Why scientists should communicate hope whilst avoiding hype
“Exciting new line of attack for aggressive breast cancer” … Read more
How could universities and funders improve the situation for postdoctoral scientists?
I’ve already written about how PhDs can prepare for and decide whether or not they should pursue a postdoc. Here, I will discuss what more universities and funding agencies should be doing as stakeholders in training and employing researchers. Read more
What should you get from being a postdoc?
You are coming towards the end of your PhD – so what next? There are many options open to you; one obvious one is to apply for a postdoc position. You should think carefully about what you want to do and not just pursue this through inertia. I have supervised many engineering PhDs and some postdocs in my 32 years as an academic. As Head of University College London’s Doctoral School, I oversee the environment and policy for 6000 doctoral candidates and 3200 postdocs. Read more
Taking the stage: #ScientistAtWork photo competition 2018
This picture of Garry Cooper was taken at as he spoke to a crowd of almost 60,000 scientists and supporters, during the March for Science on April 22 2017. It was submitted to Naturejobs as part of the #ScientistAtWork 2018 photo competition. Cooper tells Rebecca Wild about the story behind the picture. Read more
March for Science 2018 gears up
Caroline Weinberg, an organizer for the upcoming march in Washington DC, expects smaller crowds than last year, although she admits her prediction may again be off the mark. “Last we expected 40,000 people, and we got around 100,000,” she says. She adds that most of the marchers in the nation’s capital city were concerned citizens, not practicing researchers. Read more
STEM jobs and gender stereotyping pictured at Davos
Donald Trump’s “America first but not alone” speech at last month’s World Economic Forum meeting in Davos may have hogged the headlines, but the meeting of world leaders was also chosen to launch the largest ever global survey of primary schoolchildren’s career aspirations. Read more
Cristina Lo Celso: Career-changing encounters
Why did you choose a career in academic research rather than medicine? … Read more
The urgent need to recognize and value academic labor
Recently the House of Representatives essentially voted to destroy graduate education in the United States. By taxing tuition waivers as income — and therefore treating their taxable income as two to three times the amount graduate students are actually paid — the Republican tax bill would effectively put graduate study outside of the reach of all but the independently wealthy. While the Senate version of the tax bill does not include this provision, it is far from certain what the final bill after the reconciliation process will look like. Read more
Changes to the U.S. tax code will harm graduate student mobility and career prospects
A recent editorial in Nature described the harm that newly proposed changes to the United States tax code will have on graduate student finances. If passed, these regulations — ostensibly designed to simplify tax calculations — will eliminate benefits previously given to students. Of particular harm to graduate students and the scientific world would be the elimination of the tax-free status of tuition waivers. Read more
Why scientists should communicate science – getting to the heart of the matter
Fake news seems to be a new fact of life. Fake science news, though, is not a new phenomenon. From my background in medical oncology, I’ve seen first-hand the impact of ‘alternative’ scientific fact. Read more