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Biosplice
Our Scientific Advisory Boards are comprised of thought leaders across a broad range of therapeutic areas and disciplines who have made significant contributions to research, clinical practice, and patient care. Biosplice Therapeutics regularly consults and involves these experts in key decisions to help develop our scientific and clinical programs.
Scientific Advisory Board Clinical Advisory Board
Robert (Bob) Abraham, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer, Vividion Therapeutics
Robert (Bob) Abraham, PhD is the Chief Scientific Officer at Vividion Therapeutics. His major research interests included characterization and functional analysis of the mammalian Target of Rapamycin signaling pathway, cancer metabolism, signal transduction mechanisms in T-lymphocytes, and molecular mechanisms underlying cell proliferation and cellular responses to DNA damage. Bob is the author of over 220 scientific publications and has served on and chaired grant review panels at the National Institutes of Health. His published work has been cited more than 40,000 times. He is a reviewer for many top journals, including Nature, Science, and Cell. He has received several awards for his scientific contributions, including the Legacy Laureate Award as an outstanding alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh.
Bob was the Senior Vice President and Group Head of the Oncology R&D Group in Pfizer Worldwide Research, Development and Medical and Vice President of Oncology Research at Wyeth Discovery Research. Prior to joining industry, Bob was a Professor at the Sanford-Burnham-Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBPMDI) in La Jolla, CA, where he founded the Signal Transduction Research Program and served as the Director of the SBPMDI Cancer Research Center. Bob retains an appointment as an Adjunct Professor at the SBPMDI, together with an Adjunct Professor Appointment in Pharmacology at the University of California-San Diego. Bob was a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at the Duke University Medical Center, where he also served as Associate Director of Translational Research in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. Before his arrival at Duke University, Bob was a Professor in both the Department of Immunology and the Department of Pharmacology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN where he also served as Director of Basic Sciences in the Mayo Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Bob received his B.S. in Biology from Bucknell University and completed his Ph.D. studies in Pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Pharmacology and Immunology at the Mayo Clinic.
Dafna Bar-Sagi, PhD
Saul J. Farber Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Professor, Department of Medicine, Executive Vice President and Vice Dean for Science, and Chief Scientific Officer, NYU Langone Health
Dafna Bar-Sagi, Ph.D., is the Saul J. Farber Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Professor, Department of Medicine, Executive Vice President and Vice Dean for Science, Chief Scientific Officer of NYU Langone Health. In these roles, she serves as the principal strategist to advance the NYU Langone's research enterprise. Additionally, Dr. Bar-Sagi oversees all clinical, translational, and basic science operations, graduate education, and administration for the research enterprise through the Office of Science and Research.
Dr. Bar-Sagi is a world-renowned cancer biologist whose research has had a major impact on the understanding of mechanisms that control tumor initiation and progression. The focus of her work is the Ras oncogene and its role in the regulation of cell proliferation and survival, tumor immunity, cellular metabolism, and cell-to-cell signaling.
Prior to joining NYU Langone in 2006 as chair of the Department of Biochemistry, she headed the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook. She earned her undergraduate and master's degrees from Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and her PhD from SUNY at Stony Brook. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the cell biology group at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Dr. Bar-Sagi is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2020-current), IUBMB Jubilee Lectureship Award (2020), Fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research (2019-current), an NCI Outstanding Investigator Award (2016-2023), the AACR-WICR Memorial Award (2018), and an NCI Merit Award (1996-2006). She has been a member of many advisory boards including Chair of the NCI Board of Advisors (2018-2021), Fox Chase Cancer Center External Advisory Council (2017-current), AACR Board of Directors (2016-2019), Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (2010-current), Wistar Institute External Advisory Board (2015-current), Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Board of Scientific Reviewers (2015-current), and the Starr Cancer Consortium Scientific Review Board (2010-current).
Benjamin Cravatt, PhD
Professor and the Norton B. Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute
Dr. Cravatt is a Professor and the Norton B. Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology in the Department of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute. His research group is interested in developing chemical proteomic technologies that enable protein and drug discovery on a global scale and applying these methods to characterize biochemical pathways that play important roles in human physiology and disease, especially as pertains to the nervous system and cancer. Dr. Cravatt obtained his undergraduate education at Stanford University, receiving a B.S. in the Biological Sciences and a B.A. in History. He then received a Ph.D. from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in 1996. Professor Cravatt joined the faculty at TSRI in 1997. Dr. Cravatt is an Associate Editor for JACS and is a co-founder of Activx Biosciences, Abide Therapeutics, and Vividion Therapeutics. His honors include a Searle Scholar Award, the Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry, a Cope Scholar Award, the ASBMB Merck Award, the RSC Jeremy Knowles Award, the AACR Award for Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research, and memberships in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, and National Academy of Sciences.
Jeffrey L. Cummings, MD, ScD
Vice Chair for Research and Research Professor, UNLV Department of Brain Health; Director, Center for Neurodegeneration and Translational Neuroscience Cleveland Clinic, Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health
Jeffrey L. Cummings, MD, ScD, is Vice Chair of Research, UNLV Department of Brain Health. He is Founding Director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Professor of Medicine (Neurology), Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Cummings is Principal Investigator/Director of the NIH/NIGMS-funded Center for Neurodegeneration and Translational Neuroscience.
Dr. Cummings is a world-renowned Alzheimer's researcher and leader of clinical trials. He has been recognized for his research and leadership contributions in the field of Alzheimer's disease through the Henderson Award of the American Geriatrics Society (2006), the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Award of the national Alzheimer's Association (2008), and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology (2017). In 2010, he was honored by the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry with their Distinguished Scientist Award. In 2018, he was honored with the Leadership and Achievement Award by the International Society of CNS Drug Development, and he received the Bengt Winblad Lifetime Achievement Award from the national Alzheimer's Association. In 2019, the International Psychogeriatric Association awarded him with the Distinguished Service Award and he received the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation's Melvin R. Goodes Prize that honors an innovative researcher who has made a significant and lasting impact in the field. He was featured in the Gentleman's Quarterly (June 2009) as a "Rock Star of Science™."
Dr. Cummings' interests embrace clinical trials, developing new therapies for brain diseases, and the interface of neuroscience and society.
Dr. Cummings completed Neurology residency and a Fellowship in Behavioral Neurology at Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts. US training was followed by a Research Fellowship in Neuropathology and Neuropsychiatry at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square, London, England. Dr. Cummings was formerly Augustus S. Rose Professor of Neurology and Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA, Director of the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research at UCLA, and Director of the Deane F. Johnson Center for Neurotherapeutics at UCLA. He is past president of the Behavioral Neurology Society and of the American Neuropsychiatric Association.
Dr. Cummings has authored or edited 43 books and published over 750 peer-reviewed papers.
Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, DSc (Hon)
Professor, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Frank McCormick, PhD, is a Professor at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prior to joining the UCSF faculty, Dr. McCormick pursued cancer-related work with several Bay Area biotechnology firms and held positions with Cetus Corporation (Director of Molecular Biology, 1981-1990; Vice President of Research, 1990-1991) and Chiron Corporation, where he was Vice President of Research. In 1992 he founded Onyx Pharmaceuticals, a company dedicated to developing new cancer therapies, and served as its Chief Scientific Officer until 1996. At Onyx Pharmaceuticals, he initiated drug discovery efforts that led to the approval of Sorafenib in 2005 for treatment of renal cell cancer, and for liver cancer in 2007, and the approval of ONYX-015 in 2006 in China for treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer. In addition, Dr. McCormick's group led to the identification of the CDK4 kinase inhibitor, Palbociclib, approved for treating advanced breast cancer. Dr. McCormick's current research interests center on ways of targeting Ras proteins and their regulators, including the NF1 protein neurofibromin.
Dr. McCormick holds the David A. Wood Chair of Tumor Biology and Cancer Research at UCSF. He is the author of over 330 scientific publications and holds more than 20 issued patents. Dr. McCormick was Director of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center from 1997 to 2014. He also served as President, 2012-2013, for the American Association for Cancer Research. Since 2013, Dr. McCormick has led the National Cancer Institute's Ras Initiative at the Frederick National Laboratories for Cancer Research overseeing the national effort to develop therapies against Ras-driven cancers. These cancers include most pancreatic cancers, and many colorectal and lung cancers, and are amongst the most difficult cancers to treat.
Dr. McCormick is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
William C. Mobley, MD, PhD
Associate Dean for Neurosciences Initiatives, Distinguished Professor of Neurosciences, Florence Riford Chair for Alzheimer Disease Research, University of California San Diego School of Medicine
Dr. Mobley is Associate Dean of Neurosciences Initiatives and Distinguished Professor of Neurosciences at UC San Diego. He serves as Executive Director of UCSD's Down Syndrome Center for Research and Treatment, and holds the Florence Riford Chair of Alzheimer Disease Research. He came to UCSD in June 2009 from Stanford University where he served as the John E. Cahill Family Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences and was founding director of the Neuroscience Institute. Dr. Mobley's research is focused on degenerative disease of the central nervous system, especially Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease.
He and his colleagues have for many years explored the hypothesis that deficient axonal transport of neurotrophic factor signals contribute importantly to the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration.
Dr. Mobley serves as the expert advisor to the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus. He is Past President of the Association of University Professors of Neurology, of the Professors of Child Neurology, and of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He received both the Zenith Award and Temple Award from the Alzheimer's Association and the Cotzias Award from the American Academy of Neurology. In 2007 he received the Christian Pueschel Memorial Research Award, and in 2011 was honored with the International Sisley-Jérôme Lejeune Prize by the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation for his research contributions to Down syndrome and genetic intellectual disabilities. He was inducted into the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars in 2014.
Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD
Physician in Chief and Director of Translational Research, Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen)
Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D., F.A.C.P., is currently Physician in Chief, Distinguished Professor Translational Research at TGen (Translational Genomics Research Institute) in Phoenix, Arizona. He is also Senior Consultant, Clinical Investigations for the City of Hope; Chief Scientific Officer for HonorHealth Research Institute; Medical Director of Research, Chief Scientific Officer, US Oncology, and Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Von Hoff's major interest is in the development of new anticancer agents, both in the clinic and in the laboratory. He and his colleagues were involved in the beginning of the development of many of the agents we now use routinely, including: mitoxantrone, fludarabine, paclitaxel, docetaxel, gemcitabine, irinotecan, nelarabine, capecitabine, lapatinib, vismodegibm, nab-paclitaxel, nal-IRI, and others. At present, he and his colleagues are concentrating on the development of molecularly targeted therapies for patients with pancreatic and other advanced cancers.
Dr. Von Hoff has published more than 690 papers, 140 book chapters and over 1400 abstracts. Dr. Von Hoff received the 2010 David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology for his outstanding contributions to cancer research leading to significant improvement in patient care.
Dr. Von Hoff was appointed to President Bush's National Cancer Advisory Board in 2004-2010. Dr. Von Hoff is the past President of the American Association for Cancer Research (the world's largest cancer research organization), a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a member and past board member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He is a founder of ILEX Oncology, Inc. (acquired by Genzyme after ILEX had two agents, alemtuzumab and clofarabine, approved by the FDA for patients with leukemia). Dr. Von Hoff is founder and the Editor Emeritus of Investigational New Drugs - The Journal of New Anticancer Agents; and, past Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. He is a co-founder of the AACR/ASCO Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop. He is also proud to have been a mentor and teacher for multiple medical students, medical oncology fellows, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows.
Geoffrey M. Wahl, PhD
Daniel and Martina Lewis Chair and Professor, Gene Expression Laboratory, The Salk Institute; Adjunct Professor, Department of Biology, University of California, San Diego
