Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Monday, January 29, 2024

Specifications: Fixed term (2 years), 0.6 FTE
Salary:  £35,000 pro-rata
Location: (Remote – Flexible) Candidates anywhere from the world will be considered; however, Cochrane’s Central Executive Team is only able to offer consultancy contracts outside these countries.
Closing date:  6 February 2024 

Cochrane is an international charity. For 30 years we have responded to the challenge of making vast amounts of research evidence useful for informing decisions about health. We do this by synthesising research findings and our work has been recognised as the international gold standard for high quality, trusted information.

Cochrane's strength is in its collaborative, global community. We have 110,000+ members and supporters around the world. Though we are spread out across the globe, our shared passion for health evidence unites us. Our Central Executive Team supports this work and is divided into four directorates: Evidence Production and Methods, Publishing and Technology, Development, and Finance and Corporate Services.

The Consumer Support Officer will work closely with Cochrane’s Consumer Engagement Officer to support the involvement of consumers (patients, carers and the public) in the Wellcome-funded GALENOS project, including in systematic reviews about mental health topics. Support of consumers in this work will involve connecting consumers with lived experience of mental health challenges to researchers, developing learning resources to support consumer involvement in systematic reviews, and generally promoting patient and public involvement in the systematic review space.  

Don’t have every single qualification? We know that some people are less likely to apply for a job unless they are a perfect match. At Cochrane, we’re not looking for “perfect matches.” We’re looking to welcome people to our diverse, inclusive, and passionate workplace. So, if you’re excited about this role but don’t have every single qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. Whether it’s this role or another one, you may be just the right candidate.

Our organization is built on four core values: Collaboration: Underpins everything we do, locally and globally. Relevant: The right evidence at the right time in the right format. Integrity: Independent and transparent. Quality: Reviewing and improving what we do, maintaining rigour and trust.  

You can expect: 

• An opportunity to truly impact health globally.  
• A flexible work environment  
• A comprehensive onboarding experiences.
• An environment where people feel welcome, heard, and included, regardless of their differences.

Cochrane welcomes applications from a wide range of perspectives, experiences, locations, and backgrounds; diversity, equity and inclusion are key to our values.

How to apply

• For further information on the role and how to apply
• The deadline to receive your application is 6th Feb, 2024.
• The supporting statement should indicate why you are applying for the post, and how far you meet the requirements, using specific examples. 
• Read our Recruitment Privacy Statement

Wednesday, January 24, 2024 Category: Jobs

Specifications: Permanent – Full Time
Salary:  £64,000 per Annum  
Location: (Remote – Flexible) Candidates anywhere from the world will be considered; however, Cochrane’s Central Executive Team is only able to offer consultancy contracts outside these countries.
Closing date:  9 February, 2024 

Cochrane is an international charity. For 30 years we have responded to the challenge of making vast amounts of research evidence useful for informing decisions about health. We do this by synthesising research findings and our work has been recognised as the international gold standard for high quality, trusted information.

Cochrane's strength is in its collaborative, global community. We have 110,000+ members and supporters around the world. Though we are spread out across the globe, our shared passion for health evidence unites us. Our Central Executive Team supports this work and is divided into four directorates: Evidence Production and Methods, Publishing and Technology, Development, and Finance and Corporate Services.

To lead and hold responsibility for Cochrane’s editorial operations, and to support the Deputy Operations Manager and Editor in Chief of Cochrane in achieving the strategic aims and delivering the objectives of the Cochrane Evidence Production and Methods Directorate (EPMD).   

Don’t have every single qualification? We know that some people are less likely to apply for a job unless they are a perfect match. At Cochrane, we’re not looking for “perfect matches.” We’re looking to welcome people to our diverse, inclusive, and passionate workplace. So, if you’re excited about this role but don’t have every single qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. Whether it’s this role or another one, you may be just the right candidate.

Our organization is built on four core values: Collaboration: Underpins everything we do, locally and globally. Relevant: The right evidence at the right time in the right format. Integrity: Independent and transparent. Quality: Reviewing and improving what we do, maintaining rigour and trust.  

You can expect:  

• An opportunity to truly impact health globally.  
• A flexible work environment  
• A comprehensive onboarding experiences.
• An environment where people feel welcome, heard, and included, regardless of their differences.

Cochrane welcomes applications from a wide range of perspectives, experiences, locations, and backgrounds; diversity, equity and inclusion are key to our values.

How to apply

• For further information on the role and how to apply
• The deadline to receive your application is 9th Feb, 2024.
• The supporting statement should indicate why you are applying for the post, and how far you meet the requirements, using specific examples. 
• Read our Recruitment Privacy Statement

Wednesday, January 24, 2024 Category: Jobs

Poster sessions are a key component of most academic conferences. However, rows of text-heavy posters can be difficult for attendees to navigate, particularly for those for whom English is not their native language, or who may be neurodivergent or disabled. Cochrane recently teamed up with researchers to introduce poster templates for the Cochrane Colloquium based on the latest research. The results from the 'real world' assessment are now available. We spoke with the researchers to find out more. 

Can you tell us a bit about your elite poster research team, so we have an understanding of how you are approaching academic posters?Sure! Our team includes Dr. Zen Faulkes, author of the book “Better Posters” and founder of the Better Posters blog; Dr. Mike Morrison, the psychologist who created a redesign for scientific posters that went viral and started the #BetterPoster movement; and Dr. Emily Messina and her colleagues at IPG Health Medical Communications (Noofa Hannan, Victoria Evans, and Anja Petersen) and Helios (James Wells).  

What do you see as the purpose of academic posters?
For all the criticism posters get, they have incredible potential and play a crucial role in science communication. A scientific poster session is one of the only learning environments in science where researchers walk into a room completely open to learning. So, a key function of scientific posters is to give scientists broad, serendipitous insight into work going on across their whole field. Poster sessions are also a great way to meet people with similar research interests. Networking is a key purpose of attending a poster session, but the job of the poster itself is to communicate key ideas quickly (and engagingly!) in a stressful and demanding, busy environment.

Most conference attendees can probably relate to this. Most academic posters follow the same format that they always have. What’s wrong with them?
Imagine that you’re standing in front of a wall where somebody has taped up printed pages of a scientific paper, and you’re trying to read all that dense text and those tiny figures on the pages from four feet away. Now imagine trying to do that while there are a hundred other similar ‘posters’ you would like to see in a short time, while also trying to listen in to what the presenters are saying. Now imagine trying to do that if you’re someone with low vision or a processing disorder that amplifies the lights and sounds in the room. It’s difficult to learn anything from the poster in that context, which is why people often just give up and ask the presenter to explain the study, or just walk away.

That’s the core problem with the traditional scientific poster design: it ignores the context of just how busy and overwhelming the room is. This could be because the traditional design was created decades ago when poster sessions were much smaller.

There is also a harmful feedback loop in scientific poster design, where authors with (typically) no design training feel like they need to ‘fill up all the space’ with text and figures to ‘show that they did work’, and then the poster session attendees learn just to accept that cluttered posters will always be the norm and have to make do with them.

We had over 300 posters at Cochrane Colloquium and walking through them you could see many people used the accessible template. It felt less mentally overwhelming and was fantastic to walk around and learn from them. Can you tell us a bit more about the templates offered?
The #BetterPoster template we provided was based on the latest research in instructional design, accessibility, and eye tracking. It was designed to teach people something (typically the main finding) from a far distance; making it possible for them to learn something from every poster in the room, not just the few that they stop at. Then, the remainder of the poster is designed to quickly communicate additional details (limitations, key figures, methods) still visible at about 3ft. The figures also include mini takeaways, to help people interpret graphs while also trying to, for example, pay attention to you, the presenter. Finally, it includes a QR code that people can scan to get the author’s contact details or read the whole paper. The template was just that – a starting point to make it easier for people to get creative and make their own accessible posters. It was wonderful seeing people use the template whilst also adding their own touches.

At the event you made observations, interviewed people, and did a survey of attendees afterwards. What did you learn?
It was a great three days at the Cochrane Colloquium, seeing the poster template being embraced and people’s response to it. We just got back from presenting our findings at the 2024 European Meeting of the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals. Our survey and interviews found that more accessible poster designs may improve engagement and communication at conferences. People found the posters with large figures and limited text to be more engaging; posters using the template were cited as memorable or informative; and they were also easier to understand. 

That's fantastic. This template was made specifically for the Cochrane Colloquium. What can researchers and those creating posters for any conference take away from this?
While the template was designed to the specifications of the Cochrane event, you can tailor them to any event that you need to present a poster at! We encourage all academics to download the template and adjust it as they need to. We're excited to see what you come up with; please tag pictures of your poster with #BetterPoster on social media so we can see them!

• Learn more about the research findings
• Learn more about the accessibility of different conference presentation formats
• Download the #BetterPoster template

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Monday, January 22, 2024

Cochrane is an international, not-for-profit network of clinicians, patients and carers, researchers, and policy-makers creating high-quality healthcare evidence synthesises. Cochrane has a long and rich history of collaborating with healthcare consumers and this is the story of what breast cancer patients experienced when contributing to a Cochrane Review.  

In 1995, Nora Carbine and Liz Lostumbo, both former breast cancer patients, embarked on a transformative journey as attendees of the Leadership, Education, Advocacy, and Development (LEAD) program developed by the National Breast Cancer Coalition (US). Designed to equip patients with the necessary scientific and leadership essentials for becoming proactive advocates, this five-day initiative taught by notable scientists provided a platform for people with breast cancer to amplify their voices.  

