Harmit S. Malik
@HarmitMalik
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Study genetic conflicts professionally. Try to avoid conflicts in personal life (with mixed results). @HutchBasicSci @fredhutch @HHMINEWS He/him
Seattle, WA
Joined April 2014
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Dear colleagues in academia, if you’re frustrated about ongoing shutdowns and productivity loss in your lab this year (and next year), do me a favor: write it all down. Then look at these notes every time you review a grant or tenure case for a junior colleague for the next 3 yrs
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Every single paper you read/review that was submitted from a junior investigator's lab this year is a miracle in itself.
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Reviewed a few grant proposals from Sweden these past few weeks. The science was 😎 but I was more impressed that every CV had a section about professional breaks for paternal/maternal leave between 5 to 7 months. I was struck by how rarely I see this in USA CVs/ biosketches.
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Puts your constant checking on manuscript review status online in perspective, doesn’t it?
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If a junior colleague challenges my scientific conclusions and all I can do is point out the fact that I’ve published more papers than them ergo I must be right, then I’ve already lost my argument. And my scientific grace.
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This is worth 2 Oscars at least...
Colleagues in academia and researchers, please don’t cry watching this
#AcademicTwitter
#AcademicChatter
#phdchat
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To my friends who will be evaluating grad school applicants for your programs: a less than perfect but still very good GPA achieved while working full time during college may in fact be more impressive than most perfect GPAs from folks who didn’t have to.
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Almost everyone I know is struggling right now. I don’t say this to be a huge downer but instead to argue that we should try to be kind as much as possible. Don’t assume that things are okay because they look ok from the outside.
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I am sorry
That your request
Arrived in my inbox
This week.
It may have been
A review
Or a promotion letter
I cannot recall.
Either way
I must decline
Respectfully and
Regretfully.
I am presently
Preoccupied with Existential crises
And I am no good
To you
Or anyone.
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Encountered yet another case of a US-based PI holding a threat of not renewing immigration status as a power move over international postdocs. You would think that the pandemic would make folks behave better but in fact it’s the opposite. Please... don’t be this PI; be better
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Me: I have so much due in the next 2weeks, it will be a miracle if I do it all. Once I’m done, I’m definitely taking a few days off.
Me 2 weeks later: I have so much due in the next 2weeks, it will be a miracle if I do it all. Once I’m done, I’m definitely taking a few days off.
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A reminder: the scientific accomplishments of serial sexual harassers do not make up for the grievous injury caused to science & young scientists over generations (even if this were a simple math argument which... WTF!). This 'genius myth' protects such folks in the first place.
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Anyone else having a very hard time trying to work today?
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Me: what do you want for breakfast?
15yr old: grilled cheese sandwich
Me: gourmet grilled cheese with grilled onions and peppers etc.
Me: How is it?
Him: It’s ok but I can barely taste the cheese.
And that, ladies & gentlemen, is my 15yr old sounding a lot like my R01 reviews
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Never underestimate the power of an unsolicited, sincere "Well done!" to a trainee or to a junior colleague who just gave 1st talk or published 1st paper from their lab. I remember getting an unsolicited note from one of my science heroes in grad school and it was like oxygen.
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Dear trainees, two emails is not stalking. If you write to a PI requesting something and they don’t get back to you within a reasonable time frame (say 1-2 weeks) please don’t hesitate to contact them again. They may have meant to but forgot. 1/
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One cool thrill as a scientist is making a discovery that, at least for a brief period, no one else knows about.
One cool thrill about being a mentor is realizing how amazing your trainee is before they even realize it and before the rest of the world gets in on the secret.
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If Bernie’s platform was an R01 proposal it would be rejected for not being feasible, Biden’s would be rejected for lacking innovation and Warren recommended for a MERIT award.
#justsaying
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That amazing paper you spent years on? That amazing breakthrough you had? Very likely you built this following the work of others (very few exceptions), just as others will build off yours. Science is a continuum. Want to leave a lasting legacy in science? Be generous & be kind.
