...recognize their MANY transferable skills learned while working in the lab and offering advice on areas where you...using creative problem-solving in the lab   Thinking Outside the Box: Individual Approaches Whether...something tangible and applicable to your situation.   Thinking Outside the Box: Team Approaches At some point...same problem. If your lab/company/team is still working towards a culture of encouraging dissent, the next...nine enemies that stand in the way of creative thinking. I won’t go through all nine here, but I’ll discuss...longest tenure, but don’t let that stop you from speaking up.  If your ideas are not well received, understand...work stalls. We become so fixated with the idea of making something the best it can be that it seems impossible...

...back out when you are looking to change positions in the future. Anyone looking for work in today’s job...researchers do learn MANY transferable skills while working in the lab and by offering advice on areas where...student or postdoc forever, and you need to be thinking about what comes next. To that end, one of the...for your career is to expose yourself to other working professionals, and one way to do this is to attend...and connections are how you get jobs! Job fairs Speaking of jobs, it seems like an obviously important ...conference, job fairs bring you face-to-face with working professionals, with the added benefit that most...larger meetings offering resources for students seeking employment within industry or academia; although...

...cells. These cells produce inflammatory cytokines - interleukin (IL)-12 and interferon gamma (IFNγ) - and...help escape immuno-surveillance, and curb cytokine and chemokine production in the tumor microenvironment...their microenvironment by producing C-C motif chemokine 22 (CCL22) and TGFβ. T-regs are suppressive immune...tolerance beyond direct proximity to the tumor; chemokine-aided activation of APCs produces modified dendritic...cancer. Surgical removal causes increases in tumor cytokines like TGFβ and IL-6. However, when strengthened...pathway, VEGF production, and CTLA4 and CD protein blocking. Other molecular targets under research include...response. Antibodies targeting the tumor-augmenting cytokines produced in the tumor microenvironment TGFβ, IL...

...discovered that many of my old suitemates stopped talking to each other if I was not there to arbitrate for...lead to hurt feelings, low morale, poor decision making, and stalled projects. You want to identify and...experiments to address a reviewer’s concerns, you are making your hypothesis stronger. When you share data at...miscommunications in the future. Assumptions: Making incorrect assumptions can be a direct cause or ...or consequence of lapsed communication. Making some assumptions about how something should be communicated...know that a person or team should be involved in making a decision and you see no record of their input... an eye out for the phrase “I assumed they were taking care of that”, because that can indicate confusion...

...addition, it’s really asking a lot of someone to be comfortable on camera while thinking about things like...Science Video Production Specialist, I’m constantly thinking about ways to improve our productions to deliver...we developed a great plan to start consistently knocking out high-quality videos for you all. The next ...products or methods, using metrics and feedback, taking a look at what works and what doesn’t, and trying...Design-Build-Test-Learn cycle adapted for video making.   Cycle One: The Ironing Board Control Center...Center With the pandemic in full swing and everyone working from home, how were we going to film anything? ... prove to be difficult. Shipping the gear, and walking everyone through the recording process was going...

...affinity for glutamate but slower kinetics; v857 has faster kinetics but lower affinity) and with a variety...with the end of year approaching. We’re always looking for something to brighten our day, whether it’s... Glutamate indicators with improved activation kinetics and localization for imaging synaptic transmission...microscopy. The resulting JEDI-2P has faster response kinetics and increased brightness, sensitivity, and photostability...pYtags illuminate RTK signaling Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are a major class of signaling receptors...spatiotemporal measurements of receptor tyrosine kinase signaling in living cells. bioRxiv 2022.08.13.503850... al. 2022). iGECInano displays better response kinetics and photochemical characteristics than previous...

