sharingbuddypress

CommunityPageSupportingDiversityinSciencethroughSocialNetworkingGiovannaGuerrero-Medina1*.
,MonicaFeliu-Mojer1,2¤a.
,WilsonGonzalez-Espada1,3,GreetchenDaz-Munoz1,4,MarcosLopez1,5,6,SamuelL.
Daz-Munoz1,7¤b,YaiharaFortis-Santiago1,8,JacquelineFlores-Otero1,9¤c,DavidCraig1,10,DanielA.
Colon-Ramos1,9,11*1CienciaPuertoRico,SanJuan,PuertoRico,UnitedStatesofAmerica,2PrograminNeuroscience,DepartmentofNeurobiology,HarvardMedicalSchool,Boston,Massachusetts,UnitedStatesofAmerica,3DepartmentofMathematics,ComputerScienceandPhysics,MoreheadStateUniversity,Morehead,Kentucky,UnitedStatesofAmerica,4NebraskaCenterforVirology,MorrisonResearchCenter,Lincoln,Nebraska,UnitedStatesofAmerica,5VilanoResearchGroup,Biotechnology,InnovationandTechnologyDevelopment,FundacionCardiovasculardeColombia,Floridablanca,Colombia,6PrograminBiomedicalSciences,UniversidaddelValle,CiudadUniversitariaMelendez,Cali,ValledelCauca,Colombia,7SectionofEcology,BehaviorandEvolution,UniversityofCaliforniaSanDiego,LaJolla,California,UnitedStatesofAmerica,8AAASScienceandTechnologyPolicyFellow,Washington(D.
C.
),UnitedStatesofAmerica,9InstituteofNeurobiology,UniversityofPuertoRico,SanJuan,PuertoRico,UnitedStatesofAmerica,10StanfordHospitalandClinics,Stanford,California,UnitedStatesofAmerica,11PrograminCellularNeuroscience,NeurodegenerationandRepair,DepartmentofCellBiology,YaleUniversitySchoolofMedicine,NewHaven,Connecticut,UnitedStatesofAmericaIntroductionScienceisdisproportionatelyproducedatresearchcenterswithinafewselectregions[1,2].
Thisdistributioncontributesto''braindrain''—theculturalandgeo-graphicalseparationofresearchersfromtheircommunitiesoforigin[3].
Inplaceslackingresearchcenters,braindrainprecludesachievingacriticalmassofscientificexpertiseandthedevelopmentofscience,technology,engineering,andmathematics(STEM).
Displacedscientistsgraduallybecomedisconnectedfromtheirhomecommunitiesandcolleagues,pre-sentingachallengetomaintainingre-searchcollaborationsthatcouldbenefittheircommunitiesoforigin.
Insidiously,dispersionalsopresentssocio-cognitivechallengestoscientistswhoseethemselvesasunderrepresentedinthelargercultureofscience[4–6].
Socialnetworksholdenormouspromisefor''connecting''dispersedgroupsandprovidingnewopportunitiesforfellowshipandmentorshipamongunderrepresentedcommunitiesinscience.
Facedpersonallywiththeseobstacles,in2006,wecreatedCienciaPuertoRico(CienciaPR;www.
cienciapr.
org),anonlinenetworkthatconnectsscientistswithgeographic,aca-demic,and/orculturaltiestoPuertoRico.
CienciaPRwasbuilttocounteractthenegativeeffectsofscientificbraindrainby:(1)promotingscholarlyinteractionamongself-identifiedmembersofanotherwisedispersedcommunity;(2)providingvisibilitytodiversescientificrolemodels;and(3)supportingresearchandscienceeducationthroughinitiativesthatculturallyresonatewithourcommunityoforigin.
Here,wepresentCienciaPR'sdesignanddiscusshowweleverageourmem-bershiptoenhancescienceeducationandmentoringofPuertoRicanstudents.
Lookingbeyondourowncommunity,wesuggesthowoureffortscanbetranslatedtosimilarlydispersedpopulations.
Bygrowingandsupportingscientificdiversity,webelievesocialnetworkingcandemoc-ratizethescientificenterpriseandmorebroadlydistributeitsbenefits.
ConceptualizationandImplementationofCienciaPRThePuertoRicanscientificcommunityishighlydispersed—64%ofPuertoRicanPhDSTEMstudentsand44%ofthePuertoRicanSTEMdoctorateworkforceresidesoutsidethePuertoRicanarchipel-ago[7–9].
Recentemigrationtrendshaveexacerbateddispersion[10].