Geoffrey M. Wahl, the Daniel and Martina Lewis Chair, is a professor in the Gene Expression Laboratory at The Salk Institute and an adjunct professor at the University of California, San Diego in the Department of Biology.
A widely recognized expert in understanding the genetic instability of cancer cells and why tumors become resistant to drugs, Dr. Wahl's group showed that such instability often results from mutations in key tumor suppressor genes such as p53. His group focuses on how cancer cells reprogram into more primitive, plastic cell states that contribute to intratumoral heterogeneity, a process also impacted by p53. An important emphasis is turning these fundamental findings into therapeutic opportunities to treat cancer more effectively. Dr. Wahl has published nearly 200 articles and reviews related to genetic instability, p53 functions, the control of DNA replication, normal and cancer stem cells, and tumor cell plasticity. His lab has developed many technologies in wide use in molecular and cellular biology.
He is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association for Cancer Research and American Academy of Arts and Science. He was appointed as a Susan G. Komen Scholar, and served as President of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Dr. Wahl obtained a B.A. in Bacteriology from the University of California, Los Angeles, a PhD in Biological Chemistry from Harvard University, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University. He joined The Salk Institute in 1979 and became Professor in the Gene Expression Laboratory in 1989.
Michael A. White, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer, IDEAYA Biosciences
Michael A. White, PhD is the Chief Scientific Officer at IDEAYA Biosciences. His focus is small molecule drug discovery for oncology. With over 2 decades of R&D leadership experience in industry and academia, he is recognized for deep expertise in cell regulation, oncogene mechanism of action, tumor biology, target discovery, technology development and fast-track drug discovery. He has held CSO positions at Biosplice and Pfizer, where he led cross-disciplinary groups to build oncology small-molecule pipelines focused on first-in-class therapies that intercept oncogenic signaling networks, modulate tumor/host interactions and promote productive anti-tumor immune responses. These efforts culminated in numerous INDs within a 5-year span. Prior to joining industry, Mike was Professor of Cell Biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Associate Director of Basic Science for the Harold Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center and founding Director of the UTSW Cancer Intervention and Prevention Discovery training program. His appointments included the Hortense and Morton Sanger Professorship in Oncology, the Sherry Wigley Crow Cancer Research Endowed Chair, and the Grant A. Dove Distinguished Chair for Research in Oncology. In 2015, Mike was a recipient of the inaugural National Institute of Cancer's Outstanding Investigator Award.
Mike's academic research focused on oncogene effector networks, the molecular architecture of cellular signaling pathways, functional annotation of cancer genomes, and genomics-guided cancer target discovery. He has authored over 150 publications with over 22,000 citations.
Mike completed his postdoctoral training in cancer biology and signal transduction at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories in New York. He received his PhD in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his B.Sc. (Hons) from the University of Iowa.
John A. Bergfeld, MD
Senior Surgeon, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic
John A. Bergfeld, M.D., is the Senior Surgeon, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.
He is a graduate of Bucknell University where he played football, followed by his Medical Doctor degree at Temple University. He did his internship and orthopaedic residency at Cleveland Clinic.
He served in the US Navy as Chief of Orthopaedics of the United States Naval Hospital (Annapolis, Maryland, USA) and US Naval Academy and aboard the USS Dubuque with rank of Commander MC USNR.
Dr. Bergfeld served as Team Physician for the Cleveland Browns NFL, Cavaliers NBA, Cleveland Ballet, and Baldwin Wallace University.
He served as President of:
American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM)
International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (ISAKOS)
He has trained over 90 post graduate fellows, both Primary Care (Sports and Exercise Medicine) and Orthopaedic/Sports Medicine (known as the Warthog Society). He has published over 90 peer review articles and book chapters. He has served as visiting professor and presented multiple endowed lectureships in the USA and internationally.
AOSSM
Thomas A Brady Community Service Award
Mr. Sports Medicine
George Rovere Education Award
Godfather – Traveling Fellows
City of Cleveland, Ohio USA
Five Star General Award – City of Cleveland
Lifetime Achievement Award - Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
John H. Budd MD Distinguished Membership Award – Northeast Ohio Academy of Medicine Master Educator Award – Cleveland Clinic Outstanding Alumnus Award
Bucknell University – Class of 1960
Bucknell University Outstanding Alumni Varsity Athlete- 1991
Temple University Medical School
NFL Trainers Jerry Rhea Award
NFL Lifetime Achievement Award
USA Rugby Medical Hall of Fame
American College of Sports Medicine – Legacy Award
NATA Team Physician of the Year
Ohio Athletic Trainers Outstanding Physician Award
European Society Sports Knee and Arthroscopy (ESSKA)
American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM)
European Federation of Orthopaedic Sports Traumatology (EFOST)
Spanish Knee and Sports Medicine Society
Wilma F. Bergfeld, MD, FAAD
Professor of Dermatology and Pathology, Senior Dermatologist & Emeritus Director Dermatopathology, Director, Dermatopathology Fellowship, Departments of Dermatology and Pathology, Cleveland Clinic
Wilma Fowler Bergfeld, MD, FACP is Emeritus Director, and past Director and Co-Director of Dermatopathology, Departments of Dermatology and Pathology and Senior Staff Dermatologist Dermatological Research in the Department of Dermatology, Cleveland Clinic. She also is the Director of the Cleveland Clinic's Dermatopathology Fellowship and Professor of Dermatology and Pathology, Cleveland Clinic Educational Foundation and Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Dermatology, Case Western Reserve University. She has served as a consultant to the Department of Sports Medicine at The Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Bergfeld's specialty interests include clinical dermatology (hair disorders, androgen excess, photo aging, and cosmetic dermatology) and dermatopathology.
Dr. Bergfeld completed her undergraduate work at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, and is a graduate of Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. She did her dermatology residency at Cleveland Clinic and her Dermatopathology fellowship at Armed Forces of Pathology in Washington DC. She joined the Cleveland Clinic in 1969 as a Clinical Dermatologist, Department of Dermatology and later, after the AFIP Dermatopathology Fellowship in 1972, she was appointed as Head (1977-2007), Dermatopathology, Department of Pathology and in 2007 Co-Director of Dermatopathology, Departments of Dermatology and Pathology and in 2015 Emeritus Director. She has been the Director, Cleveland Clinic's Dermatopathology fellowship since 1975.
Dr. Bergfeld is a former chair and currently consultant to the FDA Dermatology and Ophthalmology Advisory Committee (1972-current) and a consultant to the Devise advisory committee (2009-current). She is the immediate past President of North American Hair Research Society (2011-2016) and Director, World Congress of Hair Research 2015 Miami, and past 2008-9 President of the American Society of Dermatopathology, 1992 President of The American Academy of Dermatology and past President of the Cleveland Academy of Medicine, the Cleveland Dermatology Society, the Ohio Dermatological Association, and the Women's Dermatological Society. She has served on the Cleveland Clinic's Board of Governors and Board of Trustees (1992-97), and was the President of the Cleveland Clinic Staff (1990).
Most recently she was elected President American Dermatologic Society 2018, the honorary dermatology society.
Since 1977, she has been a member and the Chair (1990-current) of the Cosmetic Ingredient Expert Panel, an expert panel that determines the safety of cosmetic ingredients. She holds an honorary membership in the American Academy of Dermatology, Women's Dermatology Society, the Cleveland Dermatology Society, Ohio Dermatological Society, Pacific Dermatologic Association the Canadian Dermatology Society and the Italian Dermatology Society.
In 1996, she received the Women's Dermatological Association Rose Hirschler Award honoring an outstanding physician who has contributed to medicine and dermatology while enhancing the role of women in the Dermatology. She is also the recipient of the American Academy of Dermatology's prestigious Marion B. Sulzberger Award in 1997 and AAD Golden Triangle Award 2000 for Community Service. In 2000, she was the first recipient of the Wilma F. Bergfeld MD Leadership Award, awarded by the Women's Dermatology Society. In 2005, the Cleveland Academy of Medicine honored her the "John Budd, MD, Distinguished Member Award." The American Society Dermatopathology in 2007 awarded her the prestige's "Founders Award" and she was elected 2009 President of the American Society of Dermatopathology. In 2008, she was awarded Maria Duran leadership award and medal by the International Society of Dermatology and in 2010, she received the Samuel J. Zakon Dermatology History Award from the Dermatology History Society. The American Academy of Dermatology awarded her 2012 Master of Dermatology Award. In 2014, she received the Elston B. Helwig MD, Memorial Award and Lectureship from American Society of Dermatopathology.
Her American Academy of Dermatology volunteer activities have included: Chair, Council of Communications and longtime member of the communications committee, original member and long-term member of "Dialogues in Dermatology," Chair of the Scientific Council (annual meeting committee), Chair of the Volunteer Circle: "Members Making a Difference." She has also served on several AAD and Women's Dermatology Society Visionary Committees. Dr. Bergfeld has received many AAD Presidential citations that have included Leadership in AAD Communications and The Volunteer Circle. Since 1995, she has been cited in "Best Doctors in America," "Top Doctors," "Top Pathologist," and in numerous Who's Who publications.
Dr. Bergfeld is the author of over 632 publications, 4 books and 82 book chapters. She has served on many editorial journal boards and has been a reviewer in the both her professional fields of clinical dermatology and dermatopathology. Other activities include consultant/scientific adviser to many pharmaceutical companies.
On a personal note, Dr. Bergfeld is married to John A. Bergfeld MD, an internationally known Sports Medicine Orthopedic Surgeon at Cleveland Clinic. She is the mother of two daughters, Onee Bergfeld Lowe (deceased) and Sigrid Bergfeld Grieco and grandmother to five granddaughters.
Allan Gibofsky, MD, JD, MACR, FACP, FCLM
Professor of Medicine, Health Policy and Research, Weill Cornell Medicine
Dr. Allan Gibofsky is Professor of Medicine, Health Policy and Research at Weill Cornell Medicine. He is an Attending Physician and Rheumatologist at The New York Presbyterian Hospital and Hospital for Special Surgery, where he is Co-Director of the Clinic for Inflammatory Arthritis.
Dr. Gibofsky received his undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, his MD from Weill Medical College of Cornell University and his law degree from Fordham University. He did his internship in Pathology, followed by a residency in Medicine at New York Hospital. He completed a fellowship in Rheumatology/Immunology jointly at Hospital for Special Surgery and at The Rockefeller University. Dr. Gibofsky has authored or co-authored numerous papers and text chapters, primarily on the immunogenetics of rheumatic diseases and legal aspects of medical practice. He is known for his work on mechanisms of host-microbe interactions in rheumatology, and, in particular for his basic and clinical studies on rheumatic fever as well as for his work on therapeutic strategies in the treatment of inflammatory rheumatic diseases.
Currently Secretary-Treasurer of The New York Rheumatism Association, Dr. Gibofsky is past Chair of the Medical & Scientific Committee of the New York Chapter of The Arthritis Foundation and received their Physicians' Leadership Award. He also served as a member of the local and national Arthritis Foundation Board of Trustees, and was Chair for Professional Education. Dr. Gibofsky has participated in numerous professional and public education programs, nationally and internationally. He is a past President of the American College of Legal Medicine, and is past Chair of the American Board of Legal Medicine. In 2002, Dr. Gibofsky served as President of The American College of Rheumatology. Dr. Gibofsky is a Jonas Salk Scholar of the City University and was named Alumnus of the Year by Brooklyn College.
Dr. Gibofsky is a Master of the American College of Rheumatology, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a Fellow of the American College of Legal Medicine.
Morgan Jones, MD, MPH
Staff Surgeon, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic
Morgan Jones, MD, MPH is a practicing sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon and clinical outcomes researcher with a special interest in the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis after arthroscopic knee procedures. His research has focused on radiographic changes, including joint space narrowing, after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and has been supported by the National Institutes of Health. He attended undergraduate and medical school at the Ohio State University, completed his orthopaedic residency at the Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, spent a year as a sports medicine fellow at the University of Iowa, and obtained a Masters in Public Health at Harvard University. He currently works as a staff surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic.
Nancy E. Lane, MD
Director, Center for Musculoskeletal Health and Distinguished Professor, University of California at Davis, School of Medicine
Nancy E. Lane, MD is a Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Rheumatology, and Aging Research, Director for the Center for Musculoskeletal Health. She is an internationally recognized scientist in the fields of both osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. Her translational research team has been instrumental in defining the role of glucocorticoids in bone fragility including pioneering a seminal clinical trial to demonstrate that daily injections of the hormone PTH could reverse glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. In addition she has uncovered novel genetic variations that predispose individuals to osteoarthritis and has studied novel treatments for osteoarthritis. Her research accomplishments have been recognized by the UC Davis School of Medicine Dean's Team Science Award (2012), the American College of Rheumatology for the Oscar Gluck Memorial Lecture for outstanding work in Osteoporosis (2011), David Trentham Lectureship and Women in Medicine Lectureship at Harvard Medical School (2013), election to Association of American Physicians (2006) and election to the National Academy of Medicine (2012). Dr. Lane was President of the Board of the United States Bone and Joint Decade (2006-2008), co-led the International Bone and Joint Decade Conference in Washington DC (2010), was elected and served on the council of the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (2010-2013), and the Orthopedic Research Society, and the Northern California Arthritis Foundation.
