tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149052572024-03-18T15:00:48.437-04:00Dr. Mom, My Adventures as a Mommy-ScientistDiscussion of my journey from grad school to postdoc to tenure with two kids, a husband, (and a bit of breast cancer) in tow.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.comBlogger230125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-65264312622861696342011-09-26T16:16:00.003-04:002011-09-26T17:38:18.814-04:00Better but not BETTERSo I finished chemo August 9th and started radiation in late August. Radiation is much easier to handle than chemo but it is everyday. So I can only work 5-6 hours on campus before my appt. Also, although I dont need as much sleep as I did with chemo, I still need more than normal, so my ability to work at night is limited. This leads to some problems.<br />
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I look "better". I am at work everyday. I have a near normal energy level. So people have started to add tasks to my list again. Because I was feeling better, I took on more of these tasks, but as the rubber starts to meet the road, it has become clear that *I am not all the way better*. <br />
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Last Monday we had our departmental retreat. Sunday night I found myself a basket case trying to figure out how I was going to accomplish 5 tasks that all had to be done and attend this retreat. I ended up calling in sick on Monday, sleeping in, and getting 1-2 of the tasks done, which made me feel much better. <br />
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I want to be better, to do my share in the department, and to contribute to the university, but the truth is that there are still limits to what I can do. I need to remember this.<br />
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Other than that, I am starting to get back into the swing of things. I've submitted 3 proposals in the last few months and a couple papers. So that's good, and my scans still show no recurrence so treatment is working.....PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-49311120117119471282011-08-23T18:10:00.000-04:002011-08-23T18:10:02.530-04:00UpdateSome of you have asked for an update...so here goes. I finished chemo two weeks ago (yay!). I start radiation in a week and that will continue for 6 weeks. Then I have a break for a few months before reconstruction surgery.<br />
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That's the semantics, but how am I really doing? Actually well. One nice thing about this job is that there is plenty to keep you busy. I have written and submitted several papers and am currently working on several grants.Tenure is official so you can call me an Associate Professor now.<br />
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There are many things that have come up in the last few months that I would love to talk about here, but in the interest of time, I will list some and provide only short comments.<br />
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<ul><li>Why am I treated differently for having cancer than women who have babies? I didn't have nearly the same problems getting people to take over my classes etc. as some of my pregnant colleagues.</li>
<li>Why am I not getting invited for external seminars? Is it cancer related? or am I not networking hard enough. And how do you get invited for external seminars anyway? Is it appropriate to ask?</li>
<li>Why do my papers in this one field keep getting rejected? I have some research in a new area and it is like pulling teeth to get papers published in this field. I don't know many of the key players and this may be why, but still, *someone* new has to publish there eventually.</li>
</ul>I guess that's not much, but some short comments for now.<br />
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PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-91864884206261121982011-05-05T15:15:00.000-04:002011-05-05T15:15:14.893-04:00Chemo Report #3So chemo #3 did not go as well as #1 and #2. It's probably my fault. Instead of being good and resting the week of my treatments I tried to come in and work Th and F afternoon, so no naps as usual. Unfortunately, this resulted in my being really sick all weekend. I was really, really nauseous. The kind of nauseous where even someone's cologne smell's bad and makes you want to retch. Spent most of the weekend with all the doors and windows open trying to air out the house.<br />
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Good news is by yesterday I was definitely feeling better. Better news is I only have one more of that particular treatment left and then I switch to a different drug with different side effects that do not include nausea.<br />
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Work is still going amazing. I really don't understand how my lab and my research have chosen this moment to become super-productive, but I'll take it. We have now been contacted by three different companies about licensing technologies. We have 2-3 papers in the mill that are likely to be high impact. I just came up with an awesome grant proposal idea that I can't wait to submit. So things are good.<br />
