Experts Matter. Find Yours.

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.

Podcast: The partition of India: an ‘evil act’ or ‘rush to grant independence’?

Aston University academic discusses need to understand what resulted in up to two million deaths The partition formed part of a global pattern of expanding nation-states, fitting populations to borders, and decolonisation throughout the 20th century Debate now needed to find ways to accommodate human diversity rather than pulling people apart The partition of India at the end of the Second World War was not an “evil scheme” but a case of being “overtaken by events”, according to an academic at Aston University. Dr Volker Prott, a senior lecturer in modern history, spoke about the legacy of India and Pakistan’s independence in the latest episode of the ‘Society matters’ podcast series, presented by journalist Steve Dyson. Dr Prott said there was a “bitter irony” in “celebrating” the 75th anniversary of the partition and independence of India and Pakistan, granted on 15 August 1947. But he argued that now was the time to overcome divisions in society caused by Britain’s colonial past. He said: “Partition is very much an ambivalent event because, on the one hand, there is indeed grounds for celebration because it meant independence from British colonial rule for India and Pakistan … but at the same time partition was a reason for frustration and then, further on, it was a cause of violence.” Historians have estimated up to 20 million people were displaced in the years following partition, with the death toll “somewhere between 200,000 and two million people”, and possibly hundreds of thousands of girls and women suffering rape and abduction. Partition also led to a lasting long-term conflict between India and Pakistan involving several wars and the break-up of Pakistan in 1971. Dr Prott said Britain had come in for a lot of criticism due to the violence, with various historical studies regarding Indian partition as a “deliberate design” to weaken India and secure long-term British influence. But he argued that Britain was “overtaken by events” in the sense they underestimated “the dynamic for independence” and the huge potential for violence. “That’s the moment they rushed independence and rushed partition … a quick and easy exit option for the British Empire,” he said. As a result, no-one put mechanisms in place for refugee or minority protection, or to draw borders “in a sensible way”. Dr Prott said the partition of India was not an exception, but part of a larger historical pattern throughout the 20th century that also included new borders drawn that split Ireland, Palestine, Korea, Germany, Vietnam and Cyprus. This pattern comprised of three factors – the global expansion of the nation-state, “international stability” involving “fitting populations to borders”, and decolonisation leading to “friction and conflict”. He said: “We shouldn’t blame the British for plotting partition. It wasn’t an evil scheme they came up with.” But he stressed that the British did try to avoid assuming responsibility for more than a century of colonial rule in India, including “colonial violence, economic exploitation, and politicising religious identities of Muslims and Hindus” in particular. Dr Prott said the “starkest example” of a nation taking responsibility for the past was his own country, Germany, which committed the Holocaust, the “most extreme case of genocide in history”. Germany had come to terms with its crime and guilt, and accepted the need to work towards reconciliation. He said this was mostly seen as a historic problem in Germany, “but in Britain the legacy of colonialism is with us every day” with the Black Lives Matter movement, decolonising the curriculum in universities, changing street names, and removing controversial statues. He said: “We should see this dealing with our colonial past as an opportunity to bridge existing divides, to learn from each other. We need an open-ended debate.” Many people, he said, have very extreme views on the partition. Some praised the British Empire and said the violence was all because of racial hatreds, while others claimed people lived in harmony for centuries and problems were only caused by “evil British plotting”. “What we need to do is move away from these simplistic views of the past. History shows us that partitions very often cause more problems than they solve and we should try to find ways to accommodate human diversity rather than pulling people apart.” Aston University is marking the 75th anniversary of Indian partition by taking part in an exhibition at Birmingham New Street Station called ‘Children of the Railway: The Partition of India 75 Years On’, which opens on 6 September for three weeks. Dr Prott is also giving a public talk on partition at 5pm on 25 August at the Hockley Social Club.

Aston University graduate takes boxing gold for Team England at Commonwealth Games

