ProfNet Experts Available on Vaccinations, Valentine's Day, Engagement Ring Trends, More

Also in This Edition: Jobs for Writers, Media Industry Blog Posts

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Feb 13, 2015, 12:24 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network that are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area. If you are interested in interviewing any of the experts, please contact them via the contact information at the end of the listing.

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EDITOR'S NOTE

How Do You Use Mobile in Your Reporting?

EXPERT ALERTS

Can Workers Be Required to Vaccinate?
Inverse Design Can Help Reduce Costs, Increase Precision of Medicine
Craniosynostosis Is a Serious Defect That's Often Misdiagnosed
The Latest Trends in Engagement Rings
10 Ways Valentine's Day Is Overrated
Are Same-Sex Couples Less Likely to Get Divorced Than Straight Couples?

MEDIA JOBS

Culture Editor – Boston.com (MA)
Staff Reporter – Chalkbeat Tennessee (TN)
Freelance Writer – The Advocate (LA)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

Jill Abramson's Reinvention: The Art of Coming out on Top
5 Tips for Journalists Transitioning to PR
PR Newswire's Media Moves: Feb. 9 Edition

EDITOR'S NOTE:

To better understand how members of the media use mobile devices (phones or tablets) to produce stories, PR Newswire for Journalists is asking users to participate in a quick, eight-question survey. The survey will remain open until Feb. 28: http://bit.ly/prnjmobile

EXPERT ALERTS:

Can Workers Be Required to Vaccinate?
Audrey Mross
Employment Lawyer
Munck Wilson Mandala in Dallas
As measles cases spread across the U.S., concerned employers face a patchwork of federal and state laws that can put them at legal risk if they require workers to be vaccinated. Lacking clear guidance from regulators, employers are wise to tread lightly, even if only asking workers whether they or their family members have been vaccinated. Says Mross: "Even in health care or food service jobs, workers cannot be forced to have vaccinations in every instance. Without clarity in the legal landscape, a better course of action is to advise workers that they should stay home if they know they have been exposed to or are currently infected with a contagious disease. Employers also should revisit paid time-off policies so that ill workers do not feel compelled to work for economic reasons."
Media Contact: Robert Tharp, [email protected]

Inverse Design Can Help Reduce Costs, Increase Precision of Medicine
Ed Addison
CEO
Cloud Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
The promise of personalized medicine has been raised in the collective consciousness of the general public. But if the vision of precision medicine and eventually personalized medicine is to happen, it is important that new breakthroughs and better applications emerge for computational drug discovery. Says Addison, "It is widely recognized that traditional drug discovery and development methods are spiraling out of control with increased costs and lower success rates. This effort will only be rescued by the more effective application of IT to the drug discovery and development process."
Cloud Pharmaceuticals is breaking new ground in the field of "in silico" drug discovery – that is, performed on a computer or via computer modeling and simulation of molecules. The company's technology, called Inverse Design, computationally designs small molecules and peptides that inhibit the activity of protein targets, which are produced by the genes responsible for certain pathologies. This design process takes place much more quickly and effectively than traditional methods. Qualified drug candidates can therefore be identified and advanced to the next stages of development more rapidly to reduce the cost, increase efficacy, reduce toxicity, and enable precision medicine by providing more than one drug per target. Cloud Pharmaceuticals is putting these principles into practice. For example, it has partnered with MYOS Corporation to develop small molecules targeting sarcopenia and cachexia. It is also working with Egenix Inc. to design new drugs that are effective against cancer and autism. Also, the company has been granted supercomputer time at Argonne National Labs to identify leading drug candidates for broad-impact, anti-parasitic therapeutics targeting several orphan diseases including malaria.
ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/edaddison
Website: http://www.cloudpharmaceuticals.com
Media Contact: Carol Long, [email protected]

Craniosynostosis Is a Serious Defect That's Often Misdiagnosed
Kase Johnstun
Author
"Craniosynostosis is rare -- one in 1,700-2,000 children are born with this. But just over 4 million babies are born in the U.S. each year. When you do the math, that's a lot of parents who are in the same vulnerable position my parents were in and a lot of kids growing up with all these mixed feelings. It's unbelievable the rollercoaster of emotions cranio families have to deal with and how frequently the feelings can grab you by surprise. I interviewed a mother who told me her brave little boy loved his 'superhero scar.'"
Johnstun, author of "Beyond the Grip of Craniosynostosis: An Inside View of Life Touched by the Congenital Skull Deformity," can share his struggle with cranial birth defect called Craniosynostosis and can also connect media with families with "Cranio Kids," as well as top medical experts in the field. Now in his mid-30s, Johnstun traveled the country to interview families, craniofacial surgeons, neurosurgeons, and pediatric anesthesiologists in his new memoir to offer first-hand perspective (and relief) of Craniosynostosis, a serious issue that's often misdiagnosed. Johnstun is also an award-winning essayist, and co-editor/co-author of "Utah Reflections: Stories From the Wasatch Front" (History Press). His work has appeared nationally and internationally in journals and magazines such as Creative Nonfiction Magazine, The Chronicle Review, Label Me Latina/o, Prime Number, and as a regular contribution to The Good Men Project. He has an MA and an MFA in Creative Writing, and his set of essays, "Tortillas for Honkies" and 'Other' Essays," was recently named a finalist for the Autumn House Press 2013 Award in Creative Nonfiction. He is a full-time lecturer in English at Utah State University.
Media Contact: Maria Coder, [email protected]