Dr. Lane is on the editorial boards of Nature Reviews Rheumatology, Rheumatology (Editorial Board), Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism (Associate Editor), Co-editor Arthritis and Rheumatism (2005-2010), and The Journal of Rheumatology; has been named Best Doctors in America annually since 2004, and continues to have an active rheumatology practice.
Rik Lories, MD, PhD
Professor of Rheumatology, Skeletal Biology and Engineering Research Center, KU Leuven
Rik Lories directs the Laboratory for Tissue Homeostasis and Disease that is part of the Skeletal Biology and Engineering Research Center at KU Leuven. He is a consultant physician in the Division of Rheumatology at the University Hospitals Leuven. KU Leuven, the largest and oldest university in Belgium, ranks 40th in the Times Higher Education World 2017 Ranking and tops Reuter's 2017 ranking of Europe's most innovative universities.
His research focuses on endogenous tissue responses in the joint with specific attention towards translational questions in chronic arthritis, in particular osteoarthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, and psoriatic arthritis. Currently full Professor ("gewoon hoogleraar") at KU Leuven, he obtained his medical degree summa cum laude in 1996. He subsequently started specialty training in internal medicine and rheumatology. In 2003, he was certified as rheumatologist. In 2003 he also obtained a PhD in biomedical sciences at KU Leuven. He received PhD (4 years) and Postdoctoral fellowships (6 years) from the Flanders Research Foundation. Rik Lories and his team were the first to demonstrate the key homeostatic role of Wnt signaling in the postnatal joint. The observation that mice in which the Wnt antagonist Frzb has been genetically deleted show increased severity of osteoarthritis pointed the attention of a large research community towards this pathway in particular in osteoarthritis. A recent study on DOT1L in osteoarthritis has identified a novel regulatory mechanism of Wnt signaling in the joint.
He has (co-)authored over 140 publications, including original research reports or reviews in Nature Medicine, Nature Communications, Journal of Clinical Investigation, PNAS, Nature Reviews Rheumatology, Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases and Arthritis and Rheumatology.
Timothy McAlindon, MD, MPH
Natalie V. Zucker & Milton O. Zucker Chair of Rheumatology and Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine; Chief, Division of Rheumatology, Tufts Medical Center
Dr. McAlindon has a 20-year research track in the field of osteoarthritis (OA) and currently has set his goals on the development of simple and inexpensive disease-modifying interventions for osteoarthritis. This has brought a focus on the mechanisms of structural progression, its measurement, and comparative effectiveness testing of potential disease modifying interventions. Dr. McAlindon is one of a small number of investigators developing expertise in highly technological image-based evaluation of osteoarthritis structural progression, such as three-dimensional cartilage volume measurement from MRI, trabecular morphometry from MRI, and subchondral DEXA. Dr. McAlindon currently has NIH-funded research grants evaluating the role of bone in OA progression using periarticular DEXA and MRI-based trabecular morphometry, testing the effectiveness of intra-articular corticosteroids on structural progression of knee OA, and developing an integrated parsimonious quantitative knee OA structural damage outcome measure using MRI. Dr. McAlindon has national and international recognition in the field of osteoarthritis, and is a member of the steering committee of the NIH Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), co-principal investigator of its Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island clinical site.
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Play it Forward campaign announces lineup for musicians' benefit and asks community for video submissions
Posted: May 19, 2020 / 02:02 PM CDT
Updated: May 19, 2020 / 02:02 PM CDT
Play it Forward, the campaign created by Heartland Connections, through non-profit support of the Galva Arts Council, announced the recipients and lineup for its musicians' benefit as well as asking the community for video submissions.
The aid program will distribute 20 grants, starting at a minimum of $500, to musicians who depend on income from live performances and find themselves struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will also broadcast a live stream of a performance by the artists, recorded without an audience, where additional tips can be collected for the performers.
A schedule of the performances as well as bio information for the artists is listed below.
Organizers are also asking the community to submit videos about how music is helping at this time or during challenging times in the past, inspiring stories from the community, or messages of hope. These videos will be shown in between the artists' performances during the live stream. Videos can be uploaded at PlayItForward.rocks or emailed to john.r.taylor@gmail.com.
Contributions to the fund can also be made online at PlayItForward.rocks or by mailing a check with a memo of "Play it Forward" to: Galva Arts Council, PO Box 29, Galva, Illinois 61434.
Here is the schedule for the live stream concerts which can be seen on the Heartland Connections Facebook page or YouTube channel:
Saturday, May 23rd, 2020
4PM: Tom Sharpe
5PM: Brook Hoover of Surf Zombies
6PM: The Wildwoods
7PM: Avey Grouws Band
8PM: Craig Gerdes
4PM: Barry Cloyd
5PM: Daniel Watkins
6PM: Bryce Janey of The Janeys
7PM: Angela Meyer
8PM: Joe Stamm
Saturday, May 30th, 2020
4PM: Amber Hendricks & the Maintenance
5PM: Lewis Knudsen
6PM: Dee Mill of Art of ILL Fusion
7PM: The Empty Pockets
8PM: Kris Lager
Sunday, May 31st, 2020
4PM: Tyler Sjöström
5PM: Jenny Lynn Stacy
6PM: Stone & Snow
7PM: Edward David Anderson
8PM: Chicago Farmer
Tom Sharpe
Bio: Tom Sharpe's music is a percussive symphony – a sonic and visual feast for the senses. A classically trained musician, Tom has dramatically blended his orchestral background with world music instrumentation and cinematic imagery to create an experience that invites the listener into the heart of the musical moment – wildly emotional and technically precise, with a gutsy edge of percussive frenzy and tribal ritual. Weaving together powerful elements of sound and rhythm, Tom is equally proficient on a vast array of percussion and keyboard instruments. Seamlessly blending genres from Middle Eastern, African, orchestral, and rock music, Tom moves between traditional instrumentation and electronics with ease and precision. Tom's current solo performances are in support of his latest release titled "Lifting the World"
Tom is an internationally recognized, critically acclaimed artist. His compositions have won many awards, including the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and the Broadjam World Music Contest. Tom was featured in the PBS Special "Arts Across Illinois", and has performed at the "Great Performers of Illinois Festival in Millennium Park, to name a few of his many performance highlights. Tom was a keynote speaker at the Annual Self Employment in the Arts Conference in 2013 and 2016. Tom was honored in August 2016 as a hometown success story at Night Under the Stars in metropolitan Detroit, where he addressed the crowd and performed. He is alumni of the Interlochen Arts Academy and holds the degrees Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from DePaul University. With a fresh approach to symphonic world music, Tom's high energy, passion, and emotion, combined with superb musicality, leave audiences amazed and inspired!
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: All my concerts, master classes, and school assemblies have been canceled. This is my main source of income throughout the year. I had concerts scheduled throughout the Mid-West, including Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana, at performing arts centers, churches, schools, and libraries. I have just learned that my summer schedule is completely has completely canceled as well, including Vacation Bible School appearances and summer music camps. I am currently living on my very limited savings and a few students that are Skype lessons. I am a single parent with my 10 year old daughter in my full time care. I also care for my mother, who is elderly. I am continuing to post videos online of recent performances in an effort to lift spirits and inspire in this unprecedented time. I am in very desperate need of financial support to keep my household running. Thank you so very much.
Brook Hoover of Surf Zombies
Bio: I started teaching guitar and performing as a teenager. I went on to get a BA in Art Ed from UNI and went pretty much full tie musician/teacher after that. I have released over ten albums with my bands and have come to rely heavily on live gigs to survive. Became a member of the Iowa Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. I also made a book about chords which sells a few copies per month. I was performing 2-5 times per week before the pandemic.
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: My income is reduced about 80%. No gigs. A small number of Zoom lessons, book sales and mowing lawns keeps us going but it's a huge loss of income.
The Wildwoods
Bio: "The Wildwoods know exactly what kind of music they want to make. It's not often we hear a sound this focused…The voices are very different in timbre and delivery, yet mix with each other perfectly…Bring a friend or go alone; either way you'll find yourself reminiscing on the good times and finding peace with the bad ones." Landon Kuhlmann, Paste Magazine & Daytrotter
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: Making ends meet is very difficult for us during this time. Noah and I make all of our money off of gigging and teaching music lessons. Because of the pandemic, many of our students have dropped out of lessons for the time being, and all of our gigs have been canceled. We have many band and life expenses to accommodate for, including the insurance for our instruments that we will be needing to renew here in a couple weeks.
Bio: Avey Grouws Band is an original roots/blues/blues rock band out of the Quad Cities. 2 time semi finalists at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, AGB released their debut album The Devil May Care March 20, 2020 amid the covid crisis and surprised everyone by hitting the Billboard Blues Album Chart for 2 weeks, ending in the #10 spot! No label, no agent, just gritty original music and a band that has a whole lot of fun doing it!
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: Well this is an easy 1. All 5 of us have lost our income. Music was our full time job. It's how we pay the bills and feed our families. Not being able to work has been both mentally and emotionally stressful as well as financially stressful. We have been trying to do live streams with just 3 of us in the band but they don't pay like a show would pay. We released our debut album with the publicist on March 20th. This had been set for months. The plan was to release the album and then take it on tour. Not being able to tour is frustrating enough. Not being able to tour an album that is topping every chart from Billboard to Roots Music Report to Australian and British airplay charts is downright heartbreaking. Touring and selling merch while on tour is our bread and butter and without it, things have been hard. We are staying positive and hopeful for the future We refuse to let this take us down. But days are challenging. We have been getting food from our local school since all 3 of my teenage daughters are enrolled there, and we've been sharing that food with the guys. We're a family and families help each other. But yeah….. some of us haven't recieved our stimulus and some of us still haven't gotten unemployment. It's frustrating and scary, but we're pushing forward. Thank you for thinking of musicians right now. What a difficult job you have, but we're glad you're there.
Craig Gerdes
Bio: Steeped in the white lines, black tar and diesel smoke of the American highway, Tough As Nails—the latest LP from Craig Gerdes—is raw and real, a document of a road-tested band fast on the rise. Ever since the central-Illinois songwriter released his lauded 2018 debut LP, Smokin' Drinkin' & Gamblin', he's been on tour almost constantly, playing upwards of 150 shows per year, including opening slots and festival support.
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: I am a full time musician and all of my shows have been cancelled since March 17. We are continuing to get cancellations for large events planned throughout the summer.
Barry Cloyd
Bio: Barry Cloyd is a Midwestern based, full-time touring singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist who performs more than 125+ shows of all types per year. In addition to a concert schedule, he has been the resident stringed instrumentalist/vocalist on The Spirit of Peoria Paddlewheel Riverboat for 20 years, traveling the inland waterways. Barry also has created and toured dozens of original, commissioned edu-tainment programs which focus on our own history with music. These are typically performed as concerts at Libraries, Colleges & Universities.
He has shared the stage & recorded with many stars of the Blues and Americana worlds including members of Buddy Guy's Band, The Byrds, Stephen Still's, EmmyLou Harris', The Oak Ridge Boys, John Denver's, Dan Fogelberg's Bands and extensive writing/performing work with David Raitt, brother of Bonnie Raitt and son of the famed Broadwayt star John Raitt. Barry is also a recording artist with 10 CD's, the last of which, the all original "Southland", won an award for best Americana album in 2016 which resulted in his tracks "Spirit Dance" and "Know This River" being placed on radio stations in more than 45 countries worldwide. He recently won the "Artist Vision Award" award from the Akademia international promotional group based in LA.
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: I am a full time musician/entertainer and had built a very busy performance season by marketing and promotion over the Winter, and was in Mexico on a performance/anniversary tour when Covid-19 happened. Upon returning 3 weeks early, I found that all of my shows, concerts & gigs were being cancelled for the foreseeable future. At this time nothing is certain re: rescheduling or being able to make a living at all this year. The effect was swift, drastic & has left me without an income.
Daniel Waktins
Bio: Growing up with the Illinois River in his back yard, Daniel Watkins's roots run deep in the valley. He picked up his first job as a gas attendant at the old lock and dam in Henry. There he would practice guitar while waiting on boaters and playing for tips. Several years later, Watkins wandered the Midwest festival scene as a music enthusiast when he wasn't working shifts at the local factory. He began studying guitar with Walnut Valley Festival National Guitar & Mandolin champion, Andy Hatfield. Through a new found love of Folk and Bluegrass music, he discovered many artists including John Hartford, Norman Blake, and Steve Goodman who inspired him to begin writing songs of his own.
Galva Music Series raising money for local artists
Galva Summer Music Series postponed to 2021
2020 Levitt AMP Galva Music Series Postponed; holding …
