Three Vanderbilt University faculty members have been elected this year to membership in the National Academy of Medicine, a prestigious, non-governmental organization that advises the nation and the world on important aspects of medical science, health care and public health. They are:

With these new members, Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center have 25 current and emeritus faculty members (living) who have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine by their peers in recognition of outstanding achievement.

Congratulations to Drs. Carpenter, Monteggia and Rathmell on their election to the National Academy of Medicine, Provost C. Cybele Raver said. Their accomplishments represent such a great example of the kind of bold, high-impact research we carry out here at Vanderbilt. Each of these stellar faculty members carries out rigorous, pathbreaking work in multiple fields of inquiry, yielding discoveries that benefit society in real and meaningful ways.

I want to congratulate Drs. Carpenter, Monteggia and Rathmell on their election into this esteemed body. Their contributions to medicine and science are profoundly important, and this prominent recognition with election by their peers is so well deserved, said Dr. Jeff Balser, president and chief executive officer of VUMC and dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Balser is the chair of the planning committee for the National Academy of Medicine 2022 annual meeting.

Carpenter is a health and labor economist who studies the effects of public policies on health and family outcomes. He has published widely on the effects of legal same-sex marriage, the causes and consequences of youth substance use and the effects of public policies on health behaviors such as bicycle helmet use, seatbelt use and vaccination.

As founder and director of Vanderbilts LGBTQ+ Policy Lab, Carpenter and his team apply an interdisciplinary approach to advance understanding of how social and policy contexts impact the lives of LGBTQIA+ people. Earlier this year, the lab conducted the first comprehensive study on the health effects of legal same-sex marriage.

Before coming to Vanderbilt, Carpenter was associate professor of economics/public policy at UC Irvines Paul Merage School of Business. He was also a Robert Wood Johnson Postdoctoral Scholar in Health Policy Research at the University of Michigan.

He holds a B.A. in mathematics, economics and public service from Albion College and a Ph.D. in economics from UC Berkeley.

Monteggia was recruited to Vanderbilt in 2018 to become the director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute. She studies the neural mechanisms underlying antidepressant efficacy. Her work to identify the proteins in the brain targeted by the rapid-acting antidepressant action of ketamine has opened the door to new possibilities for the development of drugs that mimic ketamines antidepressant benefits without its side effects.

Her laboratory has been investigating the role of neurotrophins, or nerve cell growth factors, and the role they play in depressive-like behavior and the efficacy of antidepressants. The National Academy of Medicine cited her pioneering work identifying a causal link between neurotrophin signaling and antidepressant action.

Her studies of a mouse model of Rett syndrome led to an investigation of epigenetic factors that affect gene activity and expression and which regulate the function of synapses, the gaps between nerve cells, in the central nervous system. This research has relevance for other disorders, including traumatic brain injury.

Her honors include a Distinguished Investigator Award as well as the Daniel X. Friedman Award for outstanding research achievement from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, the Daniel H. Efron Award for outstanding basic and translational research by the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and the International Mental Health Research Organization Award.

Monteggia currently serves on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Institute of Mental Health, board of directors of the International Rett Syndrome Foundation and the Scientific Council of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. She is an elected Councilor for the Society for Neuroscience.

Monteggia earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience in 1999 from the Chicago Medical School of the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, where her research focused on drug abuse. After postdoctoral work at Yale, she joined the faculty at UT Southwestern Medical School, where she was promoted to full professor in the Department of Neuroscience in 2013 and held the Ginny and John Eulich Professorship in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Rathmell is an internationally recognized physician-scientist whose career has spanned molecular biology research in the pathogenesis of kidney cancer, nationally funded large-scale genomic studies of cancer and clinical investigations that have brought new biomarkers, imaging modalities and life-saving therapies to patient care.

She is nationally known for her advocacy of physician-scientist training, as a champion for funding for kidney cancer research with work to elevate the cause for rare or heritable forms of the disease, and for the development of policies that address drug shortages and conflicts of interest in scientific publishing in equitable ways.

Rathmell leads the Vanderbilt Integrated Molecular Oncology Research Training Program, a T32 training program for clinical fellows that is supported by the National Cancer Institute, and she co-leads the Vanderbilt Clinical Oncology Career Development Program with Dr. Debra Friedman, E. Bronson Ingram Chair of Pediatric Oncology, and director of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

Rathmell is the author of more than 200 peer-reviewed original articles, review articles, books and chapters, and she is a frequently invited guest speaker on topics ranging from kidney cancer biology and cancer metabolism to academic leadership skills development.

