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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Goals for 2015

Oh, you know. It's one of those posts.

I don't want to reflect too hard on 2014, because I had no idea what I was doing for most of it. With my personality, I'd rather look ahead. I'm halfway through my 2nd year of grad school, and here are my goals for 2015:

Professional:
  • Publish in a policy journal again
  • Plan & execute DC networking trip
  • Identify & explore specific science policy careers
  • Find session/panel to moderate at future conference
  • Finish strategic outreach plan for CCH
  • Co-moderate Career Conference 2015

School:
  • Submit F31 grant
  • Pass qualifying exam
  • Attend 2 conferences
  • First author scientific paper
  • Read at least 1 paper per week

Fitness:
  • 300lb deadlift
  • Gym at least 2x/week
  • 10 sec L-sit
  • Freestanding handstand
  • 5 pull-ups

Personal:
  • Travel out of the country
  • Complete Linux online course
  • Practice piano 3x/week
  • Take singing/piano lessons
  • Blog monthly
  • Have more science-specific Twitter discussions

A few notes:
I feel the need to separate Professional goals from School goals because even though I'm in a traditional research lab, my current career plans are aimed at science policy. About that 300lb deadlift: my max pull has been around 225-245lb since the very first time I tried over 5 years ago. I've been claiming 300lbs as a goal for a very long time. Time to stop screwing around and get at it. Some of the other goals seem a little lofty, but might as well think big, right?

What are your goals for the upcoming year?

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Surviving an Academic Schedule


This is a guest blog post for PhDtalk as part of a series on academic schedules. I was asked for “a narrative about how a (normal) day/week in your life looks like, and how you combine research / writing / teaching (if any) and other activities on a regular basis, and how (or if) you manage to squeeze in some time for yourself as well.” Original post can be found here.



The President of the United States doesn't decide what to wear or eat every day. Humans have a limited capacity to make decisions. Once the quota is reached, there has to be a rest period before being able to make more decisions or it starts to feel physically draining. The POTUS spends his day making important, far-reaching decisions. There's no point in waste precious energy making small ones.

I keep this in mind when devising my daily and weekly schedules. Having a routine keeps my mind free for the things that matter, and still ensures that everything gets done. I optimized my morning routine by writing down everything I wanted to accomplish before leaving the house, then put those things in an order that made sense. A few key points: I don't look at my phone before getting out of bed. I'm a graduate student. No email is so important that it can't wait a few hours. Looking at my phone makes me laze about too long. Secondly, I do a small amount of physical activity as soon as I roll out of bed. This might be a few yoga poses or a set of pushups. Something short and fast to get blood flowing and let me body know I'm up.

Mornings are my golden time. I can get more quality work done before 9am than the rest of the day combined. I recently started harnessing this by going to school later. Once I'm ready for the day, I spend about an hour (7:30-8:30am) writing, or working on one of my side projects. If I go into the lab this early, there's almost always something to distract me. Staying home, I have a comfortable setup, with no one to interrupt me.

My morning hour of productivity is broken up by day. The night before when I'm setting my to-do list, I decide what will be the priority the next morning. It's usually one of the following:
  • writing: blog post, homework, abstract, manuscript, whatever is in the pipeline
  • policy work: I'm starting a student science policy group. This is when I research speakers, write emails, plan meetings, etc
  • networking: send emails, research people I want to meet, career paths I'm considering, etc
  • GSS: another student group I'm part of at school. During this time I plan events, write emails, read over meeting minutes
  • reading/lit search: I have a never end list of papers I'm trying to read. I try to get through a few during this time.
These categories get attended to once a week, or less if nothing is needed. The default is always writing. Even if I have no deadlines, I always have a handful of blog posts or writing exercises I'm working on to improve my writing.

I live and die by my calendar and a master to-do list. I carry a notebook everywhere and continually jot down ideas, and things I need to do. I have 30 minutes blocked off at the end of each day where I go through that notebook and transfer things to my to-do list and calendar. I don't necessarily get to everything on my calendar, but if it's not on the calendar, then it definitely doesn't get done.

Let's start with the long-view and work backwards:

Five Year Plan
I have a five year plan. It's hilariously optimistic. I would like to graduate quickly. If there's any chance of that happening, there are many things needed to stay on track. These miles stones are set on this five year plan. They get reviewed and revised about once a month to make sure I'm not missing any big deadlines.