Delicious Orie came from behind to win Commonwealth Games men's super-heavyweight gold He beat India's Sagar Sagar in the NEC Arena to claim England's second gold of the day The 25-year-old graduated from Aston University in April having studied economics and management. Aston University alumnus, Delicious Orie, has won a boxing gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The 25-year-old came from behind to win in the men's super-heavyweight fight, beating India's Sagar Sagar in the NEC Arena on 7 August to claim England's second gold of the day. Born in Moscow to his Nigerian father, Justin, and Russian mother, Natalie, he spent the first seven years of his life in the city of Voronezh, 520 kilometres from the Russian capital, before the family moved to London to escape racism and to seek a better life. There was another upheaval at the age of 11, when the family moved to Wolverhampton. He once again threw himself into his schooling, enjoyed whatever extracurricular activities were on offer and took advantage of the opportunities he was afforded. Delicious graduated with a first class honours degree from Aston University in April having studied economics and management (2020). Speaking to BBC Sport after the fight, Delicious said: “I was an emotional wreck earlier but when that final bell went, I knew I had it in the bag. “The only way I did it was through the support of the fans. “I had two rounds to prove myself and I'd never heard a roar like that. The English fans are the best in the world. “I was determined to not let anyone else win. I've never felt anything like this.” Kerrie Holland, director of alumni relations and development at Aston University, said: “We are just delighted for DJ for this amazing achievement. “He’s a fantastic ambassador for Aston University and has been so generous with his time to inspire alumni and students – including as the cover star of the 2021 alumni magazine! “We are proud of all of our Aston University graduates and I know the whole #TeamAston family will be celebrating Delicious’ Commonwealth Gold alongside him.” You can find out more about Delicious Orie’s story here.

Expert Insight: President Biden’s COVID-19 ‘Rebound Positive’

UConn Health’s Dr. David Banach explains how a fully vaccinated and boosted person could test positive, negative, and positive again for COVID-19 within a 10-day span If anything, I would say this situation actually reinforces the importance of vaccination. — Dr. David Banach President Biden is back in isolation, testing positive again for COVID-19 despite testing negative a week after his initial positive test July 21. It may be a puzzling sequence, but there is an explanation. “It’s unlikely this is anything other than the original infection resurfacing,” says Dr. David Banach, infectious diseases physician and hospital epidemiologist at UConn Health. Biden’s physician says the president had been taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid, which is a standard treatment for those with COVID-19 who are considered “high-risk,” including older patients. Biden is 79. “It’s not unheard of for people to take Paxlovid, clinically improve, be antigen-negative, then ‘rebound’ a few days later as antigen-positive,” Banach says. Antigens are substances that cause an immune response. Antigen tests are commonly used in at-home testing and can yield results in 15 minutes by detecting antigens specific to COVID-19. Antigen tests differ from PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, which look for genetic material that indicates a COVID-19 infection. Due to the nature of his position, the president tests routinely. PCR testing generally is not recommended within 90 days of infection because if frequently remains positive positive for a prolonged period of time, even after patients recover and are no longer contagious, so Biden was given antigen testing instead. All signs point to the Paxlovid suppressing the antigens to undetectable levels, resulting in temporary negative results, followed by the “rebound.” As of Tuesday Biden’s only symptoms were a “loose cough,” according to a memo from his physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, who reported, “He remains fever-free and in good spirits.” The White House says the president is fully vaccinated and up-to-date on all his recommended boosters. “While this is another example of someone getting infected despite being is fully vaccinated and boosted, it’s important to understand the vaccines protected the president from serious illness from infection,” Banach says. “If anything, I would say this situation actually reinforces the importance of vaccination, especially for older people, those who are immunocompromised, or those with other health problems that could make them more vulnerable to serious illness.” Looking to know more about this topic - then let us help with your stories and coverage. Dr. David Banach is an expert on infectious diseases and epidemiology and is a leading expert on COVID-19 in America. To book an interview with Dr. Banach, click on his icon today.

Aston University pharmacy student wins Christopher J Hewitt Prize for exceptional student citizenship