One of the founders of LEAD and a course teacher was  Kay Dickerson MD, an epidemiologist and an active Cochrane member. Post-LEAD, Dr. Dickerson encouraged them to form a Journal Club, meeting monthly with her. Initially guided by Dr. Dickerson's article choices, the members eventually took the reins, presenting their findings on breast cancer research articles. Over a transformative two-year period, they developed their skills in scrutinizing research methods, assessing statistical validity, and distinguishing misinformation. Dr. Dickerson proposed to the group – would they be interested in leading on conducting a Cochrane systematic review on mastectomy to prevent breast cancer (prophylactic mastectomy)? 

A determined group of seven breast cancer advocates undertook the challenge to provide accessible information on prophylactic mastectomy for both patients and physicians, emphasizing the importance of informed decision-making. Guided by Dr. Dickerson and Davina Ghersi at Cochrane, they submitted their plan of study (Protocol) to Cochrane in 2000. They would gather at each other’s houses after work or on a Saturday morning and go through article after article, debating which ones to include and which to exclude. Despite one of the original members and driving force, Annette Drummond, becoming seriously ill with a recurrence of breast cancer, other members dropping out, and the abundance of evidence they had to wade through, the Cochrane review published in 2004, four years after this remarkable journey started.  

A unique feature of Cochrane reviews is that they are updated when new evidence is available. Classes in RevMan (Cochrane’s software for preparing and maintaining Cochrane and other systemic reviews) were taken and more people were added to the team, including an experienced reviewer. The first updated review was published in 2010. 

“Actress Angelina Jolie revealing her family history and her procedures coupled with the increasing availability of DNA testing, thrust the topic of mastectomy for breast cancer prevention into the limelight," says Liz Lostumbo. “We worried that women facing the decision of whether to undergo a prophylactic mastectomy might only encounter anecdotes in the popular media. We were particularly concerned about the lack of discussion concerning the quality of life for patients after mastectomy. The Cochrane review and its accompanying plain language summary became our means of addressing the critical gap in knowledge." 

For the third revision in 2018, they brought in more expertise and updated the wording, changing “prophylactic mastectomy” to “risk-reducing mastectomy”. The review is highly cited, has been made into a Cochrane Clinical Answer for clinicians, and has been included in three clinical guidelines. The plain language summary has been translated into 8 languages making it more accessible globally to patients making a decision and has been included in several Wikipedia articles.  

Nora and Liz note that they will hand other future updates to authors who can break the review into parts that ask more concise questions and produce more high-value conclusions – some of this work is already underway.  

“For us, the whole process of being the only group of patients to take on the responsibility of preparing a review and updating it was one of great satisfaction and pride,” says Nora Carbine. “We believe our work has helped thousands of women facing the decision of having a mastectomy to prevent breast cancer by providing evidence they need to be well informed to make their choice. We applaud Cochrane for giving us the opportunity and thank those who supported us in our endeavour.” 

Cochrane is extremely proud of Nora and Liz and all our patient and advocate volunteers. “While the work of Nora and Liz is extraordinary, it embodies the spirit of what Cochrane is trying to achieve.  We are proud to engage with patients to co-produce health evidence that is meaningful, easy to understand, and can be used for decision-making,” explains Richard Morley, Cochrane’s Consumer Engagement Officer. “The Cochrane Consumer Network has played a formal role since 1995 with over 2,000 members and Cochrane has a formal framework for involving patients, carers, and the public. While it’s likely most patients and caregivers aren’t as ambitious to author a Cochrane systematic review, we do hope this story is an inspiration for others to join our work.” From learning about health evidence and making informed health choices to volunteering to read over our plain language summaries on our volunteer hub Cochrane Engage, there are lots of ways you too can make a global impact on health! 

• Read a more detailed account of Nora and Liz’s story 
• Join Cochrane’s work as a patient, carer, or member of the public 

Tuesday, March 19, 2024 Category: The difference we make

A new Cochrane Library Editorial has been published about the history of a recently updated Cochrane review on healthcare decision aids and its implications for practice. There is also an accompanying podcast where you can hear the current lead author explain the need for the review and its latest findings in under four minutes.

Decision aids are one type of tool that can be used to support the process of shared decision making between patients and their health professionals, a key element of person-centred care and health system improvements. A major update to the landmark Cochrane review on decision aids has just been published with an analysis of 209 studies involving 107,698 participants. It provides clear evidence of the benefits of the use of decision aids over usual care across a huge array of health options, ranging from choices about cancer screening to decisions about major elective surgery.

An accompanying editorial describes the influence of this review on practice for over 20 years, with successive updates responding to the changing understanding of decision aids and shared decision-making over this time. The review has been referred to in more than 90 clinical practice guidelines and has been one of the most cited reviews published in the Cochrane Library for over a decade. 

With more convincing evidence of the benefits of using decision aids now available, the editorial discusses implications for practice and highlights some remaining challenges of implementing decision aids. This Cochrane review will continue to be updated and the authors hope to see the findings not only reflected in many guidelines but implemented across many health systems. 

• Read the Cochrane Library editorial 
  Ryan RE, Hill S. Decision aids: challenges for practice when we have confidence in effectiveness. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2024, Issue 1. Art. No.: ED000164. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.ED000164.

• Read the Cochrane review
   Stacey D, Lewis KB, Smith M, Carley M, Volk R, Douglas EE, Pacheco-Brousseau L, Finderup J, Gunderson J, Barry MJ, Bennett CL, Bravo P, Steffensen K, Gogovor A, Graham ID, Kelly SE, Légaré F, Sondergaard H, Thomson R, Trenaman L, Trevena L. Decision aids for people facing health treatment or screening decisions. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2024, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD001431. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001431.pub6.
  
  
  
  
• Listen to the podcast
  Current lead author, Dawn Stacey from the University of Ottawa and Ottawa Hospital Research Institute in Canada, explains the need for the review and its latest findings in under 4 minutes.
  
  

• Evidently Cochrane blog - Decision aids: helping people make better healthcare choices
  When faced with healthcare choices, how do we work out what to do? Decision aids can help, as can good conversations with our clinicians as part of shared decision-making, discussions that take into account clinical expertise, evidence and personal factors such as our preferences and circumstances. This blog includes Joanna’s story of her experience of making an important treatment decision but without the benefit of supportive discussions with her surgeon, plus some Cochrane evidence and useful UK resources.

Monday, January 29, 2024 Category: The difference we make

In celebration of 2024 International Women's Day (IWD), Cochrane is delighted to share a recording of an event showcasing a diverse panel of speakers discussing the IWD 2024 theme of #InspireInclusion

Tiffany Duque, Cochrane US Senior Officer, Panelist, and 2022 winner of the Anne Anderson Award says, "The 2024 IWD event was organized and hosted by our talented Cochrane US Mentees. This marks the third cohort through the Cochrane Mentoring program and the third IWD event. Hailing from 21 different countries, participants range from students to early career professionals, all poised for a bright future within Cochrane. We were delighted that they could once again host this cherished event. Thank you to everyone who attended and we invite everyone to watch the recording."

• #InspireInclusion in health: What is the first step? from Dr Luis Gabriel Cuervo Amore
•   Women in Science: Strategies to Call to Action from Dr Vivian Welch
•  Mentee & Mentor: different languages, different cultures, and how to foster inclusion together from Kehinde Ayomide Agubosim and Dr Karen Gibbs

Paola Andrenacci, Cochrane US Mentor Program Coordinator, and lead for this event, shares her excitement, "We are thrilled about the turn out to this webinar and so happy we can expand the reach with this recording. It was wonderful to bring together this dynamic group to discuss issues of inspiring inclusion in healthcare. Their diverse perspectives and experiences can help us identify barriers to equity and work towards solutions benefiting everyone. I encourage everyone to watch and share the recording! A special thank you to our  Moderators Maya Abdelwahab, Claudia De Santis, Julia Costa-Maria Carolina Isaza."

Related resources:

• VIDEO: 2023 International Women's Day Panel on embracing equality
• VIDEO: 2022 International Women's Day Panel on gender bias in health science and evidence synthesis
• VIDEO: 2021 International Women's Day Panel on diversity in health evidence synthesis
• Celebrating Anne Anderson and Cochrane diversity with new designs: an interview with artist Heather Tubwon
• Cochrane Indonesia’s Director reflects on her continued contributions to maternal and perinatal health and the work of Cochrane

 

Friday, March 8, 2024

Monday, January 15, 2024

Specifications: Permanent – Full Time (1.0 FTE)
Salary:  £36,000 per Annum  
Location: (Remote – Flexible) Ideally based in the UK, Germany or Denmark. Candidates anywhere from the world will be considered; however, Cochrane’s Central Executive Team is only able to offer consultancy contracts outside these countries for 1-Year.
Closing date: 28 January 2024
 
Cochrane is an international charity. For 30 years we have responded to the challenge of making vast amounts of research evidence useful for informing decisions about health. We do this by synthesising research findings and our work has been recognised as the international gold standard for high quality, trusted information.

Cochrane's strength is in its collaborative, global community. We have 110,000+ members and supporters around the world. Though we are spread out across the globe, our shared passion for health evidence unites us. Our Central Executive Team supports this work and is divided into four directorates: Evidence Production and Methods, Publishing and Technology, Development, and Finance and Corporate Services.

The Cochrane Support and Training Officer will work within the Cochrane Support Team, with special responsibility for providing training to internal Central Executive Team colleagues, Cochrane authors, and Cochrane Group staff. Training will focus on new Review Manager (RevMan) project and portfolio management features in 2024. The role also includes ongoing internal training responsibilities.   

Don’t have every single qualification? We know that some people are less likely to apply for a job unless they are a perfect match. At Cochrane, we’re not looking for “perfect matches.” We’re looking to welcome people to our diverse, inclusive, and passionate workplace. So, if you’re excited about this role but don’t have every single qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. Whether it’s this role or another one, you may be just the right candidate.

