#phdlife
i applied for my first VAP post
exciting! feels surreal, tho
thinking about how the job market advice on the SCS website says “don’t limit yourself unnecessarily by geography or types of institutions”
like, the academic job market is not reasonable
The evolution of woodpecker drums
Here’s a big update: my second first-author article was featured as the cover article in PRSB in February! It’s open access, so anyone can read about how sexual selection and body size interact to shape how this magnificent gestural display evolved.
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The day after… TRUST ME, I’M A DOCTOR
#day580 #lego365 #lego #legofan #afol #legostagram #legophotography #instalego #minifigures #toys #bricks #brickcentral #bricknetwork #toygroup_alliance #toyslagram_lego #toyslagram #legography #toyartistry_lego #lego_hub #hispalego #phd #phdlife #thesisdefense
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My face probably looks like this by the current moment. If everything goes right, tomorrow I’ll become a Doctor. Wish me luck! #day580 #lego365 #lego #legofan #afol #legostagram #legophotography #instalego #minifigures #toys #bricks #brickcentral #bricknetwork #toygroup_alliance #toyslagram_lego #toyslagram #legography #toyartistry_lego #lego_hub #hispalego #phd #phdlife #thesisdefense
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5 Dec 2018. I know I’ve been an absentee poster. My semester has been keeping me busy. Enjoy this photo of my Schlumbergera cactus in bloom! (Christmas or Thanksgiving cactus- not sure which species this is precisely. But I love it all the same.)
#botany #cactus #schlumbergera #christmascactus #phdlife
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrAj1yMBRDl/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1nqzfi68owndp
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New #comicbook alert!
Be wooed by the amazing things our #gutmicrobiomes do in this lovely #blackandwhite comic by #uwgrad @zenyattacomics and #phdstudent Sydney Thomas!
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Sydney is a #gradstudent in the Denu lab at @uwmadison learning about #epigenetics and Amy is an #artist and research specialist at the Wisconsin primate center!
Go to jkxcomics.com/youarewhatyoueat to read now!
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#science #comics #sciencecomics #bacteria #research #phdlife #dnafolding #cells #YouAreWhatYouEat #jkxcomics
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6GT5Z3psUY/?igshid=1tgxrp3vlh76b
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This is going to be a long post - I have so many updates! - but I’ll try to be succinct. I’ll start with the obvious: my YouTube channel is officially up and running and has it’s first video. It’s a simple introduction, but make sure you subscribe. New content coming soon!
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✔ 100 Days of Productivity ✔
79/100, 2/9: Organised all my bookshelves, which were getting overwhelmed and very messy.
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80/100, 3/9: Work, work, work!
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81/100, 4/9: Final day working in the library book storage on a major project - we smashed it!
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82/100, 5/9: Announced my intent to step into the role of president/managing editor of the Amphora Issue, an Australian postgraduate classics journal.
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83/100, 10/9: Focused on preparing for a Skype meeting with the editorial collective of Amphora.
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84/100, 11/9: Met with the current secretary of Amphora over Skype and discussed the journal’s future. I have taken on the role as acting president until an official vote can be conducted.
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85-87/100, 12-14/9: Spent three days in Launceston with close friends. The visit became something of a creative retreat - I was inspired to write fiction for the first time in 6+ months.
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88/100, 15/9: Finished reading my second book for the month.
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89/100, 19/100: Enjoyed a day in the garden thanks to glorious weather.
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90/100, 23/9: Spent my day blogging - there were so many fascinating news items related to the ancient world!
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91/100, 24/9: Caught up on some housework, particularly in my home office. You know how things pile up
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92/100, 25/9: Finished a third fiction book for the month. It seems a small number but for someone who has been a full time student/researcher since 2013, it’s exciting to have spent so much time swept away in new and exciting worlds.
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93/100, 26/9: Created and uploaded my first video to YouTube. I’m proud that I overcame my anxiety about being in front of the camera, and I look forward to creating more content to diversify #ImperiumRomanum
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#classics #phdlife #phd #phdchat #ecr #twitterstorian #studygram #studyblr #blog #blogger #youtube #productivity #100daysofproductivity #daybyday
https://www.instagram.com/p/B24CB6pB6p3/?igshid=1l2s3f5smftsy
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78/100✔
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✔ Did another full day in the library store rooms. Today’s section was particularly dusty
✔ Earned my first #Duolingo for #lingualatina
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#classics #phdlife #phdchat #latin #language #study #work #hardwork #100daysofproductivity #studygram
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1v-0yqhNvM/?igshid=cxix202dlq7o
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After lots of hard work in the library store rooms from 9am to 5pm, getting the email to say your paper has been accepted for #ASCS41 is a pretty excellent way to end the day
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77/100✔
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#classics #phdlife #phdchat #conference #academicconference #dunedinnz #100daysofproductivity #productivity
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1tUqnQhLAK/?igshid=korqwsyhqsov
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On schedule for my #goodreadschallenge let’s see if I can keep it up.