Monthly
Near the end of every month, I set goals for the upcoming month. I look at my five-year plan and my previous month's goals and think about what I need to accomplish to move forward. These might be academic (narrow topic for review article), social (host a dinner party), health-related (do 10 pushups every day) or something else entirely. I then set time aside in my calendar to accomplish these.

Weekly
Every Friday afternoon, I set my schedule for the following week. I look at my to-do list, and block time out for each item. To-do lists are great, but without setting aside actual time to finish things, I never seem to get around to them. This also gives me a chance to be aware of any upcoming meetings I need to prepare for, exams coming up, or similar obligations.

Daily
Before bed I review the next day's schedule. I change or prepare things as needed.

Everything I do goes on the calendar, including exercise, grocery shopping, cleaning, studying, and time with friends. I use one color for social activities, one for lab work, and one for school work. When I'm planning experiments in the lab, I block out time to prepare and set up, time to actually run the experiment, and time to analyze the data. I block out time for classwork, and time to review lectures. I even have a daily reminder to leave time for lunch every day.

I have a super-packed, color-coded, scheduled-to-the15-minute-increment calendar.

Here's an important note: My precise schedule doesn't always go as planned. I'm still horrible at estimating how much time something will take. However, I find it invaluable for making sure I get the important things done. It's hard to tell how much you've taken on until you start planning out the specifics. My calendar had been a valuable tool for letting me know when to say no to new obligations.

Sleep, nutrition, and exercise are all very high on my priority list. They might slip for a week before a deadline, but being healthy and happy are more important to me than anything else. My calendar helps me to not take on too much, and to lead a happy and productive life.

Friday, November 7, 2014

What a Difference a Day Makes


In September, I went on a whirlwind trip to Washington DC. I spent a day and a half in my nation's capitol, to visit Congressional offices and talk about the importance medical research. Almost 300 people were part of the Rally for Medical Research, all with the same message: Now is the time for Congress to come together and support the NIH with continued funding for medical research. We had training on how to deliver our message, and a reception with talks by Dr. Francis Collins and Senator Dick Durbin before being unleashed on Capitol Hill to attend our meetings. AAAS was kind enough to facilitate my involvement with this opportunity.

Thirty-six hours in DC, meetings in seven different offices, could that possibly make a difference? I've been asked many times since returning: Did you make a difference? As a graduate student, I have many, possibly naive ideas about making an impact and changing the world. I want help people live better, healthier lives, and leave the world in better shape than I found it. This might be through my own disease-curing research, or it might be by convincing one more member of Congress to sign a bill that supports NIH funding, thereby helping others with their own research.

As a researcher, I think about disease in a very specific way. I think about it mechanistically. I ponder why a mutation in one gene can throw off an entire system. I want to know how and why this happens. Patients with various medical problems also attended the Rally for Medical Research. They think about diseases differently. Patients and their families have to live with a disease. Interacting with someone who has survived a severe brain tumor pulls the science out of the Petri dish and puts it into a person. Interacting with patients and survivors is a stark reminder of the ultimate goal of medical research – to help people. These patients, along with patient advocates, and other researchers were part of our group that spent the day talking to members of Congress about how continued NIH funding is needed.

But can one day of conversations change anything? We spoke with the decision-makers who seem far away, but who directly impact our lives. Our government is made up of individuals, making individual decisions. As a voter, it is my right and my responsibility to let them know which decisions are important to me. One conversation may not change anyone's mind. However, each conversation is part of a larger movement. A small, steady voice can have as much impact as a single loud one. I view this trip as part of a continuing message, and not a single event.

This is why advocacy is important. Legislators have to take into account the views of many constituents. If one group don't speak up about an issue that matters to them, a different group will. The onus is on the voter to let their views be known. Washington DC is a fast-paced town, and issues can quickly be forgotten. We need to remind Congress which issues matter to us.

So did a day make a difference? It did for me, and I hope it does for the future of funding for medical research.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

What would you want from a SciComm class?

In the Spring of 2014 I took a class that was required for my program: Workshop on Scientific Communication. While not knowing entirely what to expect, I was still a little disappointed in the content. This one credit, twelve session class was mostly long, text-heavy PowerPoint presentations on how to write papers, what the purpose of an abstract was, how to prepare figures, and similar topics. While these are useful topics, there seemed a lot missing from the class. Many slides were read to us on how to write an abstract, but we never actually wrote an abstract. We were required to do a ten minute oral presentation near the end of the semester, and received some valuable feedback. However, we never got a chance to revise and improve.

