Tag: Science

Joy is a form of resistance

Christy H. Clutter

I heard this quote recently in a meeting with other scientists, and it encapsulated many of the  slippery thoughts I’ve had in these new and uncertain times for researchers. 

It is a tenuous time to be a scientist in America. It hurts to see our international collaborators lay off hundreds of staff in important life-saving global health work. It hurts to see the layoffs domestically in critical areas of research. It is fearful to think of how these changes impact not just our own careers, but the careers of young scientists, diverse scientists, and important research that makes our nation stronger, healthier, and more competitive. 

But. Fear and anger are too easy. They are all too quickly accessible. And, in my own experience, they’re too blinding and inundating to be effective. Feel them. But don’t let them drag you into an abyss of bitterness. Instead, let them act as resistance training to make you stronger in joy, in resilience, in creativity, and in hope. Anger is predictable, ignorable even. Joy is resistance. 

No matter what happens to our paychecks, our funding, our regulations, nothing stops us from being scientists at heart: 

People who care about how the world works and who want to make it better. 

People who know how to analyze complex data and make sense of it. 

People who have been trained to think critically and carefully in an unbiased manner.

People who have had the beauty and luxury of working alongside brilliant minds from all over the world at our institutions. 

People who have our own very particular expertise that – funding or no funding – holds answers to some of the most complex problems of our time. 

It may be that our science looks a lot more like citizen science for awhile. But it doesn’t cease to be science. 

It may be that our institutions are compelled to remove certain language from how they talk about diversity, but we don’t stop valuing and making space for the incredible asset that diversity of all kinds brings to both our science and the strength of our work. We know that the best science is driven by many minds.

It may be that we are forced to make career shifts that we didn’t anticipate, but we can still find ways to use our skills as scientists to contribute to our community and country. 

It may be that we feel like strangers in our own country at times, embarrassed on an international stage for what “America” has come to stand for. But America is not its leadership, it is its people. And we are those people. Don’t surrender so easily. 

Joy is not the only form of resistance, but in my opinion, it is an especially needed one. Joy is not wishful thinking or pretending that things are not hard. Joy is a form of resistance because it isn’t dependent on our circumstances. It thrives in defiance of them. Joy is a buoy that keeps us above the inundating sorrow or despair. It allows us to remain productive and alive. It keeps us from spiraling. It keeps us creative and resourceful. Joy keeps our heads clear enough to see straight, and to act with dignity in times of indignity. Joy is powerful. 

Stay strong. Stay hopeful. Stay grounded. Stay joyful.

Joy is resilience. 

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
-Margaret Mead

Sincerely,
Christy Clutter
Immunologist

But have you seen Nature Microbiology’s climate feature??

Christy H. Clutter

Just in time for COP28 (the UN Climate Change Conference), Nature Microbiology is out with an issue dedicated to the role of microbes in climate change!

The issue highlights the need for microbiologists to have a greater voice in the climate space, as we know and continue to learn just how crucial microbes are for the maintenance of a healthy climate, and how shifting weather patterns threaten to offset many delicate microbial ecological balances.

Head on over and check it out to read up on the ocean microbiome, climate’s impact on vector-borne diseases, soil microbes in an age of wildfires and drought, and much more!

Introduction: Why I’m here

Christy H. Clutter

Hey there!

I’m Christy. I’m a scientist by training but a communicator at heart. My professional background is in the immunological sciences and public health, but more specifically the way our gut microbes interact with nearly every facet of our lives. I find this fascinating, which is why I’m here to write about it! But that’s not all.

In science, we often have to be reductionist and narrow in our approach in order to be sure that what we’re seeing is reliable. This can have the unintended side effect of blinding us to what’s going on in the other research neighborhoods. But if anything, my time in different pockets of the science world has continued to convince me how deeply everything is connected, and how much I want to talk about these connections. We know, for instance, that social defeat directly impacts the immune system, or that gut microbes alter our behavior. We know that poverty sinks its fingers into our biology and tinkers with our health.

These connections are both exciting and sobering, and reveal us as societies. Data holds a mirror up to our strengths and weaknesses, and to how we care for our own. It offers compassion through deeper understanding. It provides strength through knowledge. I believe data can make us more mindful people. That’s why I’m here.

This website is a mixture of updates, portfolio and recommended resources. While providing my own content, I also hope to highlight other work that I’ve learned from recently, both scientific and non-scientific. I want to highlight how we are connected, both within our bodies and to one another, through data. I hope this excites you as much as it does me.

Let’s go.