By Kevin Omland, professor, Biological Sciences, UMBC; Evangeline Rose, Ph.D. ’20, biological sciences, UMBC, and Karan Odom, Ph.D. ’16, biological sciences, Cornell University

Americans often idealize scientists as unbiased, objective observers. But scientists are affected by conscious and unconscious biases, just as people in other fields are. Studies of birds’ vocal behavior clearly show how research approaches can be affected by the people who do the work.

For more than 150 years, dating back at least to Charles Darwin’s writings on sexual selection, scientists have generally considered bird song to be a male trait. The widely accepted view was that bird songs are long complex vocalizations produced by males during the breeding season, whereas such vocalizations in females are generally rare or abnormal.

But over the past 20 years, research has shown that both males and females in many bird species sing, especially in the tropics. For example, our group has studied female song and male-female duets in Venezuelan troupials, a tropical species that sings year-round to defend territories. And we have studied female song in eastern bluebirds, a temperate species in which females sing to communicate with their mates during the breeding season.

Recent findings have shown that female song is widespread, and it is likely that the ancestor of all songbirds had female song. Now, rather than asking why males originally evolved song, the question has become why both sexes originally evolved song, and why females have lost song in some species.

In a recently published study, we reviewed 20 years of research on female bird song and found that the key people driving this recent paradigm shift were women. If fewer women had entered this field, we believe that it likely would have taken much longer to reach this new understanding of how bird song originally evolved. We see this example as a powerful demonstration of why it’s important to increase diversity in all fields of science.

New voices lead to new perspectives

Traditionally, white men working in countries of the Northern Hemisphere have conducted much of the research on bird song. Researchers in countries such as the U.S., Canada, England and Germany have focused much of their work on migratory birds that breed in the north temperate zone.

But starting in the 1990s, new research began to contradict this view. Studies pointed out the bias toward temperate zones in previous work, and indicated that in the tropics, females of many species are prolific singers. Researchers began to study how female birds use their songs, how females learn songs and why females in some species join their mates to sing precisely coordinated duets.

We noticed that women had written many of the key papers on female song published in recent years and wondered whether this was a general trend. To see whether women were significantly more likely to publish about female bird song than men, we identified all papers with “female song” in the title or abstract that had been published in the last 20 years. Next we assembled a set of papers generally published in the same journals in the same years, but focused on “bird song” more broadly.

Male and female troupials. Both sexes are elaborately colored, and both sexes sing. Karan Odom, CC BY-ND

For each of these papers we determined the genders of all authors, including the first author, middle authors and final author. Final authors frequently are the senior authors – for example, research group leaders.

Focusing on first authors, we found that 68% of female song papers were written by women, whereas only 44% of the bird song papers were written by women. Therefore, men were 24% less likely to study female song than bird song. Conversely, women were 24% more likely to study female song.

Middle authors on female song papers were also slightly skewed toward women. However, last authors were much more commonly men for both female song and bird song papers. In other words, the team leaders on these projects were still more likely to be men.

For female song studies, 58% of last authors were men. In our view, although ornithology is now a relatively gender-balanced field, more women need to be promoted into senior leadership positions, so that they can lead key decisions on research directions, funding and student projects.

Diverse perspectives help drive scientific progress

A major goal of our study was to recognize and promote the diverse perspectives of researchers with different backgrounds and identities. However, we felt it was crucial for our study to look back at least 20 years, since that was the time frame over which this key paradigm shift occurred. Many authors from that far back would be difficult to contact directly for a variety of reasons.

In the future, allowing authors to self-identify for studies of gender and authorship in a range of fields would likely produce more correct gender data and allow researchers to identify as nonbinary or non-gender-conforming.

Our case study on bird song provides dramatic evidence that who researchers are, where they are from and what experiences they have had influence the science that they do. More diverse groups of researchers may ask a broader range of questions, utilize more varied methods and tackle problems from a wider range of perspectives.

Gender is just one aspect of identity that could influence topics, conceptual approaches and specific methodologies used in a wide range of scientific disciplines. Many other factors, such as race, ethnicity, geographic location and socioeconomic standing, could also have important impacts on scientific research.

Recent events have vividly illustrated the effects of racial biases in areas ranging from criminal justice to outdoor recreation. Our study shows why it is important to address racial, gender and other biases to improve the outcomes of research, teaching and outreach at colleges and universities around the world.

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Casey Haines ’19, biological sciences, a recent undergraduate student at the UMBC, was lead author of the study on which this article is based. Michelle Moyer, a PhD student at UMBC, helped with this work.

Kevin Omland, Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Evangeline Rose, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Maryland, and Karan Odom, Postdoctoral Fellow, Cornell University

Header image: Female song is common among fairywrens, like this red-backed fairywren. Paul Balfe/Flickr, CC BY

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Dipanjan Pan, professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering at UMBC, and collaborators have published a seminal study in Nature Communications that demonstrates for the first time a method of biosynthesizing plasmonic gold nanoparticles within cancer cells, without the need for conventional bench-top lab methods. It has the potential to notably expand biomedical applications. 

Conventional laboratory-based synthesis of gold nanoparticles require ionic precursors and reducing agents subjected to varying reaction conditions such as temperature, pH, and time. This leads to variation in nanoparticle size, morphology and functionalities that are directly correlated to their internalization in cells, their residence time in vivo, and clearance. In order to avoid these uncertainties, this work demonstrates that biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles can be achieved efficiently and directly inside cancer cells without requiring conventional laboratory methods.

