Double Shelix

How can you use the first year of your postdoctoral research position to set yourself up for long-term success? How do you decide if a postdoc is even right for you? In this episode, Sally and Kayla dive into reasons to do (or not to do) a postdoc, how to find a position, and how to get started. Kayla shares her personal experience and what she wishes all new postdocs would know.

If you or someone you're mentoring is new to writing peer reviewed papers, this episode is for you! Kayla and Sally break down the logistics to get you from blank page to final proofs. We discuss planning out your figures, managing your references, crafting an intro, choosing a journal, navigating coauthor drama, and more.

What should you do if your PI is (really) slow to read your drafts? What actually is a good paper? (Spoiler alert: the conclusions match the data) What's the deal with review papers? Learn from our mistakes and set yourself (or your students/mentees) up for success!

After completing her undergraduate degree, Dr. Moore found herself burdened by substantial student debt, prompting her to address the critical issue of financial sustainability in academia. Through her own journey, she has developed an educational program aimed at empowering students with essential financial literacy skills. Dr. Moore candidly shares her personal experiences while discussing the barriers that student debt presents to budding scientists. 

Moore Wealth
https://www.moorewealth.org/

The Debt Trap
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35175812/

Restructuring academic traineeship, with Dr. Shirley Malcom
http://www.doubleshelix.com/podcast/restructuring-academic-traineeship-with-dr-shirley-malcom

It’s all of our tips for applying to the NSF graduate research fellowship! The National Science Foundation GRFP can fund 3 years of your PhD, and there’s a hidden curriculum for crafting a winning application. Sally and Kayla share their tips for how to prep your application to frame your Broader Impacts and Intellectual Merit in the best possible light.

A well-crafted personal statement can make the difference between aspiration and reality. But what information should you include? What does "personal" really mean? In this episode Kayla and Sally dive into the hidden curriculum of personal statements to empower you when drafting your applications to graduate school, medical school, PhD programs, fellowships, and other exciting opportunities. 

Writing tips book: 

Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers by Mimi Zeiger

Letters of Recommendation Episode

http://www.doubleshelix.com/podcast/letters-of-recommendation-skill-share

Next Level Mentorship Episode

http://www.doubleshelix.com/podcast/next-level-mentorship-for-mentors-and-mentees-with-julea-vlassakis

You won’t get everything you apply for - and that’s ok! In this episode Kayla and Sally dive into some of their biggest fails, rejections, and misses. We go through what we learned and how you can learn from our failures. Kayla shares hard-earned lessons from her (innumerable) application journeys as well as how to create a Rejection Ritual to quickly move on to the next opportunity. If LinkedIn is our professional highlight reel, this episode is the bloopers! 

Join Sally and Kayla as they explore the role of patient advocacy in biomedical research with Kevin Fowler, consultant and owner of "The Voice of the Patient."  Kevin shares insights on what patients want to know and how you can get involved in patient advocacy to drive meaningful change in healthcare related research. 

Kevin Fowler on Twitter: @gratefull080504

Celeste Castillo Lee (with internal links to her work)

https://www.rsnhope.org/loris-lines/remembering-celeste-castillo-lee/

Renowned public servant Dr. Shirley Malcom joins Kayla and Sally to discuss the challenges facing graduate students and postdocs during traineeship. We discuss structural barriers keeping trainees in underpaid roles and keeping out those who cannot afford to stay in such roles. Importantly, we consider how universities and funding agencies can perpetuate (or can act to stop!) toxic training environments. How can students and postdocs thrive in a system that's not designed for them? There are no easy answers, but it makes for an important, fascinating conversation!

Dr Malcom is a pioneer in advancing STEMM equity, with four decades of experience working on science and technology equity initiatives, including as an advisor to the National Science Foundation and to President Clinton. In her current role as leader of the SEA Change initiative at AAAS, her team is seeking to "effect sustainable change with regard to diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEMM at U.S. institutions of higher education." 

SEA Change initiative: link 

https://seachange.aaas.org/

Dr. Malcom's recent op ed in Science: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh0336

When Dr. Chrissy Stachl realized that her department's culture needed  an overhaul,  she turned the challenge into her thesis and a consulting career.  Using an evidenced-based approach,  Chrissy now helps universities and businesses find and implement pragmatic solutions to improve equity and inclusion.  Chrissy shares her experiences in developing survey and analysis methods, publishing her findings, and starting her business. She also shares tips for building an inclusive departmental culture.

Notes

https://www.reflectingequity.com/resources

Publications mentioned:

https://elifesciences.org/articles/71583

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscentsci.1c00491

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.1c01305

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00163

https://www.reflectingequity.com/resources

Preparing to apply for industry jobs but have no idea what to expect? In this episode, Sally shares her personal experience and practical advice about finding a job in industry such as how to ace a phone screen and what even is a “hiring manager.” She spent 8 pandemic months looking for her first post-PhD role so you don’t have to! In addition to going deep into her biggest job hunt heartbreaks, Sally reads some poetry she wrote about her job hunt journey - enjoy!

Plenty of PhDs go into consulting after graduation, but what do consultants actually do? Dr. Jessica Vargas from Exponent joins Kayla and Sally to discuss her journey from chemistry PhD to technical consultant. We chat about her grad school exit strategy and her transition from individual contributor to manager. We also address the most pressing questions such as... how many hours do consultants really work? We are stoked to share Jess’s story with you all, and her team is hiring - search for polymer or analytical chemistry roles in Exponent’s Menlo Park location! https://www.exponent.com/careers

Sally and Kayla welcome Dr. Serah Kang to discuss her experience applying for academic postdoc positions and industry roles. After completing her PhD, Serah spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Gladstone Institute and now is a senior scientist at Genetech. Serah also discusses how her applications and job decisions were impacted by transhood and how employers can attract and support trans scientists. This is the first in a new series about finding your path after getting your PhD! Stay tuned!! 

Caring for a new baby is a full-time job - and then some! In this episode, Sally and Kayla share their experience with parental leave and returning to work after the birth of their kiddos. This is a followup to our “Pregnancy in Graduate School” episode and is a must-listen for anyone thinking about becoming a parent or anyone wanting to be a better colleague or supervisor to (potential) new parents. We also discuss how institutional parental leave policies can support parents in STEM and the potential benefits of doing so. 

• Interviewing while pregnant or pumping - practical advice for making it work 
• University parental leave policies  -  discusses the value of accessible parental leave policies for graduate students and postdocs
• Pregnantscholar.org - generally useful resource for learning your Title IX rights and generating Title IX compliant policies for your university 
• Great water bottle for breastfeeding parents 

Is grad school the “right time” to have a baby? What is it like to be pregnant while working in a lab? How should you interact with your pregnant colleagues? In this episode, Sally and Kayla share their experiences and discuss what institutions can do to support pregnant students and student parents.