In 2019 the Kidney Cancer Association recognized Rathmells research accomplishments and leadership achievements with its top honor, the Eugene P. Schonfeld Award, which recognizes highly respected health care professionals who have made significant contributions in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. She was the first woman to receive the award.

She earned an M.D. and Ph.D. in biophysics at Stanford University, completed internship training at the University of Chicago and finished medicine and oncology training at the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining the Vanderbilt faculty in 2015, she served for 12 years on the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

With more than 2,400 members, the NAM (formerly the Institute of Medicine) collaborates closely with its peer academies, the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering, to provide independent and authoritative advice on matters of science, technology and health nationally and globally.

The new members were announced during the NAMs annual meeting on Oct. 1617. Balser, elected to the NAM in 2008, chaired the meetings planning committee. Bradley Malin, Accenture Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics, and Computer Science at Vanderbilt, and a NAM member since 2018, was among the panelists at the meetings scientific session: Revolutionizing the Biomedical and Health Sciences.

Since 1990, 37 current, emeritus and former faculty members of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine have been elected to membership in the NAM by their peers in recognition of their professional achievement and commitment to service.

1990 James Blumstein (Medicine)

1991 Larry Churchill (Medicine, emeritus)

Mildred Stahlman (Medicine, emerita)

1994 John Oates (Medicine, deceased)

1996 Brigid Hogan (Medicine, left in 2002)

1998 Steven Gabbe (Medicine, left in 2008)

George Hill (Medicine, emeritus)

2000 William Stead (Medicine)

2001 Dan Masys (Medicine, left in 2011)

2002 Harry Jacobson (Medicine, emeritus)

2003 Harold Moses (Medicine, emeritus)

Peter Buerhaus (Nursing, left in 2015)

2006 Ellen Wright Clayton (Medicine)

Randolph Miller (Medicine, emeritus)

Alastair Wood (Medicine, emeritus)

2008 Jeff Balser (Medicine)

Kathryn Edwards (Medicine)

Walter Frontera (Medicine, left in 2017)

2009 Michael DeBaun (Medicine)

2010 Kevin Johnson (Medicine, left in 2021)

2011 Jonathan Gitlin (Medicine, left.in 2012)

2012 Dan Beauchamp (Medicine)

Sten Vermund (Medicine, left in 2017)

2013 Mark Frisse (Medicine, emeritus)

Betsy Weiner (Nursing, emerita)

2014 Nancy Brown (Medicine, left in 2020)

James Crowe (Medicine)

2017 Melinda Buntin (Medicine)

Josh Denny (Medicine, left adjunct status 2020)

2018 Brad Malin (Medicine)

2020 Nancy Carrasco (Medicine)

Velma McBride-Murry (Medicine and Peabody)

Consuelo Wilkins (Medicine)

2021 Shari Barkin (Medicine, left in 2022)

2022 Christopher Carpenter (Economics)

Lisa Monteggia (Medicine)

Kimryn Rathmell (Medicine)

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Vanderbilt's Carpenter, Monteggia and Rathmell elected to National Academy of Medicine - Vanderbilt University News

For decades, medical cancer treatment has generally meant chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery, alone or in combination. But things are changing rapidly. Today, new approaches such as immunotherapies and targeted therapies are becoming available, with many more in research and development. In many cases, the new treatments are more effective, with fewer side effects.

Its an exciting time to be in cancer research and cancer discovery, said Colin Duckett, PhD, professor of pathology, interim chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, and vice dean for basic science."

Were moving into this era where we have a new set of tools we can use to treat cancer.-Colin Duckett, PhD

Researchers in the Duke Cancer Institute (DCI) and across the School of Medicine are helping to create these new tools, fueled by the knowledge and experience of experts from a wide range of disciplines.

Indeed, cancer research has always been a team-based endeavor at DCI.

DCI was specifically created a decade ago to break down barriers between disciplines to stimulate collaborative research and multidisciplinary interaction, said DCI Executive Director Michael Kastan, MD, PhD, the William and Jane Shingleton Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology.

Adding fuel to the fire is the Duke Science and Technology (DST) initiative, which aims to catalyze and support collaborative research in service of solving some of the worlds most pressing problems, including cancer.

The new tools, though varied, all represent advances in personalized cancer medicine. Targeted treatments are chosen based on the genetic signature of a patients tumor. Some immunotherapies take personalization even further, by manipulating a patients own immune cells to create a treatment for that individual alone.