I approached the instructor, and asked to TA next time the class was offered. She said the class was a lot of time and effort, and she would love the help. I asked about including some extra topics, and got a very enthusiastic response.

Here are some things I would like to see added:
  • Twitter: what it is, and why it can be useful
  • Blogs: how they can improve writing
  • Science policy: what is it and the importance of communication and advocacy
  • Scientists speaking to the lay public: how to do this and why it matters
  • More opportunity for feedback: we're often told the importance of good writing, but don't to practice.
And now I open it to you. What would you want to learn from a graduate level class on science communication? What do you wish other people would learn? This class is generally geared toward graduate students, but also attracts medical students, residents, and other people from the medical campus that were intrigued by the title.

What are your thoughts?

Monday, October 6, 2014

What I Study


In my Careers in Scientific Communications class, we were given the writing assignment below. I liked it enough to post my answer here. I would love to see yours too!


Write a short essay (125-175 words) about your lab research or a science topic of your choice. The essay should describe/explain the science so that it is understandable to the non-scientific public.

I study how stem cells make and use energy - stem cell metabolism. I don't use the controversial stem cells that get all the headlines. Instead, I use stem cells from bone marrow, also called mesenchymal stem cells or MSCs. Stem cells have two defining properties that make them stem cells. First, they can make more stem cells, exact replicas of themselves. Secondly, a stem cell has the ability to become a different type of cell. MSCs can become bone, fat, or cartilage. There are two main ways cells make energy. Glycolysis makes a little energy, and doesn't require oxygen. Oxidative phosphorylation does require oxygen, and makes a lot of energy. Stem cells mostly use glycolysis. Bone cells mostly use oxidative phosphorylation. Somewhere along the path from stem cell to bone, the cells switch how they make their energy. If you stop oxidative phosphorylation from happening, you also stop the stem cell from becoming bone. We don't know why or how this switch happens, and that's what I want to find out.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Writing Exercise Turned Publication

I have a writing group. It is awesome. We meet once a month. The day before we meet, we send each other some writing we've been working on. One page limit. We then meet for an hour, and tear apart each piece. It has both improved my writing, and inspired me to write more.

About a week before our June meeting, I was casting about looking for something to write. I had no upcoming abstracts, no manuscripts in process, and no blog posts in the pipeline. Then I got an email from a new student journal that I read about science policy, the Journal of Science Policy & Governance. It was a call for submissions for their upcoming special edition on Healthy Food Policy.

I'm interested in science policy. I think it would look good on my CV to publish in a policy journal. My writing group was in one week, and the submission deadline was the following day.

Challenge accepted.

I spent some time thinking hard about topics, then a week of literature searching and mad writing. Submitted, and to my surprise: accepted.

The editorial team at JSPG is really fantastic. They helped to really polish the piece, and give it better flow. This also helped me realize the importance of writing regularly. Publishing was a bonus, but achieving the goal of actually finishing it was incredibly satisfying.

The article is linked below, and any comments are always appreciated.

http://www.sciencepolicyjournal.org/special-edition-healthy-food-policy.html


Monday, March 31, 2014

Science of Being Happy: Back to Basics as a Coping Mechanism

Life getting to be too much? It was for me. Through the winter of 2012 into 2013, everyday functions were becoming a problem. Getting out of bed, getting to work, and taking care of myself all became insurmountable tasks. I'll spare you the details, but eventually, with time and the help of some wonderful people, I got into a better place.

Every now and then, the darkness comes knock, knock, knocking again; when I haven't slept well in days, when stress from grad school get overwhelming. There is one thought exercise that pulls me away from that abyss almost without fail.

"I have a roof overhead, and food in the belly. Everything else is a luxury."

I return to the absolute basics of survival, and start a list in my head of how they all get met without fail in my life. I know where I'm sleeping tonight. I know where my next meal is coming from. If the plans I have in place for each of those were to fall through, I have other options.

Using Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we can expand: there's no one trying to kill me. My personal safety is not in imminent danger. I have a job (more or less). I have no major health issues. I have family and friends I can turn to in times of need. I could go on, but you probably get the idea. I often don't even need to go through the whole shebang, but just the first line a few times:

"I have a roof overhead, and food in the belly. Everything else is a luxury."

It sounds too simple to work, but it works for me. This has become incredibly useful in dealing with the stress of grad school. When I remember that all my basic needs in life are more than adequately met, it seems like less of a deal that I have an upcoming exam that I'm not prepared for, that my schedule is packed, that day to day life is stressful.