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: Performing out makes up a large portion of my income. Clearly, I am unable to perform at the moment.
Bryce Janey
Bio: Bryce Janey has had a long career as a Blues & Roots musician and songwriter, beginning at the age of 13 in a family Blues band from Marion, Iowa called The Janeys, with his mother on drums and his father on guitar. The Janeys toured regionally and nationally playing many renowned venues and blues festivals in Chicago, Kansas City, and Minneapolis as well as other cities throughout the country. The Janeys opened for many national acts including Buddy Guy, Elvin Bishop, Johnny Winter and Delbert McClinton. Bryce has also performed on stage with Blues greats such as Koko Taylor, Tab Benoit, Joanna Connor and Kenny Neal. Bryce has continued to tour and perform as a solo artist and a songwriter with twelve solo albums to date, with all albums receiving critical acclaim in national Blues publications including Blues Revue and Living Blues magazines, as well as many international reviews. Bryce's latest album Brand New Day is available on Grooveyard Records, with a new album planned for release in Summer 2021.
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: COVID-19 has completely shut down any venues where I would have performed live (restaurants, bars, etc.) It has also forced cancellation of many larger venues and festivals throughout the entire summer. I have not been able to work since March and do not see that changing in the next few months, possibly until September. And because I have no income, that has dramatically impacted my ability to contribute at all financially to my family.
Angela Meyer
Bio: Angela Meyer has been performing professionally since she was just 16 years old, staying true to "writing songs for empty rooms & broken hearts in hopes to fill them up". A storyteller with a passion for her listeners, Angela pulls in the crowd with a sweet voice and brutal honesty. She isn't afraid to tackle heavy topics within her songwriting, but also pokes at the humor in everyday life. Her first love was the horse, and she knew nothing about this "western music" until committing a crime she swore to never do- falling in love with a cowboy. Now she has fallen in love again, this time with the tradition & respect within a community of folks passionate for preserving this beautiful way of life.
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: Prior to COVID-19 I made the majority of my living from live shows. Just in the last two months I've cancelled dozens of shows and lost thousands of dollars in revenue. This time has made me rethink my business and craft- coming up with creative ways to play music online & still be able to connect with the folks who've been coming out to live shows for the last ten years. I fear that even once we are back to a "new normal" most of the small businesses who supported musicians will not have the extra cash to spend for live music in their business.
Joe Stamm
Bio: The Joe Stamm Band (JSB) is a Black Dirt Country Rock group rooted in the American Midwest. Born and raised in the fields and fence rows of central Illinois, Joe and the band play a soul pumping brand of music that is uniquely their own. DirtRoadAnthems.com told their readers, "If you are looking for a great new country/rock/Americana band to listen to, [Joe Stamm Band] is the perfect one." JSB songs are laced with rural American imagery, hard-driving guitar, and songwriting that invites listeners into a deeply personal, authentic life experience.
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: By last count, which continues to grow even as recently as yesterday, we have lost over 25 shows so far. If I were to venture a guess, I imagine that accounts for over $20,000 in performance and merchandise revenue. With shows now falling off our June and July schedule, there's no telling what that number will reach. I must say, though, we have been fortunate to find generous support in our online merch sales, as well as a recent crowd fund. In short, we are not at risk to miss any mortgage payments 🙂 So if more stricken acts apply, please allow them a spot before myself.
Amber Hendricks
Bio: I am a cancer survivor who was driven to work harder to persue my dreams as a musician. I have two singles currently on radio play and was finishing my album and planning a small your before COVID-19 hit. Without shows and bookings and being laid off from my day job, I am financially drained and am struggling to fund the completion of the album I've worked so hard on for so long. I have come to far to give up now, please help!
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: I am falling behind on bills, projects I have worked so hard on for years are now on halt due to the lockdown as well as being laid off during this lockdown to pay for the rest of my studio time and merch, and not having this income makes the future of my dreams very uncertain.
Lewis Knudsen
Bio: Lewis Knudsen is a mixed-genre, multi-instrumentalist songwriter based in Rock Island, IL. In the past few years Lewis has toured coast to coast in the US, as well as South Korea, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, and the U.K. Lewis has opened for bands such as Amy Helm, Jesicca Hernandez, Nicholas David, and Davina and the Vagabonds.
Influences include James Taylor, Randy Newman, Ben Folds, Hozier, Rufus Wainwright, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, and Jack White.
Lewis' most recent full length album "Philip" is enjoying airplay on Iowa Public Radio and various other free format radio. On Spotify the single "All I Want Is Everything" just reached 11,000 streams. In January of 2018, "All My Sins" was featured on FOX's "UFC Road to the Octagon" and more TV/film placements are in the works.
In 2018 Lewis wrote and recorded one new song each week, and in mid 2020, will be releasing a full length album.
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: As nearly 100% of my income relies upon gigs, the quarantine has essentially halted my income for the time being. Other than live stream concerts playing for tips, I have not had income for the past two months, and am living off savings.
Dee Mill of Art of ILL Fusion
Bio: AIF from Peoria, IL has been touring for the last 17 years. Playing over 1500 shows nationally. Dee is the founder, guitarist and front man as well as the primary songwriter for the band.
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: All of our shows have been cancelled. We have a whole team of crew, management and band members who's income stopped immediately.
The Empty Pockets
Bio: Sincerity, pathos and powerhouse vocals. "Polished yet rootsy Chicago outfit Empty Pockets" (Rolling Stone) celebrates old-school classic rock, folk, and the blues, skillfully blending singer/songwriter catharsis with rich harmonies and real players. Bold Americana flavors straight from the soul.
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: Over $100,000 of live shows have been cancelled for us. Crushing.
Kris Lager
Bio: For most of Kris Lager's life he has been a traveling musician, a troubadour, who has spent two decades on the road honing his craft and message.
Not only is he one of the funkiest and fiercest blues guitar players you'll ever witness with a uniquely expressive and heartfelt voice. He also crafts uplifting, interactive, and spiritual tunes with a 'Celebrate Life Mantra' that is woven throughout his entire performance.
Kris is a Lincoln, Nebraska native and a family man who has built a reputation for refusing to play by industry rules or pander for awards and accolades. He is truly a one of a kind performer who hits the stage with an intense purpose of uplifting and engaging audiences while delivering his flavorful gumbo of rhythms and melodies.
Kris will also play a little keyboards, shimmy around the stage, attempt to connect with everyone he makes eye contact with, and offer up a healthy dose of his signature 'soul clappin'. This just scratches the surface of a genuine artist who has a powerful vision of what music can do to raise the human spirit and condition. You must see it, hear it, and dig into the vast KLB catalogue for yourself to fully understand and appreciate this musician on a mission.
Kris' longtime musical partner and rhythmic backbone of the group for over 15 years is Mr. John Fairchild AKA Scooby Sha Bo Bo. He brings a hiphop flare to the rootsy compositions and also some funky Beat box, flows, and freestyles. His charm, charisma, and silky smooth beats will make a distinct impression upon your backbone and have you wanting more and more of his signature 'feel good grooves'.
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: Well, without any shows the ability to generate income has greatly diminished. I've been doing live streams and have gotten a lot of great support from our wonderful friends. But, of course it's a tiny fraction compared to what I'd bring in if we were able to play shows. With no end in sight it's definitely an interesting and sometimes stressful situation.
Tyler Sjöström
Bio: Tyler Sjöström's gritty vocals and vintage arrangements have reverberated from the Chicago music scene since the release of his freshman EP, What We Say We Are, at the end of 2014. Following his debut, rooted in Americana and Folk, Tyler's track "Red River" was given EDM treatment with collaborator, Chris Meid, and signed as a single with Warner Music. Following was a slew of collaborations from across the globe resulting in tens of millions of streams on Spotify alone. Since, Sjöström has taken his new role as Singer-Songwriter to heart, working with DJs and producers around the world developing a taste and adeptness for topline writing, studio work, and live performance.
As a multi-instrumentalist and avid songwriter, Tyler finds his niche in spanning the genres, and in terms of music he is keen on distinguishing himself as a "jack of all trades". Equipped with an honest and thunderous voice his live performance has been described as "bone rattling". He's shared the stage with Judah and The Lion, Joseph, The Mighty Oaks, The Secret Sisters, Corey Kilgannon–to name a few.
With studio work nearly done for a new album and several collaborative tracks in the works, 2020 is looking very good for Tyler Sjöström.
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: At the beginning of the year I was attempting to finish a full-length album. Lots of money, traveling, time, and work was spent on the work. Because of the virus that is all on hiatus and my touring schedule, that is also probably cancelled for the remainder of this year as all venues have a lot of concerns. I have had coveted SXSW showcases cancelled, Arizona pride fest show cancelled, as well as a great show at SPACE in Evanston, and a ton of Michigan shows cancelled. I picked up my $700 worth of merchandise printed for all these shows within days of SXSW was cancelled. This merchandise along with others, and ticket sales have cost me thousands of dollars.
Jenny Lynn Stacy
Bio: Welp. I've been playing, singing, and writing for nearly 21 years nestled in the Quad Cities. That's really all I've done my entire life, music. I am the parent of 3 teenagers, God help me, but they've taught me a lot, and have been a great muse for songs. I enjoy a wide array of hobbies, from crochet to woodwork, but music is the constant in my life. I don't think I'll ever stop.
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: Music is really the only career I'm in. My husband and I also run a sound production company – which we were booked all through the summer. Losing all of those shows on top of me losing all of my gigs, have really bent our budget in half. I'm also high risk, dealing with 3 auto-immune disorders and being on immunosuppressive medication, so going out isn't really an option anyway. I'm currently trying to bridge the gaps with livestreaming for tips, while my husband tackles unstable delivery driving right now. The mental-health toll having our livelihood ripped from us is a whole different story.
Stone & Snow
Bio: "Their rich vocal harmonies and warm vibe will leave you wanting to see more from this Illinois-based duo." -American Songwriter Magazine
Stone & Snow is an award-winning alt-folk pairing of songwriters and multi-instrumentalists, Karen Bridges and Clint Thomson. In 2012, they began a collaboration filled with close harmonies and thoughtful lyrics. They gave it a name that gives nod to the mountain landscapes of the West– Stone & Snow. Their songs have taken them on the road to places like Summer Camp Music Festival, Mile of Music, the NAMM Show, and the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville.
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: All of our performances for the forseeable future have been cancelled or postponed. Rescheduled dates in the fall may be tentative based on how the country progresses. We have lost thousands of dollars in revenue that live-streaming cannot make up for. This is a full-time venture for us.
Edward David Anderson
Bio: Edward David Anderson is an American songwriter and veteran of the road who Edward David Anderson is an American songwriter and veteran of the road who spent his formative years fronting the revered Bloomington, IL band, Backyard Tire Fire. Known for infectious melodies and memorable messages he penned 8 releases for the band and played countless shows across the US and Canada.
When the band went on hiatus in 2011 EDA continued to write and play solo and with his band Black Dirt Revival. Backyard Tire Fire returned to the stage to headline the inaugural Black Dirt Music Festival in 2019 with plans to play select dates in 2020 and beyond.
In the live setting his delivery is dynamic and impactful showcasing a natural ability on banjo, acoustic/electric guitars and foot percussion. He defines his sound as Black Dirt Music. "Songs about people and places, about life and love and loss. It's roots music, cultivated in the fertile soil of the Midwest.
EDA released Live and Solo on his own Black Dirt Records on 3/13/20. His vocal prowess, lyrical wit and polished guitar picking shine through on his debut live album recorded in front of intimate and engaged sold out crowds over the course of two nights. Half the material is previously unreleased, with the other half spanning a prolific career of three decades.
While Live and Solo is a glorious representation of EDA in the live setting, his first three solo offerings Lies & Wishes (2014), The Loxley Sessions (2015) and Chasing Butterflies (2018) firmly established him as a force to be reckoned with in the studio.
You can find EDA on the road solo, with his bands Black Dirt Revival and Backyard Tire Fire or with his side project Alabama Getaway.
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: As a full time working musician I had a full calendar of gigs booked that have all been canceled for the foreseeable future. My only means of income during this pandemic is tips from live streams on Facebook.
Chicago Farmer
Bio: "You can smell the dirt in the fields, hear the wind as it blows across the plains, and see the people that Chicago Farmer sings about. Each track captures a moment in time, whether for a person or a particular place. Imagine if a John Steinbeck short story had been written as a song, and this will give you a fairly good idea as to what Chicago Farmer accomplishes on his albums."
How has COVID-19 affected you financially: Being a Full Time Touring Musician since 2004, Covid – 19 has brought said touring to a complete halt via the quarantine and stay in place order. This is unfortunately about 90% of my total income.
Our Quad Cities Breaking News
Police: Man had cocaine, 6 lbs. marijuana, THC
'I was a crappy person' Probation after $43K+ theft

