What a thrill it was to perform the song, “If Not Now,” with my daughter Margaret Collins. We sang the duet at the conclusion of the Women in Nephrology’s annual Nancy Gary Memorial Luncheon Lecture. Margaret, a nephrologist, and I delivered this year’s lecture titled “Two Generations of Perspective on Women in Medicine.” This song’s message seemed so very appropriate to leave with these leaders and mentors in nephrology. We delivered the lecture on November 9. 2019 at the Walter Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C., and I share the video to encourage others to take the words of this song “to the next level.” Credit: Diane Baker
It was an honor to speak at the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference in Nashville on November 1, 2019. It has been 30 years now since I was a part of the team that discovered the CFTR gene, which, when altered, causes cystic fibrosis (CF). Our challenging hunt for CFTR was energized by the promise that a genetic understanding of this terrible disease would one day lead to life-extending molecularly targeted treatments. I later wrote a song for everyone touched by this disease called, “Dare to Dream,” to capture the historic opportunity before us. Today, I concluded my remarks by singing this slightly updated version of the song to celebrate with everyone in the audience that life-sustaining molecularly targeted treatments are now available for 90 percent of people with CF. What a wonderful moment it was, and I’d like to share it with everyone who would like To Dare to Dream until the story of CF is history! Credit: CF Foundation
On October 7, 2019, I participated with several dignitaries in an event at the University of Kentucky, Lexington on the HEALing Communities Initiative. This study will test a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to reducing opioid-related deaths in selected U. S. communities. The University of Kentucky is a research partner in HEAL. Also involved in the event was Alex Elswick who heads the Lexington-based Voices of Hope, an organization that helps people in recovery stay in recovery. Recently, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) filmed this video with Alex in which he shared his story of recovery. The producers of the video also asked me to weigh in on the importance of a community-based approach to combating the opioid crisis. Credit: HHS
During the opening reception for IDWeek 2019, I performed with my band the Affordable Rock ‘n’ Roll Act (ARRA). We were joined onstage by Pardis Sabeti (second from left), a computational geneticist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, and a talented rock ‘n’ roll singer. Here we perform Pardis’ song “Breathe In (Turkana Boy).” IDWeek is the joint annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the HIV Medical Association (HIVMA), and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS). The reception took place on October 2, 2019 at the Washington, D. C. Convention Center. Credit: Dawd Siraj, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Earlier in the month, I posted a photo taken during the retirement ceremony of Paul Sieving, director of the NIH’s National Eye Institute. I’ve since discovered this video recording of the song that I played for Paul during the ceremony. It’s the popular 1970s song, “I Can See Clearly Now” with special lyrics to mark the occasion. Credit: National Eye Institute
