent. Given the degree of qualifications required to operate at this level, it’s to be expected that you will find far fewer “evangelist” category experts in any organization. Many are naturally found within the ranks of the executive team. These are the people who are comfortable in interviews, and most have extensive public speaking experience appearing on a large stage and on radio and television. At this level, organizations need to be far more strategic about how they utilize this talent pool to build a reputation and reach a wider audience. We have seen first-hand how strategic thought leadership programs can build a platform for these experts that can pay huge dividends. One healthcare system we have worked with recently forged a relationship with ABC News to feature one of their medical experts (a medical doctor) on a weekly segment related to important Covid-related health topics. Given the frequent appearances this expert has made on television, this was an earned media home run and a great way for this healthcare system to build visibility and trust within the community by providing accurate medical information. Their commitment to making their medical experts more discoverable and approachable online has also helped them promote their strengths in areas such as cardiology, neonatal, cancer, and genetic research. And the results are impressive. Over the past year, they have doubled their national media coverage and are currently outperforming much larger healthcare systems in their area. How to organize your experts Personas by their very nature are designed to provide a more standardized approach for planning using "clusters" of talent that are grouped against common characteristics. However, we're very aware that they cannot possibly capture all the nuances you will find within your organization when it comes to talent. But our experience helping leading organizations in knowledge-based industries to better manage thousands of experts shows that having a more methodical approach pays off. It optimizes the internal/external contributions and the development paths of experts to create win-win opportunities. but it also helps forge a stronger connection with employees who feel their organization is taking the development of their professional skills more seriously and more actively creating avenues for them to engage and contribute. With an understanding of these personas, we can then focus on another important consideration - where can we best engage our experts to more effectively tap into their skills inside and outside the organization? To help answer that question, we developed a "Talent Assessment Grid" (TAG) that helps you identify key areas where each of these personas can contribute. As a planning tool, it's meant to provide a more organized approach that helps you assess your bench strength and create a more tangible system for measuring progress over time in areas such as skills development or contributions to cross-functional innovation projects or outside industry consulting. Playing to the individual strengths these experts have while moving them out of their comfort zone to develop additional skills also yields additional marketing benefits. Contributing content; speaking at conferences or community events or to the media are proven ways to build market visibility, establish trust and generate revenues - and experts play a vital role in this process. A thriving network where knowledge is easily discoverable inside an organization and strategically shared outside in the community and beyond can make a huge difference in boosting innovation and culture. When properly promoted, these experts will also help you grow your reputation, relationships, and revenues. Although this process requires commitment, it positions you to be more agile and outperform your competition by ensuring you are optimizing every employee’s true potential and making them more discoverable both inside and outside the organization. How are you putting your expert talent to work? Do you have a process you use today for identifying and engaging your experts? We would like to hear from you. For more insights on how you can organize your experts online to support your internal knowledge management or promote them to a wider audience, visit us at https://expertfile.com/resources to learn more.