Our organization is built on four core values: Collaboration: Underpins everything we do, locally and globally. Relevant: The right evidence at the right time in the right format. Integrity: Independent and transparent. Quality: Reviewing and improving what we do, maintaining rigour and trust.  

You can expect:  

• An opportunity to truly impact health globally.  
• A flexible work environment  
• A comprehensive onboarding experiences.
• An environment where people feel welcome, heard, and included, regardless of their differences.

Cochrane welcomes applications from a wide range of perspectives, experiences, locations, and backgrounds; diversity, equity and inclusion are key to our values.

How to apply

• For further information on the role and how to apply
• The deadline to receive your application is 28th January 2024.
• The supporting statement should indicate why you are applying for the post, and how far you meet the requirements, using specific examples. 
• Read our Recruitment Privacy Statement

Tuesday, January 23, 2024 Category: Jobs

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Cochrane warmly invites you to submit abstracts for oral presentations, posters, and workshops for the second Global Evidence Summit (GES) 2024. Hosted by global leaders in evidence synthesis and evidence-based practice, including Cochrane, JBI, Guidelines International Network (GIN), and The Campbell Collaboration, the summit is set to take place in the historical city of Prague, Czech Republic, from 10 to 13 September 2024, with satellite meetings on 9 September 2024.

This collaborative effort between esteemed organizations represents a unique opportunity for professionals across various sectors, such as health, education, social justice, the environment, and climate change, to engage in discussions about producing, summarizing, and disseminating evidence to inform policy and practice. Abstract and workshop submissions will be accepted until the extended deadline of  6 March 2024.

Dr. Karla Soares-Weiser, Vice Chair of the GES Scientific Committee and Cochrane Editor in Chief, extends an invitation to the Cochrane community, emphasizing the importance of their participation in this global event: 

As we open the doors for abstract submissions to the second Global Evidence Summit, I am thrilled to invite the Cochrane community to contribute to the exchange of ideas that will shape the future of evidence-based practice. This summit, uniting leading organizations in evidence synthesis, is a testament to our commitment to improving lives worldwide through the power of credible evidence. I encourage all Cochrane members and supporters to submit their abstracts for oral presentations, posters, or workshops, and join us in Prague for this exceptional opportunity to collaborate, learn, and drive positive change.

The themes for GES 2024 include:

• Sustainable development agenda
• The importance of research integrity making evidence accessible
• Power of synergy in evidence synthesis & synthesis products
• Evidence translation & implementation
• Advocating for greater evidence communication & use of evidence
• From global evidence to local impact
  
  
  
  

Catherine Spencer, Cochrane's CEO, emphasizing the significance of the GES in fostering synergies and knowledge sharing within the global evidence community:

Our recent Cochrane Colloquium in London was a testament to the vibrant spirit of the Cochrane community. In 2024, we are excited to co-host the second Global Evidence Summit alongside our esteemed partners. GES provides a crucial platform to address vital issues across sectors, while showcasing the incredible methods and work of Cochrane. I warmly invite all Cochrane members to participate actively and submit abstracts. Let's unite for #GES2024 and contribute to advancing evidence-based practice globally!

Abstracts and workshop submissions are open until 6 March 2024 with notifications of acceptances happening on 30 April 2024. 

• Oral and poster abstract details
• Workshop submission details
• Visit the GES Website

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Specifications: Permanent – Full Time
Salary:  £45,000 per Annum  
Location: (Remote – Flexible) Ideally based in the UK, Germany or Denmark. Candidates anywhere from the world will be considered; however, Cochrane’s Central Executive Team is only able to offer consultancy contracts outside these countries for 1-Year.
Closing date: 29 January 2024

Cochrane is an international charity. For 30 years we have responded to the challenge of making vast amounts of research evidence useful for informing decisions about health. We do this by synthesising research findings and our work has been recognised as the international gold standard for high quality, trusted information.

Cochrane's strength is in its collaborative, global community. We have 110,000+ members and supporters around the world. Though we are spread out across the globe, our shared passion for health evidence unites us. Our Central Executive Team supports this work and is divided into four directorates: Evidence Production and Methods, Publishing and Technology, Development, and Finance and Corporate Services.

We are seeking a self-starter; an experienced and energetic team member with a proven track-record of successfully securing five and six figure gifts from a wide range of donors. You have experience of fundraising from high-value Global trusts and foundations, as well as from government or multilateral donors (e.g. the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the European Union).  

Don’t have every single qualification? We know that some people are less likely to apply for a job unless they are a perfect match. At Cochrane, we’re not looking for “perfect matches.” We’re looking to welcome people to our diverse, inclusive, and passionate workplace. So, if you’re excited about this role but don’t have every single qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. Whether it’s this role or another one, you may be just the right candidate.

Our organization is built on four core values: Collaboration: Underpins everything we do, locally and globally. Relevant: The right evidence at the right time in the right format. Integrity: Independent and transparent. Quality: Reviewing and improving what we do, maintaining rigour and trust.  

You can expect: 

• An opportunity to truly impact health globally  
• A flexible work environment  
• A comprehensive onboarding experiences
• An environment where people feel welcome, heard, and included, regardless of their differences

Cochrane welcomes applications from a wide range of perspectives, experiences, locations and backgrounds; diversity, equity and inclusion are key to our values.

How to apply

• For further information on the role and how to apply, please click here
• The deadline to receive your application is 29 January 2024.
• The supporting statement should indicate why you are applying for the post, and how far you meet the requirements, using specific examples. 
• Read our Recruitment Privacy Statement

Thursday, January 18, 2024 Category: Jobs

Cochrane is named in honour of Archie Cochrane, a British medical researcher who contributed greatly to the development of epidemiology as a science. 

Archie Cochrane is best known for his influential book, Effectiveness and Efficiency: Random Reflections on Health Services, published in 1972. The principles he set out in it so clearly were straightforward: he suggested that, because resources would always be limited, they should be used to provide equitably those forms of health care which had been shown in properly designed evaluations to be effective. In particular, he stressed the importance of using evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) because these were likely to provide much more reliable information than other sources of evidence. Cochrane's simple propositions were soon widely recognised as seminally important - by lay people as well as by health professionals.

How can we have a rational health service if we don’t know which of the things being done in it are useful and which are useless or possibly even harmful? — Archie Cochrane

In 1979 he wrote, "It is surely a great criticism of our profession that we have not organised a critical summary, by specialty or subspecialty, adapted periodically, of all relevant randomised controlled trials." His challenge led to the establishment during the 1980s of an international collaboration to develop the Oxford Database of Perinatal Trials.

In 1987, the year before Cochrane died, he referred to a systematic review of RCTs of care during pregnancy and childbirth as "a real milestone in the history of randomized trials and in the evaluation of care", and suggested that other specialties should copy the methods used. His encouragement, and the endorsement of his views by others, led to the opening of the first Cochrane Centre (in Oxford, UK) in 1992 and the founding of  Cochrane in 1993.

Archie portrait made up of contributors pictures

Today Cochrane members and supporters come from 190 countries . We are researchers, health professionals, patients, carers, and people passionate about improving health outcomes for everyone, everywhere. Our global independent network gathers and summarizes the best evidence from research to help you make informed choices about treatment and we have been doing this for 30 years.

The 12th of January marks Archie Cochrane's birthday and it's a great opportunity to reflect on his contributions.

• Learn more about Archie Cochrane on Wikipedia
• Read BMJ Editorial 'Revisiting the value of Archie Cochrane’s contributions' by Xavier Bonfill
• Learn more about the work of Cochrane

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Healthcare decision making can be complex – learn from Sarah’s personal story and make use of Cochrane resources.

Evidence-based healthcare is the integration of the best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values. It is often represented with these three elements in a Venn diagram with these three equally important elements. However, decision making in healthcare isn’t always so neat and uncomplicated.  Cochrane systematic reviews contribute to the best available, current, valid, and relevant evidence in this process. Cochrane is also committed to helping others understand evidence-based healthcare and the role of evidence.

Sarah Chapman, a former nurse with a long career in health research, had progressive hearing loss since early adulthood. Recently she was faced with a life changing decision if she would like to go ahead with an optional cochlear implant. In this video with illustrations by Karen Morley, Sarah talks us through her personal story of healthcare decision making and how evidence and other factors fit into her thinking.

 

Sarah explains, “We are messy creature full of messy emotions, living complex lives, and it's in that space that we make our healthcare decisions. Understanding evidence and learning to spot which health information is trustworthy is important to all patients and caregivers – and Cochrane has the resources that can help with this.” You can learn more about Sarah’s in her personal blog, ‘From Ear to Eternity.’

Cochrane has a long and rich history of collaborating with healthcare consumers (patients, carers, and the public). Presenting our evidence in a way that is useful for people making decisions about healthcare and advocating for evidence in health and care is an important part of our work.

Cochrane’s Evidence Essentials is a free introduction to Evidence Based Medicine, clinical trials, systematic reviews, and how to use evidence when making decisions about your health. It was co-produced with patients and caregivers and it is presented a interactive and accessible manner.

Catherine Spencer, Cochrane CEO, says “For Cochrane to achieve its vision, producing high quality reviews of health evidence isn’t enough. Cochrane aspires to a world where all health decisions are informed by high-quality evidence – which means people need to first understand evidence and how to use it. As Sarah’s story shows, making health decisions can be complex. Cochrane’s Evidence Essentials helps people understand health evidence and how to use it. We hope that anyone new to the world of evidence-based healthcare will find this resource indispensable.”