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September's SoS featured writer, Lysley (pronounced "Leslie") Tenorio, is a very busy man these days. His recently published collection of short stories, Monstress, was given a starred review by Publisher's Weekly, and critics have used words like "luminous," "bold," and "electric" to describe the eight stories in the collection. These tales, about a ragtag collection of misfits, charlatans, and dreamers, are set in San Francisco and in the Philippines, where Tenorio was born, and from which he emigrated with his family when he was seven months old. He's currently teaching at St. Mary's College in the Bay Area, and I caught up with him just before he was scheduled to leave for Ireland, where he'd been invited to read at the Cork International Short Story Festival.
Lysley, thanks for taking the time to be interviewed for our blog. I'm curious about something I read in a recent article in the SF Chronicle, which referred to you as a "literary shape-shifter," and linked your stories, with their odd and quirky characters who often straddle two worlds, to your having grown up in Sana Francisco and the Philippines. Do you see yourself as a "literary shape-shifter?" How does your background as the American-raised child of Filipino parents inform your stories?
I wish I could see myself as a literal shape shifter, as shape-shifting is one of the best superpowers to have. As far as being a literary shape-shifter? I'm not so sure. Maybe to the extent that I like to change up voices and premises and tones from story to story, I do some shape shifting. As for my upbringing, I think that influenced a lot of the emotional, psychological, and thematic concerns of my stories–far-fetched as some of those stories might be, those concerns are in there.
Your stories seem to flow along so effortlessly—they're funny, outlandish, wry, and full of emotion, all springing forth in what seems a very clean and natural way. How much work does it take to achieve this seeming effortlessness? What's your revision process, and how many revisions might a story go through?
Revision is a slow and long process. When I finish a first draft, I start the second from the very first word. Same goes for the third, and the forth, until I get it right. I believe that altering one word means reconsidering the words around it, the sentence, the paragraph, the scene. I don't necessarily recommend revising this way, but it's the way I know how to write.
You seem comfortable writing in a man's, woman's, or child's voice. One reviewer mentioned the child narrator of your short story "Superassasin" as "one of the few instances where a writer gets a child narrator right." How do you manage to so thoroughly inhabit these various characters?
It probably has to do with all those drafts I mentioned above.
You put together an astonishing string of fellowships—Yaddo, MacDowell Colony, the Stegner Fellowship at Stanford, the National Endowment for the Arts—which you credit for allowing you the time to finish your collection Monstress. Now, you're teaching at St. Mary's College Do you find that teaching has affected your writing?
Teaching keeps me on my toes. If I'm paying close attention to my students' work, then I need to hold myself up to the same standards. It also forces me to read literature that I might not read on my own– I just read some of Darwin's "The Origin of Species" and was struck by how beautiful some of the writing is.
"Monstress," the title story from your recent collection, and the one being read at Stories on Stage, is set in the world of B horror movies. How did you happen to choose this setting? Are you a fan of B movies?
I'm sure you've read your own work before an audience dozens of times. But, have you ever had to listen to your story being read by another, as it is at Stories on Stage? What will it be like for you? Terrifying? Exciting? Both?
I've never heard my work read by someone else, so I'm very much looking forward to September 28.
Sue Staats recently received her MFA in Fiction from Pacific University. She's currently revising her novella, The Mitchell Boys, and working on a collection of linked short stories. Her short story "No Hero, No Sharks" was runner-up for the 2011 Gulf Coast Prize in Fiction, a finalist for the 2011 Reynolds Price Fiction Award, and was published this spring in The Farallon Review. Her fiction, non-fiction and poetry have also been published numerous times in Susurrus, the literary journal of Sacramento City College.


