About Jenny
By day: cell biologist at UCL. By night: novelist, broadcaster, science writer, sci-lit-art pundit, blogger and Editor of LabLit.com. I blog about my life in science, not the facts and figures.
Author Archives: Jennifer Rohn
In which I see the light
I’m happy, and I don’t know why. Usually I dread this time of year, the period between demobbing the Christmas tree and the daffodil-studded benevolence of mid-March. It stretches on endlessly, the dreary coldness, the frosts interspersed with rain that … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic bliss, Gardening, Nostalgia, Work/life balance
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In which I imagine a dystopian future
Despite my dedication to promoting the Lab Lit genre, I’ve always been an avid science fiction fan too. I admire how a good dystopian tale can transport you into a terrifying alternative future so convincingly that when you emerge from … Continue reading
Posted in LabLit, Science fiction, Writing
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In which I break through
Sometimes the things you fear the most aren’t as bad as the fear itself. About two years ago, I gave my first media interview on what was then generally referred to as “the Wuhan coronavirus”. It was still three days … Continue reading
In which pandemic storm clouds gather – again
A number of months have slipped past since I last wrote here, two seasons under the bridge as my ramped-up academic life has consumed most of my free time. Then, it was the height of optimistic summer; now, the year … Continue reading
In which academic dreams come true: a belated professorship
I have wanted to be a scientist since before I can remember. I did all the right things: I studied hard, finished my homework, raised my hand in class, failed to hide the fact that I loved learning, even though … Continue reading
In which summers shrink
Academics talk nostalgically about rosy-tinted times of yore when summers meant a lull in lecturing duties. The months would unfold before you, a vast landscape of research possibilities. It was a time to write papers, craft grants, catch up with … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Careers, Nostalgia, Research, Students, Teaching, The ageing process, The profession of science
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In which normal life flickers just ’round the corner
Today on a neighbourhood walk with my son, blustery and cold with a few flecks of rain, we passed a window that still had a faded child-drawn rainbow and the advice to “stay safe”. It struck me as rather quaint, … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Epidemics, Research, The profession of science, Work/life balance
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In which we near end-game
January and February are always my least favorite months, but I can’t remember a winter when I longed for spring as desperately as this one. It’s the pandemic, of course, which has sucked the world dry of what little joy … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic bliss, Epidemics, Gardening, Joshua, Work/life balance
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In which life imitates art, and an epidemic leaps off the page
In mid-November, a journalist from BBC Southeast contacted me about a perplexing rise in COVID-positive cases in the nearby borough of Swale, a mainly rural part of Kent known for its fruit orchards, beer hops and vast areas of marshland … Continue reading
Posted in Epidemics, LabLit, science funding, The profession of science, Writing
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In which winter sets in
Although winter has not yet formally begun, this is the time of year when the darkness stretches ahead into infinity. In the face of this, the prospect of brighter days, of snowdrops and crocuses pushing up from the bare earth, … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic bliss, Epidemics, Gardening
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