- Tips for Conquering the Literature
As a new graduate student, I struggled with identifying the most relevant papers, organizing interesting publications, and remembering why I flagged an article as “Super Important!!!” months after I read it. I’ve synthesized a few tips for taming the task:
1. Identify relevant a...
- How to Use ResearchMatch To Ignite Recruitment
Want to make use of a FREE national recruitment tool to find study participants?
ResearchMatch is a disease-neutral, institution-neutral recruitment resource with over 140,000 volunteers registered and willing to participate in research. ResearchMatch currently serves over 7,0...
- Resilience as a Common Trait in Researchers
This encouraging article in the NY Times reminded me of a question that was asked by an undergraduate student eight years ago. “What is the most important skill for a career in science?” I was a new PI and a panelist for our undergrad career night. I blurted out “resilience," and...
- How to Keep Your Trainee Tables So Your Grants Manager Will Love You
You may not have trainees yet, but when you do, you’ll need to start keeping track of them. At some point, you’ll be asked to serve as a mentor or otherwise be involved with an institutional training grant. NIH has specific characteristics and outcomes they want to know about y...
- How To Survive The Interview You Didn’t Know Was Coming
Daily news reporting is a tough and thankless task. A reporter can write a well thought out, hard-hitting story on a Thursday and, when they wake up Friday morning, the page is blank again and the editor is asking "What have you done for me lately?"
Because TV stations and new...
- Responding to Manuscript Reviews While Avoiding Cerebral Aneurysms
On first receiving a set of manuscript reviews, you might feel that your reviewers must be either hopelessly ignorant of the field, actively malevolent, purposefully obtuse, or all three. The thing you must remember, though, is that a request for revisions is as good as accepta...
- Introverts Can Network, Too!
Do you consider yourself an introvert? Do you get anxious thinking about how to meet new colleagues? Are you looking for better ways to network without becoming overwhelmed?
I personally consider myself an introvert, and I have to remind myself that networking is essential ...
- Taking Flight
If you want to be off your K or similar career development award before the end of five years, the calendar will tell you that you can't start later than the third year to submit a substantial grant. For convenience let's call that major grant an R01 though it could be a VA Mer...
- How to Be Heard by Legislators about Proposed NIH Budget Cuts
Your senators and congressional representatives want to hear their constituents. They have fairly specific channels they use to estimate the weight of opinion from residents of their districts: 1) phone calls, 2) visits to district/national office(s), 3) letters, and 4) local me...
- “Modifying the Current Flow from Negative to Positive (Data!)”
Scientists are experts at asking questions, analyzing, and critiquing. We are also taught that while there are rules and facts in biology, exceptions to rules exist - in fact, we expect them. I’m going to talk about critiquing to the point of publishing, about negative (but impor...
