Category Archives: science

I have a team

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Way back in May 2009, I described how being around a team of fellow grant wranglers from another department made me realise how much I miss being part of a team of peers. In my current job I’m really a team … Continue reading →

Posted in blog buddies, career, grant wrangling, personal, science, Vancouver | 28 Comments

A very retro seminar

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

(now that Big Complicated Grant has progressed to the next stage and I can draw breath again, let’s see if I can remember how to write about anything other than hockey!) I believe I’ve mentioned in the past that I … Continue reading →

Posted in cancer research, career, evolution, genomics, original research, science, technology | 5 Comments

Radical reform of peer review and research support, or rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic?

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

OR More on the proposed reforms at the CIHR, which I first blogged about last month after taking my first look at the discussion document they published. I’ve since read the document in much greater detail, and also attended an … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, career, grant wrangling, politics, science | 6 Comments

That’s a new one

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Also seen: “five hundred thousand cells”; “fifty micrograms”; “forty eight hours”. Amazingly enough, I was able to cut the length of the Materials and Methods section by more than twenty one percent >21%.

Posted in career, English language, science, screenshots, silliness | 25 Comments

If George R.R. Martin was a scientist

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

SPOILER ALERT! I’ve tried to be as general as possible, but there may be some very minor spoilers in this post for people who aren’t as far through the A Song of Ice and Fire series as I am (I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, career, communication, embarrassing fan girl, furry friends, publishing, science, silliness, snow | 37 Comments

Could this be…

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

…the most useless list of spellcheck suggestions of all time? (I’m sure a tamarind genome sequence is in the works, somewhere…) …the worst possible weather in which to be running around collecting grant signatures from PIs in three different buildings? … Continue reading →

Posted in career, drunkenness, English language, idiocy, photos, publishing, science, screenshots, silliness, snow, technology, Vancouver | 8 Comments

Never gonna let you down?

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I have somehow managed to retain some semblance of a utopian view of science. I don’t mean to say that I’m blind to its flaws or that I’m not at all cynical about it. But I think I’m less cynical … Continue reading →

Posted in career, cycling, freakishness, idiocy, personal, science, whining | 48 Comments

CIHR: Canada Innovating to Help Review?

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is this country’s major source of government funding for biomedical research – the equivalent of the US NIH. They’ve just released a document describing some proposed changes to their grant mechanism portfolio and … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, career, current affairs, grant wrangling, politics, science | 4 Comments

Designing an online grant submission system?!

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Good for you! Let me help you out! In my four-and-a-bit years as a grant wrangler, I’ve applied to a bewildering array of Canadian and international government and charitable funding agencies. Every organisation has their own system (some even have … Continue reading →

Posted in career, grant wrangling, science, technology | 14 Comments

Lay it on the line

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

As I mentioned way back in 2008, I’m often called upon to write lay abstracts for my department’s grant applications and website, and – less often – for press releases and assorted other documents. This is still one of my … Continue reading →

Posted in career, communication, English language, grant wrangling, science | 12 Comments