tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111876732024-02-19T03:49:59.718-05:00PhytoalchemyPhytoalchemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01026512277188217166noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-39456248905509935472015-06-05T12:19:00.000-04:002015-06-05T12:19:00.733-04:00Scientists, don't talk down to the the public<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
GM mosquitos designed to prevent outbreaks of dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever might be a great idea. <a href="http://e360.yale.edu/feature/genetically_modified_mosquito_sparks_a_controversy_in_florida/2883/" target="_blank">(article here)</a></div>
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And I agree that “Some people don’t want to see GE (genetically engineered) anything,” says entomologist Raymond St. Leger, distinguished university professor at the University of Maryland. “It’s an emotional response. It’s hard to reason people out of a decision they didn’t reason themselves into.”</div>
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BUT when scientists say things like “The anti-GM mosquito, sterile-inse<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">ct people have become a lunatic fringe,” says Miller of UC Riverside. “They have no argument that makes any sense.”</span></div>
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Then I think they've failed everyone and lost the argument. If you can't find common ground, then resorting to name-calling (stupid, uninformed, lunatic) is lazy and incompetent.</div>
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Please scientists, use your intelligence to frame your understanding of science in a way that can make sense to people. Don't be a boor. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-35100569304169307732014-05-08T22:31:00.001-04:002014-05-08T22:31:15.612-04:00Open Letter to the City University of New York<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So it looks like my alma mater - The City University of New York Graduate Center - may restructure the science graduate programs. There's a plan to eliminate the Biology Program from the central Graduate Center and 'send' the PhD programs to the individual campuses. The problem for the Plant Sciences subprogram is that it is currently housed almost exclusively at Lehman College, which cannot at this time give PhD degrees. This would essentially kill a large, vibrant botany PhD program, and leave me feeling orphaned.</span></div>
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I am still gathering information, but some information on the plan can be found in Dr. Small's address at<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/universityfacultysenatecuny/senate-action/conferences-events/the-future-of-doctoral-education-at-cuny-dec-6-2013" target="_blank"> this link</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today I sent this letter to a couple people:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dr. Laurel Eckhart, Executive Officer of the Biology Doctoral Program (<a href="mailto:Leckhardt@gc.cuny.edu">Leckhardt@gc.cuny.edu</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dr. Gillian Small, CUNY Vice Chancellor of Research (<a href="mailto:Gillian.small@mail.cuny.edu">Gillian.small@mail.cuny.edu</a>)</span></div>
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Adjie Henderson, CUNY <span style="font-family: inherit;">Graduate
Dean of Sciences (<a href="mailto:ahenderson@gc.cuny.edu">ahenderson@gc.cuny.edu</a>)</span></div>
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Dear XXXXXX,</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This week I received an appeal letter from Dr. Laurel
Eckhardt on behalf of the CUNY Biology Doctoral Program asking for support for
the Biology doctoral students at CUNY. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am a proud CUNY alumnus, and would love to support the
program, but I have heard rumors about the program that I would like to have
clarified before I can commit any support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is my understanding that the Graduate Center intends to
move the PhD programs from the 365 Fifth Ave to individual CUNY campuses. At
the moment, the Plant Sciences subprogram is essentially housed at Lehman
College. When I was a student (2000-2007), half of the CUNY Plant Science
students were advised by faculty at Lehman, and the other half were mentoring
with adjunct faculty at the New York Botanical Garden.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If Lehman College cannot house a PhD program, then I ask
you: What will happen to the Plant Sciences subprogram? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The CUNY Plant Science subprogram is one of the largest and
most important Botany doctoral programs in the country, and attracts students
from all over the world. The NYBG is the largest botanical research institution
in the country. The program admits not only the most promising botanists in the
world, but also non-traditional students like myself. As a Philosophy
undergraduate, I decided to pursue my PhD several years after graduating
from the University of Wisconsin with a BA. After talking my way into several
doctoral-level classes, I was admitted to the program, granted a Science
Fellowship, and then secured a 5-year F32 individual NRSA from the NIH, which
allowed me to completed my doctoral training with several first-author
publications in top-tier journals. I went on to a successful postdoc at Weill
Cornell Medical College before taking an R&D position with J&J.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am thankful that my thesis advisor (Edward Kennelly) saw
in me the potential to excel, and that the CUNY plant sciences subprogram gave
me the opportunity to achieve in a way that would have been difficult given my
atypical background. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have a great fondness for public education in general ,
and for CUNY specifically. I have always looked forward to the time when I
would be able to give back to the program that helped put me on my career path.