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"Can you name one book that changed your life?"
It is an easy answer for me, even though it is somewhat cliché. I read "The Selfish Gene" in college while studying chemical engineering and basically switched to biology for a career.
What book (fiction or not) changed your life?
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I've had some tough conversation with colleagues (esp. junior PIs) over past few weeks that prompted me to write this. My intention is not to offend but to draw attention.
I'm proud of colleagues who pivoted to Covid19 research & published many amazing papers over past year. 1/
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Many professions including academia weirdly rewards & selects for folks who want to be seen as the smartest people in the room, who have to win every argument, & take no prisoners. But real humility also brings openness to others’ ideas & is the first step to true learning. 1/
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"Perfect is the enemy of done"
"Perfect is the enemy of done"
"Perfect is the enemy of done"
"Perfect is the enemy of done"
...
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Parents recovering from Covid19; uncle returned home after 3 days in hospital; slept without checking phone constantly for first time in 10 days; feel like we dodged a bullet for now; unbelievable scenes in hospital wards; number of reported cases & deaths in Delhi laughably low
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One obvious way Covid wfh has affected my productivity is that I really cannot write much or well in the late evenings.
Another way it has affected me is that I can't write well any other time of day either.
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TFW folks are dumping on the J&J 💉 for being a ‘B- vaccine’ not realizing it’s a high stakes Pass/Fail class
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I picked the wrong day to go off Twitter while on wonderful seminar visit to Colorado State.
To say I’m in shock would be a significant understatement.
I will have more to say when I recover (in a few months) but I’m deeply grateful to my mentors & lab members over the years
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No comment.
Flying out of
@flySEA
? Keep an eye out for our freshly-branded posters (with some familiar faces)! ✈️
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I just realized that one reason I'm in a good mood this week is because I just reviewed/editorially handled a really great paper. It was clever, important, and rigorously done. It made no impact on my science, but seeing someone in our business land the 'perfect 10' brings me joy
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As I slept through several years of chem engg classes (several quizzes & at least one midterm) at IIT Bombay I never imagined this day would be possible!
It’s been quite a ride!
Thanks to my classmates who made sure I survived the course & to my mentors who believed in me.
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I’m happy to read about your faculty members’ amazing research over the past few years! But you know what I’d like to instead hear about? How are your trainees doing? How are your junior, pre-tenure, young parent faculty doing (all of them, not just the ones who beat the odds)?
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What is the best compliment you received that was actually intended as an insult?
For me, it was a senior scientist years ago at a post-seminar reception: “I was expecting to hear more cutting-edge work. The work you described was so...simple, anyone could do it.”
#Festivus
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Dear grad school applicants, despite the power imbalance of grad school interviews, almost all the faculty who you will meet are just as excited about meeting you! Be curious! Be excited! Most of all, be yourself! That’s what got you the interview! Good luck!
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Over the break I’m planning to start and publish my next treatise on free market economics. I mean it seems only fair. So many economics and law faculty who have no freaking clue about epidemiology or virology seem to now be the world experts in both.
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I know my mom has fully recovered from Covid because she just scolded me for 30 minutes straight on whatsapp. I think I said like 5 words in 30 minutes. I’m so putting that in the ‘wins’ column.
#justlikeoldtimes
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This afternoon, I went through assorted thank you notes from former students hoarded over the years. I briefly mused about how these notes have no value to anyone in the world except for me- even those who wrote them moved on years ago- but for me, today, they were everything.
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Normalize using positive comments and exclamation points when you review a paper you like. It should not come to this but your positivity might be needed to negate the ‘dominant negative’ reviewer. Advocate for good papers like you’d want others to advocate for yours.
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Like Covid fatigue, I'm beginning to see clear signs of 'grace fatigue' among academicians after 10 months of the pandemic, in terms of giving (esp. junior) colleagues extra grace and benefit of the doubt. Yet, cumulative effects means this year is worse, not better, for many.
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Lab meeting days are the best days.
