Tag: life sciences
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...
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,...
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...
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."
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.
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,...
A Day in the Life of One Scientist
Caroline received her B.S. from Brown University in 2006. She began studying the molecular and cellular basis of behavior in the context of the developing frog brain while pursuing her M.S. at the University of Michigan. She earned her Ph.D....
#PhDart — Flower Development Matters
Being a plant lover since I was little, I have always been fascinated by the enormous diversity of floral architectures. Now in the Kramer lab at Harvard University, I began to explore this diversity by asking how Aquilegia species build their flowers....
Debts and Lessons (in Science)
Colm P. Kelleher is a postdoc at Harvard University specializing in biophysics and soft matter physics. As well as research, Colm is interested in science communication and education. In this article, he writes about about the importance of mentors and...
PhD or Family? Does it have to be one or the other?
Aditi Deshpande is a scientist at Allena Pharmaceuticals in Newton, MA. She is a biochemist and a chemical engineer by training. Dr. Deshpande is motivated to transform emerging science into products suitable for commercial development and also bring first-in class...
The PhD Delusion
My parents were still on cloud nine about their daughter having finished a PhD at a highly-ranked university, doing ground-breaking research on cystic fibrosis. They were talking about it as if I had been on a wonderful, noble mission which...
Taking a Multidisciplinary Approach to Learning
Johnathan Yeo: I was amazed at the depths that biology could go. There was so much more to learn, discover and connect. Again, I learned by forming links between areas such biology and chemistry.
My Kaleidoscopic Journey in Science
If you observe carefully, you’ll find a similar pattern in science and life. Both teach you the same lessons. The lessons that you learn from science help you solve problems in life as well.
Building My Research Lab in India
Dr. Dileep Vasudevan: What I have learned from my experience is that one needs to have immense amount of patience and perseverance to survive in academic research. The little moments of happiness that come in between times of failures should be...
A New Beginning: From Bench to Boardroom
When I began my PhD, I was quite certain that I would pursue a research career. But unlike most of my classmates, I was set on going into industry rather than academia.
What Keeps Me Ticking
Besides a few of my teachers, I didn’t know any scientists; I didn’t even know what a PhD was. To be honest, I had no clue what I was getting into. However, the same stubbornness that had made me throw...
Best of Both Worlds: A Two-Timer’s Story
To this very day, I will often get comments on being a fool leaving a well-paid full-time job for a career in research that may not guarantee me an academic position. However, I am still full of gusto entering the...
Ordinary Folks Doing Extraordinary Things
by David Denlinger | Department of Biology | Utah State University Everyday when we wake up, whether we recognize it or not, our lives are inspired by science: not being crippled by polio or smallpox, the food we eat, the vehicles...
I always thought I wanted to be a scientist
– Michelle Dookwah – Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Georgia I always thought I wanted to be a scientist, yet I considered other careers at brief points in my life. When I was really young, I wanted to...
From engrams to psychiatric disorders and back
– Steve Ramirez – – Principal Investigator | Center for Brain Science| Harvard University – I‘m often asked how I got into neuroscience, so here’s the story. In college, I was one of those students who loved every subject, from...
A non-linear path to the career I never knew I always wanted
By Valerie K. Haftel Ph.D | Associate Professor of Biology, Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA I was always fascinated by animals, and how they work in nature. I had a fondness for playing in streams with friends, catching frogs, collecting buckets of...
The Inner City Scientist
By Ketema Paul, PhD – Associate Professor at UCLA I have known I wanted to be a scientist since I was a kid. My earliest memory of wanting to be a scientist was 7 years old. Science was my favorite class and...
A Lab-Coat AND Hiking Shoes
I've spent my professional life juggling two careers. First, as a lab neurobiologist, I study rats and cultured neurons, trying to understand how stress damages the brain. Second, as a field primatologist, I study the effects of social stress and social subordination...