The Christopher J Hewitt Prize for exceptional student citizenship in the College of Life and Health Sciences at Aston University has been awarded to Hanan Tahir a fourth year MPharm student, in recognition of his support in helping colleagues to develop and achieve their goals through mentoring and for his positive and supportive outlook, felt by all those around him. The prize is named after and in tribute of Professor Christopher J Hewitt FREng who was pro-vice chancellor and executive dean of the School of Life and Health Sciences and professor of biological engineering from November 2014 until July 2019. Chris sadly passed away on 25 July 2019 at the age of 50; an eminent scientist and truly devoted family man. To commemorate Chris’s life and to celebrate the values that he held dear, the Christopher J Hewitt Prize was established in 2021 to recognise exemplary citizenship through support of other students, contribution to the Aston University community or achievement in the face of adversity. The judging panel, which consisted of four research fellows and Chris’s widow Sandra Hewitt, felt that Hanan had achieved a lot through his work with Aston University student societies, where he is president of the Aston Pharmacy Society. Hanan also set up a mentoring scheme for first and second year students to help ease them into University life after the Covid-19 pandemic. The judges noted the substantial amount of charity work undertaken by Hanan including hiking up Snowden to raise £9000 for Syrian Refugees. They were also impressed by the nominations outlining the sense of fun and joy Hanan has helped to foster amongst his student peers. On receiving his award, Hanan said: "It's within our human nature to care for and support each other. We've grown to be so successful because we have always chosen to look out for others rather than isolate and try to go it alone. And I have always believed that an integral key to happiness is community. “I am honoured to have received this award. I am even more honoured that my efforts have been noticed and recognised. Aston University has always put inclusivity and community in everything it does and I hope that we all continue to emanate the values of this University as we progress through our lives." Sandra Hewitt, Chris’s widow, added: “It was an honour to once again be able to be part of the judging panel for the Christopher J. Hewitt Memorial Prize. Again, this year the candidates all exhibited the qualities and values of the prize, however we felt Hanan was a worthy winner for all the reasons mentioned above. Chris worked hard but he liked to party harder so the fact that Hanan’s nominations also mentioned his sense of joy and fun was especially relevant." Professor Anthony Hilton, executive dean of the College of Life and Health Sciences, said: “I am delighted Hanan is this year’s recipient of the Christopher J Hewitt Prize. It makes me exceptionally proud to see members of the College demonstrating the culture and values we hold dear and being held in such high regard by their peers.” The panel also highlighted the exceptional achievements of Negin Gholampoor for her work as the Aston Medical School representative to the British Medical Association and for striving to improve the systems around her and effect change for the benefit of her peers. A special mention was made for Erika Pond for her commendable display of citizenship when providing CPR to a stranger in need. For more information about the College of Health and Life Sciences please visit our website and for information about studying Pharmacy at Aston University go to our course pages.

Women in STEM Careers Face Bias

Women are excluded from promotions when firms look at potential, rather than proof, says Dr. Nishtha Langer, an associate professor in the Lally School of Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Promotions are an accepted way for firms to attract and retain talent. In an ideal world, promotion for employees would be purely merit-oriented, and thus, performance – or potential for performance – would be a firm’s most important criteria for career advancement. But, according to Dr. Langer, we don’t live in this idyllic world – we live in a world where women are evaluated differently than men, and often endure biases in the work environment that men don’t face. Dr. Langer believes that several factors contribute to such deleterious workplace practices. Promotions rely less on absolute merit and more on relative merit. Thus, prejudiced ideas of potential capabilities, for instance, those relying on gender-role orientation – or the ability of a woman to do what may be perceived to be a masculine task – may prevent senior managers responsible for promotions from realizing the potential of their female colleagues. Women in STEM or technology often suffer from this bias. This prejudice may further bias how women are evaluated. Especially in those jobs where women are a minority, the in-group versus out-group biases would affect the visibility of women vis-à-vis men for promotions. Another factor that may inhibit women from being promoted on the basis of potential – or even indeed with proof – is what researchers term the compensatory stereotype. If men succeed, it is because of their abilities; if women succeed, it is because of factors other than their abilities. Unfortunately, the potential or abilities of women are misattributed to luck or team factors, inhibiting them from the starting line. Finally, promotions are a way for firms to ensure valuable talent does not leave. In that sense, managers may be less sensitive to women’s outside prospects and may thus ignore their potential and choose to not promote them. They do so at their peril and fail to take advantage of the multitude of abilities women bring to the table. Dr. Langer, an authority in the field of business and the societal value of IT and IT human capital, has long focused her research on women in technology careers. She is available to speak to this and other concerns about equality in the workplace.

Professor of biotechnology appointed as new executive editor of prestigious journal

A biotechnology professor in the College of Health and Life Sciences at Aston University has been appointed as the new executive editor of the journal, BBA Biomembranes. Professor Roslyn Bill is sharing the role with Professor Burkhard Bechinger of the University of Strasbourg and will be jointly responsible for the editorial direction of the journal, including overseeing the peer review process of submissions. Roslyn's own area of research focuses on membrane protein structure, function and regulation. She is particularly interested in the regulation of aquaporin water channels in the brain and their development as drug targets to prevent life-threatening brain swelling. BBA Biomembranes is part of a family of 10 Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) journals, which are celebrating their 75th year of continuous publication in 2022. They were the first international journals to cover the joint fields of biochemistry and biophysics. Commenting on her appointment, Roslyn said: “I am delighted and honoured to join BBA Biomembranes as Executive Editor in BBA’s 75th anniversary year. “The journal has an international reputation for publishing high-quality articles in all aspects of membrane biology and biophysics. I look forward to working with the BBAMEM team to drive the journal’s continuing success.” Areas of research covered by BBA Biomembranes include: membrane structure, function and biomolecular organization, membrane proteins, receptors, channels and anchors, fluidity and composition, model membranes and liposomes, membrane surface studies and ligand interactions, transport studies and membrane dynamics. For more information on Professor Bill’s research, visit the research pages. For more information about studying in the School of Biosciences at Aston University, please visit our website.