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One of the things that I am spending a lot of time thinking about lately is how to avoid being a one-hit wonder. We have had one technology that is really successful and are currently working through the derivative and application papers that go along with that. We will be able to do that for the next few years, but I need to start thinking about what we will do next. And in the spirit of my previous post, I want to work on the challenging but important problems, but figuring out what those are is half the battle.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com101tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-28741268680082267742011-04-21T16:11:00.000-04:002011-04-21T16:11:32.896-04:00Chemo Report #2So pretty much recovered from Chemo infusion #2 of 4, before switching to a different drug. Better than the last time, but still not my favorite thing to do. Basically down for 2-3 days, then able to work after that.<br />
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Apart from the chemo, my research is really kicking into gear. I got contacted by *another* company interested in licensing my technology, for a home pregnancy test no less. More exciting research results have been rolling in. Is it not a little bit troubling that my lab seems to run itself better when I am gone half the time?<br />
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Actually one possible contributing factor to this success may be the promotion and hiring of a postdoc to a research scientist position. I have dumped off a lot of the day to day administration to him and this seems to help my own productivity tremendously. Plus, my students have a contact point that is available pretty much constantly to resolve small lab issues. All in all things are good...PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-18831085264078250652011-04-09T12:10:00.000-04:002011-04-09T12:10:30.596-04:00Chemo Report #1So nearly 2 weeks ago I had my first chemo infusion. It went a lot better than I thought. I was pretty tired for the first 2-3 days but then progressively better until the last few days I have actually felt nearly as good as before my surgery. In fact, felt so good I went to work everyday this week. So, I guess moral of the story is that chemo does not keep you from working.<br />
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Downsides, yes I am tired and I do have to rest sometimes. We are putting a sofa in my office to facilitate this. A major effort to move all the furniture around and I am grateful to everyone involved. Also, they give you steroids to keep your immune system up while you are doing chemo and unfortunately the high doses made me so ADHD I couldn't concentrate on anything for more than 5 minutes. I can't be sure having never tried it, but have to imagine it is akin to being on speed or something, while at the same time being drunk (tired). Kind of a weird feeling.<br />
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The most ironic thing of all of this is that this is the time that my research has chosen to take off. I just got tenure. we published our second very high impact paper this year. People have been really excited about it. I have been featured in several news articles and was recently on a podcast talking about this work. Two different companies have commercial interest in the technology. Apart from that, all of experiments seem to be coming together right now and data is flying out of my lab. All good things of course, but ironic that this is all happening while I am somewhat sidelined. I guess when you set up a good lab system, it really can run itself for awhile.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-73307892348035299292011-03-25T11:36:00.000-04:002011-03-25T11:36:56.490-04:00Let's go all the way with research.So, I have been involved in research for nearly 15 years now. I have read and written a lot of papers. I have been to a lot of conferences, and I have attended countless seminars. Today, I want to challenge each of you to take your research beyond the easy paper and go all the way. What do I mean by this? Well, our group has been doing cancer research (mostly brain) for the last 3-4 years. We have focused primarily on the "easy" papers. I throw some materials/drugs at some cells, look at how they respond, and write a nice paper summarizing my results. The cells are probably transformed cells, not real patient cells, so who knows how well this research would translate into the clinic, and honestly probably don't care just want that next paper to put on my CV.<br />
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I met with my lab a few days ago and told them that this is bulls**t. I don't want to do easy research anymore. I want to go all the way. I want to do the hard research, the stuff that takes years, that no one wants to touch because they don't even know where to begin, the stuff that matters. Let's take an example. OK. So let's say we publish a paper that says material X causes tumor cells to migrate faster. I can publish that paper. I can build a whole career on papers exactly like that, but what I have I actually done to make cancer better? Jack squat! Now, what if after observing that material X has this property, I publish a follow-up paper identifying factor Z as the main reason that the cells move faster. Then examine what parts of the cell specifically interact with factor Z, identify which genes/proteins are involved in those interactions, and try to find drug targets to block them? The latter is a lot harder, but that is the work that truly matters.<br />
