Hello PhD

Have you ever submitted a grant, only to have it rejected?  You respond to the reviewers’ comments, addressing weaknesses and tweaking the protocol to honor their suggestions. Then...

On a graduate student’s stipend, it’s hard to imagine having enough money left over to afford a dinner out, let alone enough to invest for retirement. But if you can scrape togethe...

But I have no skills! At least no skills employers would be interested in! As a career counselor, Melanie Sinche heard grad students and postdocs voice this concern nearly every da...

Some decisions in life are simple (“Yes, I want cheese on that burger!”) and some are difficult (“Do I want to spend the rest of my life with this person?”). On that spectrum, choo...

Turning over the last page of the calendar seems to naturally invite some reflection on the previous 365 days. When you look back at 2017, what went well? And what do you wish you ...

Pick up any newspaper and you’ll find an article summarizing the ‘latest research’ on the health benefits of chocolate, a new treatment for Alzheimers, or the long-term risks of sc...

In every episode of Hello PhD, we explore science training and life in the lab.  But for every scientist, that saga begins with a grad school application. Whether you’re ready to a...

Publishing your research in a peer-reviewed academic journal is an exercise in patience. You write and edit, wait for feedback from your PI, wrangle the figures into some esoteric ...

Two scientists walk into a bar. One steps on stage and delivers ten minutes of raucously funny stand-up comedy.  The other enjoys an evening of laughter as enterprising STEM profes...

As a graduate student, Joel Schwartz developed an immunofluorescence assay for neurotransmitter transport. To quantify his results, he needed to circle the cells in each image so t...

Uncertainty is a defining feature of postdoctoral training: Q: Is a postdoc a student or an employee? (A: Neither. Both?) Q: Should you continue in your PhD research field, or try ...

If you’re an academic scientist, applying for an industry job is a bit like traveling to a foreign country. First, there is paperwork. Will they accept your Curriculum Vitae as is,...