Said the only person who does not have to present.
#PIprivilege
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My stress levels associated with several close family members in India being symptomatic with Covid19 (some weeks after their first vaccine shot) are hovering at dangerous levels; cities are struggling but newspaper headlines are about monsoons, cricket, films, melas & Iftars. 😡
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I am deeply honored to be this year's recipient of the SASTRA-Obaid Siddiqi award. Dr. Siddiqi was an iconic scientist, mentor, and human being. His vision and mentorship helped usher India into the age of molecular biology. 1/
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Every grant reviewer comment that comments that lack of a 🐁 experiment is a weakness should automatically trigger a 50,000$ funds transfer from the reviewer’s grant to the applicant. Fair is fair.
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Trying to follow a citation thread to find a detail in the original method
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17 years ago today, the Malik lab came into existence
@fredhutch
@HutchBasicSci
If someone were to ask me what the number one lesson I have learned, its that our biggest success (by far) will be the people we've trained, and their success and happiness. 1/
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Everyone who intends to join or lead a research group should read the essay by Bruno Lemaitre:
An Essay on Science and Narcissism: How do high-ego personalities drive research in life sciences?
(Usually available for free download; do a google search)
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Me at 20 hrs post-vaccine (2nd shot): this ain’t no big deal, what is the fuss all about.
At 28 hrs: I would like to respectfully retract my earlier statement
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I am delighted and amazed to be in such an elite company of scientists and educators. Thank you to
@levine_lab
for nominating me!
A huge congratulations to this year’s GSA Award recipients!
@alanaeclose
@ASUBiodesign
@Dara_eCLOSE
@EcloseI
@FoxChaseCancer
@HarmitMalik
@HHMINEWS
@HutchBasicSci
@Princeton
@StanfordMed
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I’m disappointed to not be able to attend in-person induction ceremony celebrations at
@theNASciences
this week. But, we still found a nice way to celebrate at home thanks to the missus with some nice chocolate cake and samosas. Thanks to all my mentors, colleagues and trainees!
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Opening an email that contains reviews to your paper is like that scene in a slasher movie where the ditzy teenager decides to check out the attic or a dark alley against their better judgement. Everyone knows it’s going to end badly but it’s important for plot advancement.
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~3years ago, my
@Twitter
feed blew up thanks to
@SueBiggins
when I was elected to
@theNASciences
while on a seminar visit to Colo State.
I’m in DC with family to be formally inducted only to find out of my election to
@americanacad
thanks to Sue again! 1/
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H/T
@gbaucom
+ others. The
@NatureComms
paper further disenfrachises women PIs & risks very small gains on gender parity made over past few years. I know this is a crazy busy time, but if anyone is interested in helping craft a rebuttal, please DM me. 1/
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One of the most unexpected things you learn as a mentor is that (if you allow yourself this indulgence) you are almost as likely to be mentored by your trainees as they are by you. No one prepares you for this event but it is quite glorious, makes this job more awesome.
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Did I have a productive day? No.
But did I at least come up with a plan and start to hit my stride? Also no.
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Often being a PI is just disappointing different people on different days of the week☹️.
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I did not think it would be possible to unite most of academic science with such rapidity.
Kudos to you
@WSJ
Joseph Epstein!
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In science or any other creative endeavor, time off from work is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Value it. Use it. Don’t feel guilty about it.
Once you figure it out, please tell me how.
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I wonder how people who didn’t grow up watching Test match cricket 🏏 are coping with the slow pace of the final ballots being counted in the US election; I feel like I’ve been prepared for this waiting since childhood (not to mention Indian bureaucracy) :)
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Today’s reminder:
Results are results.
Discussion is discussion.
Unless the discussion is factually impossible or implausible, let authors speculate as long as it’s clear they’re doing so (it is their prerogative).
If you want to write the discussion, please write your own paper.
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#MyNameIs
Harmit. The 1st part of the name can be “Hari” (God) or “Har” (everyone) while the 2nd part is “Meeth” (soft t)(Friend). So God’s friend or everyone’s friend.