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We are going to start doing the hard work that really matters. I challenge you to do the same.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-39375316256715271262011-03-24T16:44:00.000-04:002011-03-24T16:44:05.694-04:00Post Apocalypse (Oh and BTW I got tenure)Well, yesterday I chopped all my hair, and I have to say not as bad as I thought. I look okay bald, actually quite butch. If I got a nose ring and some leather, I could totally pull that look off. Also, doesn't look too bad with a hat; the wig however is an absolute disaster. It looks like a cross between Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Simpson all while having the appearance of being totally fake. What's up with these ladies that have such awesome wigs!!! Mine looks awful! I am going to send it to my stylist to try to get it rehabilitated tomorrow, but in the meantime, I guess its just hats.<br />
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On another note, which I should be a lot more excited about, my tenure is officially through. My husband asked what I want to do to celebrate and I said I just want a wig that doesn't make me look like a street walker. <sigh> I guess I can use that raise to get a new one? </sigh>PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-24773739554195967922011-03-19T12:07:00.000-04:002011-03-19T12:07:12.411-04:00Chopping My HairSo, met with the oncologist last week and chemo will be starting in about a week. I will go to the hair dressers this week and chop my hair off. It is long enough that I can have a wig made from it, but that takes two months so I will also get another 1or 2 ready made wigs for the short term. I will be getting chemo for 5 months. Out of all the things that have happened to me so far or will happen in the future, I think the thing that bothers me the most is the hair. I mean if a guy is bald, it's a look. If a girl is bald she is either mentally ill or has cancer. And although the wigs are really good, you can't wear it all the time. At some point I will have to look in the mirror and see myself bald. Argh!<br />
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On the positive side, with chemo (and not including radiation which I will also get), my odds are 90% for survival (so it will ultimately be higher). On the academic positive side, I have no service or teaching requirements right now. So other than resting and Dr's appts, I am sitting around working on proposals and papers. I think my research productivity is about the same as before. So I guess that means time spent on cancer = teaching + service. I think I may be doing too much teaching and service (or at least was before).PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-45203605730815112672011-03-13T17:16:00.000-04:002011-03-13T17:16:22.958-04:00Where I've beenSo a couple of you have asked if I stopped blogging. The answer to that is no...but hold on to your hats.<br />
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The initial part of my hiatus was because I decided to write 4 grants in 2 months. we have several grants expiring next year and I wanted to ensure continuity. Well, G-d blew a hole in that plan. The day that I turned in the first grant I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I am 35 years old with no family history. I had my children young, I nursed them, I was on birth control for nearly 20 years. I am practically a vegetarian. I work out 5 days a week. Sometimes there just are no answers.<br />
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It all started a few months ago when I noticed the shape of my breast had changed. My nipple became inverted. I really didn't think anything of it because that breast has always been a little odd, especially after I finished nursing my son about 5 years ago. I started doing more frequent self-exams, but didn't notice the lump until January. It was very subtle, but large. Since I do a lot of research on cancer cell mechanics I knew that it was a really bad sign.<br />
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My ob-gyn saw me the next day and said it was probably nothing, but that I should get a mammogram and ultrasound. He wasn't in a hurry so it took nearly three weeks to get in. That was the second worst day of my life. I showed up thinking that I would be there for an hour and was there for 6. The mammo showed a suspicious area so they had to do follow-ups. Then I sat there for two hours while the radiologist looked at my scans. Then I went for ultrasound and even I could see the lump on the scan. At this point, I was still hoping that it was a cyst. They told me that I needed a biopsy and 30 minutes later, I was getting not one but two (apparently there were two "suspicious areas").<br />
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Five days later they called to tell me that I have infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC). My pathology was a slow growing grade 1 (good news) and hormone positive (er+ pr+ ner2/neu-) which is the best possible combination. They said the tumor was about 2 cm and the second biopsy was negative. I started preparing myself for a lupectomy with maybe chemo and radiation. They said I would be fine. That I would need treatment, but would be fine.<br />
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After pulling numerous strings, I was able to get in to the chief of surgical oncology a week after my diagnosis. He dropped the first bomb on me which is that he thought the second spot was cancer too and wanted to do another biopsy on that spot. I said there are two possible outcomes: it comes back + or -. If it is positive, he said we would have to do a mastectomy. If it was -, I told him that after what he said neither he nor I would believe it. I opted to skip the second biopsy and scheduled a mastectomy.<br />
