- Think of It as the Next Big Adventure
No, not death or marriage or parenthood. Or joining the military, converting to a new religion, moving country or finally accepting that His Dark Materials is a better fantasy epic than Harry Potter. These are all momentous life, events but what I want to talk to you about now is...
- How to Host a Multidisciplinary, Near-Peer Work-in-Progress Group
Work-in-progress groups (WIPs) convene members on a regular schedule for supportive critique of scholarly materials, including presentations, posters, manuscripts, cover letters, grant applications, and responses to reviews. WIPs are accepted as a career development best practic...
- Job Search: Interviewing from the Waist Up
Late winter and early spring are peak season for post-doctoral interviews and second visits for faculty hires. If some of your interviews will be over Zoom, this blog's for you.
Whether you are interviewing or being interviewed, odds are you are about to be a video star. We'v...
- “Zoom In” to Keep Group Review and Critique on Track
Work-in-Progress sessions (WIPs) are at risk of getting bogged down at the wrong level of feedback, most often focusing on specific edits or details that may not be the top priority, with the focus often driven by those who speak up first.
Several steps can help deploy the gro...
- Shark Tank for Scientists: NIH’s SBIR/STTR Grants
Have you ever searched for something in NIH RePORTER and seen some unusual grantee organizations in the results, maybe ones with “Inc.” or “LLC” in the name rather than “University” or “Medical Center”? If so, you’ve come across grants made to small businesses through the SBIR/ST...
- What the F? An Introduction to the NRSA Fellowship
In fiscal year 2020, NIH awarded approximately $180 million to support pre- and postdoctoral trainees through its National Research Service Awards (NRSA) individual fellowship programs.
What exactly is an NRSA individual fellowship and why should you apply for one? I’ve manage...
- Optimizing Colors for Projected Presentations
You worked for hours on your presentation for your society’s annual conference. On the day of your big presentation, while going through the slides on the projection screen, you notice your slides are looking “off.” Something is not right. What could it be?
Your nice pale gree...
- Not that Kind of Bias: Tales of Survivorship Bias
I am in my fourth year as a faculty member and experiencing the typical “how do I get these grants funded” struggles that many, if not all, of us face. Over the past year, I have been given a truly staggering amount of conflicting advice from mentors. This has led me to thinking ...
- Writing Your K or CDA Progress Report
Writing your annual progress report is both an art and a science. T. Alp Ikizler, MD, mentor of so many early career faculty trainees he’s lost count and winner of the 2016 Award for Excellence in Mentoring Translational Scientists at Vanderbilt, shared his thoughts on how to put...
- Not that Kind of Letter: Tales of Rejection
I have been thinking about rejections in science. Rejections come in all shapes and sizes, from the grant you need to build your program, to an awesome rotation student picking another lab, to a manuscript rejection at yet another journal. While I definitely had my share of rejec...