AvirtualspacethatconnectsthePuertoRicanscientificcommunitythusrepresentsapowerfulmeansofaddressingtheuniquechallengesfacedbythispopulation,whichshareselementsofbothdiasporaandminoritycommunities.
TheCommunityPageisaforumfororganizationsandsocietiestohighlighttheireffortstoenhancethedisseminationandvalueofscientificknowledge.
Citation:Guerrero-MedinaG,Feliu-MojerM,Gonzalez-EspadaW,Daz-MunozG,LopezM,etal.
(2013)SupportingDiversityinSciencethroughSocialNetworking.
PLoSBiol11(12):e1001740.
doi:10.
1371/journal.
pbio.
1001740Copyright:2013Guerrero-Medinaetal.
Thisisanopen-accessarticledistributedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense,whichpermitsunrestricteduse,distribution,andreproductioninanymedium,providedtheoriginalauthorandsourcearecredited.
Funding:CienciaPRhasreceivedfundingfromthePuertoRicoScienceTechnologyandResearchTrust(2011–2012;http://prsciencetrust.
org//news)forwebsiteredesignanddevelopmentofonlinetoolsandfromtheBancoPopularFoundation(2011–2014;http://www.
fundacionbancopopular.
org)fortheCienciaBoricua!
Project,therecruitmentofanExecutiveDirectorin2012,andthedevelopmentofscienceeducationvideosandaresourcecatalogforteachers.
CienciaPRhasalsoreceivedsponsorshipsfromPfizer,Amgen,andPACIVandin-kinddonationsfromtheNIH-RCMIProgramoftheUniversityofPuertoRico(http://rcmi.
rcm.
upr.
edu)forsciencecareerseventsin2011and2013.
Fundershadnoroleindatacollectionandanalysis,decisiontopublish,orpreparationofthemanuscript.
CompetingInterests:Theauthorshavedeclaredthatnocompetinginterestsexist.
*E-mail:giovanna.
guerrero@cienciapr.
org(GG-M);daniel.
colon-ramos@yale.
edu(DAC-R).
Theseauthorscontributedequallytothiswork.
¤aCurrentaddress:DepartmentofBiostatistics,UniversityofWashington,Seattle,Washington,UnitedStatesofAmerica¤bCurrentaddress:DepartmentofPlantandMicrobialBiology,UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,Berkeley,California,UnitedStatesofAmerica¤cCurrentaddress:DepartmentofAnatomyandNeurobiology,UniversityofPuertoRico,RoPiedras,PuertoRico,UnitedStatesofAmericaPublishedDecember31,2013PLOSBiology|www.
plosbiology.
org1December2013|Volume11|Issue12|e1001740TwoaspectswerekeyinthedesignofCienciaPR.
First,weconceptualizedthenetworkasasitefor''anyoneinterestedinscienceandPuertoRico.
''Thisdefinitionwasbroadbydesigntoaccountfortheidiosyncrasiesofcultural,ethnic,andnationalidentification,andtopromotetheinclusionofanyoneinterestedincontrib-utingtothePuertoRicanscientificcommunityregardlessoftheirplaceoforigin.
WhilemostofourmembershipconsistsofPuertoRicanscientists,abroaddefinitionhelpsattractscientistsaroundtheworldinterestedinresearchoreduca-tionalcollaborationswithPuertoRico.
Second,wegaveimportantconsider-ationtouserprofiles,atypicalfeatureofsocialnetworkingsites[11],buttailoredthemforscientists,gatheringinformationaboutresearchinterests,publications,insti-tutionalaffiliation,mentoring,entrepre-neurialinterests,andtraininghistory(seehttp://bit.
ly/1bXN6dy,forexample).
AtCienciaPR.
org,userscanopenandpopu-lateaprofile,freeofcost.
Duringthefirst6yearsofthewebsite,nameandemailweretheonlyfieldsrequiredtoopenaprofile.
Despitethis,amajorityofCienciaPRmembershavechosentolisttheirinstitution(54%),field(s)ofscientificinterest(58%),andtrainingorworkposition(70%).
InformationcollectedthroughCienciaPRprofilesallowsthecreationofamapofthecommunity'sgeographicfootprintandcollectivecapacity(Figure1C).
Profilesservebothtoidentifyindividualswithspecificexpertiseformentoringorcollab-oration,andtoprovidevisibilitytoacommunityofscientists,otherwiseinvisi-bleduetogeographicdispersionandunderrepresentation.
