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We have moved to biomedicalphdstudent.com. We offer the same mentoring in all things undergraduate and doctoral students should know to have a successful career in biomedical research!

Aliquot! Just do it!

Tubes "Flickr" cc

A lab tip for you! I've recently decided to reduce contamination of any kind. The only way that I can resolve that problem is to aliquot anything and everything! When it comes to my work with RNA, I need to use RNase and DNase free water so after opening the rather large jug I made around 250 1 ml aliquots and froze it down in our -80 degree Celsius freezer. That way, it is the same water making experiments consistent and prevents double dipping leading to contamination or screwy results. So it comes down to taking the time to do the right thing and not be lazy. One of the hardest things to do, in my opinion!

Choosing a lab: Know Yourself

Do I Know You ? "Flickr" cc

Selecting a lab is likely one of the most important choices a Ph.D. student can make. This is the lab you will forever be associated with and the environment is an essential component to making or breaking it in this business. The reason I say that is because there are always highs and lows in science even for the best or luckiest of students. Science is challenging and failure is inevitable. But, in the right lab with the right mentoring you can really excel and that all depends on the lab you select.

So when you are a first year graduate student  in many integrated or "umbrella" programs in biomedical science students go through rotations that last a few weeks. The purpose of this is to find a good lab fit. But you can't possibly test out every lab so here is my cheat sheet to get the answers that you need to find yourself a great fit.

It all begins with you. Who are you? When do you feel the most productive? Are you a morning person or a late-night worker? Do you like working around many people or are you the type of person that likes to work in silence? Do you work well in a team or independently? How do you communicate? Are you a direct, task-oriented person or are you need motivation and guidance? Figuring out who you are through personal assessment is something that every student and faculty member, in my opinion, should be mandatory. Knowing in advance who you are and what you bring to the table will make you not only more self-aware but help in communicating who you are to your future lab. One online assessment you may consider is a DISC assessment, a leading assessment in the corporate world. I'm sure that there are opportunities at community centers or even university career centers. They aren't all hokey, you can actually get something out of it. I used to think that liberal arts educations were a waste of time and money. I am actually finding that those classes that were required and filled up gaps in my science-heavy schedule allowed me to diversify my interests and learn a little bit about myself. Never hurts to have something to say in an interview besides just what I have done in science.

Hey, I'm a fourth year!

Sunset-Tibet  by Katarina Stefanovic "Flickr"

I can't believe it has been four years since I've started this Ph.D. journey. Although I'd love to say that it has flown by, if I did I would be lying to you. A former teacher of mine once equated a marriage to peaks and valleys. Sometimes up and sometimes down. The same metaphor is true for science or graduate school. At each phase of graduate training there are highs and lows. Apparently, it has been revealed that most Ph.D. students begin to experience a depression phase between years 3 and 4. I was there. I've seen my friends and colleagues go through it too. Sometimes it is referred to as the post-quals slump. Been there. Done that. Just like a mountain there is no way around it but over. 

10 Free Website Resources for Every Ph.D. Student

“Lack of resource has hanged many a person." -Irish Proverb

Here is a list of ten excellent online resources for every Ph.D. student:

10) Trying to calculate buffer conditions? Sigma Aldrich has a great site where you can input your desired concentration, molecular weight, etc. Use to check your calculations; it has been awhile since general chemistry I'm sure! http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/life-science/core-bioreagents/biological-buffers.html

9) Deciding on which restriction enzymes to use to generate that perfect cut? New England Biosciences (NEB) Cutter program shows you all the zero, 1, multiple cutters for your inputted sequence of interest. http://tools.neb.com/NEBcutter2/index.php

8) Looking for a research position, post-doctoral fellowship, or faculty position? Look no further than http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/index.html

7) Want to know more about a gene, protein, or RNA? The UCSC genome browser (a former PhD project at UCSC) is a wonderful mapping tool.

6) Designing primers for PCR? Primer 3 allows you to input your sequence, specify your conditions, and generates multiple primer pairs. http://frodo.wi.mit.edu/primer3

5) Need a laugh? Relate to the adventures of the students at Piled Higher and Deeper at http://www.phdcomics.com

4) Purchasing an antibody and there are so many to choose from? Try, http://www.biocompare.com/jump/2045/Antibody-Search.html which does the online comparison shopping for you!

