I write this as I wait outside my toddler’s summer preschool. It’s the same routine every day — I drop her, she wails, I leave. Later, the teacher reassures me that she’s completely fine as soon as I’m gone.
This is classic separation anxiety. I am overcome by guilt. Continue reading
A few weeks ago, I took my first sick day for the year. I was mentally and physically exhausted: disheartened by delays and failures in the laboratory, and constantly bad-tempered from headaches and stress. I started staying up late. I stopped exercising and gave up my hobbies. I ignored my friends, partner and family, irritated by the distractions they presented. I prioritized work to the extent that I became miserable and unproductive, existing on bad coffee and fast food.
I was not alone. Continue reading
We’re launching our annual journalism competition, to cover our flagship career fair in London on October 4th, 2017. Continue reading
By Beth Kenkel
This condensed social media guide for scientists provides key facts about how researchers report using social media and concrete examples of how you can use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to network, exchange scientific ideas, or advance a career. This is an all ages guide designed for scientists at any career stage.
{credit}Nature 548, 117–121 (03 August 2017) {/credit}
As my recent Technology Feature made clear, the technology to synthesize large genomes is advancing at a remarkable pace. So too are technologies for wiring genetic circuits to endow those genomes with novel properties. In the 3 August issue of Nature, researchers at Arizona State University in Tempe describe a new technology to do just that.
Synthetic biologist Alexander Green of the Biodesign Institute at ASU, and colleagues, describe simple ‘ribocomputing devices‘ that can function as logical AND, OR, and NOT gates — circuit building blocks that control the translation of a reporter gene based on the presence one or more small input RNAs. As those inputs can reflect exposure to different environmental agents or stimuli, the system could serve as a kind of biological sensor.
Good management can make an enormous difference in the success and productivity of any team. Unfortunately, new managers are rarely chosen because they have demonstrated skill at managing people. After 10-15 years of training, many scientists will be expected to run an academic lab or manage a team outside of academia with little experience and almost certainly no formal training. The kind of smarts and the types of skills that it takes to be a good scientist are not the same ones it takes to be a competent manager (much less a really good one). While getting your PhD or doing a postdoc, few science trainees have opportunities to work on their emotional intelligence or to hone their delegation skills.
So what makes a good manager? First, it takes an open mind willing to learn and develop skills. Managing a team is hard and scientists should reject the myth that “it comes naturally” to some. Most good managers have worked hard to learn principles of good management and they continually build their skill set with experience and trying new tactics. Second, being a good manager requires a focus on the goals. I believe the most important goals are to get a lot of stuff done, to produce excellent quality work and to create a team culture that provides a happy work environment. The first two goals may be obvious, but why the third? Happy people get more done and do better work and a positive culture attracts good people.
Here are three areas to work on.
{credit}Wu Li; addgene{/credit}
A recent cancer research symposium displayed a familiar asymmetry. 90% of the attendees were PhD students or postdocs sitting obsequiously in the rear and asking 10% of the questions. 10% of the attendees were front-sitting faculty providing 90% of the inquiries.
A simple case of youthful hesitancy and opaque presentations requiring years of experience to comprehend? But did individual Principal Investigators (PIs) meet with conference planners before advising their students to attend? Did conference planners consider the likely audience and ask speakers to modify their talks? And did faculty members attend the related trainee poster session?
Are junior scientists little more than human pipettes?{credit}Paper Boat Creative/Getty{/credit}
A wide range of initiatives exist to help early career researchers achieve their goals, but there are practical challenges and difficult decisions to make along the way.In this podcast we hear from Burcu Anil Kirmizitas, who describes the struggle to find affordable housing for her and her family in three of the world’s most expensive cities. We also hear from Ibukun Akinrinade, a neuroscience PhD student at the Gulbenkian Institute of Science in Oerias, Portugal. Ibukun needed to access training that was not available in her home country of Nigeria and had to leave her husband and young son behind. This month’s career expert is James Gould, Director for the Office for Postdoctoral Fellows at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine. James answers a question about transferable skills from Simon Peyda, a research assistant at the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. Submit your question to the Naturejobs editor here.
Guest contributor Maria Wheeler-Dubas
The average American does not personally know a scientist, which leaves their opinions of science open to the mercy of pop culture and political pundits. In spite of this concern, one thing that has been greatly encouraging to see in the scientific community is the rise in discussion of STEM outreach. More and more scientists are recognizing science engagement as a way to break stereotypes, have a broader impact with their work, and manage sceptics of tax-funded grants—which is fantastic. However, an important part of the discussion that has been missing is how to go about getting involved in meaningful outreach. How can a research scientist maximize the use of what little time for outreach they might have? Here is what I’ve learnt as Science Outreach Coordinator. Continue reading
Funding agencies should not penalize poor performers; instead they should reward good mentorship, says Ahmed Alkhateeb
