Discovering Zoology Through My Passion for Birdwatching II: Is There a Final Word in Research?

Abdul Jamil Urfi: "I still have some years left before I retire. But the clock has started ticking and I can hear it loud and clear."

/ August 28, 2019

From Volleyball to Neuroscience

Nicolas Tritsch: "I might have not sought a postdoc if it weren’t for my thesis advisor, Dwight Bergles, who (kindly) pushed me out of the lab after 6 years."

/ August 27, 2019

The Uncertainties of Life

Jaqueline A. Picache: "One of my few regrets is not standing up for myself back then. Instead, I found other people to stand up for – specifically, the rare disease community through my research.  I advocated for the underdog because...

/ August 26, 2019

Finding My Own Way in Science

Milka Kostic: "I was making discoveries. I was publishing my research results. I was enjoying research. But somewhere along the way, I lost my passion for doing science, and I found myself facing a real conundrum."

/ August 16, 2019

Discovering Zoology Through My Passion for Birdwatching: Part 1

Abdul Jamil Urfi: "...popularly known as the birdman of India, had once said in an interview ‘Birdwatching is like measles. You have got to catch the disease’. I had caught that disease long ago and when I began to tire...

/ August 15, 2019

If You Give An Artist A Data Sheet…

Maya Sokolow: "What I began to understand that day on St. John was that science needs to be experienced, lived, and felt. For those who do not have the opportunity to have feet on the field or in the classroom,...

/ August 2, 2019

When Trauma Changes Your Life and Research

Prof. Dan J. Mallinson: "It can be difficult to change a research trajectory. We, especially in pursuit of promotion and tenure, are expected to present ourselves as a nice neat package. “This is who I am and what I do.”

/ July 26, 2019

Protected: How Imprisonment Inspired My Freedom

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

/ July 19, 2019

Iridescence in a World of Noir

Parin Shaik: "I sacrificed my hobbies and interests for the sole purpose of becoming the epitome of perfection. I became afraid that if I couldn't live up to their expectations, I would be nothing but a failure."

/ July 14, 2019

Getting Started in Academia

Cristina Savin: "In retrospect, I had very little idea what I was doing. After the first few rejections, I started doubting that I belonged in academia at all."

/ July 1, 2019

Undeterred: My Journey Continues

Lauren Neal: "Representation in science is of the utmost importance to me at this point in my life. I hope to contribute to changing the idea of what a scientist is supposed to look like or where they are supposed...

/ June 29, 2019

Learning to Know Myself

Carol Shoshkes Reiss: "A few years ago, when three sequential grant applications went down in flames, and funds were exhausted, I made the decision to close my lab. I do not regret the decision."

/ June 29, 2019

Lessons Learned Late-ish

David Poeppel: "I appeared in a number of plays and directed a few, as well. I toyed very seriously with the idea of pursuing this line of work, because I had great fun in that milieu and did not feel...

/ June 27, 2019

Open Heart Surgery: Let Me Tell Y’all A Quick Story

Dr. Jenn Jackson - I grew up in Oakland, CA with my single mom. My dad was in and out of my life. Mostly out. We struggled a lot. My family struggled and continues to struggle.

/ June 14, 2019

My Stolen Identity: I Was Told That Science Was Not Meant For Me

Pei Qin (Sabrina) Ng - My persistence in science enraged my biology teacher. Every lesson, she publicly shamed me in front of the class, proclaiming how bad I am at science, especially biology. She warned my classmates that they were...

/ June 14, 2019

Studying and Experiencing Mental Illness

I feel very grateful to have found this path. But it hasn’t been easy. Academia is incredibly stressful, and I am an anxiety-prone perfectionist who tends to over-work. - Mariam Aly

/ June 12, 2019

My life in butterflies: How a childhood hobby shaped my career

Citizen scientists — as biologist Caren Cooper writes in her book, Citizen Science — can be anyone, often not trained as a scientist, who collaborates with trained researchers in “collective scientific endeavors.” It can be a way for people to develop hobbies, learn new...

/ June 6, 2019

The Journey Continues: Finding My Questions in Science

If it had not been for my friends and the little voice inside telling me to focus on why I had started research in the first place and to keep going, I would have almost certainly given up. - Yasmine...

/ June 5, 2019

Lima Beans: An Epiphany

Dr. Mages: I look down at the seedlings in my hands.  Then I say, “These seedlings are a bit like the children you’ll teach.  Each will develop a little differently and each at a different pace.”

/ June 5, 2019

My Passion for Microbes

Dr. Chika Ejikeugwu is a Lecturer at Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki in Nigeria where he teaches microbiology to undergraduate students. He is also an ‘associate’ Development Knowledge Facilitator (DKF) for the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) headquarters, Abuja, Nigeria. He...

/ May 26, 2019

Marisa Carrasco: Official and Unofficial Stories

Dr. Carrasco is a Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at NYU. She grew up in Mexico City and earned her Licentiate in psychology, specializing in experimental psychology, from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She writes: "Juggling research,...

/ May 4, 2019

Robert Froemke: The Official and Unofficial Stories

Dr. Froemke is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology at the NYU School of Medicine. His lab researches how biological systems adapt and learn to improve behavior. The story below was originally published on Growing up...

/ April 22, 2019

Science – A Poem

Jim is the CEO of NeuroLex which is focused on making voice computing accessible to everyone. Below is a poem he wrote for Stories in Science.

/ April 20, 2019

Finding Myself Between Cacti in Mexico

"Being a research professor is not a 9-5 job. The work is never finished and there is always the next question. That is the fun of doing science."

/ March 25, 2019

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Around half of all Ph.D. students across fields don’t complete their program. I never thought I would be one of them.

/ March 19, 2019

Cave Critters are Cool! – Faces of Fieldwork

I find that subterranean systems are useful models in addressing foundational questions in ecology and evolutionary biology, and that the organisms that inhabit such systems are wonderfully unique. Being able to study these animals and provide a platform for their...

/ March 15, 2019

I am a Neuroscientist in Training: Explore My Developing Neural Story

"My parents never finished college, so I know how privileged I am to study at a renowned institution like Harvard. Although I never saw becoming a scientist as a possibility, I now understand I have always had the curiosity, creativity,...

/ March 14, 2019

An Immunologist’s Perspective

Dr. Viki Male started her scientific career as a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, where she worked on the development of NK cells in the human uterus before moving to Imperial College London to find out how NK...

/ March 11, 2019