STEM

06
Apr

10 Pro-Tips to Wrap up Your Spring Research Semester

A list of 10 Pro-Tips to wrap up the Spring Semester in a single list on a chalkboard graphic. They are 1. Finish Strong. 2. Discuss what you won't complete. 3. Write a solid report. 4. Complete notebook. 5. Label everything. 6. Clean up before you go-go. 7. Lock down future schedule. 8. Ask for papers. 9. Thank everyone. 10. Leave contact information.

—from the PI's desk and the Lab Manager's bench

The close of the spring semester brings thoughts of lounging on the beach with a good book, hanging out with friends, or starting an exciting summer internship. In other words, all the things that will make your summer fun and enjoyable. However, don’t let your enthusiasm for the beginning of summer distract you from wrapping up some key tasks in the lab.

14
Sep

Mentoring Matters with Dr. Jennifer Robison

photo of Dr Robison and family displaying school spirit (Manchester University Spartans) at home

Dr. Jennifer Robison Assistant Professor of biology at Manchester University located in North Manchester, Indiana. Her research program focuses on understanding the molecular and physiological events that occur during abiotic stress in plants. Connect with her on Twitter @JenRobiSci .

Q1:If you had a mentor(s) as an undergrad who you credit for the career path you're on now, please share a little bit about who they were and what they did that made such an impact.

15
Apr

Mentoring Matters with Dr. Brian Cohen

Dr. Cohen and some members of his lab group celebrate on graduation day

—from the Guest Mentor's Desk

Dr. Brian Cohen is a Senior Lecturer in Biological Sciences and Co-Director of Biochemistry at Union College in Schenectady, NY. In his 16 years as a faculty member thus far he has mentored 86 senior thesis students. Connect with him on Twitter @profbdcohen.

Q1: Why is mentoring undergrads in research important to you?

Because I didn't have that mentor as an undergraduate. By the time I expressed an interest in pursuing a career in research, I had missed out on opportunities to get involved.

—from the Lab Manager's bench and the PI's desk

We know that mentoring is challenging, surprising, rewarding, & so much more. On Twitter, we often use #ProudMentor or #ProudPI to retweet when a mentor tags us in a tweets about the undergrad members of their research team.

If you want to share a few words on why you mentor, the impact it's made on you, or other thoughts were listening. And we’d like to share it with others, too.

Our goals for creating the Mentoring Matters series are straightforward.

1. We want to show undergrad researchers that mentors are "real people" and not wholly mysterious creatures.

Everyone Belongs in STEMM. Resources for Inclusion, Accessibility, Equity, Diversity, Justice

Many research groups are welcoming and supportive to students from underrepresented and underserved backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEMM). In these research groups, the principal investigator (PI) and other members also strive to identify their own implicit biases that could, among other issues, negativity impact the personal or professional development of their coworkers including the students on the team.

—from the Researcher’s bench

The big motivation killers get top billing--and for good reason. If a labmate has created a toxic working environment, your PI is unsupportive, you're struggling to manage a disability (invisible or obvious), your mental and physical health are all put at risk. These are all serious issues and it's critical that you find support in navigating through them.

However, it's also important to recognize that there are issues or work habits that can destroy your motivation but they do so in such a subtle way that you might not be aware of what's happening until you're burning out. Many of these don't seem serious and it's easy to think "Oh, I'm just being sensitive. I shouldn't complain because others have real problems."

But a motivation barrier--even a small one--doesn't take much to grow into a much larger issue. It's dealing with these sneaky motivation killers that are the subject of this article.

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