A microscopic view from the academic community First, a quick recap from the previous post on this topic: we talked about public criticism and suppression of junior researchers, conveying the impression that the opinion of junior researchers will always be secondary to their seniors. The outlined example in previous post made it clear that the… Read More No title, no expert? (Part 2)
A macroscopic view from the academic community Stanford Professor, John Ioannidis, is no stranger to controversy; in 2005 he published a paper titled “Why most published research findings are false”. However, his latest attack in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation (where he was recently Editor in Chief) is focused less on the substantive content… Read More No title, no expert? (Part 1)
Some say serendipity in science is all about luck. What do you think?… Read More Lucky scientists rule?
Dear younger me, Congratulations! You have just been admitted as a doctoral student. You are eager and fresh and ever so ready to contribute to a tiny corner of the scientific world. Just one thing before you start: this will be a long process. You remember the story of the hare and the tortoise, right? Here… Read More Letter to my younger self
Perfectionism has been a blessing and a curse in my life. But, at the end of the day, in science, as in life, perfection does not exist.… Read More I got the fellowship! What now?
As early career researchers, we are all trying to figure out our paths. Knowing this, Reinhart Reitmeier, professor at the University of Toronto, recommends everyone from PhD student to senior investigator to have a mentor that is around 10 years ahead of you in their career. For graduate students, he sometimes recommends to get a mentor outside of academia.… Read More Mentoring matters – how to lead your research group
A modern haiku (5-7-5) brought to you by Evangelia… Read More The Swedish academic during the December month
Welcome to Part 3 of this series, the final instalment in this discussion of the arduous postdoc phase.… Read More What is a postdoc? Finding answers amidst ambiguity – Part 3
“You don’t want to have a publication in Science!? But that is everyone’s dream!” exclaimed another participant of a mentoring for early career researchers at my summer conference. For years, I was not able to say this out loud, but by now – a fourth year in my PhD – I got used to the shocked expression that usually follows my declaration.… Read More The wrong type of scientist?
In my view, doing a PhD is like running a marathon. It is a lot about endurance, technique, practice, and very importantly, receiving coaching. Let me explain a bit more how I came to this conclusion. The stresses of being a PhD student Having a PhD is a big achievement, but getting to the dissertation… Read More On PhD students and professional athletes
An inside perspective on being a researcher and career advice
An inside perspective on being a researcher and career advice
Sharing PhD experiences across the University of Warwick and beyond
Karolinska Institutet Career Blog 