Category Archives: The profession of science

In which I languish in limbo

You could write an entire PhD thesis about how difficult it is for academics to relax on holiday. (And whoever’s writing it would be lying on the sofa by the Christmas tree right now, fretting about how they really ought … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Domestic bliss, The profession of science, Work/life balance | 2 Comments

In which I dream of escape

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 I make the best of things

Greetings from the tail end of a typical British bank holiday, where the big highlight was gardening in the rain. In all seriousness, it was rather lovely to be out tidying up the flower beds in the fresh air, among … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Careers, Domestic bliss, Gardening, Research, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Work/life balance | Comments Off on In which I make the best of things

In which I dream

Last night I dreamt I was pipetting. It was a beautiful Gilson p200, the classic model of my formative years. The precision instrument felt reassuringly heavy and solid in my right hand. Despite its age, the movements were smooth and … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Careers, Nostalgia, Research, Scientific thinking, The ageing process, The profession of science | Comments Off on In which I dream

In which we land

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 we migrate

After about eight years in residence at the Royal Free Hospital, my itinerant scientific journey is about to embark on its next exciting leg. In a few weeks’ time, my lab is uprooting itself and moving to a new home … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Research, The profession of science | 2 Comments

In which I head into the wind

Sometimes joy and sadness are hard to tease apart – there should be a word for the heavy lightness, or light heaviness, of springtime. This time of year always carries ambivalence: a scrum of flowers unfurl, scenting the air, but … Continue reading

Posted in Careers, Gardening, Research, The profession of science | 1 Comment

In which my lab is a garden

It’s a grey afternoon, the light already fading. R. and I have just done a circuit of the back garden – ‘inspecting the troops’, we call it. The entire space is dishevelled, as it always is this time of year: … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Domestic bliss, Gardening, Research, The profession of science, Work/life balance | Comments Off on In which my lab is a garden

In which we fall

Fireworks crackle in the darkness: yesterday’s Bonfire Night stretching to fill the entire weekend. The torrential rains have given way to an almost full moon, glowing cold-silver in the eastern sky. November is always a positive month, with the cosiness … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Domestic bliss, Gardening, Joshua, Research, Staring into the abyss, Students, Teaching, The profession of science, Work/life balance | 2 Comments

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

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