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Two weeks later, I had a mastectomy of my right breast with temporary reconstruction using tissue expanders. These hold the skin out so that I can later have a more natural tissue reconstruction, but this will have to wait until after all my other treatments, possibly a year or more. I was shocked at how good I felt after surgery and how good the reconstruction looked. Apart from the fact that I have a scar extending horizontally from my breast bone to under my armpit and no nipple, it looks almost the same size as the breast I started with. The scar will heal and a nipple can be added later.<br />
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The pathology report, which I got a week later, was the second bomb dropped on me so far. My tumor was not just two spots but three! for a ginormous total of 7 cm!!!!. A lumpectomy would not have been possible. In addition, my sentinal node biopsy was positive so they removed all the lymph nodes under my arm. A total of 2 of 35 lymph nodes are positive, which isn't many considering my large tumor size. I will definitely need radiation and chemo is very, very likely, but I am waiting to meet with medical oncology next week to confirm. Everyone is convinced that I will be totally fine, including me, but this wasn't exactly the year that I was planning to be having.<br />
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I am so grateful that I had the lump checked out, that people paid attention to my concerns, and that I have so many friends and family that support me. The day after my diagnosis four faculty in my department offered to take over my classes. I am off teaching until all my treatments are over. I am trying to work on research and have so far managed to get out 1 paper and 1 proposal. I can't just sit at home and do nothing. A lot of my personal relationships have become much deeper very quickly, and I am constantly surprised by how much I am loved. <br />
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What's in my future?<br />
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Well, I will probably have chemo for 6 months or so. I will probably lose my hair. I have found a place that can make a wig from my own hair, which is comforting, but I also plan to get a pink Lady Gaga wig, because hey, why not? And this is my chance to try all those hairstyles that I would be too nervous to try for "real". I will then have to wait a month or so and then will have radiation for 6 weeks. I will then wait another 2-4 months and have reconstructive surgery. This consists of a tummy tuck coupled with a boob job and is MAJOR surgery, requiring a 4-5 day hospital stay with a 2-4 month recovery. The tissue from the tummy is used to construct the new breast. My breasts are large so I may need tissue + implant to get to where I was before. I will then have a second surgery to add a nipple, probably using skin from my thigh. Then a final third surgery (fourth if you count the mastectomy) to even up the other side to match the new breast. This will probably take a year and a half.<br />
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What else?<br />
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Well, thank G-d I went up for tenure early. My case is nearly complete receiving unanimous votes at every step so pretty much a done deal. My lab is being run by my research scientist, which I fortuitously promoted from postdoc just before my diagnosis. I am working slowly on grants and papers. I plant to go back to work in about a week, but will be in and out depending on the treatments that I am receiving etc.<br />
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The most important thing is that I will be okay. I decided that I would be, and as far as I'm concerned that's good enough for me.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-2967887495550263412010-09-22T10:41:00.000-04:002010-09-22T10:41:47.518-04:00Yeah....It's FallI have been in denial the last month, refusing to believe that my summer is over. But this morning as I walked the dog, the red leaves made it abundantly clear that it is indeed fall. Argh. I am so...not...ready. Most of my summer goals have been accomplished, but all the little things: letters of recommendation, 2 pg descriptions of research, newsletter that I edit, these are not done, and I feel the crushing weight of the academic year and wonder if I will ever again see the light of day.<br />
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The last few nights have not been pleasant. DH is still out of town so in addition to all my normal chores, I am doing his too. I totally punted on my class and had to spend much of each evening getting ready for teaching. Now, I have a few people "yelling" at me for things I promised last week...but just didn't get too. Ah yes. The school year as I remember it has arrived. Let's just hope that the enthusiasm of a new crop of students carries me through. Actually let's just hope that I can recruit some new students to the myriad of open positions that I have.And, let's hope that the leaves stay green as long as possible.