- Not that Kind of Decision: Tales of Debating a Pre-Tenure Switch
One of the hardest questions that has recently come up in my professional life is debating changing institutions pre-tenure. I came to my medical school not that long ago. Over the past year and change, I have set up my laboratory, hired personnel, committed to thesis committees,...
- Not that Kind of Investment: Tales of Time Commitment
One of the biggest adjustments in being a principal investigator (PI) running a research lab has been the near constant, usually urgent, demands on my time. Some of these demands are enjoyable (new data!) some less so (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocols, blah...
- Have Pump, Will Travel
What every breastfeeding and pumping mom needs to know BEFORE attending a conference.
Travel Tip #1: If it’s a small conference or training, let work colleagues or training administrators know you are a nursing mother and will need to take breaks to pump during the conference or...
- Publishing Null Results
Nearly every scientist has felt the frustration of pouring effort, money and (sometimes) tears into a project only to get null results. The elusive p<0.05 decides whether results get published or not—the oft-mentioned file drawer problem. Others have explained better than I ca...
- Awesome Science Videos for Kids (and Grown-Up Kids Too)
Inspire your young scientists with some amazing STEM-centered videos on YouTube. (You can enjoy them too, because really, who DOESN'T want to see the world's largest lemon battery, or learn how oxygen almost destroyed the world?)
Great channels to follow:
PBS Eons. This series...
- Conveying Institutional Support
Grant reviewers want to invest in success. If you’re applying for a career development award, you must convey the support of your institution. If your chair doesn’t want to invest in you, why should the NIH or other funding agencies?
Dr. Nancy J. Brown, chair of the Departme...
- How to Review a Paper
Reviewing regularly, even early in your career, lets you stay ahead of the curve of the literature. Close analysis of a paper benefits your writing as you see examples that do or don’t lead the reader down a logical path to a conclusion, clearly explain the significance of the w...
- Not that Kind of Selection: Tales of Picking Which Grants to Write
In my last post, I blogged about the different types of grants that are available to early stage investigators (ESIs) and the benefits of these awards. If you are like me, you were overwhelmed when you saw the list the first time. There are too many grants to write as a new princ...
- 10 Takeaways for Managing Undergraduate Research Assistants
Tiffany Woynaroski, PhD, studies speech development in children with autism. She also mentors 14 undergrads as part of her research team.
The undergrads on Tiffany's team are an integral part of her lab and involved in all aspects of her research.
Over dinner, she told me why ...
- How to Protect Your Protected Time
You've just gotten your K award—awesome! 75% of your professional effort is now protected to focus on your research and career development. But wait. What about that class you teach, or those days your department expects you to be in clinic, or the students whose dissertation ...