• View the free online resource ‘Cochrane Evidence Essentials’
• Get involved in Cochrane’s work as a patient or carer

Friday, January 19, 2024 Category: The difference we make

Getting involved in Cochrane’s work means becoming part of a global community. Connect with Cochrane Groups across the world through the Cochrane International Mobility programme!

The Cochrane International Mobility programme builds on previous successful student exchanges involving Cochrane Centres around the world. A broader initiative involving multiple Cochrane Groups has  been launched by Cochrane People Services Department.

Successful applicants will complete a placement in a host Group, learning more about the production, use and knowledge translation of Cochrane reviews.

Gain skills and experience

Arrangements are flexible and placements can vary in length, depending on the project plan. Placements are typically self-funded. Participants completing postgraduate study have benefitted from university funding, and some Groups can offer work space or accommodation. Training and mentoring support is offered in different areas, specific to Groups' expertise.

Learn from each other

Cochrane International Mobility offers opportunities for learning and training not only for participants but also for host staff. Cochrane Croatia welcomed a student intern as part of the fledgling programme.

“I’m very grateful to Cochrane Croatia for hosting me and for this wonderful experience, and I’m sure I’ll be using all the skills I learned as I continue on in my academic career,” said Sarah Tanveer, Cochrane International Mobility participant, Summer 2019.

Tina Poklepović Peričić, Co-director, Cochrane Croatia added, “This was an encouraging experience for us all, and spending time with Sarah, exchanging experiences, teaching and working with her was a true refreshment to our Centre.”

Apply now

Find out more about the programme on Cochrane Training or search for opportunities on Cochrane Engage.

Read profiles of participants

 

 

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Cochrane's strength is in its collaborative, global community.  Our 100,000+ members and supporters from more than 130 countries work together to produce credible, accessible health information and help inform health decision making. Though we are spread out across the globe, our shared passion for health evidence unites us. 

We want to come together and tell our collective and individual Cochrane stories!
To share your #MyCochraneStory please contact support@cochrane.org with the following:

• A photo: At your desk, at Cochrane event, or a headshot.
• Your country of residence: Our community is diverse and we want to celebrate this!
• Your Cochrane Story: We want to hear about what Cochrane work and achievements you are most proud of! 3-4 sentences about yourself and your story and any URLs that could be included.
• Social media handles: We will give your Twitter or Instagram account a tag; just let us know your handles!

 Phil Käding, from Germany, first learned of Cochrane when studying pharmacy. Since joining Cochrane's volunteer platform, Cochrane Engage, he has contributed to numerous translation projects and provided consumer feedback on several Cochrane reviews. Phil has also been an active participant on the citizen science platform, Cochrane Crowd, and has attended Cochrane Training webinars and seminars. He sees his involvement in Cochrane as playing an important role in directing his academic path towards clinical drug development and trials (Good Clinical Practice) and is now pursuing postgraduate studies in this field. Phil especially appreciates the inclusive and collaborative nature of Cochrane, involving patients, professionals, and scientists from different backgrounds. He encourages anyone interested in evidence-based medicine, regardless of speciality, to get involved!

 Jessica D’Urbano, from Italy, is currently studying Occupational and Space Medicine in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. She loves both patient interaction and solitary research and scientific writing. Along with spending time with her daughter, Jessica volunteers for Violawalkhome,  an international project supporting people in danger walking on the street. As a proud Cochrane Member, Jessica values Cochrane's role as a global reference for healthcare workers and patients. Engaged in the Cochrane US Mentoring Program with a mentor and cohort of six mentees, she actively contributes to the citizen science platform Cochrane Crowd and undertakes interesting volunteer tasks on Cochrane Engage.  Jessica recommends both platforms for their opportunities to contribute to real research, learn about evidence synthesis, and find enjoyment in the process!  

Anthony Uwandu-uzoma, from Nigeria, based in United Kingdom, holds a degree in Medicine and Surgery and a Masters in Public Health.  He is a research assistant in a University of Bolton project, focusing on the mental health experiences of nursing and pre-registration nursing students in the UK. With a mentoring background spanning over 50 Public Health Masters students, Anthony shares his expertise through his blog that helps train students in public health data analysis, epidemiology, health promotion, and critical writing skills. An enthusiastic Cochrane contributor, Anthony actively participates in the citizen science platform, Cochrane Crowd. He also dedicates time to tasks within our volunteer hub, Cochrane Engage. In 2023, Anthony was selected to participate as a mentee in the Cochrane US Mentoring Program. Anthony actively contributes to these Cochrane initiatives, as he feels it underscores his unwavering dedication to upholding the rigorous methodology and research standards for which Cochrane is renowned. 

Sowmyashree Hanumantha Setty, from India, is a second-year master's student at Tufts University School of Engineering majoring in Biomedical Engineering. Tufts University is a Cochrane US Affiliate Centre. Under the mentorship of Dr. Shayesteh Jahanfar, Sowmyashree discovered her passion for impactful research after undertaking the Cochrane Standard Author Training. In addition to her role as a Teaching Assistant in systematic review courses, Sowmyashree has contributed to reviews on pregnancy and childbirth and pioneered initiatives like "Incorporating Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion into Cochrane Systematic Reviews with AI" alongside Dr. Jahanfar. Sowmyashree draws immense inspiration from collaborating with her Cochrane colleagues. She is eager to persist in her current work, contribute to additional reviews, and embark on leading her own project in the future. For Sowmyashree, Cochrane represents the gold standard of systematic reviews and a community that fosters growth and personal development - it's where passion meets impact! 

Jheng-Yan Wu, a dietitian hailing from Taiwan, has been actively involved with Cochrane since 2018, when he first encountered the principles of evidence-based medicine and Cochrane's work. Their dedication led them to become a Cochrane Supporter in 2021 by translating evidence from English to Traditional Chinese. In 2022,  Wu embarked on a personal challenge of learning about the methodology behind systematic reviews and conducting meta-analyses. He fully immersed himself in the Cochrane Handbook, diligently absorbing valuable techniques along the way. The commitment was so profound that he decided to get the Cochrane logo on his arm as a cherished tattoo, serving as a constant reminder to apply his acquired knowledge in clinical practice. This act symbolizes his unwavering passion and aspiration to one day publish in the prestigious Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Karina Tapinova, discovered Cochrane during her medical school courses on pharmacology and epidemiology and began using Cochrane Reviews to uncover evidence on commonly used medical products in her country, Kazakhstan. To her surprise, she learned that many home remedies relied on by her family and local clinicians had no scientific evidence of benefit to support their use. After completing her studies, she began working as a research assistant at her university and is now responsible for writing systematic reviews. As Karina delved deeper into the Cochrane Collaboration, having completed its interactive modules, using the Cochrane Handbook, and participating in educational webinars, she became a volunteer translator for Cochrane Russia and took on tasks through Cochrane Crowd, which greatly expanded her knowledge. In summer 2022, Karina was fortunate to participate in the US Cochrane Mentorship program - a wonderful opportunity that she never could have imagined during her medical school days. As a mentee of Cochrane Russia, she began working on translating into Russian and recording Cochrane podcasts with her husband, Eugene, and as of 2023, she started editing translations of the Plain Language Summaries of Cochrane Reviews, prepared by volunteer translators. Karina is also currently involved in organizing international webinars. To her, the Cochrane Collaboration represents not only a gold standard of systematic reviews, but also a community of incredible people, opportunities for growth, and personal development.

Rosnani Zakaria, a family medicine specialist and medical lecturers at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kelantan, Malaysia. She graduated from St. Andrews University and The University Of Manchester in late 1990 and early 2000s and completed family physician training from Academy of Family Physician Malaysia & RACGP in 2012. Rosnani started to get involved in editing Malay PLS with Cochrane Malaysia in 2015 and loved the experience, as Community education is her passion. Rosnani is also a researcher in several medical fields.

Marwa Badawy, from Egypt has a Bachelor's degree in Medicine and Surgery and is now a General practitioner at Ministry of Health in Egypt. Marwa is an active researcher and a scientific writer with four publications and more to come! When the Cochrane Mentorship program opened, it ignited fire in her to be part of Cochrane family, to join this prestigious research association to learn from her professors and to make good connections. She participated with four projects with her amazing mentor: Dr. Jahanfar and learned alot. Marwa also has successfully passed the Cochrane Systematic Review Standard Author training, and is also a volunteer at Cochrane Crowd in the "Covid Quest Lite" Project, screening more than 100 papers.She is working right now on a new Cochrane project in the public health field with her mentor, Dr. Jahanfar, on a review in screening, and will work on analysis and writing with her. Marwa is enthusiastic to work in Cochrane as her long term plan.

Ahmed Azam, from Egypt is a highly motivated physiotherapy researcher involved in clinical research since his early years in school. Ahmed uses his research skills in methodology and statistics, and has two years experience in conducting clinical research and meta-analysis models to evaluate the safety and efficacy of novel treatments. He developed a model for medical student research in Egypt, provided the evidence synthesis workshops for trainees in 2021, and currently maintains a bi-annual clinical research training for Arab doctors with +400 people benefiting from the training. Ahmed first joined Cochrane in December 2020 when he signed up for Cochrane Crowd. Within days, he classified more than 5,000 records with 95% accuracy, and earned four Cochrane Crowd badges. He also completed the newcomer and student pathways. Ahmed first earned his Cochrane membership in December 2020 until 2027 and is proud to continue to be a Cochrane member.