To match treatments to patients, the multidisciplinary Duke Molecular Tumor Board, led by John Strickler, MD, HS11, and Matthew McKinney, MD06, HS06-09, HS10-13, helps providers identify best practices, newly approved treatments, or clinical trials for advanced cancer patients based on genetic sequencing of their tumors.

In precision cancer medicine the right therapy for the right patient at the right time all these things come together, the targeted therapies, the immunotherapy, even standard chemotherapy, all of that is part of precision cancer medicine.-Michael Kastan, MD, PhD

Immunotherapy aims to harness the power of the immune system to fight cancer. That can mean activating the immune system, energizing exhausted immune cells, or helping immune cells find cancer cells by guiding them there or by removing cancers good guy disguises.

Dukes Center for Cancer Immunotherapy supports these efforts by identifying promising basic science discoveries and building teams to translate those ideas into treatments.

"There are so many world-class basic research scientists here making discoveries..."-Scott Antonia, MD, PhD

...discoveries that are potentially translatable as immunotherapeutic strategies, said Scott Antonia, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and the centers founding director. Thats what motivated me to come to Duke, because of the great opportunity to interact with basic scientists to develop new immunotherapeutics and get them into the clinic.

Antonia believes immunotherapy has the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment, but more work remains to be done to realize its promise. The proof of principle is there, he said, but still only a relatively small fraction of people enjoy long-term survival. If we can hone immunotherapeutic approaches, thats our best opportunity.

Among the most exciting immunotherapy work being facilitated by the center involves removing a patients own T cells (a type of lymphocyte), manipulating them in the lab to make them more effective against tumors, then injecting them back into the patient.

T cells can be manipulated in the lab in a number of different ways. In one approach, called CAR T-cell therapy, the T cells are engineered with an addition of synthetic antibody fragments that bind to the patients tumor, effectively directing the T cells directly to the tumor cells.

In another approach, called tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) adoptive cell therapy, the subset of a patients T cells that have already managed to find their way into the tumor are extracted and then grown to large numbers before being returned to the patient. Antonia and his colleagues recently published a paper demonstrating the effectiveness of TIL expansion in lung cancer. Were now doing the preparative work to develop clinical trials using this approach in brain tumors, and our intention is to expand into many other cancers as well, he said.

Antonia points out that innovations in CAR T-cell therapy and TIL therapy happening at Duke are possible because of collaborations with scientists in an array of disciplines, including antibody experts like Barton Haynes, MD, HS73-75, the Frederic M. Hanes Professor of Medicine, and Wilton Williams, PhD, associate professor of medicine and surgery, at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute, and biomedical engineers like Charles Gersbach, PhD, the John W. Strohbehn Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Pratt School of Engineering.

Furthermore, clinical trials for these kinds of cellular therapies require special facilities to engineer or expand the cells, which are provided by Dukes Marcus Center for Cellular Cures, led by Joanne Kurtzberg, MD, the Jerome S. Harris Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, and Beth Shaz, MD, MBA, professor of pathology. Its been a very productive collaboration highlighting how Duke is uniquely positioned to develop immunotherapeutic strategies, Antonia said.

Targeted therapies exploit a tumors weak spot: a genetic mutation, for example. The benefit is that the treatment kills only cancer cells and not healthy cells. The prerequisite is knowing the genetics and biology of the specific tumor, no simple task.

Trudy Oliver, PhD05, who joined the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology faculty as a Duke Science and Technology Scholar, studies cancer development and the biology of tumor subtypes, particularly squamous cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer.

Even within small cell lung cancer, there are subsets that behave differently from each other, she said. Some of the treatments shes identified are in clinical trials

Our work suggests that when you tailor therapy to those subsets, you can make a difference in outcome.-Trudy Oliver, PhD'05

Some of the treatments shes identified are in clinical trials.

Sandeep Dave, MD, Wellcome Distinguished Professor of Medicine, is leading an ambitious project to analyze the genomics of the more than 100 different types of blood cancer. His project will streamline the diagnosis of blood cancer and uncover potential therapy targets.

All cancers arise from genetic alterations that allow cancer to survive and thrive at the expense of the host, he said. These genetic alterations are a double-edged sword they allow these cancer cells to grow, but on the other hand they do confer specific vulnerabilities that we can potentially exploit.