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-33365640064155567042010-09-17T09:44:00.000-04:002010-09-17T09:44:19.716-04:00How big is too big?One of the things that I am struggling with right now is trying to figure out how big my lab group should be. I really enjoy mentoring my students one on one, and I don't think that I want to have a mega-lab, which would make this impossible. However, I keep getting pulled in new interesting research directions, especially since so much of our stuff is working.When I first started, we were working in two different research directions. Now, I can say that we probably have four. Any one of these would be enough to build a career on, but I have always enjoyed breadth over depth. I originally thought that as areas didn't work we would prune them and I would be left with a manageable amount of projects. Unfortunately, a much larger number of projects have worked than not worked, which leaves me with a vast wealth of projects. And, just when I think okay we aren't going to do X anymore, I will meet five other people who love the way I do X and want to collaborate in just the area that I need help with. Its a little maddening at times. Long story short I have no idea what I want to do with all this. My lab just seems to keep growing. I am generally happy with this, but sometimes we have so much going on that I spend all my time fighting fires and not enough doing essential tasks (writing grants, paper, getting ready for teaching). I just don't know how Mr. Big and Famous types do it.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-91141306735324201782010-09-14T11:26:00.000-04:002010-09-14T11:26:56.447-04:00Work-Life Balance ReduxMy husband is working a consulting gig right now. meaning that for the last 4-5 weeks he has only been home on the weekend. On a positive note, this has been great for my productivity. I can work as late as I want in the evening with no pressure and I have pumped out my tenure package and 3 papers in the last month.<br />
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I love my job. I really do, but after over a month, it is getting a little old. Sometimes it is an excess that shows us where our priorities lie, and as much as I have enjoyed this time to clear out my inbox, I miss my husband. Kids are great, but it is not the same. So DH, come home.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-25602686067956825232010-08-30T12:28:00.000-04:002010-08-30T12:28:14.364-04:00Fire in the Hole!I submitted my tenure package on Friday.<br />
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The funny thing is, I don't feel any different. It was kind of like one more thing on my to-do list that got checked off. I thought I would feel some fear or trepidation, but since I've already talked with most of my department members about this, I think I know how things will go. I also thought I might feel relief, but I don't. I guess tenure has never been that important to me in the scheme of things. My personal goals for my group are substantial enough that I would definitely get tenure if I achieved them, and we are well on our way to achieving my short list.<br />
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This kind of reminds me of "teaching to the test" in school vs. learning for the love it. I don't think about what kind of science to do, or how to present it, or the activities I will participate in based on whether or not I will get tenure. Instead I try to work on projects that are the most interesting to me, that fill a need in the field. And I try to do service activities that support my personal goals: leadership in a professional organization and bringing science to kids.By doing these things, I find that I make myself and my organization happy.<br />
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Well wish me luck. I probably won't find out until a month or so....and then not final for several more...PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-77116858699057010612010-08-23T10:23:00.000-04:002010-08-23T10:23:21.044-04:00Do I want a job at really big U?So a little update. Things are going well, really well. I just had a fairly high impact publication and just submitted three papers to awesome journal, really cool journal, and meh its a journal. I have tons of funding and am going up for early tenure. (Yeah its okay to hate on me, I use to hate on people like this too, but read back some pasts last year and you'll see it hasn't always been this way). Suddenly, there are a number of people asking if I am interested in moving, planning to move, or unhappy at midwestern R1U. Even my husband is talking about whether or not I should "step-up".<br />
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To be clear, I am not looking for a job. I do not have any offers, former or informal, and have not even had hints of a job. I *love* midwestern R1U. It has nearly everything I need for my career to be successful. I have smart and eager collaborators, supportive colleagues (in every sense of that word), talented students, and an incredibly supportive chair. I really haven't considered leaving to this point, but, a small but persistent but, it is true that I would have more opportunities at really big U.<br />
