Ok! A of grad school tips!
@AcademicChatter #ScienceTwitter

1) The research question is important. Esp if you want to go into academia, choose a big picture ques! Like my labmate’s “What effect does neural activity have on the BBB?”

(see his paper below on my timeline!!). Rather than “what does X gene do in X disease.” If you’re thinking big picture, you’ll plan experiments in a way that might yield more unexpected, exciting discoveries. And you’ll have greater mental flexibility to follow new findings!

2) Do an experiment until you’re sure that you have a negative or a positive result. This means testing an assay with pos/neg controls before you start manipulating, so that you know it’s a viable assay & you’re sufficiently good at it. I wasted SO much time starting experiments

and then abandoning them when I didn’t see the strong positive result I wanted. You’ll save time and money in the long run if you do things more thoroughly and conclusively! And practice(!!) before you do real the experiment.

3) Don’t be married to your hypotheses!!! Always have

alternate hypotheses in mind, and try to do experiments that test them as you are testing your primary hypothesis. If your primary hypothesis is correct, negating the alternates will make it stronger anyway!

4) Don’t shy away from experiments/analyses that seem complicated.

You can learn anything with time and training! And reading & YouTube . & if it makes more sense, pull in a collaborator to help! You don’t have to learn everything yourself. Bc the first author gets most of the credit, we have a perception that they did all the work. Not true!

5) Ask for help when you need it. And if you haven’t joined a lab yet, join the rotation lab where you feel the most comfortable asking for help. Cannot overstate the importance of helpful colleagues. So grateful to have amazing ones

6) If you think you might want to go into

academia, practice grant-writing! Sometimes you have to seek this out. Ask your PI to read their grants. Ask if you can try writing them yourself and get feedback. It’s an essential skill and one not usually taught well in programs.

7) Build a network! I have loved sci Twitter

for this. Another suggestion is to go to conferences your PI is also going to, so that they can introduce you to other PIs they know. Shoutout to the amazing Barres lab fam whom I have gotten to know this way

8) Reading, thinking, and planning count as work!! You don’t have

to be doing experiments in the lab to be productive. And you will be WAY more efficient if your experiments are better planned. I still have trouble tearing myself away from physical experiments. Do as I say, not as I do

9) Related to the last one - make sure your brain

has time to relax. My best experiment ideas have come while running .

10) Don’t compare yourself to others. Easier said than done. But if two people have different strengths, they might look at each other and see that the other has strengths they lack. Insecurity can turn

into ugly behavior. It’s better to be open about your insecurities and imposter syndrome rather than try to “prove yourself” to others. If they are also insecure, this “proving oneself” can appear mean! Better to bond over both of your insecurities and compliment each other

11) You Are Not Your Experiments. Experiments will fail. Don’t take it personally. Find something to add to your life that’s always rewarding, like science outreach.

12) Be respectful, KIND, helpful. Scientists are human beings & we’re all learning from each other