I applaud the efforts to support students that were outlined in the letter I
received. Students need support; without it, I certainly would not have succeeded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But if the program that granted me a PhD is dismantled, I
will feel orphaned and alienated. Until I am sure that the Plant Science
program is secure, I do not feel that I can support my alma mater.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Please feel free to reach out to me at your convenience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Best,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Kurt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-8508380866416241602013-04-30T13:17:00.003-04:002013-04-30T13:26:47.453-04:00Being Settled Can Be Unsettling<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5t05v6SDdab_HSp3zjfSbL3uxFxi4LyD4_EIr_3EIbGty_CIZqZKNRKDLcrqXMu0jGtrtXsa89-vIiqUohksvjDZx3_5_NDlRXUjdQ7TURFHVIWm6Hvzovj7KP2bmNaZ_XUE/s1600/945579_4868328148141_540751864_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5t05v6SDdab_HSp3zjfSbL3uxFxi4LyD4_EIr_3EIbGty_CIZqZKNRKDLcrqXMu0jGtrtXsa89-vIiqUohksvjDZx3_5_NDlRXUjdQ7TURFHVIWm6Hvzovj7KP2bmNaZ_XUE/s320/945579_4868328148141_540751864_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A recent find while hiking in tropical Central America</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have one lab bench that's always a bit messy. Dirty. And I mean dirty. But not dirt, per se. An old greenhouse manager friend would scoff and call it "soil." Anyway, this particular corner of my lab has some makeshift supports thrown together to support some fluorescent light arrangements for starting seeds and nurturing along various tropical plants that make it into my lab during the cold months. It's one of the joys of being a natural products chemist and having my own lab.<br />
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Some 15 years ago, I went to talk to Michael Balick at the NYBG when I was thinking about going back to school to study Ethnobotany. I told him what I was thinking about, and I think he was looking for all kinds of ways to discourage me from the field. One question he did ask that has stuck with me was, "Imagine yourself in 10-15 years, and where you'd like to be working and what you could see yourself doing."<br />
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Interestingly, my first though was that I wanted to have a lab and greenhouses and gardens.<br />
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I had decided that I wanted to study Ethnobotany because I loved plants, the tropics, and was fascinated by the use of plant chemistry. Later as I got into school, I came to realize that I was less keen on being an anthropologist. Around the same time, I became a father and got an NIH award for a phytochemisty project - both those things made it harder to take of for months at a time to the forests of the Western Ghats (where I wanted to do fieldwork). And so that secured my place behind the bench, running columns, HPLC, doing MS/MS experiments, and trying to get the best shim out of our 300 MHz NMR so that I could try to get carbons on a couple mgs of sample.<br />
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But I also worked in the greenhouse as a grad student. I think about Balick's question at the time, but I had my lab and my greenhouse. And many years later, after a molecular pharmacology postdoc, I've got my industry job as a phytochemist. I like to say I'm the only botanist in the company. And one of the few who might claim some sort of natural products chemistry background. And again I have my own lab (I wish I had postdocs or other help) and a large garden plot on site. No greenhouse (yet), but I do have lights set<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRdNBGCBN2UXeN8ZPp8lgSMm9g23TIadcDaENd3beyMzq2Q_6t0obcLJdlwq87hs6m-JSJ4lx56cjJ6PNyTAnGXAEYPCIhmhxgjlO9VZAy261wfl9wvkXqkAEfnH-h0vQ9QbPP/s1600/921349_4868325908085_122143611_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRdNBGCBN2UXeN8ZPp8lgSMm9g23TIadcDaENd3beyMzq2Q_6t0obcLJdlwq87hs6m-JSJ4lx56cjJ6PNyTAnGXAEYPCIhmhxgjlO9VZAy261wfl9wvkXqkAEfnH-h0vQ9QbPP/s320/921349_4868325908085_122143611_o.jpg" width="320" /></a>up in my lab to start seeds and keep some tropical plants happy through the winter months. A little soil on the counter top of one bench isn't going to bother anyone but me, after all.<br />
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So here I am, with what should be a dream job. And in a lot of ways it is. But there's still something unsettling about being "settled" for me. My wanderlust is always there, the attraction to the field, the place where all that botany and chemistry originates. It's the set and setting that makes the magic of science come to life, I think.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-50058715022432818592013-03-11T23:04:00.000-04:002013-03-11T23:09:54.034-04:00Cheminformatics, here I comeSo as a phytochemist, what I tend to do is make an extract (usually solvent-based) of a plant, and then follow some sort of bioactivity-guided fractionation to get to pure bioactive compounds. Then I figure out chemical identity (dereplication) or the chemical structure (elucidation) using PDA, MS, NMR, etc...<br />
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The first question when doing this sort of work is: where to start? What plant to pick? There's lots of ways to go about that, and I won't get into it here... (traditional medicine, ethnobotany, chemotaxonomy, pharmacology, biochemistry, a hunch, etc.) Basically, I've done all that and now I'm going to try attacking it from a slightly different angle. Or maybe I'm going to use those same approaches, but try and automate it a little by farming some of the work out to my computer rather than rely solely on my own brain.</div>