The researchers examined how various cancer cells responded to the introduction of chloroauric acid to their cellular microenvironment by forming gold nanoparticles. These nanoparticles generated within the cell can potentially be used for various biomedical applications, including in x-ray imaging and in therapy by destroying abnormal tissue or cells. 

Expanding biomedical applications 

In the paper, Pan and his team describe their new method of producing these plasmonic gold nanoparticles within cells in minutes, within a cell’s nucleus, using polyethylene glycol as a delivery vector for ionic gold. “We have developed a unique system where gold nanoparticles are reduced by cellular biomolecules and those are able to retain their functionality, including the capacity to guide the remaining cluster to the nucleus,” says Pan. 

They also worked to further demonstrate the biomedical potential of this approach by inducing in-situ biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles within a mouse tumor, followed by photothermal remediation of the tumor. Pan explains that the mouse study exemplified how “the intracellular formation and nuclear migration of these gold nanoparticles presents a highly promising approach for drug delivery application.”

“Gold is the quintessential noble element that has been used in biomedical applications since its first colloidal synthesis more than three centuries ago,” Pan notes. “To appreciate its potential for clinical application, however, the most challenging research ahead of us will be to find new methods of producing these particles with uncompromised reproducibility with functionalities that can promote efficient cellular binding, clearance, and biocompatibility and to assess their long-term term effects on human health. This new study is a small but important step toward that overarching goal.”

In addition to his appointment at UMBC, Pan is a professor of diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine and pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) as part of his dual appointment with the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Coauthors on the paper are affiliated with the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; UMSOM; and Cytoviva, Inc.

Banner image: UMBC’s Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Arifat Ola-Dauda (She/Her)

Hello Everyone, my name is Arifat Ola-Dauda. I am a double major in Social Work and Political Science here at UMBC. I’ll be working in the women’s center this year for my Social Work field Placement. I am very passionate about social justice, and the issues that are currently affecting America’s minorities. When I am not doing schoolwork or with the women’s center, you will find me reading a book or on Netflix. Looking forward to a great year with everyone, despite the current circumstances. 

Kaitlyn Kylus (She/Her)

Hello! My name is Kaitlyn and I’m a Senior majoring in Social Work with a minor in Psychology. Hopefully I will be continuing on to grad school next year at UMB School of Social Work. I’m passionate about supporting survivors of sexual and power based violence, and am the current Vice President of We Believe You. I’m super excited to be working at the Women’s Center again this year and can’t wait to meet you all!

Some fun facts about me are that I’m a pisces sun with a libra moon and rising, but I only kinda know what that means. In my spare time you can catch me embroidering, re-reading books I loved in middle school, or taking a nap. 

Nandi Cook-Creek (She/Her)

Hi! My name is Nandi. I am a Senior English major and student staff member here at the Women’s Center. I’ll be co-facilitating our Women of Color Collective and We Believe You discussion groups, and I love being in community with you all more than anything at UMBC!

In my free time I like writing poetry, drinking tea, and watching anything animated. 

Carol Canales (She/Her)

Hi everyone! My name is Carol and I am currently a senior majoring in Financial Economics with a minor in Political Science. This is my first year as a Women’s Center Staff member, and I am very excited to build relationships with so many communities! 

I am also a member of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. and We Believe You on campus. On a personal note, I love going on nature walks, playing volleyball, sketching and journaling. My favorite shows to watch range from HGTV shows to the Avatar franchise. During my time at the Women’s Center, I hope to empower women of all backgrounds by working on the Women of Color Coalition programs. I’m excited to develop my skills and knowledge while working at such an awesome place. I cannot wait to work more closely with students, faculty, and the WC team.

Autumn Cook (She/They)

Hey, everyone! I am a senior Meyerhoff Scholar (M29), Honors College member pursuing a BS in Chemistry and a BA in Gender, Women and Sexuality studies and currently a student staff member at the Women’s Center. After I graduate, I hope to pursue a PhD in inorganic chemistry and materials science and become the first transgender person in space! This semester, I will be co-facilitating Spectrum, the Women’s Center’s discussion group for transgender and nonbinary individuals. While I am not working, I enjoy playing ultimate, spending time enjoying video games, and creating cosplays using my 3D printers.  

Sandra Crespin-Melgar (She/Her)

Hello! My name is Sandra and I am a senior majoring in Social Work with a minor is Psychology. I am also a Returning Woman Scholar and the President for Phi Alpha National Social Work Honor Society at the UMBC-Shady Grove Campus. This academic year, I am thrilled to be a student staff intern completing my field placement at the Women’s Center. I will be assisting with the Returning Women Scholars & Affiliates Program! As an adult learner, I have learned the importance of creating and cultivating relationships with students and staff members. Therefore, I cannot wait to “meet” everyone this year!

Other fun facts:

I love sloths!

I have a shih tzu named Luna.

I love crime podcasts/shows.

I am bi-bilingual (English and Spanish).

I am a first-generation college student/adult learner.

I am also vegetarian/vegan (I love animals!).

My ultimate favorite shows are Avatar: The Last Airbender & Legend of Korra (I also love the comics and novels).