lab skills Archives - Page 3 of 4

081: Data Science Will Accelerate Your Research – with Joel Schwartz, PhD

October 17, 2017October 17, 2017 Daniel 2 Comments

As a graduate student, Joel Schwartz developed an immunofluorescence assay for neurotransmitter transport. To quantify his results, he needed to circle the cells in each image so the computer could measure the intensity.

By the time he graduated, Joel had circled over 10 million individual cells.

Over the years, Joel discovered a better way: he taught computers to do the repetitive, complex, and confounding parts of data analysis.

And now he trains other scientists to do the same.

069: Five Ways Scientists SHOULD Be Using Twitter

March 23, 2017March 24, 2017 Daniel 2 Comments

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Traditionally, spending time on social media was a great way to make your PI angry. Your job is to finish experiments, read papers, and present your work at conferences, not to upvote and share the latest blue-dress illusion.

But there are some unexpected benefits to the Twitter network that could help your science and your career.

059: Simple Tricks for Time Management – The Focus Funnel

October 19, 2016October 23, 2016 Daniel Leave a comment

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In some jobs, one day at the office looks a lot like the next. You could look through your calendar and optimize your meeting schedule and to-do list without much thought.

But working in a lab is different: your projects are in constant flux, experiments lead to other experiments, and you need to balance bench work with meetings, mentoring, and writing.

That busyness can lead to inefficiency as you tackle the items on your list one after another. Worse, you’re forced to plan overlapping activities to fill the ‘downtime’ during incubations and time points.

This week, we encourage you to take a step back, look over your list of competing priorities, and ask some hard questions about what’s really important.

You might find you have more free time on your hands than you ever imagined…

056: Team Up for Speedier Science – #modernPhD Part 3

September 5, 2016September 13, 2017 Daniel Leave a comment

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When we think of scientists, we often think of the lone researcher plodding away at the bench late into the night. We imagine Alexander Fleming scrutinizing his penicillium molds or Einstein pondering the latest equation he’s written on the chalk board.

We go a step further when training new scientists: we ask them to complete an ‘independent research project.’ We tacitly perpetuate this notion of the solitary scientist, making her own success or failure.

The side effects of this lone-wolf approach to research are painfully manifest: projects that stall on a single experiment, money wasted teaching everyone the same techniques, and students who burn out due to frustration, lack of direction, or just plain loneliness.

In Part 3 of our goal to modernize the PhD process, we propose a radical 180º turn from the independent project.

Let’s turn science into a team sport.

054: The 5 year PhD – #modernPhD Part 1

August 8, 2016August 22, 2016 Daniel 1 Comment

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Scientific training has its roots in the ancient world. From Aristotle’s natural philosophy to the modern biomedical research lab, science training has relied heavily on an apprenticeship model.

Senior scientists take promising young students into their labs and train them, hands-on, in the practical activities of research.

The assumption has always been that the aspiring scientist will ‘grow up’ to be like her mentor – running a lab of her own someday. And for a long time, that made sense.

But in the modern world, PhDs go on to a much wider variety of careers. Sure, some seek faculty positions, but others teach, consult, work in industry, and influence policy.

Is it time to rethink the PhD process? Can we modernize scientific training to support the diverse interest of today’s scientists?