Dave said his background in computer science, genetics, and oncology helped him as he designed the project, which uses huge datasets.

Weve done the heavy lifting in terms of tool development and methodology, which is ripe to be applied to every other type of cancer."-Sandeep Dave, MD

Cancer disparities are caused by a complex interplay of elements, including access to health care and other resources, institutional barriers, structural racism, and biology, such as ancestry-related genetics. For example, some genetic biological factors and social elements contribute to disparities in many types of cancer.

Cancer treatment is approaching this personalized space where patients are no longer treated with a one-size-fits-all paradigm."-Tammara Watts, MD, PhD

"Its becoming increasingly apparent that there are differences in outcome with respect to race and ethnicity, said Tammara Watts, MD, PhD, associate professor of head and neck surgery & communication sciences, and associate director of equity, diversity, and inclusion at DCI. The very broad hypothesis is that there are genetic ancestry-related changes that may play a critical role in the disparate clinical outcomes we see every day in our cancer patients.

For example, self-identified white patients with throat cancer associated with the human papilloma virus (HPV) have better outcomes compared to self-identified Black patients, even when controlling for elements such as health care access, education, and socioeconomic status.

Watts is collaborating with bioinformatics experts at DCI to try to identify significant differences in gene expression among the two groups.

Im trying to tease out differences that may be impactful for disadvantaged patients based on race and ethnicity, she said. But there could be differences that emerge that could be useful for designing targeted treatments for a broad group of patients.

Thats because a targeted treatment for a particular genetic expression that might occur more commonly in Black people would help all patients with that expression, regardless of race or ethnicity.

Watts is far from alone in doing cancer disparity research at DCI. Tomi Akinyemiju, PhD, associate professor in population health sciences, uses epidemiology to study both biological factors and social elements that contribute to disparities in many types of cancer.

Jennifer Freedman, PhD, associate professor of medicine, Daniel George, MD92, professor of medicine, and Steven Patierno, PhD, professor of medicine and deputy director of DCI, are studying the molecular basis for why prostate, breast, and lung cancer tend to be more aggressive and lethal in patients who self-identify as Black. Patierno, who has been a national leader in cancer disparities research for more than 20 years, leads the Duke Cancer Disparities SPORE (Specialized Program of Research Excellence), funded by the National Cancer Institute. The SPORE grant supports these researchers as well as other DCI teams working on cancers of the breast, lung, stomach, and head and neck.

One of the things that impresses me is that [cancer disparities research] is a high priority within DCI, said Watts, who joined the faculty in 2019. These groups are actively engaged and collaborating and asking the questions that will drive change for patients who have worse outcomes that are related to ancestry.

Even better than a cancer cure is avoiding cancer altogether.

At DCI, Meira Epplein, PhD, associate professor in population health sciences, and Katherine Garman, MD02, MHS02, HS02-06, HS09, associate professor of medicine, are looking to decrease the incidence of stomach cancer by improving detection and treatment of the bacteria Helicobacter pylori, which can set off a cascade leading to stomach cancer. Epplein and Garman, also funded by the Duke Cancer Disparities SPORE grant, hope their work will reduce disparities because H. pylori infections and stomach cancer are both more prevalent among African Americans than whites.

When preventing cancer isnt successful, the next best thing is to detect and treat early. A relatively new concept in cancer care is interception, which means catching cancer just as, or even just before, it begins.

The point is to prevent it from progressing to full blown malignancy, said Patierno. In other words, stop the cancer from getting over its own goal line.

Patierno envisions a future where patients with pre-cancerous conditions or early cancer could take a pill to halt cancer development without killing cells in other words, a non-cytotoxic treatment, unlike standard chemotherapy.

We know its there, but were not going to poison it or burn it or cut it out because all of those have side effects. Were going to find a non-cytotoxic way to prevent it from progressing. Thats the goal.-Steven Patierno, PhD

Read About Alumni Making a Differencein Cancer Research and Care:

Changing theStatus Quo: Lori Pierce MD'85

Treatingthe WholePerson:Arif Kamal, MD,HS12, MHS15

Targetingthe Seeds ofCancer Growth:Eugenie S. Kleinerman, MD75, HS75

A DiscoveryThat Comes Outof Nowhere:Bill Kaelin, BS79, MD82

Story originally published in DukeMed Alumni News, Fall 2022.