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Informatics!</div>
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So I'm trying to teach myself new computer programs, and digging into the Web to find new resources. Virtual screening, protein modeling, docking, databases of virtual compounds... sounds so futuristic. But the term was coined in the early 1990s. Hmm... </div>
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We'll see where this goes. At some point, maybe I'll talk about the programs I've started using. Right now I'm not at a place to pass judgement. Feel free to leave any comments on tutorials, programs, etc.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-9895334081785542342013-03-06T22:50:00.001-05:002013-03-06T22:50:20.612-05:00You knew that when you contacted meI get a lot of invitations to connect via LinkedIn from people I don't know. <Delete> But sometimes there's a personal message that encourages me to take a closer look. So a couple weeks ago, I got one that included some remarks about my impressive research record on a particular plant and mention of "working with" someone I know and respect. Looking at his profile, I saw that he has some business exporting medicinal plants from Brazil. This seemed remarkable to me, since it is notoriously difficult to take genetic resources of any kind out of Brazil, except perhaps for general commodities. I was intrigued to hear a little bit more about how he's managed to negotiate CBD international treaties and work in Brazil...<br />
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So I accepted his invitation, and he sent me another email describing an interest in a fruit that I had studied. I had published a paper or tow on the phytochemistry of this fruit, and he wanted to talk to me about it. OK, why not..? The last time I followed up on a query like that, I'd gotten some delicious juice and jam made from the fruit in question from someone who was grateful for some information (he was starting a company marketing products from a related fruit.)<br />
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So I found a time when I was free and called him up to see what it was he wanted. I thought he had some questions about the beneficial phytochemistry. But it seemed more like he just wanted to talk about the fruit, and never really got around to asking any questions. Mostly, he told me about what he was working on, which was totally unrelated to my current research interests.When I tried to ask him about how he managed his agreements to collect and "sustainably harvest" material from Brazil, I got some vague answers about knowing everyone and having worked there for decades. It's not the sort of guarantee I would rely on if I was afraid of biopiracy claims.<br />
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It took a while, but I managed to eventually get off the phone. He wanted to send me some samples "to test," even though I know it wouldn't go anywhere in my current program, and I lately I've been a stickler for making sure any plant material that goes into my research needs to be verified as ethically sourced.<br />
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Anyway, I wasn't surprised when I never got a package, but I was a little surprised today when I got another email, and he makes it sound as if I'm some back-handed evil monster. I didn't even want his wingnut crap.<br />
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From his email:<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I'm very concerned about dealing with 'Big Guy's" for fear of being scooped up and piled on the heap of entrepreneurial road kill once a large multi national get's their hands on people like me. Nothing personal, but I have spent 20+ years doing what I do and about to launch a product in a week and clinical trials soon after.</span><br />
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Ouch, dude. It is sorta personal. You came to me, sought me out, and used one of my mentor's names to get me to respond. And then you make it seem like I'm trying to gobble up your precious invention. Um, OK. I guess we can all breath a sigh of relief now.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-63680450886057792712013-03-06T11:37:00.000-05:002013-03-06T11:37:15.652-05:00SciFinder playing some Natural Products love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's Part 2, featuring <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;">Dr. Gordon Cragg, former Chief of the National Cancer Institute Natural Products Branch.</span></span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-41105231189557987832013-02-27T09:43:00.001-05:002013-02-27T09:43:58.472-05:00Scifinder highlights Natural Products Chemistry in short video<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So if it's true that "Natural Products ... are big business," then why has Big Pharma canned all their natural products programs?</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-66681353049006953222011-08-09T18:04:00.004-04:002011-08-09T18:11:15.670-04:00Life Beyond Academia<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> 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font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">So wrapped up in my new life. I originally wrote this post back in March when I first started the new job, but then I thought I’d finish it up… And the next thing you know, months have gone by.
