Daniel, Author at Hello PhD

086: Five Resolutions for Happier, Healthier Scientists

January 15, 2018March 13, 2018 Daniel Leave a comment

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Turning over the last page of the calendar seems to naturally invite some reflection on the previous 365 days. When you look back at 2017, what went well? And what do you wish you could change in the coming year?

This week, we take the opportunity to reflect back much farther – to our days in graduate and postdoctoral training! With years of hindsight, we offer advice and perspective to the scientists we were, and devise some resolutions you can adopt in your scientific training.

085: Scientists in the Newsroom – The AAAS Mass Media Fellowship feat. Rebekah Corlew

December 22, 2017December 22, 2017 Daniel 1 Comment

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Pick up any newspaper and you’ll find an article summarizing the ‘latest research’ on the health benefits of chocolate, a new treatment for Alzheimers, or the long-term risks of screen time for your toddler.

As a scientist, you probably groan before you reach the end of the title: the claims are extreme, the statistics are dubious, and often, the information a reader should know is buried below the fold.

If you’d like to see science communication reach new levels of accuracy and relevance, it may be time to step away from your lab bench and pick up a pen.

084: The 4 Keys to an Effective Grad School Application

December 10, 2017January 22, 2018 Daniel 1 Comment

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In every episode of Hello PhD, we explore science training and life in the lab. But for every scientist, that saga begins with a grad school application.

Whether you’re ready to apply today, or would like to apply to a graduate program ‘some day,’ we share a few tips and tricks that will make the application process simpler and more effective.

083: Preprint First, Peer-Review Later

November 20, 2017November 20, 2017 Daniel Leave a comment

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Publishing your research in a peer-reviewed academic journal is an exercise in patience. You write and edit, wait for feedback from your PI, wrangle the figures into some esoteric format, and then submit. That’s when the real patience begins.

From submission to publication, the peer review process can take more than a year. Meanwhile, you’re moving on to other work, and hoping a competing lab doesn’t scoop the science you showed at the last conference.

Enter the preprint. Though it sounds unassuming, it’s a source of real controversy in the biomedical sciences.

082: The Science of Comedy with The Peer Revue’s Niki Spahich

November 4, 2017November 5, 2017 Daniel Leave a comment

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Two scientists walk into a bar. One steps on stage and delivers ten minutes of raucously funny stand-up comedy. The other enjoys an evening of laughter as enterprising STEM professionals share their science.

Scientists doing stand-up may sound like a joke, but it’s actually the latest innovation in science communication.