text:
Wedding Venues in Carmarthenshire, Wales
Amman Centre Ammanford, Carmarthenshire.
Ashburnham Hotel Burry Port, Carmarthenshire.
Best Western Diplomat Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.
Broadway Country House Laugharne, Carmarthenshire.
Corran Resort & Spa Laugharne, Carmarthenshire.
Dinefwr Park and Castle Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire.
Ffos Las Racecourse Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.
Gwesty'r Emlyn Hotel Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire.
Halfway Inn Ltd Nantgaredig, Carmarthenshire.
Ivy Bush Hotel Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire.
Jabajak Vineyard Restaurant With Rooms Whitland, Carmarthenshire.
Llwyn Hall Country House Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.
National Botanic Garden of Wales Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire.
Parc Y Scarlets Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.
Penybanc Farm Llandysul, Carmarthenshire.
Plas Glansevin Llangadog, Carmarthenshire.
Scarlets Regional Ltd Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.
Selwyn Samuel Centre & Lliedi Suite Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.
Stradey Park Hotel Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.
Sylen Lakes Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.
The Ammanford Registration Office Ammanford, Carmarthenshire.
The Baltic Inn And Restaurant Ponthenri, Carmarthenshire.
The Barn at Carreg Cennen Castle Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire.
The Castle Hotel Llandovery, Carmarthenshire.
The Cawdor Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire.
The Diplomat Hotel Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.
The Fig Tree Dryslwyn, Carmarthenshire.
The Gwenllian Court Hotel Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire.
The Halliwell Conference Centre Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire.
The Mansion House Hotel Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire.
The Mountain Gate Hotel Ammanford, Carmarthenshire.
The Old School Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire.
The Plough Inn Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire.
The Register Office - Carmarthen Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire.
The Register Office - Llanelli Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.
The Taf Whitland, Carmarthenshire.
The Town Hall Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.
Thomas Arms Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.
Three Rivers Hotel and Spa Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire.
White Hart Inn Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire.
West Glamorgan
21/12/2020 11:53:17 Wales
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There are reviews on the relative effectiveness of different strategies for ensuring the uptake of guidelines in the NHS,2-4 but this article is aimed at providing practical advice to the individual practitioner who wishes to play a full part in supporting a change for the better in their own practice or those of their colleagues. After all, no change equates to no improvement.
Studies of diffusion show that new ideas percolate through groups, whether they are doctors or farmers, in an S-shaped curve; initially there is a slow uptake of ideas, followed by a period of rapid uptake. Then as the majority of the group have changed their behaviour, there is a slower uptake in the final group. This is because the rate of diffusion of an innovation is related not just to the idea but also to the methods of communication, and the individuals receiving this communication.
What are the implications of this for the busy doctor? First, it provides evidence to support the often implicit idea that just sending an email or writing a paper will have little or no effect on behaviour. There is no point in just writing guidelines; their incorporation and implementation needs support to encourage uptake among those who do not immediately adopt new ideas. Time for this support needs to be built in and costed.
Second, do not be disheartened that not everybody adopts new ideas immediately. In different subjects, in different groups, in different countries the numbers are surprisingly constant, with 84% of individuals not adopting new ideas rapidly. Be ready for this and manage it. Eventually you will hit what is known as the 'tipping point', which is the point on the graph where the bulk of individuals who comprise the early and late majority (68% of individuals) start to take up new ideas.
are compatible with pre-existing values.
This knowledge can advise us on how to present new guidelines and new ways of working so they are more attractive for colleagues, and therefore lead to more rapid uptake.
These ideas about diffusion are helpful in setting out in general terms how to bring about change, but from time to time every leader will come across an individual who seems to be resisting what is clearly, to the advocate, beneficial change. How should one approach this issue?
Kurt Lewin suggested in his book Field theory in social science that human behaviour is a result of the effects of two opposing sets of forces, 'driving forces' versus 'restraining forces'.7 Driving forces attempt to bring about change; restraining forces seek to maintain the status quo. This concept can be used to analyse a situation and how an individual may perceive the situation to produce what is known as a 'force field model'.
On the face of it, this seems a rather simplistic approach. However, its value lies in requiring the person who is interested in change to view proposed changes from a different perspective (i.e. from the point of view of those less keen on change). After all 'people don't mind change, they mind being changed'. This technique can be used to assess what concerns people may have about change (the resisting forces) and allow the team to come together to reduce those problems. This is a far more productive approach than attempting to increase 'driving forces'. The consequence of pushing ideas at people is that they tend to push back, thus decreasing rather than increasing the rate of change.
Rogers5 and Lewin7 provide two academic studies of change that have led to some practical advice in how change circulates through communities, and how to approach individuals who may or may not resist proposed change. How can we convert these useful ideas into a plan of action for incorporating published guidelines into mainstream practice? The theory of diffusion tells us that in practice not all members of staff will rapidly adopt new ideas; how can we go about our business to support the change and make it more likely to be successful?
failing to embed change as the corporate way of doing things.
Following on from his research on why change fails, Kotter makes the following recommendations on how to avoid these failures.
The reality is that change is messy and difficult. If it was easy, everybody would be able to do it. However, incorporation of relatively straightforward techniques will increase the chances of success and lead to those improvements in patient care for which we all strive.
Grol R, Grimshaw J. Evidence-based implementation of evidence-based medicine. Jt Comm J Qual Improv 1999; 25 (10): 503–513.
Palmer C, Fenner J. Getting the message across: Review of research and theory about disseminating information within the NHS. London; Gaskell, 1999.
Grol R, Grimshaw J. From best evidence to best practice: effective implementation of change in patients' care. Lancet 2003; 362 (9391): 1225–1330.
University of York, NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. Getting evidence into practice. Effective Health Care Bulletin 1999; 5 (1): 1–16.
Rogers E. Diffusion of Innovations. New York: The Free Press, 1962.
Coleman J, Katz E, Mentzel H. Medical innovation: diffusion of a medical drug among doctors. Indianapolis, MN: Bobbs-Merrill, 1996.
Lewin K. Field theory in social science. New York: Harper, 1951.
Kotter J. Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1996.


