- Don’t Row, Steer. A Professor’s Four Steps to Deep Work
Academics often find themselves information overload, juggling emails, administrative chores and committees while struggling to do the 'deep work' of contemplative thought required to be successful. Enter Georgetown University Professor Cal Newport with his offering for how to fo...
- Finding Motivation When You’re Ready to Quit
I’ve been trying to get funding for my research, but nothing has come through. You, too? I’ve had past success with the National Institutes of Health and small foundations. But I haven’t received new grant funding in six years and my last award ran out two years ago. This is well...
- Antidotes to Keeping Secrets When the Going Gets Rough
We recognize that things happen to everyone—a health crisis in the family, financial dilemmas, ongoing caregiving needs, or extraordinarily stressful life events. Recent data from a survey of early career faculty document that most face a significant caregiving challenge or stres...
- The Best of You
The other day, during a conversation, I was told that I was too cheerful to be a postdoc, and we all laughed about it. They said it was almost contradictory. I have a confession to make: It is true that I am a cheerful person. I am usually making fun of myself and lightening up t...
- Don’t You Forget About Me
You don’t know me and I don’t know you, but just to fill you in, I like to write posts that incorporate song titles or lyrics. This post isn’t about The Breakfast Club, or any other John Hughes movie for that matter, but it is a coming of age story.
About seven years ago I fou...
- Not that Kind of Network: Tales of Developing a National Reputation
I never really thought about networking and reputation as a graduate student or postdoctoral research fellow (postdoc), but rather was the beneficiary of respected mentors long established in the field and regular attendance at our society’s annual meeting. I always assumed the s...
- Another Human Subjects Proposal Change: Inclusion across the Lifespan
On the heels of the recent sea change in how PIs describe clinical trials in their grant applications, NIH is making another change to the grant proposal format for research involving human subjects. For applications going in on or after January 25, 2019, NIH’s Deputy Director f...
- What to Wear to a Conference (to Look Like the Pro You Are)
The Ultimate Mix-and-Match Fashion Guide
Match your outer awesomeness to your inner awesomeness
Conference season equates to visibility. Who you are in person is a key part of your personal brand. We hear often that early career researchers find the transition from invisible s...
- Angry Academics
Few things were more daunting to me when I started my lab than the sheer number of surly, sarcastic and downright angry academics. Folks who never smiled, waved, were happy to see you or hear about something you were excited about. Instead of collegial discourse, there was a stea...
- Not that Kind of Advice: It Is Never Too Early to Be a Mentor
The further I get into running my own research program, the more I realize the significant impact good mentorship has had on my career. My mentors have trained me scientifically, provided career advice, and supported work-life balance. A large impetus for starting this blog has b...