...wise to start working on these skills. Neuroscientists use lots of cool tools While walking around the exhibition...discuss their VR helmets, gait tracking technologies, and brain monitors. Walking around the poster presentation...Neuroscience covers many subfields When I first began looking into the details of SfN17, I expected that almost... mathematical know-how for analysis. If you’re looking to get into neuroscience and you don’t have a background...neuroscience but are afraid you don’t have the right kind of biological expertise to get into the field, there...experiments. This helped reinforce our goals of making more AAVs and educational content to help researchers... suggest a plasmid to us, request that we start making the AAV, or help us produce new educational content...

...collision that’s taking place between CRISPR technology and synthetic biology, the tools he’s making available.... Addgene: Is this what you are working on now? Voigt: We are working on this now, we have ideas, but ...Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been “working on new experimental and theoretical methods to ...large as natural regulatory networks. Addgene: What kinds of things could we do as genetic circuits become... been putting together very large toolboxes and making them available. We’ll also be submitting parts ...objective is to give people the complete toolbox for taking on very large genetic engineering projects. Addgene...you want. The last few years, we’ve really been making tons of parts and characterizing the software to...

...and foreign nationals working in the life sciences community obtain their working visas, permanent resident...national researchers and entrepreneurs who are looking to continue their careers in the United States....we get elected to Congress, we are tasked with working with US immigration in its current state. As of...discussed in this post benefit from the applicant thinking about the process early, keeping good records,...trained scientist. If the candidate is ultimately looking for a role in a different functional area, then...received sponsorship) then he or she can start working in October of the same year. The Industry H-1B ...of US government grants that the researcher is working under in the lab or has won, awards, media reports...

...expression. Transgenic and knockin mice As the name suggests, transgenic and knockin mice contain an additional...Conditional knockouts or knockins A subset of transgenic mice, conditional knockout/knockin mice, use the Cre-lox...terminology you should be familiar with before working with mouse models, several common techniques used...construct incorporated randomly into the genome, knockin mice have the gene construct inserted at a specific...DNA randomly into the mouse genome. In contrast, knockin strains are generated via homologous recombination...breaks, such as ZFN and TALEN, can used to engineer knockin mice. Co-injection of a targeting vector containing...based systems have been developed for generating knockin mice but because CRISPR/Cas9 engineering favors...

...useful advice about what reviewers in your area are looking for. Remember though, you need to leave them time...The two most important things reviewers will be looking for in your research proposal are originality and...provide different insight into an area - not just working within the established network of your peers. Furthermore...techniques and interact with new people. If you are looking to move to a different university, perhaps in a...re staying in the same lab where you have been working for the last few years, you need to be very clear...Building Your Scientific Network? Check out Our Networking for Scientists Series 4. Become a science communicator...communicator More and more fellowship applications are asking for a 200-300 word explanation of your research...

...before you start. Also, avoid unnecessary talking because talking generates microbe-laden aerosols that may...that can be used as your working stock. This way you can go through your working stock vial by vial before.... UV light exposure is also harmful for eyes and skin so keep the light off when the hood is in use. Wipe...wiped with 70% ethanol immediately. Finally, avoid sticking pipettes into solution bottles directly, rather...familiar with the morphology of the cell line you’re working with so that cross-contamination can be identified...indicates that the cells have grown enough, are making their surrounding media acidic through the secretion... their original condition and can replace your working stock if it gets too old or contaminated. This ...

...and unknown. In fact, in less than two years of walking away from the bench, I have worked for seven different...the science policy community is the best part of working in this profession. The folks who work in science... mechanisms in place to ensure your effective networking---and they’re more accessible than ever thanks...trajectory. If there’s one thing everyone loves, it’s talking about themselves--so don’t be shy and reach out... toward solving one problem. It often requires thinking about a problem in a new way through the integration... in a government setting: drafting legislation, making rules, and implementing the policy within the jurisdiction...to start your science policy journey.  In fact, working in science policy doesn’t have to be a complete...

...between scientific achievements. I've found cooking, gardening, hiking, and photography to be very satisfying...and running very early on. Once your system is working, you should maximize data production with the end...strengthen your new model?  PFs need to be regularly thinking about manuscripts. The other items will follow...even a relatively simple experiment. However, by taking this time, you can help ensure that you understand... feel like it's too much work, they don't like speaking, they don't feel like they get useful feedback...you give your talk or poster to enough different kinds of audiences and if you pay attention to how the...more fundamental reason to give presentations - networking! People get to know you through your presentations...

