Category Archives: science funding

In which human scientists are losing the battle

Posted on July 25, 2026 by Jennifer Rohn

This is the year that AI in science first began to scare me. (Disclaimer: I’m not talking about machine learning, which is a useful and powerful scientific tool. I’m using the term AI here as shorthand for Large Language Models.) … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, AI, Nostalgia, science funding, Scientific thinking, Staring into the abyss, Students, Teaching, Writing | 4 Comments

In which we watch and wait

Posted on February 22, 2026 by Jennifer Rohn

Precarity is the one constant of academic science. Themes of instability thread themselves through everything we do: experiments that inexplicably cannot be repeated. Once-sound theories that fall into pieces as a result. Job contracts that end after only a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Careers, Research, science funding, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science | Comments Off on In which we watch and wait

In which I dream of escape

Posted on July 14, 2024 by Jennifer Rohn

Sometimes everything just seems too much. As the non-existent summer rolls on – 14C mornings of rain or overcast, wool sweaters taken back out from storage – I find my stress level to be the only thing heating up. As … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Gardening, Research, science funding, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Work/life balance | Comments Off on In which I dream of escape

In which we land

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Jennifer Rohn

Our migration is complete: my lab now has a new home. And for me, a new office space. Numerous studies have scrutinised the effect of environment on work productivity. Anecdotally, I know that my own focus and output are greatly … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Nostalgia, Research, science funding, Scientific papers, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Work/life balance | 1 Comment

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

In which I run aground

Posted on April 18, 2019 by Jennifer Rohn

It’s been a long winter, and the past academic term seemed to stretch on forever, a blur of stress and deadlines punctuated by good news and bad. My lab got another paper accepted, and my outline-stage grant was shortlisted. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Domestic bliss, Gardening, science funding, Staring into the abyss, The ageing process, Work/life balance | 11 Comments

In which we are funded: urinary infection in people with multiple sclerosis

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Jennifer Rohn

I wanted to thank the good folks at the Multiple Sclerosis Society for awarding me an Innovation Grant. With Government funding for research dwindling, life scientists rely increasingly on charities to help us answer the important questions that lead to … Continue reading →

Posted in Research, science funding, The profession of science | 4 Comments

In which I embrace the literature

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Jennifer Rohn

I think I’ve earned a five-minute break. I’ve been working hard to ready myself ahead of a big interview for a significant funding scheme. I’m being subjected to a series of mock interviews, and I’ve been reading as much as … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, science funding, Scientific thinking, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science | Comments Off on In which I embrace the literature

In which I get angry (again): Science, as vital as ever

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Jennifer Rohn

Hopefully most of you have heard about the upcoming campaign that we at Science is Vital are frantically working on. The background can be found in our recent Guardian piece, and the fine details are on our website. But for … Continue reading →

Posted in science funding, Science is Vital | 4 Comments

In which we make do: live from the cash-freeze lab

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Jennifer Rohn

The government loves to tell us scientists how good we are at doing ‘more with less’. Over at the Guardian, I’ve posted yesterday about how the UK’s core research budget is again under threat, with the possibility of up to … Continue reading →

Posted in science funding, The profession of science | 8 Comments