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The students there are more likely to be on fellowship (= free) to me. They are also probably smarter, although this does not translate directly into laboratory success. I would probably have more space and easier access to funding. Downsides, I would still be near the bottom of the totem pole so teaching and service duties may not be what I would like. I also know that really big U's tend to be super-competitive and if I went there as anything less than a full professor, there could be difficulties with promotion and tenure. Often they will hire people as an Associate professor without tenure and make you apply again in a year or two after arrival. All in all, I probably wouldn't want to go to a Really Big U until I am a full professor. However, if that is a goal, not now but ever, I will need to do certain things to make that a career possibility. So, this is something that I am thinking about. What do I really want from this job?PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-82112450092773102902010-08-05T10:44:00.000-04:002010-08-05T10:44:39.485-04:00More on the Uri Alon VideosSo, I was sent the videos in the last post by a colleague who has met Alon and thought that I would enjoy his work. I do. What he talks about is what I have been trying to say and live ever since starting grad school. Academics is more than just the science that we do in the lab. It is about growing the whole person so that we have competent researchers. Students needs to learn how to choose research problems, how to formulate those problems into appropriate proposals, how to manage research groups, how to express research results to maximize their impact, and how to accept rejection (because there will be some). These are generally *not* skills taught as part of the formal graduate education. I think they are intended to be left to the mentor and taught throughout the research execution phase of the Ph.D. (and postdoc), but I know many, many times this does not happen. Why not? Why isn't this a formal part of our research education? These are the truly important skills.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-41698780728272343652010-08-02T14:27:00.002-04:002010-08-02T14:27:34.098-04:00Check this out<a href="http://www.weizmann.ac.il/mcb/UriAlon/">Check this out.</a> Click on nuturing science and watch the videos.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-29200733507806058052010-07-28T21:37:00.002-04:002010-07-28T21:52:26.480-04:00Choosing a PhD (or postdoc) mentorI just finished a really <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/326/5955/916.pdf">great article</a> by Bruce Alberts (of Molecular Biology of the Cell fame and also Editor in Chief of Science) on how to choose a mentor. Dr. Alberts says "the exact PhD project is not nearly as important as finding the best place for learning how to push forward the frontier of knowledge as an independent investigator." i.e., learning how to be a good scientist is so much more important than the actual science performed. I have seen so many people who choose an advisor because they want to work on X, not recognizing that there will be many, many opportunities to work on X throughout their career, but really only 1 PhD mentor.<br /><br />Dr. Alberts suggests that the best mentors take time to talk with their students teaching them not just how to do research, but also how to think critically about a project and present it to others from the proposal to research paper stage. When you are looking for a mentor, you should ask the students in the group how often they meet with the PI. Do they have career discussions with the PI? Have they had a chance to write abstracts, papers, grants? At what point in their training (at the very end or throughout)?<br /><br />Choosing a mentor who can provide you this training is more important than almost anything else, really. You can change your research field by a few well-selected postdocs or by setting your own lab direction after your become an independent scientist, but you can never recover from poor or inadequate training. Just something to think about.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-25866043439974035522010-07-21T10:37:00.002-04:002010-07-21T10:49:58.298-04:00Writing good grantsSo I just spent the last week polishing off two proposals, which led me to think about a few things. When your proposal is reviewed you really want the reviewers to concentrate on the idea being proposed, not the writing, or the skill (or lack thereof) of the investigators, or the methods (although these are important it should be evident that you know what you are doing and how to proceed). Many of these problems can be addressed by learning good proposal writing. I have talked about this before, but thought I might revisit this topic.<br /><br />One trick I have learned to conserve space is that for both NIH and NSF grants you get a project summary (or summary of aims). Use this as an intro to your grant and cut the intro section altogether (i.e., start with background and significance). Usually the material in the first paragraph of the project summary and the intro are pretty much the same anyway and this gives you an extra page.<br /><br />When writing the background try to cite everyone that is relevant to the field, remembering that they could be a reviewer, and be polite. Don't say your technology is better than someone else's unless you are pretty sure that almost any independent reviewer would agree with you. Instead it could be an alternative or complementary technology. Also, many reviewers are not in your field so include enough background that any scientist in your -ology could understand what is proposed.<br /><br />In the preliminary data section include a paragraph that reads... Dr. X has X years of experience with X including X publications in journals like really important journal and even more important journal. Then show the data that is most relevant to your project.