Jyothsna Kuriakose, from India, is an early career professional specializing in the field of palliative medicine pertinent to oncology. Her areas of special interest include research methodologies in palliative care and complex symptom management. The first ever encounter she had with Cochrane was as a postgraduate student when she had to present Cochrane reviews relevant to palliative care for the departmental journal clubs in the hospital. Since then, it was her dream to work with Cochrane. She has had the opportunity to do a peer review for the Cochrane PaPaS group. A proud member of Cochrane since July 2022, she is one of the mentees in the Cochrane US Mentoring Program Year 2 (2022-2023). She is excited to be a part of this platform and is looking forward to learning from and contributing to the many works of Cochrane.

Paola Andrenacci from Argentina has worked as a nutritionist for more than 20 years, specializing in liver diseases and is passionate about evidence-based nutrition, dissemination and translation of knowledge. Paola is a participant in the inaugural Cochrane US Mentor Program. As a collaborator of Cochrane Nutrition, Paola was invited to participate in the writing of Prioritization exercise: WHO evidence-based guide for nutrition and in the translation from English to Spanish of 14 nutrition summaries for the Cochrane Nutrition Newsletters. Through Tiffany Duque, she received a full scholarship for WHO/Cochrane/Cornell Summer Institute (training completed in July 2022). She also had the opportunity to complete another training at Tufts University School of Medicine (affiliate of Cochrane US)  and training was completed in October 2022. Paola was co-chair for International Women's Day  and is now the coordinator of the Cochrane US Mentoring Program Y2 as well as program mentor and mentee at the same time! Finally, Paola was accepted to be part of the ExME (S4BE in Spanish) dissemination committee and author of the blog.

Esra Bilir, from Turkey, is a gynecology and obstetrics resident in Germany. She completed the “Gender Studies Certificate Program” at The Center for Gender Studies at Koc University, Turkey and “Postgraduate Certificate in Epidemics and Ethical Global Health” at AUSN, USA. She also attained MSc in Data Science. Currently, she is pursuing MSc in Global Health. Her research focuses on gynecologic oncology, research methodology, and biostatistics. Since medical school, she is inspired by high-quality research and evidence-based medicine. Dr Bilir has been proud to hold  Cochrane Membership since August 2022. She is currently a mentee in Year 2 (2022-2023) Cochrane US Mentoring Program. She is thrilled to join this extraordinary cohort of people around the globe and to work with Cochrane experts to further improve her skills in research methodology. Dr Bilir is looking forward to a productive future with the Cochrane team. 

Moriasi Nyanchoka, from Kenya, has a background in Public Health Nutrition and is a researcher interested in global public health. He is passionate about evidence synthesis in global health and its utilisation to inform policy and decision-making. He is also interested in knowledge translation, communication, and dissemination of research synthesis. Moriasi joined Cochrane in April 2022 when he signed up for Cochrane Crowd, our Citizen Scientist platform. He has classified 11,096 records, participated in 4 Global screening challenges, and earned 12 Cochrane Crowd badges. He earned his Cochrane Membership in June 2022 and is proud to be a Cochrane Member. Moriasi is currently a mentee in the Cochrane US Mentoring Program. He is excited to join the Year 2 (2022-2023) Mentorship cohort and thrilled to work with Cochrane mentors to further his skills in evidence synthesis and contributions.

Mohammed K. Al-Haggagi is an Egyptian physical therapist and researcher interested in neuroscience, neurorehabilitation, biomechanics, and electrophysical agents. He is passionate about knowledge, scientific methodology, and continuous learning in order to provide the best treatment for patients. He joined Cochrane for the first time in September 2021, when he signed up for Cochrane Crowd. He had classified 5000 records, and he soon earned five Cochrane Crowd badges and completed the newcomer and student pathways. Among these is the gold badge in clinical trial identification, which he earned with 100% accuracy. He first earned his Cochrane membership in July 2022, and is proud to continue to be a Cochrane member. The Cochrane Task Exchange was the door that turned him to the Early Career Professional network. This opportunity has helped him collaborate with researchers across the globe whom he only knew by their names from their books and papers. He now has his own international research team, leads about 6 other research teams in different medical schools, works on many papers (systematic reviews and meta-analysis, cross-sectional studies, CT, ... etc), and has given him access to invaluable training resources. He is proud to be a Cochrane member.

Santiago Castiello-de Obeso was raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico but now resides in Oxford, UK. He recalls the first time he heard about Cochrane when a friend told him that vitamin C did not prevent the common cold. He enquired into this and his friend explained what a meta-analysis was. Santiago was astonished at the idea of combining all studies into one and realised how much sense that made. Inspired by this, Santiago started working on a Cochrane review with Cochrane Schizophrenia and was part of the inauguration of Cochrane Mexico. Santiago is currently Chair of the Early Career Professional Network. He is certain that whatever the future holds, Cochrane will be there.

Nelly Darbois is a French physiotherapist and science writer. For the past 3 years, she has been writing articles on rehabilitation for patients and caregivers, based on Cochrane reviews. Her website receives up to 45,000 visits/month. Nelly a contributor to Cochrane Crowd and Cochrane France and she also edits Wikipedia pages based on Cochrane reviews.

Cheng Hsien Hung, from Taiwan, works in a regional hospital, and specializes in adverse drug reaction assessment and pharmacist education. He was first introduced to the Cochrane Systematic Reviews in 2017 when learning Evidence-Based Medicine. Since 2018, he learned critical appraisal of randomized controlled trials and non-randomized controlled trials through the Cochrane Taiwan course and tried to apply what he learned in clinical practice. In 2021, he participated in an Evidence-Based Medicine promotion activity held by Cochrane Taiwan and received positive feedback on his use of interesting memes to promote Cochrane Systematic Reviews. He has been learning many valuable skills through Cochrane and hopes to use high-quality Cochrane reviews to help more people in the future.

Mojtaba Keikha, is an Iranian researcher, and PhD student in Epidemiology at Kerman University of Medical Sciences. He is a member of Cochrane Trainers Network and a member of Cochrane Iran. Motjaba collaborated as a facilitator, mentor and coordinator in several Cochrane workshops in Iran. He is the author of two Cochrane articles published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and also does tasks in Cochrane Crowd and Cochrane Task Exchange.

Fatemeh Mirzaei, from Iran, is a 6th-grade dental student at Golestan University of Medical Sciences. She joined Cochrane in February 2022, starting her activity in Cochrane Crowd, our citizen scientist platform. In less than one month, her contributions granted her full Cochrane membership. She has earned 9 badges, contributed to 6 tasks, and has earned over 1,671 membership points. When she took part in the "HPV vaccination programme" and "The COHeRe Project" challenges, she screened more than 300 records!

Pratibha Mary Thomas, from India is working as an Assistant Professor of Physical therapy. Her specialization and area of expertise is in Musculoskeletal Disorder and Sports and she also volunteers as a manuscript reviewer in various International journals. Prathibha started her journey with Cochrane in March 2022 and progressed through each step of making her contribution to Cochrane by being associated with the Cochrane Crowd activities and from being a Supporter to earning a Cochrane membership. The Cochrane Crowd activities helped her to a great extent in gaining comprehensive knowledge especially regarding RCT's, which are considered as a gold standard of evidence. The Health Evidence with Cochrane Evidence Essentials section provided Pratibha with valuable insights on how to utilize and apply evidence into practice, so that she could deliver the best treatment options to her patients. Along with all these, being an academician, Cochrane served as a guiding tool of how to impart research knowledge to her students. Pratibha has now contributed to 7 tasks, earned 9 badges, participated in the global challenge on "COVID Quest Lite" and also participated in the Screen4Me challenge by the Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders group.

Nila Pillai, comes from a midwifery background with three grandchildren. She first got into Cochrane back in 2012 through a research project, the SEA URCHIN project, using Cochrane evidence to reduce neonatal infection. After the research project she was invited to take on the position of Cochrane Support Coordinator for Cochrane Malaysia and her main role has been managing their translation initiative,  Ringkasan Cochrane Bahasa Malaysia.  She has been doing this for 7 years. Nila really enjoys working with the volunteer translators and editors who have responded amazingly to the project and she credit the success of the project to them. She's proud to be a part of the Cochrane Malaysia team!

Paul Ogongo, from Kenya is a Research Scientist in Pathogen Immunobiology program at the Institute of Primate Research, Nairobi, Kenya. He joined Cochrane in 2013 after being introduced by his colleague Dr. Jael Obiero. Paul's first involvement was as a peer reviewer with Cochrane Infectious Diseases group  for the review, ‘’Circulating antigen tests and urine reagent strips for diagnosis of active schistosomiasis in endemic areas.’’ in 2013. Paul has been an author with Cochrane STI group of the updated review, “Topical microbicides for preventing sexually transmitted infections” and another registered review, “Nifuratel-Nystatin combination for the treatment of mixed infections of bacterial vaginosis, vulvovaginal candidiasis, and trichomonal vaginitis.” Paul's areas of research are immunology and diagnostics of infectious diseases. Currently, and his research focuses on human T cell immune responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. He is excited about the networking and mentorship opportunities that comes with being a member of Cochrane and thrilled at the birth of the newest member of the Cochrane family, Cochrane Kenya.