Starting A Breath of Snow and Ashes form the #outlanderseries today. Excited for it but not sure if I’ll finish it in two weeks , but no doubt it will be fantastic anyway.
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#books #bibliophile #reading #historicalfiction #dianagabaldon #winterreading #phdlife #outlander #goodreads (at Centre-ville de Sherbrooke)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtbZS99BpjW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1j9u57bjsanoa
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Today we chat to SCI member Luca Steel about their life as a plant pathology PhD student in 2020.
Luca Steel is a PhD Student at Rothamsted Research
Can you please provide a brief summary of your research?
Zymoseptoria tritici is a fungal pathogen of wheat which can cause yield losses of up to 50%. We’re investigating an effector protein secreted by Z. tritici which acts as a ‘mask’, hiding the pathogen from host immune receptors and avoiding immune response.
What does a day in the life of a plant pathology PhD Student look like?
My days are very varied – from sowing wheat seeds to swabbing pathogenic spores onto their leaves, imaging symptoms, discussing results with my supervisor and lab team, and of course lots of reading. It doesn’t always go to plan - I recently attempted to make some wheat leaf broth, which involved lots of messy blending and ended up turning into a swampy mess in the autoclave!
Wheat in the incubator!
How did your education prepare you for this experience?
The most valuable preparation was my placement year at GSK and my final year project at university. Being in the lab and having my own project to work on made me confident that I wanted to do a PhD – even if it was a totally different research area (I studied epigenetics/immunoinflammation at GSK!).
What are some of the highlights so far?
My highlight was probably attending the European Conference on Fungal Genetics in Rome earlier this year. It was great to hear about so much exciting work going on – and it was an added bonus that we got to explore Rome. I’ve also loved getting to know my colleagues and being able to do science every day.
What is one of the biggest challenges faced in a PhD?
My biggest challenge so far has probably been working from home during lockdown. Although I am very privileged to have a distraction-free space and good internet connection, it was difficult to adjust to working from my kitchen! It was sad abandoning unfinished experiments, and I missed being in the lab – so I’m glad to be back now.
Pandemic Workstations
What advice would you give to someone considering a PhD?
If you’re sure you want to do one, then absolutely go for it and don’t be afraid to sell yourself! If not, I’d recommend spending some time working in a lab before you apply and chatting to any prospective labs. If you don’t get a reply from the PI, existing students/post-docs in the group are often very happy to talk and give honest opinions.
How have things been different for you because of the global pandemic?
I was lucky that the pandemic came early on in my PhD, so I had a lot of flexibility to change what I was working on. I switched from lab work involving lots of bioimaging, towards a more bioinformatic approach. My poor laptop will be glad when I’m back to using my computer at work!
Luca Steel is a PhD Student at Rothamsted Research and a member of SCI’s Agri-Food Early Career Committee
On the week of 10th-16th August, 2020, scientists across Twitter came together to celebrate the Black scientists working in Chemistry. The community event included a range of chemistry themes, from Organic to Physical Chemistry, showcasing a diverse range of research, and even garnered support from celebrities such as MC Hammer and Michael B. Jordan.
#BlackinChem was started by a group of early career researchers, following on from other successful weeks, who wanted to highlight the incredible range of science that Black chemists do.
#BlackinChem wouldn’t be what it is without these amazing people!@That_Astro_Chic@onlyayanna_@KathinatedDrink@NatRodLopes1@blackinthelab@hi_d_nq❤️pic.twitter.com/4A7qztEsT2
The main tweets of he week were by Black chemists highlighting their research interests.
Hi everyone! #BlackinChemRollCall I’m Sonja, an Electrochemist, and a Chem lecturer at Princeton U. I worked on bimetallic/alloy electrocatalysts for fuel cells and CO2 reduction and now interested in academic support interventions. Looking forward to to #BlackInChemweek!pic.twitter.com/GpTNpFnIaK
#BlackinChem Kelly here . I’m a grad student @KStateChemistry in the Aakeroy lab. My work focuses on crystal engineering and inorganic chemistry to modify properties of agrochemicals, fragrances and energetics :from fundamentals to applications.Cobalt girl…#BlackinInorganicpic.twitter.com/8OQM40zVgm
The week also included online events, panels and socials throughout the week.