3) Tired of manually searching pubmed.org to keep up with your project literature? You can set up query searches at pubmed.org or pubcrawler.gen.tcd.ie and these services will email you when new papers are published pertaining to your queries.

2) Embarking on a new technique? Check Current Protocols to get the step by step explanation, history, and technical support. http://www.currentprotocols.com

1) Looking for a lab with funding? Federal grant funding through the NIH is public record so check the NIH RePORTER for your PI and see if they can support a graduate student so you aren't wasting your time. This is also helpful if you want to learn more about projects in a given lab because grant proposal overviews are also available. http://projectreporter.nih.gov/reporter.cfm

It's about who you know...

I know, I know. I just posted a long explanation about why experience is so important, but this follows the same trend. Getting to know as many people in your field of interest as possible is critical to success in the scientific community. This extends not only to the beginning of your career but even through to the very end.

According to a recent article on CNN.com in today's world job seekers have an increased chance of landing a job if they have connections. This is no different in the world of science. Not only are these connections important to get a job but don't forget about reference letters! Each graduate school application requires at least 2-3 letters of reference.

Additionally, forging collaborations is the future of basic science research not only between scientist and scientist but also between scientist and clinician.

Seize every opportunity to network and make connections!
Below I have made a list of ideal places and settings:

1) Conferences: Conferences are the supreme place to meet other members of the scientific community! When you have gathered enough data to present a poster, talk to your PI and find a conference to attend. Make sure to be mindful of the abstract submission date. Also, many of these conferences or even your university will offer some sort of travel award if you are presenting. Some universities might even have an "in house" smaller scale poster symposium so that you can get some practice if you haven't presented before. There are a variety of opportunities across the country and internationally listed at .

In my personal experience, I used to attend a regional conference when I was an undergrad at DePaul University. In my senior year after I had already applied to graduate schools I introduced myself to a professor during this meeting who came from one of the universities I had applied to and because of this conversation I landed an interview at that university and received an offer. From this experience, I hope to repeat this in a few years when I look for a post-doctoral fellowship.

2) On campus: Talks, seminars, defenses and poster sessions bring faculty members from all departments across campus together for a common purpose, to talk science! Usually, if it is a special occasion food and libations are provided. Not only will you be able to talk to faculty members from your campus but you might even be able to rub elbows with guest speakers who are Noble prize laureates. You never know who you could end up sitting next to! If you are interested in their research, go up and talk to them after their seminar. Don't be shy.

3) Class, workshops and student organizations: It is also very important to get to know graduate students and post-doctoral fellows across your university because not only can they be excellent resources for protocols or qualifying exams but never forget that they will someday be PI's or in industry across the country.

Try your best to stay connected to those people that you meet even if they can't help you. Some day you might just be the conduit between two others.
Remember as Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." So forge those connections!!!

Getting Experience before Applying to Graduate School

"The only source of knowledge is experience" -Albert Einstein

In any field, the person with the most experience is the most competitive candidate to get a job. Science is no stranger to competition. If a typical Ph.D. program only admits 10-80 students that can become quite limiting for the 200+ programs in the United States especially if you are restricted by region. Therefore it is important to seek out research opportunities as soon as possible.
If you realize you want to pursue a career in science in high school, try to get a summer job in lab. Many research institutions have formed relationships with local high schools recruiting their brightest students for these summer experiences.
If you are at the undergraduate stage, begin applying for summer research fellowships at your current institution, local medical center or a different university. For example, I attended an undergraduate university in Chicago, Illinois but spent the summer before my senior year of undergrad at a competitive medical center in Dallas, Texas. Not only will venturing out to a new university expose you to the wide world of techniques and let you assess whether biomedical research is the right field for you, but you will expand your network of professional contacts by working with professors and post doctoral fellows. Many students use this research experience to form collaborations with primary investigators (PI's) who work in the same field as their current research mentor or future field of research. Also, it provides a fantastic opportunity to gain a letter of recommendation for graduate school. Most programs will provide a stipend for your work and also provide housing options. Pick a subject area or location you have always wanted to visit and apply away!

Greetings.

Where to begin? In reality there are two ways that I could go about this: 1)Starting from where I think a science career should start or 2)Jumping in at a random place depending on what pops in my head. Excluding a linear train of thought, let's take chance! I'll start each post with a topic and go from there. Cool with you? By the way, I'm parker.