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Developing New Tools to Fight Cancer - Duke University School of Medicine

SPUP Recruitment 2022: Check Posts, Qualification and How to Apply Here

SPUP Recruitment 2022:Sardar Patel University of Police, Security, and Criminal Justice, Jodhpur, has invited online applications from qualified candidates for recruitment to three positions of Senior Scientific Assistant (SSA) and twenty-five positions of Junior Scientific Assistant (JSA) in various divisions of the State Forensic Science Laboratory, Home (Group-1) Department, Government of Rajasthan, under the Rajasthan Forensic Sciences Laboratory Subordinate Service Rules-1980, 2015, and 2020.

Candidates between the ages of 18 and 40 are eligible to apply for these positions. The link to apply online is available on the university website http://www.policeuniversity.ac.in and will be valid until the application deadline of 02.11.2022. Candidates are advised to visit the University website http://www.policeuniversity.ac.in regularly for information about the Exam/ Recruitment. You can send an email to [emailprotected] for clarification/direction/information. The application fee for the General Category is Rs. 950, which is waived for applicants from other categories such as SC/ST/OBC.

The link to apply online shall be available on the University website http://www.policeuniversity.ac.in from midnight of 03.10.2022 to Midnight of 02.11.2022. Candidates are requested to apply for the job post before the deadline. No application shall be entertained after the stipulated time/ date. Incomplete applications and applications received after the specified time/ date shall be REJECTED. All the details regarding this job post are given in this article such as SPUP Recruitment 2022 official Notification, Age Limit, Eligibility Criteria, Pay Salary & much more.

1. Sr. Scientific Assistant

2. Jr. Scientific Assistant

Image

1. Sr. Scientific Assistant (DNA): M.Sc. degree with II division in Zoology or Molecular Biology Biotechnology or Biochemistry or Microbiology or Genetics from an institution recognized by the Government, and Certificate / Diploma in Computer Science/ Computer Application or Degree with at least one subject as Computer Science/ Computer Application from an institution recognized by the Government.

2. Sr. Scientific Assistant (Cyber): M.Tech / M.C.A. / M.E. / M.Sc. degree with II division in Computer Science or Computer Applications from an Indian university recognized by law.

3. Senior Scientific Assistant (Polygraph): Masters Degree with II division in Psychology from an Indian university established by law, and Certificate / Diploma in Computer Science/ Computer Application or Degree with at least one subject as Computer Science/ Computer Application from an Indian university established by law or an institution recognized by the government.

4. Jr. Scientific Assistant (Document): B.Sc. degree in Physics and Chemistry from a university established by Law in India.

NOTE: For more details regarding the qualification, interested candidates are requested to go to the official notification.

1. Sr. Scientific Assistant: 4800 Grade Pay

2. Jr. Scientific Assistant: 3600 Grade Pay

The steps to apply for SPUP Recruitment 2022 are outlined below.

Step 1: Go to the SPUP official website.

Step 2: Search for the SPUP Recruitment 2022 Notification here.

Step 3: Read all of the information in the notification.

Step 4: Apply and submit the application form in accordance with the mode of application specified in the official notification.

To Read the Official Notification Click Here

Disclaimer: The Recruitment Information provided above is for informational purposes only. The above Recruitment Information has been taken from the official site of the Organisation. We do not provide any Recruitment guarantee. Recruitment is to be done as per the official recruitment process of the company or organization posted the recruitment Vacancy. We dont charge any fee for providing this Job Information. Neither the Author nor Studycafe and its Affiliates accepts any liabilities for any loss or damage of any kind arising out of any information in this article nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

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SPUP Recruitment 2022: Check Posts, Qualification and How to Apply Here - StudyCafe

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Media Contact: Elizabeth Gosney | CAS Marketing and Communications Manager | 405-744-7497 | egosney@okstate.edu

Miguel Pineda Soto graduated in July as one of the first to earn an online computer science degree from Oklahoma State University. The recent graduate credits the CS program for helping him get to where he is now working full time at Goldman Sachs but it wasn't an easy journey.

Originally from Venezuela, Soto and his family were forced to move to Kuwait when he was 8 due to tightening governmental restrictions.

While it was a tough thing to deal with, moving was a blessing in disguise, said Soto, whose fathers career as a petroleum engineer prompted his early interest in STEM. I learned English and a lot of Arabic and French, and I also got to grow up with an entirely different perspective of the world.

Soto finished high school in Kuwait and followed his dads footsteps, enrolling in pre-engineering at Northeastern A&M College in Miami, Oklahoma. He was able to finish his associate degree there, but during his first year of community college, his parents went bankrupt.