A good aspirational goal despite my Twitter rants. Also fun fact: most Sikh names aren’t gender-specific
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But I'm also proud of colleagues who showed kindness to their labmates & tempered expectations about productivity in an already difficult funding climate. Their focus on mental health of their lab is something to be commended. 2/
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Most people think of big choices they made in their career path: where they went to school, whom they worked for etc. However, little, everyday choices (how you treat others) make the bulk of career paths; be kind; making good ‘little’ choices help you make great ‘big’ decisions.
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I am calling bullshit on this statement. Lets ask some Muslims and Sikhs whether there wasn't a mass outbreak of anti-Muslim sentiment....
Overall, Americans took 9/11 pretty calmly. Notably, there wasn't a mass outbreak of anti-Muslim sentiment and violence, which could all too easily have happened. And while GW Bush was a terrible president, to his credit he tried to calm prejudice, not feed it 2/
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There is so much joy in visiting home after so long.
But there is also so much grief, which has lain patiently in wait for more than two years to land a sucker punch when I least expect it. I walk familiar streets as a stranger who has lost friends and his bearings.
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Science can be a cruel mistress. Despite the best efforts and intentions, I have seen good friends (& amazing scientists, far better than me) get ground down by despair. This is why I never take success for granted and am delighted when good people get the success they deserve.
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PSA: in case you threaten to unfollow me because of my comments on police actions against peaceful protesters... like that’s a threat I should care about? 🤷♂️ You should know that upto 90% of my followers are Russian bots anyways
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I must also confess my disappointment that the black hole pictures revealed no trace of the various socks 🧦 I have lost in washer dryers over the years
#BlackHoleDay
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The only unbelievable part about “Don’t look up” on
@netflix
is that no one is trying to steal credit from the female graduate student who made the first discovery. But it’s a really great movie so far.
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Please don't be the person today who does not congratulate folks for winning prestigious awards and fellowships (even if you are fundamentally opposed to them). Save that discussion for another day.
Not all who deserve get the awards.
But most who get the awards are deserving.
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Honestly, if I tried naming it after someone else, it would be definitely weirder.
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A note to all current/future grant writers/reviewers: spatial RNA-seq & single-cell RNA-seq is not necessary for ALL grants. If you expect to get/give higher INNOVATION scores based on this, consider that proposing most appropriate, not always newest, approaches is the key.
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At this time each year, thousands of aspiring international graduate students apply to graduate programs across the US. I have advised some of them over the years. This thread is an appeal for greater transparency to reduce applicants’ wasting time and precious resources 1/
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This is not a political post.
Not all citizens have the ability to shape their own destiny, leave alone their country's. Having survived two riots in India (one rather miraculously) I am aware of the helplessness one feels by events that are completely out of your control.
1/
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Advisors and international student offices, there is not much you can do right now BUT you can reach out to the students and postdocs in your charge, reach out to them, make sure they get the best advice, and that they know that you have their back.
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Trump is masterful at sleight it hand. Notice how everyone is talking about bleach and UV light but not about the real immigration law that he actually signed into law. The latter is going to profoundly affect people’s lives yet CNN is spending all the time discussing the former!
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The emergence of the Delta and Omicron variants is yet another reminder that pathogenic viruses do not care about geographical or political boundaries, and the only way to fight this to a stalemate is to fight it EVERYWHERE.
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If I stared at a blank page without writing a single word for 60 minutes does it still count towards my writing goal of 2-3 hours everyday?
#AskingForAFriend
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So if
@nature
charges 11,000$ to publish a paper open-access that is already basically available for free on
@biorxivpreprint
you are essentially paying
@nature
for the imprimatur right? In that case shouldn’t the paper be labeled as advertisement?
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You can impress me with your science but you can impress me even more with your kindness. And I will always be grateful for your kindness to the folks in my lab- even after I completely forget that amazing paper you published 2 years ago. Thank you (you know who you are)
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It took a Covid pandemic to get to this point but I have finally gotten used to invoking the “Life is short; I’m not doing this” argument.
