More than 50 years have passed since the Equal Pay Act of 1964, and women are still paid less than men. United States universities claim to be pioneers of social progress and so it is of interest to know whether the gender wage gap exists there. This study sheds light on the academic gender wage gap by comparing the salaries of male and female assistant professors within three years of being hired at selected U.S. public universities. The group of assistant professors are likely to satisfy our exchangeability assumption because early career faculty tend to come with similar experience. Finally, we focus on public university faculty because their salaries are publicly available. The data studied was collected from salary reports from public university systems in 2018 and 2019 under the Freedom of Information Act. Due to the novel way of assigning gender using genderize.io, traditional statistical methods for comparing two populations are not appropriate. For this reason, this study uses permutation-based non parametric tests that are valid for the data. Our study examines the presence of the gender wage gap in U.S. public universities and finds that significantly more women receive lower salaries than men. For example, the proportion of women making less than $10,000 a month is 12% higher than the proportion of men making the same amount. The study concludes that gender disparities within academic disciplines are a considerable factor contributing to the wage gap.

When it comes to the medical field, 3D modeling has previously been used to render anatomical images in greater detail in order to better understand bodily functions. Lately, however, 3D modeling has made waves in depicting diseases, with a focus on their severity and progression. Unlike a model depicting computer graphics, 3D culture models allow cells to interact in three dimensions and better display cell growth and movement, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Culture models are beneficial in replicating the complexities of disease by promoting interactions between cells and providing insight into potential solutions. In this issue of the Journal of Young Investigators, Priscilla Detwieler and her colleagues demonstrate that atelocollagen incorporated in a 3D model is shown to simulate a potential treatment for inflammation-induced osteoarthritis.  

Over the past decade, there have been many significant advances in the field of skin aging, including studies that explore the clearance of senescent (growth-arrested) cells in skin, regenerative therapeutics, and even 3D bioprinting of skin. One of the latest discoveries showed that blocking Interleukin 17 (IL-17) signaling leads to delays in the skin aging process. But how does IL-17, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, delay what has been known as the inevitable hallmarks of skin aging? 

To combat the harmful effects of stress, neuroscientists are pointing to mindfulness, defined as the practice of being fully present and aware of our external environment and our actions, while not being overly reactive or overwhelmed by external events. To shed light on this, JYI interviewed renowned neuroscientist Dr. Alexandra Fiocco, whose expertise lies at the intersection of mindfulness, stress, and cognitive aging. Dr. Fiocco currently does research at Stress and Healthy Aging Research (StAR) Lab and teaches at Toronto Metropolitan University.