Anumberofsocialnetworkingtools(peer-to-peermessaging,mapsofnearbymembers,messageboards,eventscalendar,personalscientificblogs,andautomatedmatchingofmemberswithsimilarinterests)facilitateinteractionandkeepthewebsitedynamicandupdatedthroughmember-drivencontent.
Inaddition,weaddvaluebycreatinglistings—manyupdatedinreal-timethroughrealsimplesyndication(RSS)—thatdisplayfundingopportunities,jobopenings,andPuertoRicanscientificorganizations.
Thisapproachallowsustocrowd-sourcerelevantcontentinacost-effectivemanner,publishinganaverageofsevennewpiecesofmember-drivencontentperweek.
TheoriginalCienciaPRwebsite,devel-opedprobonobyoneoftheauthors(DC),consistedofanSQLdatabasewithacustom-designedfront-endandcontentmanagementsystem.
Thisprovedsuffi-cientformostofouroperationsduringthefirst6years.
Thecommunity'sinterestinourwebsite,asevidencedbymemberregistrationsandvisits(Figure1Aand1B),servedtosecurefundingfromthePuertoRicoScience,Technology,andResearchTrustforthedevelopmentofamoresophisticatedDrupal7-basedplat-form(launchedSeptember2012).
Bothversionsofthewebsitewereintentionallydesignedwithopensourceplatformstofacilitatesharingandusebyothercom-munities.
ThoughCienciaPRchoseDru-palforitscustomizability,thereareothersimpleandaffordablesocialnetworkingsolutions(e.
g.
,Ning,SocialEngine,Elgg,BuddyPress)availabletogroupsinterestedinreplicatingourapproach.
NewsaboutthelaunchoftheoriginalwebsitewasinitiallysenttoscientificleadersinPuertoRicobutthereaftermembershipcontinuedtogrowwithnomarketingefforts,basedonword-of-mouthandorganicwebsitetraffic.
In7yearsCienciaPR'smembershiphassoaredto6,364(asofSeptember8,2013),makingitthelargestdatabaseofPuertoRicanscientistsacrosstheworld(Figure1C–1F).
Basedonnationalsurveys,weestimateCienciaPR'smembershipaccountsfor,30%ofallPuertoRicandoctoratesinSTEMand65%–70%ofallPuertoRicangraduatestudentsacrosstheUS[12].
CienciaPRhasanengagedfollowing.
Almost29%oftraffictothewebsiteisfromdirectsources(Figure1H;directURLentriesandmembernewsletter)andCienciaPR'sFacebookpagehasaweeklyengagementaverageof691uniqueusers.
Memberprofilesandourmessageboards—displayingresearchtrainingandfundingopportunities—areourmostfre-quentedsections(Figure1I).
Membershipengagementisreflectedinthethousandsofpeer-messagesandboardpostsoverthelifespanofthewebsite.
FromConnectivitytoActionCienciaPR'ssocialnetworkenablestheidentificationofbothneedsandresourceswithinourcommunityforinnovativeresearchandeducationalinterventions.
Below,weenumerateonlineandofflineinitiatives,describehowtheyemergedorganicallyfromtheneedsofourmem-bership,andhowonlinetoolswereusedtoleveragetheknowledge-baseofthenet-worktoarriveatcrowd-sourced,commu-nity-drivensolutions.
CulturallyRelevantScienceCommunicationandEducationSciencelearningisenhancedwhencon-ceptsaremaderelevanttoanindividual'scontextandculture[13–18].
YetinPuertoRico,asinmostminoritycommunitiesanddevelopingcountries,scientificconceptsareseldomillustratedinaculturallyrelevantfashion[19–21].
Scientistscanplayakeyroleinexplainingthemeaningandimportanceofresearchfindingstotheircommunities[22–26].
CienciaPRhasleverageditsuniquenetworktoenhanceformalandinformalscienceeducationinPuertoRicoandamongSpanish-speakingcommunitiesthroughcollaborationswitheightnationalandinternationalmediaoutlets(http://bit.
ly/1a9xCzy)[27].
Weestablishedcol-laborationsbyemailingnewspapereditorsorbloggerswithrepresentativearticlesthatcouldbepublishedintheirvenue.
Inourexperience,manymediaoutletslackaccesstoscientificcontentandmostvenueswecontactedrespondedeagerly.
Themainchallengewasensuringscientifictopicswereappropriatelyexplainedforalayaudience.
Toaddressthishurdle,earlyonweidentifiedtwovolunteereditorswithinournetwork(MFMandWGE)whocouldserveaskeyliaisonsbetweenCienciaPRmembersandmediapartners.