<br /><br />Finally, in the aims section, remember that your grant has an X year duration and whatever you propose should be likely to be completed in that time frame by the number of individuals that you propose to fund. So saying that you are going to invent a spaceship, travel to the moon, collect moon rocks, and analyze them with one student in 3 years is pretty unlikely. This is the major factor that separates more experienced grant writers from novices. (and students from PIs....see candidacy exam as evidence). Also, be very clear in your methodologies, cite as many papers as you can....we are going to do X following the method of Smith et al. This shows that you are familiar with the field and reduces the risk of experimental failure. i.e., I am following established methods.<br /><br />Well....that's all for now. I am busy pushing out papers and getting my tenure package ready. I am going up early so wish me luck.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-36166402527709369362010-05-21T09:32:00.002-04:002010-05-21T09:42:03.596-04:00Victim of my own successAs I mentioned in my last post, I realize that I have been far more MIA than I would like on this blog. A big part of the problem is that things are going so well. I am being asked to do more invited talks, be on more panels, nominated of more awards (requiring me to fill out nomination forms and to attend banquets), advise more students who are writing more papers and to participate in more grants.<br /><br />OK. I know that this is a good problem to have and that all of this probably makes someone just starting crazy. Actually I met someone like this a about a year and a half ago and she drove me crazy. But it really is a problem to be too busy and have too many good things to choose from and that is where I am now.<br /><br />Before I had to beg/cajole students into my group, but now they are applying in droves, and the question is how do I know who is any good? I used to have long email discourses with perspective students discussing research and papers, now I am lucky if I can send them my form letter (describes research in the lab and how many people we plan to hire etc) a month after they email me. And papers and grants, don't get me started. I haven't wrote a full NSF or NIH grant as lead PI in over a year. I am co-PI on so many other projects that require reports and 1 page descriptions of my research and slide presentation and highlights that I hardly have time to breathe. I will however write several this summer, which I really need to do. I managed to squeeze out several papers last year but the timeline from on my desk to submitted is an embarrassing 6 months or more. And because things are going well, I am being asked to do more at the university as well, from meeting with donors to lunch with the visiting speaker.<br /><br />All of this is great and I realize that I will get little sympathy for this problem, but if someone could offer any advice on the transition from assistant professor just starting to associate professor with lots of projects etc. I would be gratefulPhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-23561356933215148332010-05-05T12:22:00.002-04:002010-05-05T12:30:25.756-04:00Not dead yet....I can't believe it has really been January since I posted, but...well things have been very, very busy. It is unlikely that I will continue to post as regularly as I would like, but I will try. I have been saving up quite a few articles to talk about, but for today just an update.<br /><br />So what's happened this term...<br />1) Taught a new lab course for the first time and no one blew anything up!<br />To be honest, I was scared to death about this course. I was worried that students wouldn't sign up. Then I was worried that too many students signed up. Then, that the reagents wouldn't arrive in time. Then all the cells died...yeah for real... and I had to scramble to find new ones. Then I got stuck in Scotland because of the volcanic ash plume for 2 weeks and my TA had to teach the class! which brings us to...<br /><br />2) Stuck in Scotland trapped by Volcanic Ash Plume<br />When this first happened I don't think anyone believed me, but I can assure you 6 days of pub-crawling, scotch drinking later, that it was horrible to have an unplanned vacation in Scotland. I got to see highlights of surrounding regions (Loch Ness!), learn how to distill Whisky through ample tours, and all about the world of Harry Potter (JKR lives in Edinburgh). I was rudely dragged onto a stand-by flight by husband's early AM call and returned to reality.<br /><br />3) Paper accepted by high impact journal!<br />Finally. After working on this puppy for over a year and lovingly crafting each sentence I am happy to report that it was finally, finally accepted. And...after my last count we now have 14 papers out of our lab (including reviews and peer-reviewed proceedings), which is more than enough to go up for early tenure. So yippee.<br /><br />4) Lots of grants rejected<br />Just to show that everything is not roses here in Dr. Mom world, I did have several grants rejected, and none in fact funded in the last term. Ah well....<br /><br />So as you can see I have been busy and happy and had an impromptu vacation which I am now catching up from.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-26420673244687188502010-01-05T13:13:00.001-05:002010-01-05T13:15:41.941-05:00Twas the day after winter break...