Ernesto Ramirez

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Today I saw a tweet from a fellow CALIT2-er recommending me to contact my congressional representative. Usually I filter political stuff out and skip along to the next tweet about that crazy Old Spice guy, but today was different. You see, there is a big vote coming up later this week.

This Thursday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) will vote on the subcommittee’s version of the FY 2011 budget, which allocates federal dollars to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

This particular vote is very important to me. If you haven’t already guessed, I work at a university and I do research. That research is funded by the NIH (a small percentage is funded by other organizations). So what? Well, if the NIH doesn’t get funding then I don’t eat. Let me take you an journey to explain.

The NIH is responsible for setting the budget for all the separate health and disease-specific divisions. This includes the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The NCI is responsible for creating projects and funding opportunities for new research. This includes the Gene Environment Initiative (GEI), a multistudy multidisciplinary initiative to bring researchers across different fields together to tackle the important problems around exposure biology (read more about the GEI here). Here at UCSD I work at the Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems (CWPHS) and we are responsible for one of the projects within the GEI, the Physical Activity and Location Measurement System (PALMS). When I applied to the doctoral program I was given the opportunity to apply for and receive a minority fellowship on the PALMS project.

Fast forward to today and my small, but manageable, stipend is a direct derivative of the NIH budget. Without the NIH, NCI, GEI, CWPHS and PALMS I wouldn’t be able work towards my PhD (how’s that for acronyms!). I wouldn’t be able to live in and experience beautiful San Diego. I wouldn’t be able to sit in meetings, both formal and informal, and share ideas that I believe will change the way we think about preventive medicine. I know this sounds dramatic. I know that I probably would be doing something else if it wasn’t for the NIH and their money. I know that I would still be trying to find ways to make the world a better and healthier place, but having this opportunity has been life-changing, both academically and personally. I have met and worked with world-renowned scholar and researchers, some of which have their offices just a few feet from me. I have driven all over San Diego County handing out exergames (like the Wii) to kids and their parents as part of a research project. I’ve listened to those parents talk about how much they care about their children’s health and how they just need a little help because they can’t do it all themselves. I’ve gotten up in front of a crowded room full of super nerds and technology all-stars and told them that games and social networks are going to revolutionize health and health behavior change. I’ve traveled to Toronto, Washington DC, Seattle, Palo Alto, and Boston to spread the word about my research and our lab’s projects. I’ve made friends that will forever influence and inspire me to be a better scientist and person. Friends who have made me appreciate my good fortune and my opportunities. Friends who supported me when I thought this entire experience was a waste of time.

So there you go. Take from it what you will, but please consider that whether you are on the right, left, or anywhere in between  that someday you will depend on research and science supported by the NIH to improve your health and the health of your loved ones. I urge you to take a few minutes to use the form below and send a message to your representative telling them to support science, research, and the NIH.

Support the NIH

I’m at the local mall right now about to go watch a movie. Turns out the movie is sold out and we have to wait an hour. What to do? How about a quick coffee? Sounds good, let’s head on over the food court.

What is interesting about the food court here at Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego is that every one of the tables is plastered with advertisements for Kaiser Permanente’s Thrive campaign:

Launched in 2004, the Thrive campaign embodies Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to total health. Our integrated health care delivery system and commitment to preventive care empowers our members to maximize their total health – mind, body, and spirit.

One of the major visual pieces of this campaign are photos of mouth-watering fruits and vegetables, and rightfully so. Fruits and veggies have been shown to associated with all manner of health benefits (cancer reduction, reduced HDL, etc.). But, the placement of these ads is bit…well..it just doesn’t sit right with me.

As a health behavior student and researcher I’ve become very acquainted with health promotion campaigns. One of the major tennants of a good campaign to elicit change is to give people the opportunity to actually engage in the behavior you are promoting. Yes, we want people to eat more fruits and vegetables, but putting a promoting in a location where that is virtually impossible does little to no good. Think about the last time you were in a food court. Where could you get fresh vegetables or fruit? Maybe Starbucks? A salad from California Pizza Kitchen? Do these really represent healthy options? That’s for a nutritionist to decide and I readily admit that I am not qualified to answer that. What I do know is that is Kaiser really wanted us to Thrive they would do more than just show you a picture of fruit.

Thank you to the new Microsoft Store at Fashion Valley Mall where this post was typed up on one of their fancy new Dells

Here at Sight Sound Science we are big believers in sustainability and what better way to be sustainable than to travel by the amazing mechanism we call a bicycle.

image via Flickr: purplemattfish

Think about it, is there anything better than riding a bike around town? Think about the last time you spun down to the coffee shop, messenger bag strapped to you back, wind in your hair. Wasn’t that fun?

Do you ride often for fun and/or transport? Do you want to show people that bikes are rad? Well I’ve located some sweet threads so you can show your bicycle pride.

Threadless: Infiniti MPG

You can’t go wrong with this simple design from the always awesome Threadless stable of crowd-sourced Tshirts. Currently this shirt is out of stock for most sizes, but hoodies are available. Click the pic to check out the Threadless page.

Print Liberation: Recycle

From independent maker of all things awesome comes this well designed shirt aptly titled Recycle. Printed on a 100% organic American Apparel tee this shirt hits give you bike, sustainability, and enviro-friendly points. Also available in black. $22. Found via A Tshirt Blog

Allan Peters: A Bike Is Born

Saw this poster randomly while checking out new themes for this here WordPress powered blog. Allan Peters is an art director located in Minneapolis. From Allan:

This poster was created for Art Crank Minneapolis – a poster show for people who love biking. When I got this project, my wife and I had just found out that we were going to have a baby and so I wanted to do something that mixed that joy with my joy of biking.

Unfortunately this print does not appear to be for sale. Too bad as this would make a great poster and/or Tshirt to show your bike love.

Do you have another piece of clothing, poster, or other item that promotes cycling for fun and transport? Share in the comments!

Cross-posted from my other blog Sight Sound Science.