Author Archives: Jennifer Rohn

About Jennifer Rohn

Scientist, novelist, rock chick

In which I find acceptance

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

A happy ending – just the way I like them. Can I go collapse now?

Posted in Careers, The profession of science | 28 Comments

In which I can put it off no longer

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Summer has slipped away from London, as it seems to do every year around this time – the air has an autumnal coolness and raindrops patter against lab windows. We Londoners work around this, as we do around so many … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, The profession of science | 20 Comments

In which I surface briefly

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Greetings, Earthlings: just emerging from my self-imposed laboratory exile for a quick update. I do still exist, and my radio silence can be explained by the fact that I’m in the home stretch of my resubmission. For those of you … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Scientific method, The profession of science | 21 Comments

In which I scrape by

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

I’ve been pondering the theoretical maximum number of simultaneous cell biological experiments that one person can do without losing it. I’ve also been testing the theory on a practical basis – on myself. And I can safely report that, by … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Nostalgia, Scientific method, The profession of science | 38 Comments

In which my vibration woes deepen

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

The plot thickens. For those of you who have been dangling in urgent uncertainty, I can report that the vibration problem in our incubator has not gone away. I thought I’d get around it by using smaller, non-round vessels, such … Continue reading →

Posted in Silliness, The profession of science | 17 Comments

In which I play to win

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

If running a scientific project is like cooking, then my usual modus operandi in the lab is to prepare a lavish, many-course meal. The meal, in this analogy, is the overarching goal of what I want to understand, and each … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers | 10 Comments

In which the truth is out there

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Crop circles are so last century. In our lab, HeLa cell circles are all the rage: The tissue culture incubator is currently plagued – not with aliens, but a random vibration or resonance that causes our cells to sporadically seed … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific method, Silliness | 45 Comments

In which I ponder the power of perspective

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Whenever you stick your head above the parapet and express a strong opinion in a high-profile venue, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll receive a large number of emails in response. Most of the follow-up I receive tends to be from … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific method, Scientific thinking, The profession of science, Uncategorized, Women in science | 47 Comments

In which I confront a domestic mystery

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Some late nights in the lab, that vending machine chocolate bar just can’t fill the snack hole that only a truly grueling experiment can induce. You need something hot, salty and preferably dripping with fat. It’s no surprise, then, that … Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic bliss, Nostalgia, Scientific method, Silliness | 52 Comments

In which I set my sights

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Even the darkest tunnels tend to have lights at the end of them. In the past fortnight, not only have I submitted my big screen paper – the culmination of four years of work – to a very reputable cell … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science | 14 Comments