... the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine and a Senior Research Associate at the Labor and Worklife...increasing data collection about the scientific workforce, in particular about postdocs. Among other involvements...Research Symposium Boston 2015 – Academic Data and the Labor Market. For more information on the symposium as...generating too many trainees per PI” “Lack of awareness about how the system operates and functions” “Complete...available in academia (5, 6). Academic data and the labor market for PhDs Later this week, postdocs and students...morning will be dedicated to Academic data and the Labor Market. On this topic it is clear that many important... State University, is an expert on the academic labour market. Her many notable contributions in this ...

...jobs available. So, we spent a lot of time talking about what we could do to make ourselves marketable to...to the wider world and occasionally thinking about how we could bypass the establishment hiring system...system altogether. We had a lot of ideas about things we could do for work, and they weren’t restricted to... bank account, business cards, incorporation, laboratory lease, etc. I still flip to that page in my lab... a business opportunity out there for us? After about a month of discussion and research and lots of conversation...and even had some serious self-confidence issues about continuing with the business. We ended up applying..., to engage with the public in a meaningful way about science, and to have a job that we enjoy and see...

...for the company, but also talking about sports, movies, and just about anything. As our organization grew... with our western blots. Thoughts about sharing Addgene is all about helping scientists share between ...culture of openness and trust that comes from caring about your colleagues on a personal level, and employees...often cite lunch as one of their favorite parts about working at Addgene. We’re a small non-profit, so...indication of the stiff competition or says something about my cooking.   This is a creative (and delicious)...for people in different labs to chat informally about their challenges, successes, and expertise. Who ... could come out of it? Perhaps new ideas or collaborations, or at least a shared sense that we’re not ...

...learn more about their career trajectory. If there’s one thing everyone loves, it’s talking about themselves...learn more about the field.  Read the CCST Science Policy Career Guide to learn more about science policy...Administration, I could never get one straight answer about what science policy even is! In this article, I ... the #scipol hashtag. Often there will be posts about virtual meet ups and happy hours that you can attend...solving one problem. It often requires thinking about a problem in a new way through the integration of...not just the government. When you talk to folks about science policy, there is often discussion of “big...happen at the state and local level. The big secret about science policy that I didn’t learn until arriving...

...in a year-long biochemistry laboratory : Part II – research-based laboratory – a semester-long research...are often associated with rote memorization of metabolic pathways (precisely the type of exercise Einstein...had the opportunity to talk with Provost recently about his development of what is now commonly termed a...into one of my own courses, I was excited to hear about how he developed his program. Initially, Provost...confidence in their research capabilities and laboratory and critical thinking skills (Knutson et al.,...importance of acknowledging student apprehensions about “failure” (protocols not working, hypotheses being... Robbins!” he encourages faculty mentors.)  Collaboration Maximizes Reach Many new professors are wary...

...employee about what they do well and where they need to improve, and they’re also clear about how the ...enough to tell them about areas they need to improve in. If a manager has concerns about an employee and ...language to talk about real performance issues. Watch this little video to learn more about indirect language...Medical School researcher Connie Cepko to learn about her management style. Formalizing the feedback session...informal feedback is a very effective way to bring about change in behaviors and habits in a nonthreatening... Beware of indirect language You must be honest about performance problems. While giving corrective feedback...and they still don’t know how you actually feel about their performance. Giving honest and helpful feedback...

...not too worried about selling yourself and really do just want to get information about yourself and your...where users can participate in forum discussions about a wide variety of topics. Individual forums are ...where users can ask designated scientists anything about a particular topic. Given Joanne’s expertise in... is well moderated. One of our original worries about sharing science advice on Reddit was that we’d be...answering questions. r/Science has pretty strict rules about not being too sales-y in posts which falls in line...any scientists to refer to if they have questions about science careers, women in STEM, work-life negotiation...providing us with new questions and topics to write about in the future. The AMA was also cataloged for permanent...

...little more about Dr. Doench and others at the Broad Institute here Read other blog posts about CRISPR Learn...undergraduate work at Hamilton College. When asked about what got him into science, Doench explained: “I ...career working on miRNAs and RNAi. He first heard about RNAi at his MIT interview during a lecture given...work in Sharp’s lab.  Doench says, “what I loved about [RNAi], ... it was just this complete black box....Doench worked on using RNAi screens to learn more about cancer biology in Ed Harlow’s group at Harvard Medical...technology for its own sake,” but work in true collaboration with scientists asking biological questions....is something that very much resonates with me.” About Addgene’s role in the future, Doench says, Addgene...

... more about model organisms in the first Five Popular Model Organisms blog post Read more about plasmids...characteristics that make them ideal for studying in a laboratory environment. We’ve covered five model organisms...have been specifically developed to thrive in laboratory settings. One of its most attractive features...minutes, they are perfect for molecular cloning and metabolic engineering.  The E. coli genome has an extensive...address many areas of microbial research like metabolism. Transport, biofilms, and much more. Because ...characterized genome, and is easily maintained in a laboratory environment. What sets Arabidopsis apart from...variation between different plant species and metabolic properties affecting adaptations.  Arabidopsis...

... potential colleagues study. Think about how you might collaborate or, at the absolute minimum, can appreciate...the first sentence or two what your research is about and what you think you can accomplish. No matter...your seminar accessible. Let the experts ask you about the details and then you can display your deep knowledge...expert's question than to leave everyone confused about your research because you waded too deep into the...simple in principle The first question I usually get about chalk talks is, what is a Chalk Talk? It is a 60...obstacles, alternative approaches, potential collaborations, critiques of your postdoctoral research, etc...effectively convey your message. Key Things to Think about When Developing your Chalk Talk These items should...