The Pope, Papal Politics and Apologies: Our Experts Can Help

Last month, Pope Francis made an historic trip to Canada. It was the first time in 35 years that a pope had visited an Indigenous community. It was also significant because it was deemed "a penitential pilgrimage" with the purpose of apologizing for the role of the Catholic Church in the abuse of Indigenous children in residential schools. The visit was covered extensively by media from across the globe, and each story came with questions regarding papal policy, religious context and historical interpretation. That's where experts like Massimo Faggioli, PhD, a Villanova University professor who studies the history and administrative inner workings of the Catholic Church, answered the call. As quoted in The Washington Post: "Massimo Faggioli, a professor of theology at Villanova University, said the pope 'smartly framed' the issue of the Church’s role in the residential school system 'inside a wider picture that he's been working on for many years now, which he calls 'ideological colonization'... 'He believes that, as Catholics, we're part of the historical problem, but we're also part of the solution...'" Reporting on the Vatican, papal politics and the pope requires experts—and that's where Villanova can help. Dr. Faggioli, among other University professors, is currently available to speak with media regarding the pontiff and the Catholic Church; simply click on his icon above to arrange an interview today.

Politics, policy and public safety: Experts explain why a popular Atlanta festival was canceled

A sad tune is being hummed in Atlanta, where it was announced the popular annual Music Midtown festival is not happening, possibly in part due to the state’s laws surrounding guns in public parks. The event's cancellation, which brought tens of thousands of music lovers to the city -- along with the tourism dollars they spend -- has caused disappointment and drawn local and national media coverage. Calling it a “sad day” for the city, Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman wrote on Twitter that: “Public policy has real impacts and, in this case, economic and social implications on a great tradition.” And state Democrats chastised Republicans for adopting a raft of pro-gun legislation, including a 2022 law that allows Georgians to carry concealed handguns without first getting a license from the state. The governor, who is seeking a second term, did not immediately comment on the festival’s decision. But state Rep. Rick Jasperse, a Jasper Republican who sponsored the 2014 law, said the measure is designed with public safety in mind. He said those intent on “causing chaos and crime in Georgia” won’t care if the festival bans firearms and would try to bring them in regardless. “Good Georgians who can qualify for a permit and carry a weapon do so to protect themselves from that element in our society,” he said.  -- The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Aug. 1, 2022 Organizers of events like Music Midtown could look at Georgia’s gun laws and regulation of firearms as a potential legal liability. If there is a firearms incident, organizers may fear being held legally accountable and sued for any potential damages. The companies and their risk management advisors might think twice about holding large events in Georgia. Augusta University's Dr. William Hatcher, an expert when it comes to public administration and social, economic and political institutions in local communities, agrees that event organizers might be rethinking their plans in the state. "Yes. I think so. These types of laws have an impact on the economy and the business decisions of firms. We may see future effects on the economic behavior of individuals and firms." This topic could have further economic impact beyond canceled events, including affecting property values and home prices. If you're a journalist looking to know more, then let us help with your stories. Dr. William Hatcher is a professor of political science and chair of Augusta University’s Department of Social Sciences. He is an expert in the areas of public administration and social, economic and political institutions. Hatcher is available to speak with media regarding this topic. To arrange an interview today, simply click on his icon now.

988: What is it and who will it help?

Starting July 16, anyone experiencing substance use issues, a suicidal crisis, or mental health-related distress and seeking support can now simply dial “988” and connect directly with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. 988’s implementation will strengthen and expand the current lifeline call-center infrastructure and capacity to ensure that trained crisis counselors are available via call, text, and chat 24 hours a day. CARF proudly joins the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention and more than 250 partner organizations collaborating as promoters of the 988 Messaging Framework. About 988 988 is confidential, free, and available 24/7/365, connecting those experiencing a crisis with a network of trained crisis counselors located throughout the U.S. Access is available through every landline, cell phone, and voice-over-internet device in the nation. 988 call services are available in Spanish, along with interpretation services in multiple languages. Text and chat are currently available in English only. A long-term goal of 988 is building a robust nationwide crisis response system that links callers to community-based providers that can deliver a full range of crisis care services (e.g., mobile crisis teams or stabilization centers), if needed. And if you're a reporter looking to know more about the new 988 call services, or the role CARF and other organizations are playing in this nationwide effort, let us help with your questions and coverage. Michael Johnson is Senior Managing Director of Behavioral Health at CARF and is an expert in treatment strategies for mental health and substance use disorders. Michael is available to speak with media regarding this topic; simply click on his expert icon to arrange an interview today.