Category Archives: Research Guidance

What to say, who to contact, and how to reach out shouldn’t be some big secret. Whether you’d like to dip your toes in the water of working in a lab or if you think this will be your life’s calling, the first step will likely be the same. This post walks you through someContinue reading “Getting Into a Lab”

One man’s illness is another man’s experimental verification method. What is immunohistochemistry and why would we need it? When we want to make specific cells stand out in a crowded jumble, we turn to antibodies and fluorescence. Scientists have developed a tool to study the brain based on the body’s natural immune response. If youContinue reading “Immunohistochemistry”

In many ways, the PhD is not so much about science as it is about communication. I’ve learned lessons about how to more effectively communicate with coworkers, advisors, students of all ages, and peers. These lessons don’t always come easily, but they are valuable no matter where I go from here. Anyone with a bossContinue reading “Managing Up”

I know brain surgery sounds intimidating. Someone who does brain surgeries on a regular basis must be a genius! In reality, it’s probably much lower tech than you’re imagining. I performed my first brain surgery at 19 years old. If you’re interested in neurobiology but are intimidated by the idea of brain surgery, take aContinue reading “Brain Surgery… It’s Not Rocket Science!”

In the 21st century, a woman can do whatever she wants. If she wants to be an epidemiologist or a geologist, the world is at her fingertips. Some working environments still have not embraced this fact, but she will find a way if science is her passion. On the other hand, are the studies conductedContinue reading “Is Science for Women?”

What does science look like to you? The answer might be different if you’re a computational neuroscientist vs a plant biologist vs a potter vs a textiles specialist. In the second year of my PhD, I organized an art/science collaboration called “Pipettes and Paintbrushes” through my connections with That’s Life [Science]. I paired volunteers withContinue reading “Pipettes and Paintbrushes”

Looking to get involved in science outreach? I’ve had some really great experiences partnering with the Eureka! program through my graduate institution, UMass Amherst. I have participated in this Summer program run by Girls Inc. every year since I moved to Western Massachusetts for my PhD. It’s all about empowering young women to explore STEMContinue reading “Eureka!”

Science conferences are amazing experiences! You get the inside information on all of the latest experiments in your field. Not to mention networking opportunities like no other. At these conferences, you can ask methodological and research design questions to the researchers who wrote those papers you’ve been reading for years. You also benefit from hearingContinue reading “The Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting”

The first lab I worked in studied yeast cells. They also had worms (C. elegans) in the lab, but even those were a little too much for me to stomach. Today, I’ve been working with rodents for seven years. How do people conduct experiments on other animals? I’ve found that the more you appreciate theContinue reading “5 Things You Didn’t Know About Rats”

What do researchers sacrifice for their experiments? Some projects require daily in-person progress. This can make vacations hard or impossible. But the payoff comes in the form of good data, and there’s nothing sweeter than that. Read more about my experiences spending university breaks keeping the research going. This post is in the format ofContinue reading “Breaks on Campus”