Writtenworksubmittedbyourmembersisfirstcuratedandeditedbytheseexpertsciencecommunicatorsbeforebeingsenttomediacollaborators.
WeprioritizearticlesthattalkaboutscienceperformedinPuertoRicoorbyPuertoRicanscientistsorthatmakeuniversalscienceconceptsmeaning-fulandrelatablebyusingexamplesfromthePuertoRicancontext.
WhilepartnersreservetherighttopublishthearticlessubmittedbyCienciaPR,89%havebeenpublished(http://bit.
ly/1frwIoj).
Somearticlesarealsodistributedaspodcasts(throughCienciaPR.
organdiTunes)andbroadcastedthroughlocalradiostations(http://bit.
ly/16uTo3h).
In2006,beforeCienciaPR'scollabora-tion,veryfewofthesciencestoriesinElNuevoDa(themainPuertoRicannewspaper)werecontributedbyscientificexperts[19].
CienciaPR'smediacollabo-rationshaveincreasedtheamountofculturallyrelevantscientificnewscontentinPuertoRicowith385articlesand210podcastsreleasedasofOctober2013,allauthoredbyscientists.
Inspiredbyitssuccessfulmediacollab-orations,in2009CienciaPRcrowd-sourcedacollectionofshortessaysaboutscienceforthegeneralpublic.
Twenty-threescientistscontributed61essaystothebookCienciaBoricua!
EnsayosyAnecdotasdelCientficoPuertorro[28].
Thearticlesshowcaseworld-classresearchperformedinPuertoRico,orbyPuertoRicans,andresearchperformedDiversifyingSciencethroughSocialNetworkingPLOSBiology|www.
plosbiology.
org2December2013|Volume11|Issue12|e1001740internationally.
Inallcases,essaysillustratescientificconceptsusingexamplesfromthePuertoRicancontext,culture,andland-scape.
Thisapproachservestounderscoretherelevanceofinternationalscientificdiscoverieslocally,aswellascelebratelocalcontributionstotheinternationalscientificenterprise.
Throughournetworkwelearnedthatteacherswereusingthebooktohelpcontextualizescienceintheircurricula.
Althoughnotdevelopedasatextbook,wefollowedteachers'leadand,withthebookascenterpiece,undertookapilotprojecttoincreasePuertoRicanelementaryandmiddleschoolstudents'interestinscience.
Resultsfromthepilotstudysuggestthatstudents'interestinscienceincreasedafterexposuretocontext-relevantmaterial[29].
ProvidingRoleModelsandAdvancingCareersYoungpeople'sperceptionofscientistsandtheirabilitytoenvisionasuccessfulscientificfutureisinfluencedbyaccesstodiverserepresentationsofscientists[30–34].
WehaveplacedahighpriorityonincreasingthevisibilityofPuertoRicanandHispanicscientificrolemodelsbyFigure1.
CienciaPRwebsiteuseandmembercharacteristics.
(A)NumberofmemberswhohaveregisteredwithCienciaPRsince2006.
(B)AverageyearlyvisitstoCienciaPR.
org,fromOctober2008–September2012,basedonWebalizerdata.
CienciaPRswitchedtoGoogleAnalyticsafterSeptember2012.
(C)MaprepresentationofCienciaPRmembers'geographicdispersion(portionofmapiscroppedfordisplaypurposes).
CienciaPRmembersarein48countries,47states(notincludingtheterritoryofPuertoRico),andover185universitiesintheUS.
MapmadewithTableauPublic(D–F)Distributionofmembersbasedon(D)worksector,(E)trainingstage,and(F)broadscientificdisciplineofinterest.
Notallmembersindicatedthisinformationontheirprofiles.
Percentagesarebasedontotalnumberofrespondents(n).
DataasofSeptember8,2013.
(G–I)RecentCienciaPRwebsiteactivityfromJune1,2013–August31,2013basedonGoogleAnalyticsfor(G)websitevisitsbygeographicregion,(H)websitevisitsbysource,and(I)pageviewsbywebsitesection.
Percentagesarebasedon(n),totalnumberofvisits(G,H)orpageviews(I).
doi:10.
1371/journal.
pbio.
1001740.
g001DiversifyingSciencethroughSocialNetworkingPLOSBiology|www.
plosbiology.
org3December2013|Volume11|Issue12|e1001740maintainingmemberprofilespubliclyaccessible,celebratingtheirsuccessesthroughourblogandsocialmediaac-counts,andincreasingtheircoverageinnewsmedia(seeabove).
