Recent Posts

Before Joining a PhD Program

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Deciding to do a PhD is not a trivial matter. Whether you are just considering your options, or you are sure that a PhD is what you want, this article will give you a complete view of what to consider before joining a program, what a PhD is really about, and a few insights into life after a PhD. Here,…

Setting Up A New Lab: PI Perspectives

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Starting a new lab can be a challenging endeavor: there is research to plan, people to manage, and resources to organize. The process from getting a PI position to actually having everything up and running is a long one, and often changes from institution to institution. To offer some insight on the…

Grant Writing for Plant Biologists

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Writing grant proposals is an important part of most scientific careers and yet is also a task for which many early career scientists feel unprepared. Journal articles, in contrast, may write more naturally, having become familiar with their structure and conventions over years of regular reading. But…

Building Your Professional Scientific Network

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A network is defined as "an extended group of people with similar interests or concerns who interact and exchange knowledge for mutual assistance, support, and to increase learning" (Kools & Stoll, 2016). In the era of increasing tools, techniques, and ideas, it is challenging to work in isolation.…

Excitements and Hardships for New PIs in Plant Science

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Starting and running a lab is an exciting and challenging endeavor for any new principal investigator (PI). Being a PI at a university carries the great responsibility of not only doing science, but also mentoring the next-generation of scientists. To provide first-hand insight into the experience of…

You Could Benefit from Read and Publish Agreements in ASPB Journals

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As institutions and funders around the world require authors to publish with journals meeting certain open access standards, authors may feel like their options for journals in which to publish are becoming more limited. However, there’s hope for authors wishing to publish in ASPB’s Plant Physiology…

How Researchers Handle Work-Life Balance

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Work-life balance, especially for careers in science, is more challenging than it sounds. Maintaining a balance between work and life represents a culmination of patience, self-discipline, and boundary-setting. It is common for researchers to suffer from mental health issues due to working significantly…