<span style="font-size:100%;">Twas the day after winter break and all through the lab<br />Not a creature was stirring not even a MAb<br />The books were all stacked there filled with notation<br />but completely untouched over the long winter vacation<br /><br />Perhaps the lab members were nestled all safe in their chairs<br />in the lab working hard, or perhaps downstairs<br />Sick of the omicron, the tau, the eta, the theta<br />everyone working hard collecting mounds of data<br /><br />and then from the hallway there arose such a clatter<br />I ran to the lab to see what was the matter<br />I opened the doors to the lab with such haste<br />only to find the janitor and waste<br /><br />I said to myself on to microscopes, to room XX1<br />surely students are coaxing experiments to run<br />but no students were found in either setting<br />and no students were present in the building I'm betting<br /><br />The break was great fun and I know I slept late<br />but for G-ds sakes its 10! time to get to the microplate<br />I returned to my office full of faith and hope<br />that students might bring data from the microscope<br /><br />Where are my students, my data, my charts?<br />oh to see each of you making fresh starts<br /><br />As I returned to my office dejected and sad,<br />hoping that it only looked this bad,<br />I thought to myself and I felt very drab<br />winter break is over get your a** in the lab<br /></span>PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-17239396208978384542009-12-17T11:12:00.003-05:002009-12-17T11:17:42.537-05:00Results of High Impact Paper ReviewWell I just got my a** handed to me by high impact paper reviewers. I guess I should have expected that. I mean its not like you submit to the highest journal in the land and everyone starts bowing before your academic greatness. And, I admit that when I submitted I thought it was a maybe not a definite yes or anything, but when it went out for review my hopes were lifted and...ah well.<br /><br />I must say the reviewers were very good. They raised some great questions about the science that we didn't address. Some of these can be easily fixed, but others are thornier. That is where the real problem lies. They contend that even if we answer the questions, the result will be a less high impact paper. They basically disagree with our premise that this is awesome because it solves problem X. They were like yeah you might have solved X (although we're not completely convinced with the data you have), but we don't think X is such a big problem anyway.<br /><br />Comes at a bad time too. The student working on this is on vacation for the holidays, so new data will not be quickly forthcoming. It will probably be a month or more before I can turn this around for a different journal. Depends on how much additional data we collect (or can collect). Oh well, I guess I'd rather have my a** handed to me by Journal of Awesome Science than Yeah, you tried that but we new it would work anyway.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-77544780843097466662009-12-11T09:42:00.001-05:002009-12-11T09:43:39.660-05:00If this doesn't make you spit your coffee out....Please check out this story of gender harassment. Really beyond the pale.<br /><a href="http://pubs.acs.org/cen/government/87/8746gov2.html"><br />http://pubs.acs.org/cen/government/87/8746gov2.html</a>PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-83596907704388709282009-12-07T11:21:00.002-05:002009-12-07T11:28:58.404-05:00Seriously??Quote from an email this morning:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Do you have more specific requirement in race or sex? I've heard many professor don't like female students in laboratory.</span><br /><br />I almost choked on my tea when I read this. Seriously? Seriously? Is this still a prevalent attitude anywhere? And why oh why would you ask an obviously female professor this question? It made me very sad.<br /><br />The person in question is female, is applying for grad school at midwestern R1U, and is from an Asian country. We get a number of students female and otherwise from this country so I can't imaging that this is a prevalent view there, yet she still felt compelled to ask. Urgh!<br /><br />I replied that I valued intellectual contributions and commitment to research more than any other attributes and that my lab is already diverse with a number of male and female students from foreign countries and the US and from a number of different ethnicities. I hope that this response puts her more at ease, but I still can't imagine feeling that my contributions might not be valued because I am a woman.<br /><br />Argh!PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14905257.post-71433417395683550122009-12-03T10:09:00.003-05:002009-12-03T10:14:15.657-05:00PlagiarismWhy is it that so many students must think me incapable of a simple Google search?<br /><br />In most of my classes, I assign extra credit projects. (Yeah, I know I'm nice, but my exams are killer so it evens out). Typically students are given two choices: create a HW/exam question for this class or design an outreach experiment to elementary or middle schoolers on a topic from this class.<br /><br />In both cases, student answers are always rife with plagiarism. HW/Exam questions are often taken directly from the text or from an alternative text. As if I am not familiar with all the texts in the field! And experiments are often copied line by line from a webpage!<br /><br />Given that these are extra credit assignments, I chose to not award credit for plagiarized answers. But what about the gray area, not exactly plagiarized, a few words have been changed, but virtually identical to a webpage or book problem. For this I usually give 1/2 credit, taking off 1/2 for lack of creativity.<br /><br />And to top all of this off, we have a long plagiarism discussion at the beginning of the course. Students were very careful not to plagiarize in project reports, but I guess in extra credit its okay? Ah, so frustrating.PhD Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863651986930363534noreply@blogger.com4