A Development enhancing tale with a microbial rich cocktail
Minisha Pereira With thoughts of COVID gushing in my mind, I was sitting down the lane next to my research lab during one evening time. Just then, I heard the conversations that got me stunned and startled. A conversation between...
Growing up in Science: Anne Urai
Anne Urai Ihad a careless childhood. I was good at school, but could never quite decide on my passions. I dropped high-school physics and chemistry in a streak of rebelliousness, only to realize my mistake a year later and catch...
It takes a village: Creating engineered regulatory T cells to induce immune tolerance
Leonardo Ferreira: "What if we could avoid the need for HLA matching for successful organ transplantation without severely impairing the recipient’s immune system? Better even, what if we could use a mismatched HLA molecule present in the donor but not...
Growing up in Science: Clinton Cave
Clinton Cave - "Protect your health, find mentorship, and help those around you. And just for the record, "You DO belong here."
My Developing Journey to Becoming an Agent of Change in Science
Milanpreet Kaur: "It has been three years into my doctoral program, and recently I began to draw connections between my studies and personal growth, asking myself - Have I attempted to act as a catalyst to accelerate the rate of...
The Faith of A Physicist
Aiza Kabeer: "Though this is a brief overview, Abdus Salam’s life gives us a sad, yet rich and inspiring story of a talented scientist deeply rooted in a religious and cultural identity."
The Past is the Key to the Future
Peter Puleo: "In working with them and learning about how Earth science is conducted day-by-day, I learned a lot about how to do this kind of lab work, use the scientific process effectively, and think like a scientist."
Growing up in Science: Jane Willenbring
Jane Willenbring: "My Ph.D. on rates of glacial erosion in the Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic seemed long and difficult. I thought about quitting many times, but I'm glad I didn't quit."
Breaking the surface: Lessons on resilience and rebuilding from planarians
Divya Shiroor: "When I look at my publication today, I can’t help but be struck by how 5 years of blood, sweat and tears coalesce so tidily into 5 pages of a journal. I wonder how differently things might have...
Ice, heat, science, and acting
Morgan Dundon: "I think we should be more accepting of our many dimensions, both academics and actors alike. In my world of materials science, there are solid materials that can exist in more than one form or structure."
Crossing the finish line
Divya Shiroor: "By trying to make a mad dash to the finish line we run a very solid risk of not making it at all. In the long run, taking a moment to stop and smell the roses might go...
Fraternizing with Failure
Divya Shiroor: "I stepped up on stage, looked into the audience and for the first time ever, completely drew a blank. I tried to find my focus, somehow stumbled though my speech, leaving a big part of it out and...
Growing Up in Science: Gyorgy Buzsaki
György Buzsáki: "To be part of such a conversation, all I had to do was to learn Morse code, memorize the Q language, learn a bit about electronics, pass exams, get a license, build a transmitter and receiver, and set...
Be your own Cartographer
Divya Shiroor: "I think of the IDP as a roadmap to the destination of your choice, with the difference being that you build your own road as you go along. It is a tool that helps assess which career you...
Academia: My forbidden love?
Divya Shiroor: "As happens with all relationships, my honeymoon period ended soon after commencing graduate school. Seven months into my first year, I now realize that my once perfect boyfriend can be complicated, demanding and potentially unstable."
The Spirit of the Inca
Aiza Kabeer: "When we are not aware of the achievements of civilizations such as the Inca, we are unable to see the breadth of cultures that made outstanding scientific progress."
Unexpected lessons from conducting research with older adults
Julia Nolte: "Becoming a gerontologist has taught me many unexpected things about the way the “stages of life” translate into lifespan research. Given these surprising lessons, my advice to other budding researchers is this: know that being an expert in...
My experience as a Kurdish Undergraduate Scientist in Iraq
Soma Sardar Barawi: "As a Kurdish nationalist first, and a future forensic biologist second, I desperately want to serve my homeland through the use of modern forensic technology."
Humans of HBI: Isle Bastille
Isle Bastille: "The largest challenge I’ve had to overcome is allowing myself to dream big. Early in life, I was limited by my environment. My mother is an immigrant and knew very little about the process of attending college in...
Humans of HBI: Caroline Palavicino-Maggio
Caroline Palavicino-Maggio: "During my childhood, I watched violent crimes transform my neighborhood. Now as a postdoc, I aim to understand the origin of aggressive behavior that underpins violent crimes. Though my work is rooted in neurobiology, I hope it will...
Humans of HBI: Stephanie Haro
Stephanie Haro: "I am a proud first- generation, Mexican-American, low-income college student from the community of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles, CA. Given my roots and the opportunities that have been provided to me by past and current institutions, I...
Humans of HBI: Rockwell Anyoha
Rockwell Anyoha: "I just love animals. I grew up surrounded by nature and spent a lot of time interacting with both wild and domestic animals. We are always taught how “special” humans are, but in my childhood experiences of being...
Humans of HBI: DJ Bambah-Mukku
DJ Bambah-Mukku: "The hardest part of experimental science in general is learning to cope with failure. Perseverance and grit are probably the most important traits that one learns in experimental biology. Having a supportive mentor and fun colleagues can make...
How Studying the Brain Transformed my Brain
Lori Saxena: "I began to understand that I didn’t love neuroscience because of the medals and acclaim it gave me, but because of its universality. Because it can be studied and tested and corrected—an ever-expanding, ever-improving existential philosophy."
Growing Up in Science: David M. Schneider
David Schneider: "When I finished my masters, I applied to 11 PhD programs and was rejected by all of them. The next obvious step (to me) was to cold-call the director of graduate studies at Columbia (where I had just...
Becoming a parent in academia – when science fails you
B. Muehlroth: "Although I managed to continue devoting a major part of my life to my PhD, my life with infertility made me aware of my own boundaries and forced me to overstep them many times. I was never sure...
How Much Poop Does a Worm Make When They Only Eat Zuccchhiinnniii?
Vivekanand Pandey Vimal
Finding Clarity in Chaos
Hazal Uzunkaya: "If you asked me what I wanted to be at the age of five, I would say a Veterinarian, which later turned into an Astronaut Veterinarian, and then became Prime Minister Astronaut Veterinarian. I dreamed big, however scattered...