Imagine you’re about to step on stage to give a public presentation. Do you feel tightness in your chest or perhaps unease in your stomach? When you’re running late to an important event, does your heart begin to race? Have you ever wondered why stress impacts you physically, beyond your mental state? Physical symptoms like
Imagine yourself in this scenario: in a village, each person is given a stone to build a pathway for their community. The first stone was set by your ancestors, and their only instructions are to place the next stone, including yours, adjacent to another stone. Each stone has its own shape and size. Some are
During our weekly lab meeting, my advisor told us he was concerned that the research funds our lab was awarded by the federal government would be pulled. If our lab was defunded, we wouldn’t be able to continue our projects, and he would not be able to pay us anymore. My heart sank, I did
Developmental biologist John Wallingford, in We’re all Developmental Biologists argued that anyone who has ever wondered how a loved one’s pregnancy is going “has contemplated the embryo.” Humans have naturally been curious about how organisms grow to become a certain species, and as such I found myself pulled into dev bio research too. Developmental Biology
Bullying in academia Bullying continues to be a problem in academia. A recent global survey showed that 59% and 84% of participants either witnessed or experienced abusive supervision behaviors, respectively. Bullying in academia is difficult to address because a power differential exists within the mentor-mentee relationship. Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers (both referred to as
Dr. Diana Six is a professor of Forest Entomology and Pathology at the University of Montana. Dr. Six's work focuses on bark beetles, their symbiotic fungi, climate change, and what these factors mean for forest health. Her work has received the attention of the media and she has presented at TedX and has been featured on
Dr. M. Cathie Aime is a Professor of Botany and Plant Pathology and Director of the Arthur Fungarium and Kriebel Herbaria at the University of Purdue. Her lab specializes on the biology of rust fungi as well as the biodiversity of tropical fungi, which has led her research to have an international focus. Interestingly enough,
Graduate school is hard. Surprise! Eh, probably not a surprise, but in general graduate school is a lot more demanding than college. Pursuing a Ph.D. or M.S. degree in a STEM field often relies on creative and diverse thinking and enormous amounts of independently driven work. It's the independent nature of graduate school that makes
Graduate school is hard. Surprise! Eh, probably not a surprise, but in general graduate school is a lot more demanding than college. Pursuing a Ph.D. or M.S. degree in a STEM field often relies on creative and diverse thinking, and enormous amounts of independently driven work. It's the independent nature of graduate school that makes
As a campus tour guide, I get to interact with high schoolers considering spending four years (and lots of money) at the University of Georgia. When I ask if any prospective students are interested in conducting undergraduate science research, more often than not, I'm met with confused looks rather than eagerly raised hands. Four years
Interview with Stephanie Pearl, PhD; written by Anna Lau, PhD As cofounder of the Athens Science Café, Dr. Stephanie Pearl occupies a special place in our collective heart. She shared with me her path to a nontraditional career as a Science Communicator at a federal agency. What struck me was how her concern for issues
By Leslie Roldan, PhD; edited by Anna Lau, PhD Please let me introduce Dr. Leslie Roldan, published researcher, doctorate, educator, and now published book author.* In this installment of the series, Leslie talks to us about her path to a nontraditional career that merges two seemingly disparate areas, English and Biology. We learn from her
