Author Archives: Jennifer Rohn

About Jennifer Rohn

Scientist, novelist, rock chick

In which life imitates science – number 264

Posted on 24 March 2015 by Jennifer Rohn

A scientist is never off-duty, even in a fabulous Michelin-starred restaurant on Charlotte Street. Spindle organization was never this tasty I think pretty much anyone with a cell biology background would have seen what I saw in this rhubarb confection: … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific thinking, Silliness | Comments Off on In which life imitates science – number 264

In which the postdoc sell-by date continues to shrivel: The MRC comes to its senses

Posted on 19 March 2015 by Jennifer Rohn

How do you judge the worth of a researcher? In particular, can you tell how excellent she is by how quickly she gets from point A to point B in her career? Old postdocs may not be as stale as … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Science Funding, staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Women in science | Comments Off on In which the postdoc sell-by date continues to shrivel: The MRC comes to its senses

In which I invite them in

Posted on 16 February 2015 by Jennifer Rohn

Although engaging with the public about science is famously not about – heaven forbid – ‘teaching’ it, the two endeavors do share some common strategies. I’ve been organizing and executing a lot of undergraduate educational sessions these past few terms, … Continue reading →

Posted in Science talking, Scientific thinking, Silliness, students, Teaching | Comments Off on In which I invite them in

In which we make a splash: Fiction Lab in the papers

Posted on 9 January 2015 by Jennifer Rohn

A perplexing start this morning: a text from the lovely Sarah Main, director of CaSE, congratulating me on a mention in London’s Metro newspaper and wishing me “luck on Monday”. Cue breaking out into a cold sweat as, seeing nothing … Continue reading →

Posted in Lablit, Stereotypes | Comments Off on In which we make a splash: Fiction Lab in the papers

In which a tale of antibiotics takes form

Posted on 4 January 2015 by Jennifer Rohn

It’s a grey afternoon outside the study window. This morning a thick fog erased the usual twinkling lights of Tilbury Docks along the estuary, with seagoing vessels blowing their horns in long, sonorous warnings. A fitting soundtrack, as tomorrow spells … Continue reading →

Posted in Science talking, staring into the abyss | Comments Off on In which a tale of antibiotics takes form

In which we despair: show and tell is alive and well

Posted on 20 November 2014 by Jennifer Rohn

I have a theory about best-selling authors. Once they have finally made their breakthroughs, they tend to get lazy. I have noticed that subsequent novels often become longer – just eyeball your collection of Harry Potters on the bookshelf and … Continue reading →

Posted in Lablit, Writing | Comments Off on In which we despair: show and tell is alive and well

In which I enjoy a Northern sojourn

Posted on 27 October 2014 by Jennifer Rohn

I spend a lot of my time these days up at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, helping out with undergraduate teaching. It’s marked a new phase of traipsing up and down on the Northern Line to my lab on … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Silliness, Teaching | Comments Off on In which I enjoy a Northern sojourn

In which my palm is crossed with silver: Suffrage Science 2014

Posted on 11 October 2014 by Jennifer Rohn

Inheritance doesn’t have to be genetic. This past Thursday at London’s Dana Centre, I was one of this year’s recipients for Suffrage Science. For those of you unfamiliar with the scheme, it was launched in 2011 by the Medical Research … Continue reading →

Posted in Women in science, Writing | Comments Off on In which my palm is crossed with silver: Suffrage Science 2014

In which we need more lab coats in the Commons

Posted on 11 September 2014 by Jennifer Rohn

Like many commuters serving as a captive audience on the London Underground, I tend to read the free Evening Standard most nights. I enjoy the op ed pieces by Rosamund Urwin, who has always struck me as both light-hearted and … Continue reading →

Posted in Policy, Politics | Comments Off on In which we need more lab coats in the Commons

In which I am still largely at large: another mother in academia

Posted on 2 September 2014 by Jennifer Rohn

Blogging appearances to the contrary, I am still alive, clinging gamely to some semblance of work-life balance as a new mother in academia. Not so new anymore, I realize, as Joshua hurtles, one milestone at a time, toward his first … Continue reading →

Posted in Lablit, Science-fiction, students, Teaching, The profession of science, Women in science, Writing | Comments Off on In which I am still largely at large: another mother in academia