What is Maeflowers?
Maeflowers is the most recent manifestation of a website that began as the personal homepage of a science student in 1997. It is evolving into a web portal of the Life Sciences and Medicine. Its goals are stated in the mission statement; put bluntly, to enhance life and expand the possibilities of science through an interaction between the general public and the trained scientific professional. This portal is to be a liaison that can be non-biased (as much as one free-thinking person can be) and honest, making information accessible to everyone and offering explanations that can be understood by those untrained in the vocabulary and techniques of the sciences.
The site's existence is based on the fact that a person can not make confident decisions about their health and their loved one's health unless they have all of the available information. We would like to leave decisions to the trained professionals, like doctors, but they are only human and with the almost unimaginable volume of medical advances in the past century they can not be expected to know everything about every disease and treatment. So Maeflowers is here to assist you, your family, your doctor, and the scientists working on the treatments your doctor can use, in finding up-to-date information and services. Ultimately, to enhance life by offering the general public more knowledge and control over their own lives.
Is the webmaster qualified for this?
The webmaster is Alicia M Prater, PhD. She received a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry (with a minor in Business) from Indiana University in 2002. She successfully defended her dissertation on the underlying genetic mechanisms of hypertension on Nov 16, 2006. She received her doctorate in Experimental Pathology from New York Medical College officially in May 2007. Her dissertation work was done in an NIH funded lab and she has hands-on experience in many molecular biology techniques as well as exposure to cell culture and animal models. She also has a theoretical knowledge of clinical pathology. Dr. Prater assisted with and taught graduate level pathology courses for about two and a half years, lecturing on the basic morphology and function of biological systems as well as general pathology and systemic disorders including HIV/AIDS. Although she has experience researching one disorder in one field, she pays attention and has seen many things that are not accessible to the general public, knowledge that perhaps should be. She believes that her exposure to these things, as well as the knowledge she has obtained and will continue to obtain can assist Maeflowers in offering up the hidden doors and rabbit holes to others.
Alicia's interest in science, especially the medical research aspects, stems from an innate curiosity in all things complex and from personal loss. Some losses are not preventable, but she believes there are some that we could do more to prevent simply by better communication and information access, especially in today's world of global networks.
Sometimes doctors are not fully aware of newer technologies. Sometimes people are not aware of all the risks despite the doctor's best efforts. Sometimes we are capable of more, but are unable to attempt it because the access is not there. She wants to offer the world more than the answer "I don't know". She wants to offer the world "here's where to find it". The rest is their choice, but at least it's a choice!
Dr. Prater is currently a contributing writer at Suite101 and MileHive, contributor and Medical Sciences subchannel steward at Helium.com, and is involved in freelance research support providing writing, editing, and proofreading services for both scientists and students.
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