This past summer, the future of our postdoctoral association’s Science Policy Committee was uncertain. We were without purpose, our programming was sporadic—a seminar here, a blog post there—and overall interest seemed low. As a co-chair of the committee, which had dwindled to a grand total of two members, I struggled to identify ways to engage our postdoc community and to transform…
The initial stages of a PhD can be daunting. Fortunately, there are a few ways you can make the transition into productive doctoral study as smooth as possible. Whether you’re starting a PhD fresh out of undergrad or after many years of employment, the decision to begin a doctorate is a significant career move. When I started, 18 months ago,…
Female first-year Ph.D. students in “bench” biology disciplines—such as molecular biology, cellular biology, and genetics—spend significantly more hours in lab than their male classmates do. Yet, for every 100 hours spent at work, these female students are 15% less likely to publish a paper during that first year than their male counterparts are, a new studyreports. The observed authorship difference…