Additionally,wepublishmonthlybilingualonlinefeatures(67asofOctober2013)highlightingthelifeandworkofaccomplishedmembers,showcasingtheirsuccesses,butalsotheirchallenges,drivetosucceed,andinterestingivingbacktotheircommunities.
Oureffortsextendbeyondourwebsitebyorganizingofflineeventsthatpromotecommunityandmentoring.
Forinstance,wecoordinateannualsocialeventsduringnationalscientificconferences(e.
g.
,SocietyforNeuroscience,EcologicalSocietyofAmerica,AmericanSocietyforMicrobiol-ogy)thatgiveattendeestheopportunitytonetworkandthusmitigatetheeffectsofdispersion.
TheseeventsareoftenorganizedincollaborationwithPuertoRicanchaptersormembersofthescientificsocieties.
CienciaPRhasalsoorganizedmeetingstotackleissuessuchasthequalityofscienceeducationinPuertoRicoandcareeradvicetoscientists-in-training.
ConnectionswithacademicleadersandinstitutionsinPuertoRicohavebeencrucialfortheseendeavors.
Forexample,in2011,incollaborationwiththeRe-searchCentersinMinorityInstitutions(NIH-RCMI)oftheUniversityofPuertoRico,CienciaPRheldasymposiumde-signedtoguidestudentsinterestedinSTEMcareers,butwholackedaccesstoresearch-intensiveenvironments.
Over120studentsfrom15collegecampusesacrossPuertoRicoattendedpresentationsthatdiscussedhowtoapply,besuccessful,andfindfundingtowardsthecompletionofdoctoratedegreesinbiomedicalresearch.
Eighty-eightpercentofstudentsfeltthesymposium''helpedclarifytheirinterestinagraduatescienceprogram''and90%indicatedthat''theywereinterestedinpursuingascientificcareer.
''ChallengesandLessonsLearnedThoughournetworkisattheheartofCienciaPR,itwouldnothavereacheditsfullpotentialwithoutateamofvolunteerswhoemergedasCienciaPR'sgoverningandoperatingstructure(Box1).
Wehavefoundtwomainchallengesinrunningagrassroots,non-profitorganizationledbyvolunteers:limitedfundsandlimitedavailabilityofhumanresources.
Commu-nitymembersareeagertomaketimetovolunteer,becausetheyappreciatethepotentialofCienciaPRtohelptheircareersandgivebacktotheircommunity.
Nonetheless,academicandprofessionalcareersforcetimeandeffortcommitmentstobevariable.
ThoughmostofCien-ciaPR'sinitiativeshavebeenimplementedwithminimalfunding,in-kindcontribu-tions,andthroughthedonationofvolun-teers'time,muchmorecouldbeachievedwithadditionalfundsandfull-timestaff.
Lackoftheseresourceshasrestrictedthepotentialreachandimpactoftheorgani-zationandresultedinlostopportunities.
Thoughtheuseofsocialnetworkingtoolsincombinationwithcommunity-basedvolunteerleadershiphasresultedintheinitiationofmuchneededinterventions,wearecurrentlyworkingtoestablishmorestructuredgovernanceandasustainablefinancialplantobuildonthesuccessofourinitialyears.
ReplicabilitytoOtherCommunitiesNetworksofdiasporaorminorityscien-tistsareuniquelypositionedtocontributetotheircommunitiesbycounteractinggeographicdispersionandisolation[35–41].
CienciaPRhasdemonstratedthatanonlineapproachcanbeleveragedtomitigatethesedualchallenges.
WebelievecertainelementshaveenabledthegrowthandimpactofCienciaPR:asocialnetworkapproach,community-sourcedinitiatives,andcollaborationwithlocalscientists.
Box1.
CienciaPR'sVolunteerLeadershipatWorkCienciaPRhasestablishedavolunteer-basedgoverningandoperatingstructure(http://bit.
ly/18JLYHi).
Toaidothersinterestedinthisapproachweanswerkeyquestionsregardingourleadershipmodel:HowmanyvolunteersareneededtorunCienciaPRThecurrentCienciaPRTeamconsistsofninePhDscientists.
Additionally,sevenvolunteershelpwiththeonlineplatformandotherinitiatives.
HowdoyoufindvolunteersVolunteersself-identifythroughournetwork(throughemailorbycompletingawebform).
Afterdiscussingtheirinterests,time,andskills,theyareassignedtofunctionsorprojectsasneeded.
