Author Archives: Jennifer Rohn

About Jennifer Rohn

Scientist, novelist, rock chick

In which ‘Lab Lit’ escapes its little box

Posted on June 7, 2022 by Jennifer Rohn

It’s been many moons since I published an article in Nature featuring my graph illustrating the apparent year-on-year increase in frequency of novels with scientists as central characters – or ‘lab lit‘. The trend had looked compelling, but coming from … Continue reading →

Posted in LabLit, Writing | 3 Comments

In which I see the light

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Jennifer Rohn

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 | Comments Off on In which I see the light

In which I imagine a dystopian future

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Jennifer Rohn

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 | Comments Off on In which I imagine a dystopian future

In which I break through

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Jennifer Rohn

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 →

Posted in Epidemics, Media | Comments Off on In which I break through

In which pandemic storm clouds gather – again

Posted on December 12, 2021 by Jennifer Rohn

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 →

Posted in Academia, Domestic bliss, Epidemics, Teaching, The profession of science, Work/life balance | 1 Comment

In which academic dreams come true: a belated professorship

Posted on July 30, 2021 by Jennifer Rohn

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 →

Posted in Academia, Careers, Nostalgia, Research, Staring into the abyss, The ageing process, The profession of science, Women in science | 5 Comments

In which summers shrink

Posted on June 27, 2021 by Jennifer Rohn

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 | Comments Off on In which summers shrink

In which normal life flickers just ’round the corner

Posted on April 10, 2021 by Jennifer Rohn

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 | Comments Off on In which normal life flickers just ’round the corner

In which we near end-game

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Jennifer Rohn

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 | Comments Off on In which we near end-game

In which life imitates art, and an epidemic leaps off the page

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Jennifer Rohn

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 | 5 Comments