I reached out to hundreds of universities trying to find a way to get enough financial aid to finish my studies given my situation, Soto said. Sadly, none were able to offer enough aid to cover the cost of a foreign student looking to study engineering.

Although Soto did receive a few financial aid offers from a couple of universities, none of them had an engineering program. He took advantage of the opportunities anyway and ended up getting associate degrees in business administration and chemistry at Rogers State University in Claremore, Oklahoma.

After marrying the girl I had been dating for basically the entire time I had been in the U.S., I had the chance to continue pursuing my dream of being in a STEM field, Soto said. I spent all summer researching the best program for me and I decided to go with OSUs online computer science program. I learned an immense amount from the online faculty while living and working full time in OKC and I am honestly so grateful for the fact that this program was available to me.

Soto expressed his gratitude for the programs dynamic and challenging coursework, and the opportunities hes received as a result. Soto also said that regardless of the fact that he was in a different city, he always felt he had immediate access to his professors.

I had him as a student in a couple of my classes, said Dr. Blayne Mayfield, interim head of the Department of Computer Science. He was very enthusiastic and very involved in the class. Some students I dont hear from them all semester long, but I would hear from him quite frequently. He was a very pleasant student to work with.

The CS online program has been progressively implementing online classes for the bachelor's degree for the past four years. Now published and available, students have the ability to work for their degree anywhere they can.

To learn more about the CS online program, visit the Department of Computer Science website here.

Story By: Bella Vu, CAS student intern | bella.vu@okstate.edu

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Pioneering computer science alumnus battles bankruptcy and more on road to graduation - Oklahoma State University

This opinion piece was first published by Crains Cleveland Business.

Ohio currently ranks in the bottom half of the country in nearly every relevant computer science metric. That abysmal showing must change and quickly to give today's students a fighting chance as tomorrow's employees in the 21st century economy.

Businesses across the state need employees with computer skills, and the significant gap between available computer-skilled workers and employer demand is only expected to widen over the next decade. To help meet that demand and prepare students for the digital workplace, Ohio elementary and secondary schools need to dramatically improve their computer science curricula.

Studies show that computer science classes help with creative, cognitive thinking and complement math and science coursework. Reforming policy so students can more easily access computer science education would help them perform better in traditional school subjects like math, while preparing them for the jobs of the future that will require computer science skills.

Fortunately, the State Committee on Computer Science recently released 10 recommendations for improving Ohio's computer skills training and education. Among other proposals, the committee suggests requiring high school students to complete at least one computer science course before graduating, changing occupational licensing laws for computer science teachers, and directing education funds to support more computer classes.

All commendable. And if adopted, these recommended steps would improve upon the status quo and further improve on Ohio's revised model curriculum for computer science which was recently updated to help students apply the skills learned in the classroom to jobs in the workforce.

Unfortunately, the State Committee on Computer Science stopped short of proposing the one change that might improve Ohio's K-12 computer programs the most: attracting more computer science teachers statewide by allowing schools to pay them more.

Collective bargaining agreements negotiated between teachers' unions and local school districts determine teacher pay in Ohio public schools. Those agreements designed to ensure fair compensation for teachers have instead contributed to a computer science teacher shortage by preventing computer science teachers from being compensated relative to their private-sector value and employment alternatives.

Akron Public Schools, for example, has already been bitten by the teacher shortage bug across many subject areas and has turned to long-term substitute teachers and social media campaigns to fill the void. These shortages will only become more acute as more students are required to take computer science before graduating.

But better pay will yield more qualified computer science teachers, and a model for allowing higher pay already exists under state law. Ohio currently authorizes school districts to increase compensation for some teachers when local school boards determine that the teachers' subject area suffers a shortage.

Instead of waiting for individual local school districts to recognize the computer science teacher shortage, Ohio lawmakers should proactively expand this authority statewide. Acknowledging a statewide computer science teacher shortage and allowing all public school districts to raise salaries for computer science teachers as needed would help attract and retain more qualified teachers, avert a looming crisis in the classroom, and better prepare Ohio students for successful careers in the digital age.

Taking bold preemptive action now to help our schools hire the teachers they need to teach will help our businesses hire employees with the knowledge and skills they need to do the job. Computer science in school today really will determine the Ohio we have tomorrow.

Kolas is an economic policy analyst with the Buckeye Institutes Economic Research Center.

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Computer science teachers need better pay to avert crisis - Buckeye Institute