Issues surrounding diversity in science, particularly representation of Black scientists, was discussed.
1,656 U.S. citizens and permanent residents received a Master’s degree in chemistry in 2016.
Only 89 were Black. That’s less than 5.4%. #BlackinChem#BlackinChemRepresentation#BlackinChemGradStudent (Source: NSF NCSES) pic.twitter.com/7vd4GZBRJZ
There were even a few celebrity shout outs! Yes, this is MC Hammer tweeting about MOFs!
Mesoporous stilbene-based lanthanide metal organic frameworks: synthesis, photoluminescence and radioluminescence characteristics - Dalton Transactions (RSC Publishing) #BlackinOrganic#BlackinChemRollCallhttps://t.co/qhlMLv9Dod
Overall, it was an incredibly successful week. A massive congratulations to everyone involved, and especially to the organisers.
Find out more about #BlackInChem here.
*STS BLOGPOST*
As part of my flurry of travel last semester I attended the Explore NEON Workshop at NEON’s headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. Looking back, I’m still shocked that so much information and guidance was conveyed in just two days! Myself and several other graduate students traveled to NEON, learned how to access and work with NEON data, and interacted with NEON science staff. I really enjoyed working with data alongside a group of ecologists/botanists/biologists/etc (no shade, statisticians, but ecologists will nerd out with me about nature AND data). <read more on @sweetteascience blog!>
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#STEMblog #STEMblogger #NEONdata #exploreNEON #NEONscience #botany #plantsmakepeoplehappy #gradstudent #gradstudentlife #phdlife #womeninSTEM #workshop #linkinBio #ecology #ecologicalmonitoring
(at National Ecological Observatory Network)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuUWkq0hoVX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=6juax4130c5e
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*NEW BLOGPOST* I am so tickled about the timing of our latest blogpost. I finally got around to finishing a recap of my #NEONdata workshop (it got pushed from peanut butter week ) and it happens that the same workshop is once more open for submissions! This time they’re going on the road so if folks at your institution are into amazing ecological data you’re in luck! Read more on the blog #linkinbio
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#NEONscience #itsMeridith #ecology #dataaccess #rstats #rcode #dataavailability #workshop #recap #gradstudentlife #phdlife #exploreBoulder #BoulderCO #sciencelifestyle #STEMblog #STEMblogger (at Boulder, Colorado)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuM2yD5hynP/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1pfomw6isrwhh
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*NEW POST* This weeks #STSblogpost was inspired by one of @alwaysscientist’s IG posts about PhD visit day in her department! Check out this post for a behind the scenes peek at what goes down during recruitment day for a Statistics department at an R1 university! Be sure to share your own experiences with recruitment events in the comments.
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#phdlife #gradschool #gradschoollife #gradschoolblog #gradschoolblogger #research #statisitics #statsstud #PSUstatistics #phdrecruitment #STEMblog #STEMblogger (at Penn State Statistics Department)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwFf9_hhhbJ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1elz2765v2gbo
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Hi March…wait, April! What a wild few weeks for your STS scientistas. We are both working hard with lots on our plates but we still managed three posts in the blog in March! Blog win! What items do you like to have handy when you’re hard at work? Water, tea, and headphones are must haves for me!
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#teamTea #butfirsttea #focus #productivity #phdlife #phdchat #hydrate #matchalatte #scienceBlog #ScienceBlogger (at Webster’s Bookstore & Cafe)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvzbiEihFuS/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rookcatxw1oi
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I’ve been going climbing a few times a week for a month or so. There’s a bouldering wall at one of the gyms on campus and a few other stat grad students that go regularly. It’s been easy to get into, a fun way to be active, and I really enjoy the incremental goals that you can attain one hold at a time. I’m so excited because I finally completed my first AND second routes today! what non-academic goals do you have?
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#climbing #bouldering #womenwhoclimb #gradschool #phdlife #stayingactive #accomplishment (at State College, Pennsylvania)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvkuAIqBc2-/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=13qi741nkheoz
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Safe wishes to everyone traveling now or soon for spring break! I am in south Florida for the week but I’ll need to squeeze in some paper edits I didn’t get done before I left.
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Photo is two cutie MS students on spring break in New Mexico! Still so grateful for all those greyhound trips between Las Cruces and Long Beach.
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#springbreak #phdlife #gradstudentlife #worklifecompromise #besties #desertadventures #whitesands #nationalmonument #busadventures (at White Sands National Monument)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BujYbjhBxnq/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=wvam6xm5psp3
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