This might be too dark for some people, but I find it comforting. If I were to fail out of grad school, if the PI kicked me out of the lab, if I had a major medical emergency, everything would still be okay. Because I would still have a roof over my head, and I would still have food in my belly. And everything else can be dealt with. 


Friday, February 28, 2014

It's Been Said Before, Just Not By Me: Discussions on Open Access

Open access is a big buzzword in the world of science these days. One Friday morning, I decided it was time to learn a little more. The idea of open access gets tossed around a lot, and it sounds good in theory, but truth be told I know little about it. What do I do when I need information? I tweet about it:




My followers (affectionately referred to as my Tweeple, or my Tweeps), have proven to be a valuable source of information with a diverse range of opinions. The first response was from a fellow graduate student:


Flippant at first glance, until further pondered. I was between institutions during most of the summer of 2013, after leaving a job as a technician, and before starting grad school. I was unaffiliated with a university, but still interested in science, and wanted to keep up with new research. There are sources for "science news" (Live Science, The Scientist, Scientific American, to name a few), but if I've learned anything about scientific communication (#scicomm), it's to check the original reference before getting too excited about a new discovery. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do this. I was surprised at just how often I was attempting to get papers I didn't have access to. Open access is more than not needing a library, but also being able to keep up with new discoveries and keeping current with the disciplines that are important to me. As I found out that summer, you can't do this without institutional access. 



My response (mostly playing devil's advocate), was that if the next generation of scientists all chose to publish open access, then the status quo would shift and the change would happen naturally.

We had a fairly predictable back and forth about needing high impact factor for grant funding, and discussing whether impact factor is really all that relevant. Some scientists, physicists in particular, seem to favor h-index, calculated by citations per published paper. It is the opinion of this barely-published not-quite-scientist that individual citations matter more than a journal's impact factor because impact changes year to year, but citations are the timeline of science.

From there, we had a different viewpoint chime in. a PI responding to the question of what open access means to him: 




He went on to remind me that he already pays overhead costs to a library that covers subscription fees, and that cost to him wouldn't go away if he published all his papers in open access. Despite his reluctance to the currently proposed model of open access, he still agrees that the public should be able to access the results of the research they fund through their taxes. But this model isn't going to get changed by people who have no incentive to change it.

Then I was asked the big question:



I'm stumped. It's one thing for rock stars like Randy Schekman to decry the luxury journals right after winning a Nobel Prize. But if I had a paper, as a graduate student, that was capable of getting published in one of the big names, would I turn down that career-boosting opportunity for a model that I think is "a pretty good idea, at least in theory?"

Should these changes be coming from top-tier scientists who already have a reputation and little to lose, or should the next generation give up the old ways and blaze a new trail?

Luckily (or unfortunately), I don't have to answer that question yet. However, I do think it's important for people even at my early career stage to be thinking about these topics. I'm part of the next generation of scientists, and if we don't think about what needs to be changed, who will?

Monday, January 20, 2014

Science for My Mother


I'm a scientist and science lover. Undergraduate researcher to technician/lab manager to graduate student. My mother is not a scientist. She hasn't taken a basic science class in over 30 years. My mother is not stupid. Despite what I thought during my teen years, she's actually quite intelligent. She reads books, newspapers, and websites, working to stay educated and aware of the world around her.

You can imagine my surprise when I learned that my mother had never gotten a flu shot and thought that they are a bad idea. I asked her why she thought they were a bad idea.

"Because they're injecting you with something."
"Because I rarely get sick and would be really mad if I got the flu from one."

I asked her if she knew what was actually in the flu shot. She said no.
I asked her if she knew why the shots were given. She said no.
I ask her if she wanted to know. And she said of course.

We went on to have a conversation about the immune system. About innate and adaptive immunity. About memory cells. About what is actually in the syringe. I was auditing an immunology course at the time, so I was reveling at getting to use all my newfound knowledge. My mother has almost no biology background on which to hang these facts, so it was a thirty-thousand-foot overview. She kept asking questions, about how things worked and why people were against receiving the shots.

By the end of the conversation, I hadn't convinced her to get her flu shot - which is fine, that wasn't the goal. But now she has a more informed opinion. She has more information to think about and is basing her actions on facts rather than attention-grabbing headlines.

That's good enough for me, and that's why science communication matters.

March 10th, 2014 Update: Mama finally stumbled across this blog. Turns out she did end up getting a flu shot :)