The Black Hole
In order to streamline career advancement, more effectively meet employment demand for the biomedical research industry, and reign in ballooning administrative costs, I propose the following paradigm shift: at academic research institutions relying primarily on federal funding to support their princ...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/a-paradigm-shift-in-academic-advancement/
The Black Hole
I thought I would take the opportunity this week to share with you a personal story regarding a recent academic milestone. My research focuses on platelet production, and earlier this year I filed a provisional patent, through Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School on a platelet b...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/patenting-at-academic-institutes/
The Black Hole
A little while back I wrote a blog post called "Continue reading which proposed that PhD programs finish in 4 to 5 years and that thesis committees take a more a...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/postdoctoral-mentors-and-a-regular-reality-check/
The Black Hole
Last week, the International Consortium of Research Staff Associations (ICoRSA) was launched in connection with the VITAE Research Staff Conference. Forged in the fire that burns in the bellies of early career researchers with low salaries, little stability and poor career prospects, this organizati...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/official-launch-of-the-international-consortium-of-research-staff-associations/
The Black Hole
As our readers know, we Continue reading last month in Toronto at the 5th Annual Canadian Science Policy Conference. It was a packed room and ...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/tough-love-and-a-plan-for-the-future-cspc-panel-recap/
The Black Hole
I was recently invited to give a keynote address at the Human Disease Mapping conference at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland that was fully coordinated by a small group of the college's PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. The scope was to share my experience and story of my ac...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/start-creating-career-options-for-yourself/
The Black Hole
I was recently invited to give a keynote address at the Human Disease Mapping conference at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland that was fully coordinated by a small group of the college's PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. The scope was to share my experience and story of my ac...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/defining-the-role-of-the-scientific-activist/
The Black Hole
Editor's note: A few weeks back, Jenn and Erika shared their stories about being postdoctoral moms (Continue reading and
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/the-baby-gap-who-was-that-postdoc-anyway/
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You would have to be living under a rock to not have heard about the Continue reading that Sir Tim Hunt made to a group of female Korean researchers. After calling “girls” in laboratories “trouble” amongst worse remarks, Professor Hunt has lost his...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/the-tim-hunt-saga-passive-sexism-no-better/
The Black Hole
Editor's note: This week, we are very pleased to have a guest post from Jiro Inoue, a postdoctoral fellow at the Robarts Research Institute, Western University. He is the current vice-president, external, of the postdoctoral association at Western, and the vice-chair, operati...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/defining-post-phd-training-with-the-end-in-mind/
The Black Hole
My purpose is not to scare you, but to summarize the reality of the present economic climate for young scientists.
I appreciate that I am often very critical of academic research – it’s often necessary. Nevertheless, I truly believe that science is a calling whose social value is paramount; and if you are intelligent, dedicated, hardworking, and passionate, your efforts are wasted elsewhere.
True, this ca...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/the-door-to-an-academic-science-career-open-or-closed/
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They lead to more stability and may force early career scientists to stop waiting to make that next “substantial” contribution.
Last week, one of the world’s biggest funders of biomedical research Continue reading on the maximum number of years post-PhD that an applicant remains eligible for a grant. While I applaud th...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/case-scholarship-fellowship-eligibility-windows/
The Black Hole
A guest post from Dr. Kellie Machlus, who asks the question: what processes can we set in place to guard against implicit bias and increase diversity in our ranks?
The Black Hole is no stranger to conversations of gender equality in science – many of which have resulted in very productive discussions in our comments section.
Last month, I had the pleasure of seeing these discussions elevated to a higher platform through the organization of a ...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/raising-awareness-disparity-women-science-impact-implicit-bias/
The Black Hole
Once you’ve raised enough money, it’s very important that you find a private incubator space.
The following is a transcript from Continue reading I gave at the medical device development course, Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston on May 12, 2016.
Due to length, I hav...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/starting-company-need-move-academic-lab/
The Black Hole
These relatively recent initiatives deserve recognition for helping the scientific community.
Sometimes, you just get lost down the rabbit hole of the Internet. In one of these episodes, I came across a Continue reading in which he bestows his life lessons for young graduates. While it wasn't a m...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/focusing-on-the-positives-some-good-ideas-for-improving-science/
The Black Hole
Career planning and mental health in academe were some of the most-read topics addressed on the Black Hole in the past year.
Happy New Year to all of our readers. The Continue reading is marking its 10th year of existence and Jonathan and I are excited to be in the final stages of compiling our first book on the core issues facing academic science today – we a...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/2019-year-in-review-exploring-the-topics-that-resonated-with-our-readers/