I recently reviewed for an NIH study section, providing the feedback that will help decide whether people and institutions get millions of dollars to do good work. It is kicking my a$$. There is nothing else that I have done… Read More

We’ve got a lot of work to do, kids, to make the world a better place. You’ve worked hard to get where you are. You have excelled. You likely work toward perfection. Have you ever heard that perfect is the… Read More

Want to maximize your productivity and contribution to the world? Try this: share professional good news. Did someone perform well in their role, assisting you? Did a process work well? Did an instructor, committee member, or graduate program manager shine?… Read More

It’s necessary, of course, to have a good handle on research that is published. But did you know that you can look into the future of research? Do this by querying databases of research that has been funded. For the… Read More

Words matter. All scientific writing involves people, at a minimum the author and the reader. Respect your reader by writing authentically about your methods, your results, the limitations, and what might not be known. You will likely be writing about… Read More

Why is a dissertation difficult? Because you have not done this before. You have no practice. There was a time you did not know how to speak, or walk. The practice you have done has launched you to mastery. There… Read More

Even the driest type of academic writing (in my opinion, a publication) has tone, that is, subtle cues that give hints about the author. In all of your writing (even email), beware of your tone. Strive for a tone that… Read More

“Significant or not significant?” You’ve had classes on this. You have had practice on this. You are motivated to perform this statistical practice of examining p values. P values are everywhere in your training and in the published literature. If… Read More

As a child, I remember asking my mother repeatedly – When will I be an adult? I was so much looking forward to crossing a threshold and being the one who could know the things and do the things and… Read More

Imagine walking up to a group of researchers at a conference opening gathering. They are older than you, wearing fabulous clothes, standing in a closed circle, with glasses of wine in hand, connected in amusement. You know one of them,… Read More