The transforming wall bed system and accompanying glass coffee table by Resource Furniture modeled a space-saving solution for compact quarters. As the home travels from stop to stop, its furnishings evolve to reflect the aesthetic of the host city. For San Francisco, Courtney Lake of Monogram Decor used a palette of blue, orange, and gold to evoke a youthful energy and recall the Golden Gate Bridge spanning bay waters.


text:
from bokeh.io import show
from bokeh.models import TickFormatter
from bokeh.plotting import figure
from bokeh.util.compiler import TypeScript

JS_CODE = """
import {TickFormatter} from "models/formatters/tick_formatter"

export class MyFormatter extends TickFormatter {

  // TickFormatters should implement this method, which accepts a list
  // of numbers (ticks) and returns a list of strings
  doFormat(ticks: number[] | string[]): string[] {
    // format the first tick as-is
    const formatted = [`${ticks[0]}`]

    // format the remaining ticks as a difference from the first
    for (let i = 1; i < ticks.length; i++) {
      formatted.push(`+${(Number(ticks[i]) - Number(ticks[0])).toPrecision(2)}`)
    }

    return formatted
  }

  static initClass(): void {
    this.prototype.type = "MyFormatter"
  }
}
MyFormatter.initClass()
"""

class MyFormatter(TickFormatter):

    __implementation__ = TypeScript(JS_CODE)

p = figure()
p.circle([1,2,3,4,6], [5,7,3,2,4])

p.xaxis.formatter = MyFormatter()

show(p)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Home » Message » Have a Great Reading Summer!
Have a Great Reading Summer!
The OverDrive eBook collection: If you are traveling this summer, or if you live far from your library, or if you finish a book on Saturday and can't get to Chapter's until Monday, here is your solution.
Go to https://lbpsb.lib.overdrive.com and sign in with your Portal email.
Download the OverDrive app onto your device. Add "Lester B. Pearson School Board" to libraries (in the app). Sign in with your Portal email account. You will find over 1,000 titles in this collection, all free for you to use. You can check out one title at a time, for a period of one or two weeks. Some titles can be returned, so that you can check out the next one. Enjoy!
The Online Book Club: Subscribe to this blog by clicking on the "Follow" button, and you will get three reading suggestions in your inbox every 10 days over the summer, courtesy of your school librarians. Go ahead! Discover a title outside of your comfort zone.
Now get a cool glass of ice tea and head for your favourite reading spot! Hammock, anyone?
By westwoodsrlibrarian in Message on June 22, 2015 .


text:
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Sheila has been working with, and supporting, non-profit and community organizations for over 20 years. She came to know and support Trinity Boston Foundation in its early years of formation through her work as strategic grants manager for the State Street Foundation and as Founder and Director of the Youth Violence Prevention Funder Learning Collaborative in Boston. In these capacities, Sheila managed an $11M grantmaking portfolio in support of hundreds of youth-serving and adult-serving non-profits throughout Boston and led multi-year major gift fundraising campaigns to sustain the collective impact actions of the Funder Collaborative. Most recently, as an independent strategic philanthropy consultant, Sheila provided development and fundraising services to non-profit and education organizations. Prior to State Street, Sheila's passion for community betterment along with her entrepreneurial skill set led to the establishment of the first corporate citizenship function at the global corporation for which she had been working in a variety of managerial capacities since the beginning of her career. Sheila received a B.A. in Mathematics from the College of the Holy Cross and is a certified facilitator, trainer, and fundraising professional. Sheila serves on the Boards of Directors at New England Center for Arts (NECAT) and Technology and the Hockomock Area YMCA.
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text:
Catholic Church & AsiaPope Francis
Pope Francis warns against 'practical atheism'
Pope Francis warned against people who claim to believe in God but act as if there is no God, or those who "do not recognize the human person as the image of God."
The pontiff said the Creator does not condone "atheism," which he said "repudiate(s) the divine image that is imprinted in every human being."
"I believe in God but I keep my distance from others and I allow myself to hate others. This is practical atheism," said Pope Francis during his General Audience this week.
He stressed that it is "an abomination" and "the worst offense that can be directed toward the temple and the altar," if a person would not recognize the image of the Creator in His creations.
"Scripture acknowledges the case of the person who, even though he or she sincerely searches for God, never succeeds to encounter Him," said the pope.
"But it also affirms that the tears of the poor can never be repudiated on pain of not encountering God," he added.
Pope Francis underscored the importance of praying from the heart and not "like parrots," adding that "prayer is the salvation of the human being".
He criticized those who pray just "for the admiration of others" or those who hear the Mass "only to make it seen that they are Catholics or to show off the latest fashion that they acquired."
"They are moving toward false prayer. Jesus strongly admonished against such prayer," he said.
The pope stressed that "to pray like parrots" is the "worst service someone can give God" and to his or her fellow human beings.
"One prays with the heart," he said. "Prayer is the center of life. If there is prayer, even a brother, a sister, even an enemy becomes important," he said.
He encouraged the faithful to learn to pray from the Psalter, which he described as "a tremendous school."
"We saw how the Psalms do not always use refined and gentle language, and how they often bring out the scars of existence," he said.
"Even the Psalms in the first person singular, which confide the most intimate thoughts and problems of an individual, are a collective patrimony, to the point of being prayed by everyone and for everyone," said Pope Francis.
At the beginning of his address, the pontiff apologized for keeping his distance from the people at the Paul VI Audience Hall, saying, "it is for your safety."
Instead of coming near you and shaking your hands and greeting you, we have to greet each other from a distance, but know that I am near you with my heart. I hope that you understand why I am doing this," he said.
After noticing a mother who was trying to comfort her crying baby, the pontiff said, "This is what God does with us, like that mamma."
"Never silence a crying baby in Church, never, because it is the voice that attracts God's tenderness," said the pontiff.


Let your loved ones know they're in your thoughts with a gift card. You can help them get started on their next framing project or buy the new piece of art they've been eyeing.
A gift card for Rose City Framemakers will put a smile on anyone's face for any occasion.


