Extreme Makeover: Lab Edition
Spring cleaning should not stop at home. Here are some tips to clean your lab space and de-clutter your way to a more productive you.
A Plant in Every Lab
Feeling burned out? You are not alone. With so much time spent indoors, it is more important than ever to connect with nature. Research has shown that adding houseplants to your surroundings can improve your mood as well as your ability to learn, concentrate and be productive.
The Student Scientists Behind the (Future) Coronavirus Cure
The news often reports the research, but what about the researchers? Student scientists working during the pandemic discuss their new normal.
Lab Rotations: Finding the Right Relationship
Picking a thesis lab can be a daunting task. To increase the likelihood of a positive Ph.D. experience, most programs require students to test the water through rotations. I can’t speak to the structure of other programs, but in the Cellular and Molecular Medicine program, we have a class dedicated to professors and their research. […]
How to Choose the Right Thesis Lab — Epiphany-free!
Nearly two months ago, I concluded my fourth Ph.D. lab rotation. Rotations are important components of Ph.D. training. During each rotation, a new student spends eight to 12 weeks working in a lab, getting a sense of the science pursued there, the types of questions asked and the overall culture. After completing three or more […]
Grad Grooves: The Soundtrack of Our Science
Background music is everywhere. It plays quietly in malls and grocery stores, and loudly at sports events. It is almost ever-present in the TV shows we watch. In addition to all of this, many graduate students listen to music all day in lab. Because we work so much, this means we could have music streaming […]
Is Cough Syrup an Antidepressant?
Everything from shrooms and weed to molly and ketamine — once known mainly as party drugs — is finding a place in clinical trials for depression and other mental health conditions. Precisely how they work on the brain, however, strays wildly from prescription antidepressants. In doing so, these drugs are challenging traditional ideas of how […]
Every Ph.D. Journey Is Different, and That’s OK
As a second-year student in the pathobiology graduate program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, I joined a thesis lab this past August. During our first year, we do three research rotations in different labs to get more experience doing research at the graduate student level, in addition to getting a feel for […]
The Life and Times of a Principled Scientist
In a world that amounts to a maelstrom of stimuli and a cacophony of interacting processes, it is of great importance that one develops systems for recognizing specific types of scenarios and reacting appropriately to them. These systems, or principles, inform our future decision-making and spare us the tedium of having to deal with all […]
Tips on How to Choose the Right Laboratory
For a graduate student or postdoc, choosing the right laboratory can be a daunting prospect. There are many factors that one must consider, but deciding which to prioritize is often challenging. Individual learning styles, interests and career goals vary vastly, so an environment perfectly suited to one person may be one where another flounders. That […]
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