And ... I should have done this a lot sooner
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Dear friends, I am pretty sure that many of you (who aren't sociopaths) have been stricken at some point by 'impostor syndrome'. However, without having met you, I am still fairly confident that you know how to properly interpret an X vs Y graph, so that's something to file away.
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Covid19 is tapping into some of the deepest fears of immigrants: to have loved ones fall sick or be in areas where they're likely to, and being helpless to do anything about it from far away.
So I have no sympathy for 'not masking' rights.
Show some freakin' compassion.
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Never underestimate the mood-elevating power of a totally unexpected, unsolicited word of sincere praise for someone who might need it than they even realize. It could be a paper you read, a talk you attended, a podcast you listened to. Write a short note. Make their day.
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Snarky comment of the day: it is easier to claim you have made a novel, paradigm-establishing discovery if you refuse to read/cite papers published prior to Y2K, but that does not make it true. It does not diminish your work to give credit to others, whose work paved the way.
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Scientists of Twitter! The world needs more reminders that we're living, breathing human beings.
I was tempted to post a picture of me doing not-science, but my spouse confirmed that no one wants to see a picture of me napping on a weekend afternoon.
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Trigger alert:
This scenario is one of the worst nightmares for any lab or PI.
A university janitor who turned off a freezer after hearing multiple “annoying alarms,” ruined more than 20 years of research, according to a lawsuit filed against his employer by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York
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I'm losing an argument with my wife; I'm trying to convince her that having my teenage son watch the Star Wars series of films and TV shows is good education in history, science, social studies, music & health (I proposed to watch with him in case.. you know... he had any Q's)
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(deep sigh)
I think the current debate about academia vs. industry does not articulate how it really is better for all of us that there is robust competition and introspection about what job opportunities are present to us, and more importantly to our trainees.
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My wife is making fun of my wanting to see Frozen 2 in theaters this weekend. I told her that "Let it Go" is a good mantra for any PI or aspiring PI to have.... plus I am a sucker for Disney movies that have guaranteed happy endings, unlike real life
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Unsolicited tip: If you are on academic job market (or in academics) you should have a Google Scholar profile; you should make sure it is not a hot mess.
Additional points for curated MyNCBI page (also should not be hot mess)
In general, avoid hot messes.
That is all.
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Warning; serious thread ahead! Here goes. At this point of year, some lucky candidates are going to start getting lots of grad school offers. Others who were interviewed may end up on a waitlist. It’s a matter of finances and strategies as complicated as stock portfolios 1/
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Dear graduate applicants headed for interviews, you will encounter two kind of faculty these next few weeks- the first group will see it as a joy and privilege (and a little impostor syndrome-y) to meet and interview you, and the second group, who also should.
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From this day henceforth, I will start all of my reviews with "I, in my great and unmatched wisdom..."
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My wife was asking when we should do our next grocery run and I said without thinking "Since that deadline is not tomorrow, lets discuss this later".
In my defense, I was in the middle of editing a letter.
I think I'm going to find out how comfortable my couch is tonight.
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What is your most useless superpower?
Mine is waking up five minutes before the alarm will go off (no matter the time), shutting off the alarm, and then oversleeping by an hour only to scramble to make a meeting (or a flight in pre-Covid times) on time.
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I have a Ph.D. I’ve been a PI for 16 yrs. And I spent >3 hrs today trying to find a good answer to “which is stronger: ionic or covalent bonds and why” on the internet. 9th grade science hasn’t even started! The struggle is real. Don’t @ me chemistry folks
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In addition to everyone who has had women mentors, colleagues, and mentees (which I hope is everyone) you also have to wonder how folks who have had a paper rejected at
@NatureComms
are feeling today...
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Relying on the ‘honor’ system for unvaccinated folks to continue to wear masks is an interesting strategy, given that their reluctance to wear masks is why we are still in the middle of the freaking pandemic 15 months later!
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