Virtual Vanderbilt Summer Science Academy highlighted the opportunity to impact early STEMM students career knowledge through narrative.

Due to COVID-19 precautions, the Vanderbilt University summer biomedical undergraduate research program, the Vanderbilt Summer Science Academy (VSSA), rapidly transitioned from offering an in-person training program to a virtual seminar format. Our program typically supports undergraduate development through research and/or clinical experience, meeting with individuals pursuing postgraduate training, and providing career development advice. Evidence supports the idea that summer programs transform undergraduates by clarifying their interest in research and encouraging those who haven't previously considered graduate studies. We were interested in exploring whether a virtual, synchronous program would increase participants' scientific identity and clarify postgraduate career planning. Rather than create a virtual research exposure, our 5-week "Virtual VSSA" program aimed to simulate the casual connections that would naturally be made with post-undergraduate trainees during a traditional summer program. In seminars, presenters discussed 1) their academic journey, explaining their motivations, goals, and reasons for pursuing a career in science as well as 2) a professional story that illustrated their training. Seminars included Vanderbilt University and Medical School faculty, M.D., MD/Ph.D., as well as Ph.D. students from diverse scientific and personal backgrounds. In addition, weekly informational sessions provided an overview of the nature of each degree program along with admissions advice. Through pre-and post-program surveys, we found that students who registered for this experience already strongly identified with the STEMM community (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine). However, participation in the Virtual VSSA increased their sense of belonging. We also uncovered a gap in participants' understanding of postgraduate pathways prior to participation and found that our program significantly increased their self-reported understanding of postgraduate programs. It also increased their understanding of why someone would pursue a Ph.D. or Ph.D./MD versus M.D. These changes did not uniformly impact participants' planned career paths. Overall, by providing personal, tangible stories of M.D., MD/Ph.D., and Ph.D. training, the Virtual VSSA program offered seminars that positively impacted students' sense of belonging with and connection to the STEMM disciplines.

Supporting Health Equity Through Data-Driven Decision-Making: A Local Health Department Response to COVID-19.

COVID-19 highlights preexisting inequities that affect health outcomes and access to care for Black and Brown Americans. The Marion County Public Health Department in Indiana sought to address inequities in COVID-19 testing by using surveillance data to place community testing sites in areas with the highest incidence of disease. Testing site demographic data indicated that targeted testing reached populations with the highest disease burden, suggesting that local health departments can effectively use surveillance data as a tool to address inequities. (Am J Public Health. 2021;111(S3):S197-S200. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306421).

Micronesia in Review-Micronesia: GUÅHAN (GUAM)

Leon Guerrero and medical advisor Dr Felix Cabrera, along with the Department of Public Health and Social Services, instituted contact tracing, which showed limited community spread (pit, 8 July 2020). When hundreds of cases of infection were found on his US aircraft carrier, the nuclear-powered Theodore Roosevelt, which docked in Guåhan, Crozier notified admirals of the outbreak in a memo that was released to the press, asking them to unload and quarantine four thousand sailors, over a quarter of whom were eventually found to be infected (wp, 21 May 2020). By contrast, on 29 June 2020, Johns Hopkins University data showed that the total number of confirmed coviD-19 cases in the United States was over 2.6 million and rising-the highest in the world-as contact tracing, testing, and access to personal protective equipment remained limited and politically contentious (JHU, 29 June 2020). The US military continued to draw Indigenous protest as it rejected demands for a pause on destruction of the endangered Serianthes nelsonii tree at its proposed live-fire training range, which will be located near ancient archaeological sites in Litekyan (pdn, 20 July 2019).