...Revolution Bioengineering. Read their previous blog post about how they started their company here. The first transgenic... foundation of life on earth, and opportunities abound to build better fuels, feeds, foods, and fibers... we hope to inspire and open a new conversation about GMOs.  Challenge #2: Technical obstacles to plant...not understand, and the complicated and unique metabolic processes of plants are being investigated on ...biochemical pathways involved in central anthocyanin metabolism are well understood. Additional work has also...knockouts to better understand developmental, metabolic, and photosynthetic processes. Often the tools...the color-changing flower, and we’d love to hear about the obstacles you’ve faced as a plant scientist,...

...you access to hard data about what steps are most likely to fail. Our laboratory manager would definitely...can be (there will always be confusion about this though) about the fact that containers are distinct ... Laboratory management software is not a requisite for a functioning lab, but it is for a scaleable lab...techs through the process. The problem? As we said above, any one of these steps can fail but, in our current...gooey contents of said containers, think carefully about how you want your software to treat those encoded...this case, the physical considerations of the laboratory make object composition a smarter choice than...disposable, like a plastic tube. Talk with your lab team about how they would like these things tracked. Terminology...

... that long in customer service, I've daydreamed about the ideal customer service interaction - one that...surprised to discover that the most crucial information about a product is printed right on the tube itself! ...best interest of any company to hide information about their products from you, unless they’re knowingly... tongue-in-cheek website.  If you are skeptical about using Google for serious science questions, consider...question asking process Having thought through the above, don’t be afraid send us an e-mail. That’s why we...they cannot (and should not) answer your questions about an Abcam antibody. Have your catalog number ready...faster if we get as much information as possible about the issue. For Addgene support, make sure to mention...

... be able to tell that you know about something and are passionate about it.   Maintain a content-useful...like a grad student or post-doc association) Collaboration and teamwork One of the defining characteristics...and many labs in academia benefit from strong collaborations to advance science faster. Help other people...help will be future advocates and references. Collaborate with another lab, in another field maybe, and...and publish Join a lab that has multiple collaborations, even with Industry labs Work on a big project ...project that relies on a division of labor Serve on a committee and do something big like plan a conference ...all the opportunities you can to be communicating about science with others. If opportunities don't exist...

...to know more about? Interested in doing a postdoc in a presenter’s lab? Want to collaborate with a group...Candidate at the University of Arizona. Perhaps you’re about to present your first scientific poster, but unsure...build your presentation. For example, when thinking about discussing a figure, jot down the question you were...approaches your poster, introduce yourself and ask about his/her background. This will give you a chance ...created for yourself. Hit the key bullet points and elaborate if your audience seems captivated. Expertly navigate...potential questions you may receive. People often ask about the relationship of your work to recently published...ask for clarification. Having them reframe or elaborate their thought will help you to provide an on-topic...

...plasmid page is nested in. You can see in the example above that the bread crumbs trail starts in the browse... way to find it! But what are all those flames about? Flame logo: The flame that appears beside some...purpose, where can I find more detailed information about the plasmid contents? The middle section of our...The Addgene Vector Database has more information about common vector backbones.  The backbone modifications...inserted into the backbone, and provides information about this gene or DNA element of interest. If the depositor...information: This section provides useful information about how the vector was assembled, and enables requesting... information: This section contains information about the lineage of the plasmid (e.g. if it was derived...

...could know a little bit about everything or in Jefferson’s case, even a lot about everything. Fast forward...famous discoveries and experiments I’d been learning about for years were usually the products of teams: Watson...very broad term since a project goal could be just about anything. Is the goal of your project to launch ...launch a product? Make an informed decision about something? Fix a problem? Test a hypothesis? Whether you ...it a “project team” or not, most scientific collaborations fall within this category. Unlike a process...to build a team in the first place? Let’s think about some of the advantages of team-based work: Nobody...forward a few hundred years and there are currently about 5.5 million articles in the English version of Wikipedia...

... fine to ask about specific jobs (that is what networking is about), but be upfront about interest in ...scientists-in-training rarely get the opportunity to learn about the myriad of diverse, nonacademic careers that ...with academic scientists who can’t help us learn about the nonacademic sphere where most of us will be ...learning new things. Building new relationships is all about learning new things from other scientists doing ...pursue someone doing a job you wish you knew more about – how do you make a connection? An Informational...alienate connections. If meeting with someone to ask about a job or a particular position at their company,...that this is a good time to ask personal questions about salary, opportunities for advancement, challenges...

...is the Laboratory Operations Manager at Addgene.  In addition to helping with daily laboratory operations...through barcoded tubes that are scanned into our Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), a database...available for distribution!    Check Out How We Think about Developing Lab Management Software    The plasmid's...the correct sample. Tracking samples - it's all about location, location, location There are many different...of these samples have the 2D barcodes mentioned above. These barcodes identify what type of sample is ...every barcode on every tube contains information about that tube’s appropriate location. The barcode also...location to your samples, include as much detail about that location as possible. Are there multiple freezers...

...candidates that are excited about their work and mission.  How do I know what to write about? If you’re struggling...enthusiastic about [something that you love and is important for the job]. Notice that the intros above allow...cover letter is a place to provide helpful context about your candidacy, beyond what is on your resume. It... a great place to proactively address questions about your application. These could be logistical, like...by pointing to your transferable skills. In the above example, if you don’t have experience with ddPCR...but do have experience with qPCR, you could talk about how your experience with qPCR would make it easy...seconds.” That’s exactly what you would want to talk about! You could describe your organizational system, ...