Jael Apondi Obiero, from Nairobi, Kenya, is a Senior Research Scientist in reproductive health at the Institute of Primate Research, where she uses nonhuman primates as models for preclinical research. Jael first heard about Cochrane Reviews in 2007 at a Research Methods Course on Randomised Trials, Systematic Review Method and Good Clinical Practice organised by the Effective Care and Research Unit in East London, South Africa. She thereafter proceeded to register her first Cochrane review, “Topical microbicides for preventing sexually transmitted infections” with the Sexually Transmitted Infections Review Group. This review published in 2012, and we published an update in 2021. Jael registered her second Cochrane Review title “Nifuratel-Nystatin combination for the treatment of mixed infections of bacterial vaginosis, vulvovaginal candidiasis, and trichomonal vaginitis” with the same review group thereafter, and in 2015, she received the Aubrey Sheiham Evidence-Based Healthcare in Africa Leadership Award from Cochrane to conduct this Cochrane Review. She has mentored other Cochrane authors in her region, and is happy to have used her Cochrane experience to contribute to the birth of the newest Cochrane baby on the globe, Cochrane Kenya, which is launching in June 2021

Julián Balanta-Melo, from Colombia, is an Assistant Professor at the Universidad del Valle School of Dentistry. As a Specialist in Oral Rehabilitation (Prosthodontics), he has implemented the Evidence-Based Dentistry principles in his clinical practice and his preclinical/clinical teaching since 2010. In 2018, during the final year of his PhD training in dental sciences in Chile, he was introduced to Cochrane by Professor Julio Villanueva Maffei, and performed his training in the Cochrane Associate Centre based in the Universidad de Chile Faculty of Dentistry. In 2020, he peer-reviewed two intervention reviews from the Cochrane Oral Health Group, a new one regarding the control of dental aerosols in clinical settings and one update about oral hygiene care for critically ill patients, both of priority interest during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As a scientist, he is interested in the mammalian craniofacial bone biology and the impact of several clinical interventions on its homeostasis, from a translational research approach. Linked to his research interest, he is currently the first author of an ongoing Cochrane Systematic Review (protocol stage) with the Cochrane Movement Disorders Group from Portugal. His priorities in Colombia include the improvement of both the access to and the understanding of the high-quality evidence among clinicians, students/residents and patients, with the outstanding support of Cochrane Colombia and the Ibero-American Cochrane network.

Peter Gichuhi Mwethera, from Nairobi, Kenya, joined Cochrane in 2007 after being introduced by Prof. Charles Wiysonge and authoring a review for Cochrane STI. He currently works at a Primate Research Centre in Nairobi called the Institute of Primate Research (IPR) as a Senior Research Scientist in Reproductive Health. IPR is a premier biomedical primate institute whose mandate is to improve health by ethically utilizing the non-human primates. It is a WHO collaborating Institute and is also aaalac accredited. He also runs a company called Medicals Africa Limited, which administers reproductive health products that we developed, patented, and commercialized as a result of his research over the last 14 years. He is very passionate about reproductive health issues because reproductive health is one of the most neglected aspects of human health. His Cochrane review, Topical microbicides for preventing sexually transmitted infections, was updated in 2021. Following the outbreak of Covid pandemic, his institution was designated a Covid testing centre by the Kenyan Government, and he was appointed to coordinate the testing.

Nkengafac Villyen Motaze, from Cameroon, attended his first training on Cochrane reviews in 2010, organized by the Effective Care Research Unit in East London, South Africa. He proceeded to register his first Cochrane title in 2011, a few months prior to enrolling for his masters in Epidemiology. His first Cochrane review was published in 2013, and it served as his masters project. Ten years later, he has published several systematic reviews, facilitated about a dozen training sessions, and mentored novel authors in low- and middle-income countries. He has peer-reviewed Cochrane reviews for Effective Practice and Organization of Care and the Pregnancy and Childbirth review groups, and he is a member of the Cochrane Africa Network. As he prepares for his PhD graduation, which is coming up in a couple of months, he is embarking on an update of his first Cochrane review, while taking up further mentorship roles to ensure continuity and contribute to increasing the number of Cochrane authors on the African contintent.

Anelisa Jaca, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow based in the South African Medical Research Council, Cochrane South Africa, is a Medical Scientist by qualification. She did her MSc and PhD around cancer research specifically focusing on determining the biological pathways that contribute towards the development and progression of colon and stomach malignancies. After obtaining her PhD, she transitioned to Evidence-based Medicine, where she learnt about methods used to synthesise medical research evidence, important for making healthcare decisions and policy. Her current area of focus at Cochrane South Africa is on vaccine implementation research, around the factors that drive vaccine hesitancy in South Africa. She is also interested in fighting against the burden of cervical cancer through addressing Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine hesitancy in the South African context. 

Meghan Bohren, based in Australia, is a Senior Research Fellow in Gender and Women’s Health at the University of Melbourne and an Editor with Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC). She was first introduced to Cochrane whilst  a PhD student and working with Metin Gülmezoglu at the WHO Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research. At the time they were exploring how to better integrate qualitative evidence into WHO guidelines, in order to better understand people’s values, preferences and experiences of healthcare, as well as factors affecting implementation of interventions or models of care. Claire Glenton and Simon Lewin mentored Meghan in this space, and she was excited to join Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care as an editor in 2015. Meghan sat down with the Cochrane Early Career Professionals (ECP) group and shared some thoughts as part of the #WhereAreTheyNow series.

Alicia Aleman is currently based in Uruguay and works with the Cochrane Collaborating Group of Uruguay. She became aware of the Cochrane Library in 1995 when she was doing an internship at the Centro Latinoamericano de Perinatología, a center associated with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). That year, the director of the center began promoting the use of scientific evidence in perinatal and  obstetric clinical practice and the use of the Cochrane Library in clinical decision-making. Since then, Alicia has been involved in teaching evidence-based medicine and in 2002, started her first Cochrane review (Bed rest during pregnancy for preventing miscarriage). After that, she continued working from the Faculty of Medicine (of which Alicia is an Associate Professor in the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine), giving courses in Evidence-Based Medicine, systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines. In 2009, the Uruguayan Cochrane Group was created (coordinated by Dr. Oscar Gianneo) within the Ibero-American Cochrane network and in 2012 she did an internship at the IberoAmerican Cochrane Center.  Alicia is a contributor to the Uruguayan Cochrane group, giving courses, supporting translations, and collaborating with the active search programs for randomized studies published in Uruguay. Alicia sat down with the Cochrane Early Career Professionals (ECP) group and shared some thoughts as part of the #WhereAreTheyNow series in English and Spanish

Amr Elsareih, from Egypt, is a physical therapist interested electrophysical agents, especially electrical stimulation in neurological physical therapy, neurorehabilitation, and evidence-based practice. He first joined Cochrane in December 2019 when he signed up for Cochrane Crowd. Within days, he had classified more than 1000 records, and he soon earned eight Cochrane Crowd badges and completed the newcomer and student pathways. Among these is the purple badge in clinicial trial identification, which he earned with 99% accuracy. He's participated in Screen 4 Me classification for two systematic reviews. He first earned his Cochrane membership in January 2020, and is proud to continue to be a Cochrane member!

Matthew Page, from Australia, is a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University. He is also a Co-Convenor of the Cochrane Bias Methods Group. In the final months of Matthew's undergraduate degree in psychology, he decided he should get some work experience for a year, before returning to study as a clinical neuropsychologist. Matthew saw an ad for a research assistant position at what was then the Australasian Cochrane Centre (now Cochrane Australia) and went for it, having taken an interest in meta-analysis during his psychology degree. Lucky for him, he got the job, started working there in 2008, fell in love with systematic review methodology, and gave up on his initial plan so he could focus on developing the science of how to conduct and report systematic reviews optimally. Matthew sat down with the Cochrane Early Career Professionals (ECP) group and shared some thoughts as part of the #WhereAreTheyNow series. 

Celeste Naude is currently based in South Africa. She is the Co-Director of Cochrane Nutrition and an Associate Editor with Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC). Celeste is a mid-career professional and sat down with the Cochrane Early Career Professionals (ECP) group and shared some thoughts as part of the #WhereAreTheyNow series.  Celeste credits her introduction to and involvement with Cochrane to Prof Jimmy Volmink who introduced her to evidence synthesis research and the field of evidence-based health care. Jimmy, who was the Director of Cochrane South Africa at that point, invited Celeste to assist in a project called Supporting Policy-relevant Reviews and Trials (SUPPORT). At that time, the Cochrane EPOC satellite in Norway was coordinating efforts to produce SUPPORT Summaries of all low- and middle-income-relevant EPOC reviews and to make them freely available online. From there, Celeste joined an author team on a Cochrane review, and was subsequently involved in establishing and launching Cochrane Nutrition in 2016, the only Field hosted in a low and middle-income country. Celeste sat down with the Cochrane Early Career Professionals (ECP) - learn more and read her advice.

Cristian Herrera is currently based in France and Spain and is an Associate Editor for the Effective Practice and Organization of Care (EPOC) group and an editor in the Chilean EPOC satellite. When Cristian was a fifth year medical student, he joined a recently created health policy and systems research team at the P. Universidad Católica de Chile that was working on a Cochrane review. This connected him with the world of Cochrane and with the EPOC Group through a larger project led by a team from the Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services (this team is currently working in the Norwegian Institute of Public Health). So, starting out as an author was his entrance door to Cochrane. Cristian sat down with the Cochrane Early Career Professionals (ECP) - learn more and read his advice. Read in English and Spanish.

Zohra Lassi is a NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide and a Feedback Editor with Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group. She was first introduced to Cochrane Systematic Reviews while working as a Research Fellow at the Aga Khan University, Pakistan under the mentorship of Prof Zulfiqar Bhutta. Her very first Cochrane Systematic Review was with Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group on “Community based intervention packages for reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality and improving neonatal outcomes”. Zohra's first review led her to receive the Kenneth Warren Prize from  Cochrane for preparing a review of high methadological quality and relevant to health problems in developing countries. Since then, she has prepared more than 15 Systematic Reviews and Protocols.  

Jesse Uneke, from Nigeria, is the Director and Founder of the African Institute for Health Policy and Health Systems, Ebonyi State University, Nigeria. Jesse is also an Associate Editor with the Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) group. Jesse was introduced to Cochrane by Dr Simon Lewin and got involved with the Cochrane Nigeria Centre. Jesse sat down with the Cochrane Early Career Professionals (ECP) - learn more and read his advice.

