Category Archives: mentors

In Academia, Pats on the Back are Rare

Posted on 15 February 2022 by Athene Donald

How are you doing? I don’t mean either mentally or physically, but are you keeping up with the Jones’? Are you doing as well as you should for the stage of career you’re at, and how do you know? The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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What Should You Be Doing Now?

Posted on 22 April 2020 by Athene Donald

One of the questions you ought not to pose to someone – be it a mentor, supervisor or sponsor – is ‘what should I do?’ Because, the answer has to be: ‘that’s up to you’. There is no uniquely right … Continue reading →

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Getting Away from the Toxic Lab

Posted on 14 April 2019 by Athene Donald

The journal PLoS Computational Biology recently published an article Ten simple rules towards healthier research labs. Written by a PI it was obviously aimed largely at those who might be just setting out with their own groups, but clearly any … Continue reading →

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Is the THE aiming for clickbait?

Posted on 27 December 2017 by Athene Donald

Just before Christmas on Twitter I came across a survey being run by the THE asking THE is running a survey about whether women should champion other women in academic careers. What do you think? I duly went to this … Continue reading →

Posted in academic sisterhood, early career researchers, Equality, mentors, Women in science | Comments Off on Is the THE aiming for clickbait?

A student’s guide to finding and securing a desirable PhD mentor in the biomedical sciences

Posted on 6 August 2017 by Steve Caplan

Several years ago I wrote a satirical article titled “How not to get a lab job.” In that piece, designed primarily for graduate students who were looking for post-doctoral positions, I tried to use real-life examples based on the types … Continue reading →

Posted in anxiety, career, career in science, education, faculty, graduate program, graduate student, how to find a mentor, laboratories, labs, large lab, mentor, mentors, mentorship, new investigator, PhD students, position, post-doc, postdoc, postdoctoral fellow, productivity, publications, Research, rotations, science, scientific career, stress, success in the lab, university, vetting | Comments Off on A student’s guide to finding and securing a desirable PhD mentor in the biomedical sciences

Do you have a sponsor? (Do you need one?)

Posted on 17 May 2015 by Athene Donald

I have been reading the book by Sylvia Ann Hewlett on sponsorship: (Forget a Mentor) Find a Sponsor. Sylvia very kindly gave me a copy of this book when I met her in March where we were both talking at … Continue reading →

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You Don’t Know the Rules? You Are Not Alone!

Posted on 18 December 2013 by Athene Donald

Are you one of those people who think there must be a ‘right’ way of doing every task, or are you prepared to muddle through making it up as you go along? A reader of my recent post on Being … Continue reading →

Posted in convention, mentors, Science Culture, uncertainty | Comments Off on You Don’t Know the Rules? You Are Not Alone!

Personal Tutors or Personal Responsibility

Posted on 30 June 2013 by Athene Donald

At every stage of one’s career one needs to know who to turn to for advice. This need doesn’t stop just because one is senior, but probably feels most overwhelming when first setting out. That crucial stage when newly independent, … Continue reading →

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Heroines and Role Models [11]

Posted on 8 January 2012 by Athene Donald

Recently I had a rather upset email from a younger colleague who was worried because she had publicly disagreed with me in a discussion and feared she had been ‘strident’.  What made it worse, she said, was that I had … Continue reading →

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Advice on taking advice

Posted on 20 August 2011 by Steve Caplan

Last week I pontificated wrote about my views on the traits that are necessary for a scientist to survive and indeed thrive in today’s world. And while there seems to be agreement that “luck” “fate” and “opportunity” are certainly useful … Continue reading →

Posted in advice, critiques, education, faculty, fate, journals, learn, luck, mentor, mentors, opportunity, papers, PI, post-doc, post-docs, Research, reviews, science, student, students, success | Comments Off on Advice on taking advice