Overtheyears,agroupofleadershasemergedthroughtheirdedicationandcontributions.
Thereisnolackofvolunteers(wehaveawaitlistof52),andinfactonechallengeistheabilitytomanagethenumberofpeopleinterestedinhelpingout.
HowdovolunteersfindtimeItischallengingtofindtimeamidstthedemandsofascientificcareer,butwehavefoundthatvolunteersaremotivatedbytheirdesiretogivebacktothecommunity.
Weavoidoverextendingourvolunteersbydiscussingtheirtimeavailabilityandmatchingtheirtaskswiththeircareergoalsandinterests.
HowistheonlineplatformmanagedTheCienciaPRwebsitehasaneasy-to-usecontentmanagementsystemthatkeepsoperationalcostsdown.
Oneofourteammembers(GGM)managesthewebsite,developsnewwebsitesections,andperformsbasicwebmaintenance.
Shetrainsandsupervisesothervolunteerswhocontributecuratedcontent(e.
g.
,news,events,trainingandfundingopportuni-ties).
HowareinitiativescreatedandimplementedCienciaPR'sprojectsareconceivedandimplementedbymembersandvolunteers.
Thiscontrastsmarkedlyfromconventionalorganizations,wherestaffdevisesinitiativeswithoutmuchparticipationfromitsaudience.
Thiscrowd-sourced,community-drivenapproachmeansinitiativesaredirectlyresponsivetoperceivedneeds,breedscreativity,andassuresthatvolunteersarematchedtoeffortsthatinterestthem.
Theparticipatorynatureofvolunteerleadershiphasdriventheenhancementofthenetworkandfutureprojects.
HowisthesenseofcommunitymaintainedamongleadershipThoughtheCienciaPRTeamisasgeographicallydispersedastheCienciaPRnetwork,volunteersareinalmostdailycontactviaemail,andholdmonthlyteleconfer-enceswherewediscussprojects,roles,andassignments.
CienciaPR'sopenandparticipatorydecision-makingprocessenablesvolunteerstocontributeideasandvoiceconcerns.
Theteam'sbondisfurthersolidifiedthroughregularcelebrationsandrecognitionsofvolunteers'contributionsandachievements(withinoroutsideofCienciaPR).
DiversifyingSciencethroughSocialNetworkingPLOSBiology|www.
plosbiology.
org4December2013|Volume11|Issue12|e1001740WhileoureffortshavefocusedonPuertoRico,theseaspectscanenableotherdispersedgroupstoconnectwithhomecommunitiesforoutreach,education,re-searchcollaboration,orentrepreneurialefforts.
OrganizationssuchastheSocietyfortheAdvancementofHispanics/Chica-nosandNativeAmericansinScience(SACNAS)(sacnas.
org),JustGarciaHill(justgarciahill.
org),MinorityPostdoc(min-oritypostdoc.
org),andScientistaFoundation(scientistafoundation.
com),tomentionafew,havealsodemonstratedthepowerofonlinenetworkstoaddressthechallengesfacingminoritiesinscience.
WithCien-ciaPR,wetookthisconceptandextendeditbeyondmentoringandcareeradvice,toconnectscientistswiththeircommunityforeducationaloutreachandsciencecommu-nication.
Broadeningtheparticipationofunder-representedgroupsacrosstheworldofscienceiscriticalfortheprogressofresearchandthedevelopmentofcountries[42,43].
CienciaPRstandsasanexampleofasocialnetworkingmodelappliedtogeographicallydispersedscientiststhatiscost-effective,feasible,andimpactful.
Weextendourhandtoothergroupsthatwanttouseonlinetechnologiestoapplytheirpassionforscienceanddesiretogivebacktotheircommunities.
AcknowledgmentsWewouldliketoacknowledgeothercurrentandpastCienciaPRvolunteers.
TheseincludeNoraTorres,AlexisValentnVargas,FrancisGonzalez,ReynaI.
MartnezDeLuna,PaolaGiusti,EdwinRosado,ElvinEstrada,JorgeHerrera,AixaAleman,OdmaraBarretoChang,WilfredodeJesusRojas,IdaliaMassa,andVeronicaA.
Segarra.
WethankJamesO'MalleyfromAltamenteGS,LLCfortherecentwebsiteredesignandsupport.
NoneofthisworkwouldhavebeenpossiblewithoutthecommitmentandinterestoftheglobalPuertoRicanscientificcommunityandallthescien-tists,friends,andfamilymemberswhohavecontributedtoCienciaPRinitiatives.
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