Joshua Vogel, from Australia, is a Principal Research Fellow at the Burnet Institute and an Associate Editor with Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth.  Joshua was first introduced to Cochrane & Cochrane Reviews while a PhD student. He had the good fortune to be working under Metin Gülmezoglu at the Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research at WHO in Geneva. Metin is a long-time Cochranite and had been deeply involved with Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth since the 1990’s. Joshua explains his first review was pretty modest (with only 3 trials) but he was hooked from there on. Joshua sat down with the Cochrane Early Career Professionals (ECP) - learn more and read his advice.

Nayaar Islam, from Canada, is a MSc Epidemiology student who was introduced to Cochrane by her graduate thesis supervisor, Dr. Matthew McInnes, who is a member of the Cochrane COVID-19 Diagnostic Test Accuracy Group. Nayaar is the lead author of the first and second updates of the Cochrane ‘living’ systematic review titled “Thoracic imaging tests for the diagnosis of COVID-19”, and she will continue to support future updates of this review. Nayaar is grateful for the opportunities she has been offered through Cochrane, such as collaborating with an international team of Cochrane scientists, being interviewed for a featured Cochrane Podcast, and of course, leading the production of high-quality evidence to inform healthcare decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being a part of #TeamCochrane has been an extremely rewarding experience for Nayaar and she is excited to continue with her involvement!

Jun Xia, is based in the UK and China, and is the Co-director of the Nottingham Ningbo GRADE Centre Network and an Editor for the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group. She was introduced to Cochrane by Professor Clive Adams, the founding Editor of Cochrane Schizophrenia Group. He introduced her to the concept of evidence-based medicine, the history and mission of Cochrane, and taught her the skills of conducting a rigorous systematic review. She stayed with the Schizophrenia Group for the next 15 years and worked as a review author, trainer, and now as the Group’s Editor. A major part of her work involves bring Cochrane reviews to China, where she delivered over 80 workshops in the past decade. In 2019, together with nine other Chinese universities/hospitals, she helped to formed the Cochrane China Network, to expand the reach and advocating for evidence-based healthcare decision making. Jun spoke with the Cochrane Early Career Professionals - learn more and read her advice! 

Martin Ringsten, from Sweden, first became involved in Cochrane through a one-week systematic review course introducing the Cochrane Methodology conducted by Cochrane Sweden in 2018. The course really matched his interest in evidence-based medicine at the time. Afterwards, he started to contribute to Cochrane Sweden as a volunteer, together with his usual clinical work, further studies, and teaching at Lund University. This all led him to take a position at Cochrane Sweden in 2020 as a Project coordinator and researcher in combination with doing a PhD in Medical Science. In his current work, he initiates, organizes, and executes different projects, like organizing courses and workshops, expanding our network within Sweden and collaborating with different people and organizations to expand the reach of resources and reviews from Cochrane. For him, being able to work towards facilitating the creation and implementation of high-quality evidence in healthcare and making decisions more evidence-informed is something he values and feels truly lucky to be doing on a daily basis!

 

Eyelin Ahmadi, from Iran, is a nurse that became acquainted with Cochrane while learning about treatment options for her hospitalized patients. She soon began using Cochrane evidence to educate her patients and encouraged her colleagues to use the Cochrane Library to read the latest synthesized health evidence. Eyelin earned her Cochrane membership by translating evidence from Persian for Cochrane reviews, participating in review production by assisting with data extraction, and as a consumer peer reviewer of Cochrane reviews. She has volunteered for tasks on Cochrane TaskExchange, and she's proud to be a part of Cochrane!

Cathal Cadogan, from Ireland, is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity College Dublin. He is also an Associate Editor with the Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) group. Cathal first got involved with Cochrane when he began working with Prof. Carmel Hughes as a post-doctoral research fellow in Queen’s University Belfast. Cahal remembers his first task as part of that role was to update the existing Cochrane review on interventions to improve appropriate polypharmacy for older people. The experience taught him a lot about the Cochrane review process and has helped him in conducting other systematic reviews. Cahal spoke with the Cochrane Early Career Professionals - learn more and read his advice!

Cynthia S Srikesavan, from the UK, is a Postdoctoral researcher in Physiotherapy at the University of Oxford. She has been part of Cochrane since 2013 and has contributed as a Cochrane author on two reviews. Between 2014 and 2016, she was part of Cochrane South Asia as a volunteer translator of plain language summaries and a podcast producer in Tamil. Her Cochrane translation work in Tamil was recognised at the University of Oxford’s OxTALENT annual awards 2016, and she was the runner-up for her submission "High Quality Physiotherapy Evidence in Tamil" in the Academic Podcasting category. Her video resource explaining the findings of a Cochrane review won first prize at the Cochrane UK and Ireland Symposium 2017. She is so proud to be part of Team Cochrane!

Masahiro Banno, from Nagoya, Japan, joined Cochrane in 2019 as a co-author of an ongoing Cochrane review. He is a psychiatrist and has translated more than 100 plain language summaries of Cochrane reviews from English to Japanese as a 2020 top 5 translator for Cochrane Japan, and he has reviewed more than 20 Cochrane reviews (protocols or full reviews) as a regular peer-reviewer for Cochrane Schizophrenia. He has been involved in 3 ongoing Cochrane reviews. He also worked as a lecturer for the 2019 and 2020 Cochrane Diagnostic Test Accuracy (DTA) workshops held by Cochrane Japan. This led to the development of CAST-HSROC, a software for meta-analysis of DTA, with Dr. Yuki Kataoka and Dr. Yasushi Tsujimoto, the main lecturers of the workshop, and the publication of a paper on the software. He hopes that by playing a variety of roles at Cochrane, he can broaden his horizons and contribute in some small ways to making the world a better place.

 
Nimisha Kumar,  from the United States, is a fourth-year medical student and hopeful future OB/Gyn coming off of a research year as the inaugural Cochrane Fellow of the recently established US Satellite of the Cochrane Pregnancy & Childbirth Group (US-PCG) at the Indiana University School of Medicine. During her time as the Fellow, she has worked on three PCG reviews, carried out a prioritization process, and served as liaison to the Cochrane US Network. As part of the US Network, she served as part of the Opioid Workgroup, designed to update and initiate reviews geared towards addressing the effects of the opioid epidemic in the US with regards to mothers and infants. Learn more about her story in this news item and video!

Chris Rose, from Norway, is a statistician with the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) group, Norwegian Satellite. In 2018, he was appointed as a statistician at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, with part of his salary funded to work as a statistical editor for Cochrane EPOC. Chris' Cochrane-related work is a mix of peer-reviewing (of protocols and submitted systematic reviews), consulting (performing analyses for review teams that are not supported by RevMan), and teaching (delivering training on systematic reviewing). Chris spoke with the Cochrane Early Career Professionals - learn more and read his advice!

 

Abhijna Vithal Yergolkar, from India, is a pharmacy student who learned about Cochrane from a teacher. She joined Cochrane in September 2019 when she started screening RCTs on Cochrane Crowd. To date, she has done more than 31,000 classifications and earned 6 badges, with 92-99% accuracy for RCT identification. She has taken part in 10 global challenges and completed 8 Screen 4 Me tasks, and she was one of the top three screeners in the Chile Challenge 2019. Abhijna is also a part of Cochrane TaskExchange, where she has contributed to 20 tasks and has learned a lot from participating in systematic reviews. She is currently working on a Cochrane Review for the Lung Cancer group, and she looks forward to contributing more to evidence-based medicine through this and future research. Being a part of Cochrane completely changed the way she sees evidence-based medicine and helped her to connect with researchers all around the world. She feels very fortunate and is thrilled to be a part of Cochrane!

Mohammad Shahbaz, an epidemiologist from Iran, first became involved in Cochrane by screening abstracts on Cochrane Crowd and for Screen4Me projects there. Soon, he had evaluated more than 1100 abstracts and earned his Cochrane membership! After becoming a member, he continued to contribute as part of the Crowd and has also attended methods webinars, read Cochrane reviews, and used online Cochrane learning materials. He participated in Cochrane International Mobility in Croatia under the direction of Dr. Tina Poklepović Peričić. Mohammad will begin a PhD in epidemiology and causal inference post-COVID. He is so proud to be a part of the Cochrane Community, strongly believes in the collaboration evident in Cochrane programs and tasks, and knows he is helping contribute to public health problems by being involved with Cochrane!

Fatima Abbas, from Syria, is a doctor, recently graduated from Damascus University. She has been a member of the Cochrane Community since 2014, when she joined the group now called Cochrane Gut with a group of fellow medical students from Syria, publishing a Cochrane Review protocol and working on the full Review. She later joined the Cochrane Trainers' Network and became a Cochrane champion in Syria by leading and coordinating 4 training workshops to introduce medical students and young career professionals to Cochrane, help them learn the flow of Cochrane work, how to write a systematic review protocol, and share basic knowledge about systematic reviews and meta analysis. More than 7 publications resulted from these workshops during the time of crisis in Syria, with very limited resources and a great passion to work among the working group members. She founded an educational research group in Syria through which she was promoting evidence-based medicine practice, sharing the latest evidence among residents and peer-teaching her colleagues on how to use evidence in practice. She is now in an internship program in France. She feels privileged to be a part of the Cochrane community, and hopes to connect with other colleagues in person to exchange ideas, experiences and learn from all.

René Spijker, from the Netherlands, is an Information Specialist and Senior Scientist with Cochrane Netherlands, a member of the Information Specialist Executive, a member of the Cochrane Council and  a Co-Author of the Diagnostic Test Accuracy (DTA) handbook. 

