Tag Archives: creative writing

Book Smart

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It’s hard sometimes to tell the full story about your research – its implications and impact, its repercussions and significance – in a single manuscript.

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You may have lots more to say about your discipline or field, too. Why not write a book? It isn’t easy, but it is rewarding to tell your story to a broader audience than manuscript editors and journal subscribers. And while you’re not likely to get rich from your book, you may find that it presents you with new opportunities – to raise your profile, to collaborate, to develop a novel project. Continue reading →

Boston Career Expo journalist competition winner: Scott Chimileski

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{credit}Roberto Fernández Crespo {/credit}

Scott Chimileski is a PhD candidate in Genetics at the University of Connecticut. Scott studies biofilms, extracellular DNA, and gene transfer in extremophilic archaea. He is interested in all forms of interaction between microbes and promotes the field of social microbiology on his blog, Animalcule. He is passionate about photography and the connection between art and science. In the summer, Scott likes to backpack through remote wilderness with his sister Lindsay and brothers Andrew and Brock.

You are given a million dollars to launch your favourite scientific business idea. What is it, and what would you do with the money?

Imagine, an army of microbes, all on your side!

Do you brush your teeth after breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Floss? Mouthwash? The fact is, no matter how good your habits are, there are around six billion microorganisms living in your mouth, including hundreds of different species of bacteria and some archaea. These tiny but powerful cells stick together in communities called biofilms. Very few of them are harmful, after all they’ve been with us as long as we’ve been human. It’s not just your mouth, the entire Earth is managed by microbes.

Six-Billion Gum embraces the microbial community. Our approach is built upon cutting edge science from the Human Microbiome Project, but our motto is age-old: “if you can’t beat them, join them!” Six-Billion Gum is infused with prebiotic and probiotic factors designed not to kill all bacteria, but to enlist groups of microbes found in healthy mouths to fight against the bad guys–the ones that cause cavities or give you bad breath. Continue reading →

Boston Career Expo Journalist competition runner-up: William Kenkel

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{credit}Pat Lothien {/credit}

Will Kenkel received his PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His research has focused on the neuropeptide oxytocin and its roles in social behavior and development. In Chicago, Will was a performer at various improv theatres and founding member of the Nerdologues, who combine high reference comedy with heartfelt personal monologues.

A penguin walks through that door right now wearing a sombrero. What does she say and why is he here?

My eyes were all over her the minute she walked through that door.  As she waddled over to the bar, I could just barely make out a pair of ebony eyes from under her sombrero that looked right through me.

“Buy me a drink,” she squawked.

I obliged, telling the barkeep to mix up a canelazo. She seemed pleased with the selection.

“Are you a mind reader?” she asked as she took her first sip.

“Not quite,” I replied, “I just imagined a Galapagos Penguin would appreciate a taste of home.”

“What gave me away?”

I took a swig of my dark-and-stormy, “I’d be lying if I didn’t say the hat, but the flippers helped.” Continue reading →

Boston Career Expo Journalist competition runner-up: Casey Doucette

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{credit}Victoria DeMambro{/credit}

Casey Doucette is a PhD candidate at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute. She studies bone biology and chronicles her time in graduate school on her blog, Bonehead Adventures. In her spare time she enjoys playing dodgeball, obstacle course racing, and gardening.

A penguin walks through that door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why is he here?

Penguin Paradox

A 4-foot penguin just walked through the door wearing a sombrero, which is unsurprising considering that I have only had 3 hours of sleep in the past 24 hours. I begin to wonder if I’m hallucinating; perhaps the combination of sleep deprivation and caffeine overload has finally taken its toll.

My new companion warns me to get some rest before I destroy the experiments I’ve been working on for the past two days, but I can’t say that I fully trust his advice, seeing as he’s a talking penguin. Maybe he’s a figment of my imagination; an attempt by my subconscious to convince me that this “one last piece” of data for the abstract won’t make the difference between a poster and an oral presentation.

I start to daydream about the scientific breakthrough that must be behind a talking penguin, only to realise that I’ve lost my place on the 96-well plate I’ve been staring at for the past five minutes. The maze of columns and rows has melted into one giant black hole of reagents and samples. Luckily, my compulsive nature means that my tip box has been keeping track of my progress while I’ve been zoning out. The soothing classical music that’s been playing for the past few hours isn’t helping in this fight for focus, so I switch to something more upbeat.

Since lyrics are distracting, dubstep is essentially the only other option. The synthesised sounds blend together to form an energising mix of futuristic notes and fast-paced beats, and I’m motivated once again. After a flurry of pipetting, the plate is finished and it’s time for incubation; I look up to find that apparently this talking penguin is also a talented dancer. His robotic dance moves are hypnotic, and I find myself staring off into space once again, wondering how I could go about creating talking rodents.

I’m yanked back to reality by the sound of a timer going off, only to realise that I’ve fallen asleep at the bench. My penguin friend has disappeared and I’m relieved to find that this was all just a dream. I decide that I should go home and rest, so I pack up my things and close up shop, barely noticing the sombrero hanging from the door handle as I leave.

Find out more about the conference delegates, exhibitors and workshop sessions at the Naturejobs Career Expo in Boston here, and you can follow the action on Twitter using the #NJCEBoston hashtag.