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.
Category Archives: The profession of science
In which the calm cowers before the storm
Can you hear it? Yes, that’s the sound of a distinct lack of undergraduates knocking around the place. Even the summer lab students have departed, off for a few weeks of R&R or debauchery before the grind kicks back in … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Students, Teaching, The profession of science
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In which I wave in your general direction
Has it really been a few months since my last post? Holidays are only partially to blame: that covers two weeks. Maybe three, if you count the frazzled week finishing up in the lab beforehand, or the frazzled week on … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Domestic bliss, Gardening, Research, The profession of science, Women in science, Work/life balance
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In which the old girl rides again
As you can see, my young apprentice, your experiments have failed. Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational second-hand confocal microscope! My love-affair with second-hand lab equipment continues unabated. Some time ago, our department scored a good … Continue reading
Posted in Kit, Research, The profession of science
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In which work-life balance wobbles
As with most academics, evenings and weekends often provide the extra time I need to stay on top of my workload. I’d rather sacrifice some family time than get behind – because once you’re behind, the anxiety sets in, making … Continue reading
In which I feel a bit too old for this game sometimes
Age is a slippery thing. Most days I still feel like that tentative new PhD student, pulling 80-hour weeks at the University of Washington Health Sciences Center in Seattle. By the red glow of the safelight, I’d feed dusky rectangles … Continue reading
In which fiction infiltrates science
Two years ago I was honored to have been one of the recipients of the Suffrage Science award. Launched in 2011 by the Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre, this program involves heirloom jewelry, originally designed by art students at … Continue reading
Posted in LabLit, The profession of science, Women in science, Writing
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In which we are unlucky: on lab superstitions
I was thinking the other day that if academia were a mental illness, it would be bipolar. One day it treats me well: a student shows me an experiment that shows great promise. I have a spirited chat with a … Continue reading
In which I finally get it: multitasking is evil
It’s a new year, and the academic term has kicked in with renewed vigor. I haven’t written here for a while because I simply didn’t have the mental capacity. I collapsed into the Christmas holidays nearly flattened with exhaustion and … Continue reading
Posted in Academia, Teaching, The profession of science
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In which I lose my tubes, and other manifestations of lab rustiness
When you’re a young scientist, it’s the done thing to poke gentle fun at the lab head for being out of touch. For example, when I was a graduate student, we’d all pretend to be horrified whenever our boss, wearing … Continue reading
In which we are funded: urinary infection in people with multiple sclerosis
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
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