... a diverse range of perspectives and sparking innovative thinking that may benefit your current project...In the pursuit of knowledge and groundbreaking discoveries, the world of academia often emphasizes structured...deeply into your chosen field, don't shy away from looking beyond its confines. The beauty of serendipity ...Practical approaches Engaging in mindful meditation, taking field trips, and spending time outdoors in nature.... These unrelated ideas might hold the key to unlocking new perspectives or even revolutionizing your ...that is adaptable, creative, and poised for groundbreaking discoveries. So, on your academic journey, ... the unexpected — it might just be the key to unlocking the next frontier of knowledge. Matteo Tardelli...

...to a few hundred worms, making the detection of rare events difficult. Dickinson et al. sought to create...markers easy to remove after injection, they added flanking loxP sites and a heat-shock inducible Cre to generate...Figure 1: Self-excising cassette schematic from Dickinson et al. (2015). Used with permission from the Genetics...for the targeted gene. After initial testing, Dickinson et al. tested this system across 7 genes in parallel...modification. Figure 2: Schematic from Dickinson et al. (2015) illustrating the steps to fluorescently...Society of America. Applications of this system Dickinson et al. have developed a modular system that requires...with a Self-Excising Drug Selection Cassette. Dickinson DJ, Pani AM, Heppert JK, Higgins CD, Goldstein...

...Regulatory knowledge Networking Blogging Writing Communication Networking Publicity ...space in academic research labs has more students looking for other options. While graduate programs provide...Introduce new perspectives in science and engineering Looking at your research from a broader viewpoint may expose...multiple research studies highlight the importance of taking a break and incorporating EAs into your routine...their required qualifications and skill sets Taking the time to identify and research 2 – 3 potential... a profession sounds interesting, TAKE ACTION! Taking action: Examples of extracurricular activities ...Communication Teamwork Management Leadership Networking University technology transfer office positions...

...Tabor have been working on making E. coli light responsive since 2005, when Tabor was working in Voigt's lab...systems continue to be optimized by Tabor’s lab, making light-controlled gene expression in E. coli easier...two-component systems (TCSs). TCSs consist of a histidine kinase that phosphorylates a response regulator (RR). ...from cyanobacteria to a common E. coli histidine kinase. This hybrid construct senses light, and an obligate... two-component system (TCS). A hybrid histidine kinase/photosensor senses various light inputs, and an...plasmids, with one RR (ompR) encoded chromosomally. Leakiness was also an issue; some promoter activity persisted...with other pathways. They also reduced system leakiness and increased dynamic range to around 100-fold...

...such as BenchSci and FPbase are working hard to enable researchers by making it easier to find information...manuscript. Luckily, many organizations have been working to provide tools that make it easier to share in-depth...quality controlled plasmids and viral vectors. When working with a plasmid from Addgene, you can be confident... about the unreliability of antibodies. IPI is working to address this issue directly by creating well...Electronic lab notebooks also play a role here by making it easier to retain searchable, thorough notes ...techniques, an important component of reproducibility is making sure that others can understand your analyses and...results that conflict with our original hypotheses. Looking for novelty in our stories, we are additionally...

... to exactly what you're asking of your audience and when things aren't working out, adjust the ask.  I...: “cognitive load refers to the used amount of working memory resources. There are three types of cognitive... provide detailed evidence of knowledge new to mankind. And you probably understand how much faster it...read this paper than it would be for an undergrad taking their first upper-level class. Even so, it’s quite...more you use, the higher cognitive load you are asking your audience to take on, just to understand you...If there’s a teacher, mentor, or other educator working with your audience, ask! They are experts in what...fly.  Once you can think about everything you’re asking your learners to do, it becomes a lot easier to...