The Latest Trends in Engagement Rings
Arthur Ilyev
Co-founder
Imagine Diamonds
"While the classic solitaire setting continues to be a crowd pleaser with its simplicity highlighting the clarity and brilliance of the diamond, the petite side stone and halo settings are gaining popularity with the younger crowds, as they make the center stone appear larger and increase the ring's overall glimmer."
Ilyev, certified gemologist and co-founder of Imagine Diamonds, the digital leader in naturally enhanced diamonds, can share his insight on the latest trends for engagement rings for Valentine's Day. He can also talk about which diamond cuts are emerging and what to purchase for the maximum radiance.
Media Contact: Svjetlana Stojanovic, [email protected]

10 Ways Valentine's Day Is Overrated
Dr. Frieda Birnbaum
Research Psychologist, Psychoanalyst
Dr. Birnbaum shares 10 ways Valentine's Day is overrated: "1) Expectation and disappointment: You expect the perfect date and gift and it doesn't go the way you envisioned it, and therefore you become somber and disappointed. 2) Over-commercialization: Retailers would have you believe that if you don't purchase lots of items for that special someone in your life, you don't love them enough. 3) Lack of personalization: Why is there this obligation for everyone to celebrate love and romance on the same day of the year? Shouldn't you be doing this on your anniversary? Does that day not carry a little more significance? 4) Chocolates: A $20 markup because they are in a heart-shaped box. 5) Crowded restaurants: Waiting two hours to get a table at a packed restaurant because it's Valentine's Day (you can always both agree to celebrate Valentine's Day on the 15th or 16th). 6) The outcast: If you're alone on Valentine's Day, everyone assumes you are terribly depressed. A person who is alone might very well be much happier than a couple in an awful relationship on Valentine's Day. 7) Teddy bears: Seriously? 8) Once-a-Year 'I Love You': Valentine's Day presumes that is the one day of the year to tell someone you love them. If you tell someone you love them only one day of the year, you don't really love them. 9) Pressure on your significant other: In addition to simply putting up with you, your partner feels extreme pressure to give you the perfect Valentine's Day. This is can be very stressful for them. 10) It's not important: If Valentine's Day was truly important, everyone would get the day off to celebrate it."
Based in the New York metropolitan area, Dr. Birnbaum is a research psychologist, psychoanalyst and author of "What Price Power: An In-Depth Study of the Professional Woman in a Relationship." She's an expert on depression, women's issues, and attaining happiness, and has been featured on "Oprah" and "20/20" as the oldest woman in the U.S. to have twins.
Media Contact: Ryan McCormick, [email protected]

Are Same-Sex Couples Less Likely to Get Divorced Than Straight Couples?
Jacqueline Newman
Family Law Attorney, Managing Partner
Berkman Bottger Newman & Rodd, NYC
"In my experience doing same-sex prenuptial agreements, many of the couples have been together for a long time and are marrying now that they are able to. Couples that already have learned each other's annoying habits and decided that they can live with them have a better chance of staying together long-term. You also eliminate the possibility of a shotgun wedding, which does not always result in people getting married because they want to marry, but because they feel they have to. My advice for married couples in general: Learn how to fight well. Everyone knows how to get along well, but to be able to fight well is a skill that can sustain your marriage."
Newman's practice consists of litigation, collaborative law and mediation. She specializes in complex high-net-worth matrimonial cases and negotiating prenuptial agreements. She has appeared as a commentator on various television shows and has been quoted as an expert in numerous publications, including Glamour, Crain's New York Business, U.S. News & World Report, Woman's Day and The Huffington Post.
Media Contact: Ryan McCormick, [email protected]

MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/

Culture Editor – Boston.com (MA)
Staff Reporter – Chalkbeat Tennessee (TN)
Freelance Writer – The Advocate (LA)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line.

JILL ABRAMSON'S REINVENTION: THE ART OF COMING OUT ON TOP. New York Women in Communications hosted a one-on-one interview last week with Jill Abramson and NBC News' Erica Hill. The interview covered Abramson's departure from the New York Times, how she reinvented herself after her very-public dismissal, her journalism startup with Steven Brill, and her advice for women on how to get what they deserve: http://prn.to/1Dtod3s
TIPS FOR JOURNALISTS TRANSITIONING TO PR: A journalism background can be a huge asset when starting a PR career – but, like any job change, PR has a learning curve. Here are five tips for journalists planning to make the move in 2015: http://prn.to/1CvccxH
PR NEWSWIRE'S MEDIA MOVES: FEB. 9 EDITION. PR Newswire's weekly audience research newsletter, PR Newswire's Media Moves, is chock-full of media news and job changes. In this week's issue, you'll read updates on Money, Silicon Valley Business Journal, NPR, Star Tribune, Bon Appetit, People, Washington Post, New York Times and more: http://prn.to/1BPvitl