Nobody will ever accuse research of being easy. However, interspersed among the challenges we face in lab are a number of events worth celebrating- events that keep us going. When buried under a seemingly endless list of experiments, it can be difficult to take time to appreciate the accomplishments along the way. So in this week of giving thanks, we want to know which of these lab-related milestones you’re most thankful for.
Giving Thanks in Lab
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So You Want to be an Entrepreneur…
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You have decided that you what to be an entrepreneur. Wait…what is an entrepreneur? Webster’s defines an entrepreneur as one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. Sound familiar? As graduate students and post-docs we develop a hypothesis, organize experiments, and then manage those experiments, all the while assuming risk for the outcome (please let this work!) So, you are already on your way to becoming an entrepreneur. Not enough? I didn’t think so- here are some suggestions for helping you learn more about entrepreneurship and how to start.
Professor? It’s ‘Academic Entrepreneur’ to You
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As we mentioned on Monday in 3 Scientific Products We Need in Lab, this is Global Entrepreneurship Week. It’s a time to raise awareness for, provide resources to and celebrate the individuals who take the step to start a company and follow a dream. So academics- it’s time to put on your party hats because like it or not, we’re all in business now.
3 Scientific Products We Need in Lab
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Today kicks off Global Entrepreneur Week, and to celebrate we’ve called in three budding young companies to pitch their new scientific products to us. So please take a look at what they’ve got to offer and vote for the one you’d like to see in your lab in the next few months.
LabLibs: The Qualifying Exam Courtesy Note
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Few events strike fear in the heart of a grad student like the qualifying exam. Many students begin stressing about it shortly after starting grad school- a good two years early. So it’s not surprising that as the time nears to pay the piper, students take studying seriously. In fact, they often leave the lab altogether for 2-6 weeks, leaving an empty (and vulnerable) bench…
The LinkedIn for Scientists: LinkedIn
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As it turns out, there is a “LinkedIn for scientists” we should all be using. It’s called… LinkedIn. With over 80 million users, LinkedIn provides the infrastructure to build a large and diverse network of professional contacts that benefits scientists as much as any other profession.
Scientists’ Favorite Scientists
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The state of modern chemical and biological research is a direct result of countless contributions, large and small, by individual scientists who have preceded us. We’ve identified twenty of the proverbial giants upon whose shoulders we now stand. Now we want to know which ones are your favorite scientists.
Just Two Weeks to Study for My Qualifying Exam?!
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Dear Dora,
One of my friends got to take off 6 weeks to study for their qualifying exam, but my PI says I should be in the lab until 2 weeks before it. I’m not sure that’s enough time and I’m getting stressed out. Is there any kind of rule that says how much time we should get to study for it?
– D, grad student
The 4 Steps to Finding Your Passion
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Growing up, I was a stellar student. I majored in biochemistry/cell biology as an undergraduate and, immediately after college, entered a PhD program in cell biology. With my academic success and interest in science, it was an easy choice for me to follow a respectable career path that everyone, myself included, assumed would lead to a successful and stable career as a scientist. What could possibly go wrong?
BenchFly’s Bloody Dry Ice Halloween Punch
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What’s scarier: Michael Meyers chasing you down the street with a knife -OR- Getting scooped as a 6th year grad student one week before submitting your manuscript? Being submerged in a pool of bloodsucking worms -OR- Contaminating the cell line it took you nearly two months to make? Spending the night in a haunted mansion alone with no electricity -OR- Discovering the plasmid you thought you were working with for the last five years is actually a completely different construct? Seems like every day is Halloween in lab…