René first got involved with Cochrane as he felt he needed a career change from a molecular biology science background and applied on a joint information specialist job between Cochrane and the medical library. Reading up on Cochrane, of which he hadn’t heard before, sparked his interest as it was international, had admirable goals, was involved with science, but most importantly, also focused on the application of the outcomes. René spoke with the Cochrane Early Career Professionals - learn more and read his advice!

Hebatullah Abdulazeem, from Egypt and living in Germany, is a family physician with great interest in scientific research. She first joined Cochrane Crowd in March 2018, and within 3 months, she had classified more than 5,000 records, which were part of Crowd's 2nd birthday total of 2 Million classifications! After that very enthusiastic start, she has now completed more than 25,000 classifications, and she received her 5-year Cochrane membership with excitement. Via the Cochrane Task Exchange platform, she has been involved with more than 20 systematic reviews, and has worked with extraordinary people from all over the world. She has even tried to help other people learn about TaskExchange in her native language, Arabic. She also participated with the PICO annotators and in the QA Dashboard. She is thrilled that joining Cochrane is possible for experts or citizen scientists!

Vighnesh Devulapalli, from India, is a Third Year Medical student at Dr.NTR University of Health Sciences in Vijayawada. He joined Cochrane as a volunteer in May 2020, earning a five-year Cochrane membership from his contributions to Cochrane Crowd in just a few short months.  His contributions include a total of 20846 classification of records, with an accuracy rate of 99% in ICTRP identification, 98% in CT identification and 89% in RCT identification. Apart from that, he has participated in 4 Global Crowd Screening Challenges, including the global screening challenge on World Evidence-Based Healthcare Day, where he was one of the top screening members (screened close to half of 10,000 records), for which he received an appreciation mail and reward. He has since been inducted into a special group of screeners for Cochrane Crowd for certain screening tasks, and he continues to contribute. Vighnesh is actively completing Cochrane Interactive Learning modules and is a member of Students 4 Best Evidence (S4BE), for which he is currently drafting a blogpost.

Ana Beatriz Pizarro Nule, from Colombia, first earned her Cochrane Membership in 2018 as a Cochrane Crowd citizen scientist supporting screening challenges and by offering her skills on Cochrane Task Exchange. She represented Colombia as a content creator for the 2019 Virtual Cochrane Colloquium, has written blogs for Students for Best Evidence (S4BE), and collaborated with the Cochrane-Wikipedia partnership. This year, she became part of Cochrane Interantional Mobility with Cochrane Sweden, and shared her experience in June at the Early Career Professionals online meet-up about research collaborations. She is the Consumer Network Coordinator for Cochrane Colombia and author of an ongoing Cochrane review. She is currently serving as dissemination and outreach coordinator of the upcoming Spanish version of S4BE "Estudiantes x La Mejor Evidencia". What she values most about being a Cochrane member is that it allows her to be part of an international community that shares her passion for improving health evidence.

Chun Hoong Wong, from Malaysia, joined Cochrane in 2017 as a volunteer translator for Cochrane Malaysia. As an outpatient pharmacist at a government health clinic, Chun Hoong believes that health information should not be restricted to healthcare professionals, but needs to be accessible and comprehensible in languages that people understand. He started with the translation of podcasts and Plain Language Summaries (PLS)  from English to Malay and has now success-fully performed over 700 translations to Malay. In 2018, he expanded his translation activities to Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese with Cochrane China  and Cochrane Taiwan  for the translation of abstracts and/or PLS. He became the first volunteer at Cochrane First Aid in 2019, only days after the Field’s launch, and is now active as a knowledge translation product generator and translator for them, creating blogshots in English and then translating  them to the other languages in which he is fluent. More details on Chun Hoong’s Cochrane story can be found in his recent blog  for Cochrane First Aid.

Xun Li (Tina), from Beijig City, China, first joined Cochrane China back in 2007 as an undergraduate student and began to translate abstracts of Cochrane reviews. She translated more than 10 of the Cochrane review abstracts in the CAM field and published them in Chinese journals. At the same time, she joined CENTRAL database establishment by translating the citations of trials about traditional Chinese medicine that were published in Chinese. Since 2014, she has coordinated the simplified Chinese translation and dissemination of Cochrane evidence. Currently, her team has submitted more than 25000 citations to CENTRAL, and 1240 abstracts and plain language summaries of Cochrane reviews have been translated into simplified Chinese. More than 500 of these have been disseminated with China social media WeChat. She is proud to see how researchers in China have progressed in recent years; there are now more than 400 volunteers in China working for the translation and dissemination of Cochrane knowledge. 

Yasushi Tsujimoto, from Osaka City, Japan, joined Cochrane in 2019 as a part of Cochrane Japan. He is a full-time nephrologist and has been involved in more than 10 Cochrane reviews, including in Cochrane Kidney and Transplant. He has been working to promote Cochrane’s activities with social media such as Twitter or Facebook in Japan. Since he became the PR manager, Cochrane Japan’s Twitter following has increased enormously. He credits the Japanese translation team for the great job they are doing, which has led to an increase in outreach and widespread awareness. He is also interested in building on-line education system that allows health care workers to learn more effectively.

Tiffany Duque, from the United States, joined Cochrane this year as the Coordinator for the Cochrane US Network (@Cochrane_US).  She has worked in global public health for 20 years and currently lives with her family in the Los Angeles area of California.  She joined Cochrane in June and has been very impressed with the dedication, warmth, and positivity from all of the US Network members as well as from Cochrane staff.  She is thrilled to join such a reputable organization and looks forward to the opportunity to grow, create collaborations, advocate for, and promote sustainability within both the US Network and Cochrane as a whole.  If you haven’t had the chance to connect with Tiffany, she’d love to hear from you.  Here’s hoping for in-person meetings in 2021 so she can meet all of her colleagues! 

Jordi Pardo Pardo, born in Barcelona but living in Quebec, is currently Co-Managing Editor of Cochrane Musculsokeletal. Jordi joined Cochrane in November 1997. He came in as a young journalist that had no idea about health research, but he fell in love with the organization and has played many roles in it, from the Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre, the Lung Cancer Group, the Campbell and Cochrane Equity Methods Group and Cochrane Musculoskeletal. Jordi really enjoyed contributing with the first steps of the Spanish translation of reviews, and how they experimented with different processes to make the dream of having all Cochrane reviews in Spanish a reality. Jordi enjoys Colloquia so much that he helped to organize two and provided countless hours in committees for several others. Jordi also enjoyed contributing on the two waves of the Capacity Building for Managing Editors Survey. Getting an insight of the needs of those who oil the process of editing a review to get it out with the level of quality that Cochrane expects was a great opportunity to see how differently we all work, a challenge to find common ways to improve and a pleasure to see the amount of talent we have in the organization.

Roses Parker, from England, joined Cochrane in September 2019 after completing her PhD in December 2018 and having a baby in January 2019. She is the Network Support Fellow for the MOSS Network. She has enjoyed working on the Plain Language Summaries project, and completing an audit of MOSS prioritisation work. Roses is particularly proud of the citation rates for MOSS Reviews in Wikipedia and setting up the SoMe Cuppa Club for MOSS members to discuss and encourage each others’ social media use. New projects she's looking forward to include a stakeholder engagement project, increasing collaboration with Cochrane Methods and Fields, and a Network Innovation Fund project to investigate the optimal methods for the use of ‘pain’ as an outcome in systematic reviews of post-operative pain management.

Mikhail Kukushkin, from Russia, joined Cochrane in 2016. He started off contributing to Cochrane's Russian Translation Project as a volunteer translator and then as a volunteer editor, successfully reaching nearly 600 translated/edited Cochrane Plain Language Summaries. It has been a great pleasure and honor for him to work at Cochrane Russia and contribute to Russian Translations of Cochrane Evidence and to Cochrane Russia's evaluation of quality of machine translators in Memsource. He noticed that during the last 3-4 years, Cochrane’s publicity in Russia increased substantially, and he is very happy and proud of this. He hopes that in future, Cochrane's work won't face significant obstacles, both in Russia and globally, because now is not the time for misunderstanding between the participants of health care systems.

Rachel Klabunde, from Chile, joined Cochrane in 2019 helping the Cochrane Chile team to plan the 2019 Cochrane Colloquium in Santiago. She now works as part of the Community Support team in People Services and as a Communication Officer in the Knowledge Translation Department of the Cochrane Central Executive Team. Due to widespread violence and civil unrest in Santiago, the Cochrane Colloquium was canceled. Our annual event would have featured a four-day, wide-reaching scientific programme entitled ‘Embracing Diversity’ as well as a Gala Dinner open to all delegates. Due to the cancellation, all the pre-ordered food including catering provisions for a three-course Gala dinner was donated to a local charity in Santiago. Turning this negative moment into something positive is definitely something to be proud of!

Muriah Umoquit, from Canada, joined Cochrane in 2015. Working in the Knowledge Translation Department of the Central Executive Team, she  is a self-proclaimed 'Cochrane Fangirl'. Knowing how daunting rows of academic posters can be, she was thrilled to work on a project bringing branded #BetterPoster templates to disseminate Cochrane work at Colloquia and other academic conferences.  You can view many of these posters from our virtual 2019 Colloquium - including hers!

 

We want to come together and tell our collective and individual Cochrane stories! To share your #MyCochraneStory please contact support@cochrane.org with the following:

• A photo: At your desk, at Cochrane event, or a headshot.
• Your country of residence: Our community is diverse and we want to celebrate this!
• Your Cochrane Story: We want to hear about  what Cochrane work and achievements you are most proud of! 3-4 sentences about yourself and your story and any URLs that could be included.

Wednesday, June 12, 2024