text:
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Visits to Heaven and Hell, Part Two
Alan W. Gomes — January 28, 2015
This is the second post in a two part series; you can read the first part here..
The Biblical Authors Suggest the Default Pattern
Since we know beyond any doubt that the Bible is an absolutely reliable guide to the afterlife, it would be reasonable for us to maintain a healthy skepticism about alleged experiences that deviate from the biblical pattern, even when such experiences do not contradict the Bible outright.
Consider heaven. Biblical authors who report seeing certain of heaven's features include Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Paul, and John. What are some of the characteristics of these experiences and the way in which the authors report them?
First, there are very few biblical writers who recount such experiences. That alone should give us pause. As Hitchcock notes, "Those who claim to have visited heaven and then come back to report what they saw are placing themselves in very select company."[1] Now, it makes sense that someone like the Apostle John would have a vision of heaven, granting his role as an Apostle in conveying God's full revelation to his people. And in order to convince us to pay attention to such men, God confirmed their prophetic "bona fides" in powerful and indisputable ways (Heb. 2:3-4). But can this be said for any of the more recent claimants?
Second, the biblical writers received their information either as visions or perhaps—in the case of the Apostle Paul—through a literal, bodily transport into heaven (2 Cor. 12:2-3). So far as we know, none of these biblical accounts involve a near-death experience. On the other hand, those in the Bible who did come back from the dead—such as those recorded in Matthew 27:52-53; Mark 5:35-43; John 11:1-46; and Revelation 11:3-12—never "wrote a book about their experience or hit the talk show circuit."[2]
Third, the biblical writers who truly did have a heavenly encounter show considerable reserve in recounting what they saw and experienced. Consider the Apostle Paul, who was not even permitted by God to divulge the details of his experience (2 Cor. 12:4). As Hitchcock rightly asks, "Why would God forbid Paul from telling us about what he saw when he was caught up to paradise and yet let dozens of others in the last twenty years do it?"[3] Even John, who presents relatively more detail, nevertheless appears to confine himself to those elements essential to communicating his prophetic vision. Absent are the superfluous and trivial details one finds in so many modern stories, such as a description of the Devil's poor oral hygiene.[4]
Alternative Explanations Must Be Considered
What are some possible alternative explanations to account for such stories? Below I shall suggest some of the more obvious possible ones. Whether one of these applies in a particular case can only be determined by the evidence unique to that case.[5]
Fraud and Deception
One cannot automatically rule out fraud or deliberate deception. People do lie, and for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is for financial gain—such as in order to sell books, movies, or to line up paid speaking engagements. In other cases it may be to gain celebrity status, popularity, or notoriety.
The Christian community has certainly seen its share of "pious frauds." Consider Mike Warnke, the supposed ex-high priest in the Church of Satan turned Christian comedian. An entire generation of Christians formed its estimate of Satanism based on his "insider information." But painstaking investigative journalism demonstrated conclusively that Warnke made the whole thing up.[6]
People have lied about their "heavenly experiences" as well. For example, we have the story of (then) six year old Alex Malarkey, who recounts his 2004 near-fatal car crash and ensuing journey to heaven in the book The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven, written by his father Kevin. In January of 2015, Alex recanted his story in an open letter, stating, "I did not die. I did not go to heaven. I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention."[7]
I am not accusing everyone who claims to have experienced heaven or hell of lying, as these people did. But neither would I rule out deliberate lying automatically. It has happened before.
Suggestibility
Some individuals are highly suggestible and fabricate experiences that seem real to them even though they are not objectively true. As NDE researcher and author Richard Abanes argues, there is a certain psychological profile that correlates with a greater susceptibility to NDE experiences. Consider also that people who are already steeped in Christian ideas have visions of heaven and hell that take a biblical shape, whereas the NDEs of individuals from non-Christian cultures tend to populate their descriptions of the afterlife with features consistent with their own cultural expectations. This suggests the possibility that the experiences in question are subjective, expressing features of their preexisting beliefs and not of objective reality.
Demonic or Occultic Causes
It is possible that some of the alleged experiences of heaven and hell may be demonically induced. This is especially so in cases where the individual claiming the experience has a background in occultic (including New Age) practices. Some of the experiences of Elizabeth Kübler-Ross and that of Betty Eadie may fall into this category.
It may be difficult or impossible to say definitively whether demonic agency is the cause of any particular vision of heaven or hell. But as a practical matter, it may not matter. As we observed above, individuals steeped in occultic or other false religious systems invariably present features that run afoul of biblical teaching in relating their accounts—often asserting that they were told all religions lead to the same God, that there is no hell, that all will be saved, etc. And we know from Scripture that those who contradict the word of God "have no light in them" (Isa. 8:20, KJV). Therefore, we reject such stories whatever their ultimate source.
Physiological/Biological/Chemical Explanations
Chemical processes in the brain—whether through drugs such as hashish or by naturally occurring physical events—can precipitate vivid experiences along the lines of what one commonly finds in reports of heaven and hell. This might especially be suspected in the case of "near death" induced visions, given the disruption and irregularities to the person's normal biological functions that are taking place, particularly in the brain.[8]
Assessing the Practical Value of These Claims
Even granting the theoretical possibility that some of the claimed experiences of heaven and hell might be literally true, we must consider the question of their practical value.
Even if someone truly did go to heaven and then accurately report his or her findings, how could we know whether the experience (and the report of it) corresponds to reality? Assuming of course that the story does not contain features that contradict Scripture, how could we rule out other possible causes, including some of the ones discussed above? The amount of time, money, and effort it took to discredit Mike Warnke, for example, is considerable. But assessing claims about heaven or hell presents an even more formidable challenge. Absent direct contradictions to the Bible, just how would one invalidate such assertions, granting their inherently subjective nature? At best we would have to remain agnostic about it.
Also, what could we glean from such stories that we really need to know anyway? That heaven and hell are real? We already know that from the Bible. That hell is a place of unutterable anguish while heaven is a place of glorious bliss? We already know that from the Bible too. That Jesus traipses about heaven on a rainbow colored horse? Even if true, somehow the church has done just fine for two millennia without knowing this particular detail.
But what about the great encouragement to faith that these stories provide? And does it not show a lack of faith to be so skeptical of these claims?
The Bible commands us to have faith in God and his word, not in the purported and unverifiable experiences of others. And speaking of a "lack of faith," re-read the publicity blurbs cited at the very beginning of this chapter and then ask why stories like these would "encourage those who doubt and thrill those who believe" if the Bible does not already do that. Could this be what Jesus had in mind when he spoke of "an unbelieving generation that seeks a sign" (Matt. 12:39)?
Perhaps some feel that merely presenting what the Bible says about the afterlife is not compelling enough. According to Wiese, Jesus supposedly told him that he was given his vision of hell so he could share it with others, "because many people do not believe that hell truly exists. Even some of my own people do not believe that hell is real."[9] Perhaps the "Jesus" who told this to Wiese was "a different Jesus"[10] from the one who recounted the following:
27 And [the rich man] said, "Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment."
29 But Abraham said, "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them."
30 And he said, "No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent."
31 He said to him, "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead." (Luke 16:27-31)[11]
[1] Mark Hitchcock, 55 Answers to Questions about Life After Death (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2005), 137.
[2] Hitchcock, 54.
[3] Hitchcock, 137.
[4] "The Devil's mouth is funny looking, with only a few mouldy teeth." Kevin Malarkey and Alex Malarkey, The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven (Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 2010), 171.
[5] Again, I would refer the interested reader to Abanes, Journey Into the Light, who provides actual evidence for some of the alternatives I am suggesting here.
[6] See Mike Heternstein and Jon Trott, Selling Satan: The Evangelical Media and the Mike Warnke Scandal (Chicago: Cornerstone, 1993).
[7] See Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, "The 'Boy Who Came Back from Heaven' Retracts Story," Christianity Today, January 15, 2015, http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2015/january/boy-who-came-back-from-heaven-retraction.html; Ron Charles, "'Boy Who Came Back From Heaven' actually didn't; books recalled," Washington Post, January16, 2015, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2015/01/15/boy-who-came-back-from-heaven-going-back-to-publisher/?hpid=z5.
[8] Abanes, Journey, 102; citing the work of professors Saavedra-Aguilar and Gómez-Jeria.
[9] Wiese, 33.
[10] 2 Corinthians 11:4.
[11] Someone might raise the trivial and irrelevant objection that Wiese did not claim to have returned from the dead, and so these verses are not applicable to his case. Actually, that fact makes the argument all the more powerful. If people who reject the Bible will not accept the reality of hell from someone who actually returns from the grave, how much less would they believe it from someone who claims merely to have had a vision of it while asleep in bed?
Alan W. Gomes
Norman Geisler
Greg Ganssle — July 11, 2019
"Broken" as an Excuse for Repetitive Sinning
Kenneth Berding — July 9, 2019
On God's Justice and Love
Weekly Q & A with Dr. William Lane Craig
William Craig — July 5, 2019
Peter Atterton on the Coherence of Theism
William Craig — June 28, 2019
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text:
Q: Generate two diferents pdf from the same url using PhantomJS I want to generate 2 diferents pdf from the same url (http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-8c33jx/)
One pdf is in portuguese and other one in english. To set the language manually i have to click on the link PT or EN on the top right of the screen.
This link is a javascript action.
I am using this command to generate the PDF:
phantomjs rasterize.js 'http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-8c33jx/' RBR-8c33jx3.pdf 1200*600

that i found here at https://coderwall.com/p/5vmo1g/use-phantomjs-to-create-pdfs-from-html.
Is it possible to use emulate the click in the link PT and EN in the phantomjs code to change the language and generate 2 pdfs?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


11% of this provider's 223 patients filled at least one prescription for an antibiotic drug, compared to an average of 7%.
6% of this provider's 223 patients filled at least one prescription for an opioid, compared to an average of 2%.
$1122 was the average price of a prescription from this provider, compared to $462 among peers.


The invention discloses a method for determining a text feature vector, a system, a text classification method and a system. The method includes: obtaining the training text set; using the chi square test method to extract the text feature; constructing the water wave group and initializing; selecting the current optimal water wave and judging whether the fitness value is less than the fitness threshold; if not, the optimal text feature vector is determined; if, carry on the transmission treatment and calculate the fitness value; judge the water. Whether the value of the wave fitness increases; if the wave after propagation is used instead of the water wave before the propagation treatment, the water wave before the propagation treatment is retained; the water wave group and the number of iterations are updated according to the second judgment results, and the optimal water wave is redetermined; whether the number of iterations is less than the iterative threshold is judged; if then, it is judged as if the wave is less than the iterative threshold. Whether the fitness value of the pre optimal water wave reaches the fitness threshold or not, determines the optimal text feature vector. The method and system provided by the invention can reduce the dimension of the text feature vector on the premise of guaranteeing the accuracy of the classification.