<br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Change is good. Generally I've embraced that, but as we get older and more set in our ways, it gets harder... But now I'm plunging headlong into all kinds of change. It makes me smile, to tell the truth. It feels good, even though it feels like this sort of change is so much more drastic now - it's not just about me anymore...</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">In January, I was hitting the 4-year mark on a somewhat productive postdoc. Having "grown up" through the academic ranks, I was actually feeling like I was finally overcoming a stagnation in my research, and was making some interesting inroads. I had funding and got along well with my PI and collaborators, but was certainly becoming disillusioned by the academic prospects. If you read earlier posts, you'll get a sense of this, I'm sure. And then a job opening came my way via a friend in the field. Good timing.</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I got the offer, and took the job, and now I'm working in a large company. One of the biggest, in fact. And I've left cancer pharmacology to work on "products." I never imagined that in a million years. And even writing those words is a bit hard. I'm altruistic, idealistic, and against gross consumerism. I want to do good, I dream of anarchist utopias. And now I'm working for the man. And yet, nothing about it feels like "selling out." Is that another indicator that I'm getting old, caving on my principles? I really don't think so. I still feel like me. And I honestly think that they hired me so I could continue to be me. I stepped into this whole thing feeling pretty blind. When people asked me what I’d be doing, I honestly had to say I really didn’t know. During the interview, when I asked what I’d be doing day-to-day, I got a long non-specific answer that basically meant, “We want you to come here and be a part of the team. And you’re smart enough to figure out what you have to offer.”</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">I never knew that consumer products could be so science-driven. R&D really rocks it here, bringing new ideas to the rest of the company. And the science is real. Not fake claims just for labels. There is a real desire to be able to stand behind the efficacy and safety.
<br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">And the thing that has been really great is seeing how crucial it is that everyone is collaborative. And the ability to think in multiple ways, to be an interdisciplinarian make sense. Unlike academia, you can’t simply hide out in your own lab, working diligently away at your own project, ignoring everyone else, with an eye to papers, funding, and building your own personal empire of postdocs, students, and technicians. You won’t get anywhere in industry that way. What a relief!
<br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">Now it seems to me that the academy doesn't actually practice all that it preaches when it comes to things like research freedoms, the importance of multidisciplinary scientists, appreciation of radical thinking, etc. And industry (at least the company where I am) sees these things as vital to growth, innovation, and success. I’ve been a bench scientist for the last 11 years. Hands-on experimentalist. If I want to isolate a compound, figure out the chemical structure, work out the botanical chemotaxonomy, or see how a cancer cell responds to that compound, I essentially had only myself to rely on to get that work done. Now, if I can’t find someone on the team to help with a problem, then I look outside. And we can collaborate with anyone…
<br /></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing">So far so good. I am getting to be a scientist in all sorts of ways, and I have to apply things I've learned in other parts of my life. It makes it seriously challenging and quite varied and more fun than I ever expected... Anyway, those are my impressions for now. More to come. </p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"> </p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-74076185295586597382011-05-19T22:03:00.001-04:002011-07-27T13:00:36.750-04:00An aromatic progression of flowering trees of NYC<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br /></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">The blossoms of the early spring flowering trees - ash, maple, oak - are wind pollenated, and have no discernible scent; they release tons of pollen - and when inhaled by people, creates an immune response that leaves many miserable... until the spring rains wash it all away. The next batch of flowering trees are the "seminiferous" Rosaceae. Pears, crabs, cherries and other trees of the rose family are unfortunately not endowed with the lovely character of the traditional rose. Smelling like spunk, they bloom around the same time as the magnolias, which have an ancient terpenoid fragrance - not unpleasant, but not inspiring. Pretty soon the lilacs, which are really a shrub, fill the air with the scent of grandma. It's delicate & old-fashioned. Then, after the abundant spring rains, the sun comes out and the days heat up. That's when the black locust trees explode with cascading displays of white, pendulous curls of flower. The warm, humid, nighttime air fills with the wondrously sweet fragrance, ripe with the possibilities of summer. It's my favorite. It signals the end of the cold for good. Around this time, there's one tree (is it a Nyssa spp.?) that smells of cat urine. Then as spring officially moves into summer, the delicate linden trees remind us that summer has officially begun...</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br /></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br /></div>Phytoalchemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01026512277188217166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-66844850663917980882011-02-26T22:18:00.001-05:002011-02-26T22:21:57.567-05:00A few of my favorite (phyto)chemical thingsJumping on the bandwagon of chemistry "favorites" lists - mine comes from the perspective of a phytochemist... see also <a href="http://chemjobber.blogspot.com/">Chemjobber</a>, <a href="http://labmonkey4hire.blogspot.com/">LabMonkey4Hire,</a> <a href="http://amonkeywithatypewriter.blogspot.com/2011/02/few-of-my-favourite-things.html">The Boiling Point,</a> <a href="http://ljkboerner.wordpress.com/2011/02/26/so-much-to-love/">LJKBoerner</a>, <a href="http://sciencegeist.net/">Sciencegeist</a>, and others...<br />
<br />
1. Realizing that the compound you finally isolated is, in fact, new<br />
2. Realizing that your new compound is bioactive <br />
3. Discovering that someone has synthesized a compound you discovered<br />
4. Sephadex LH-20: the best stationary phase ever<br />
5. Seeing liquid oxygen condension out of the atmosphere and dripping off the liquid helium port when doing a cryo fill for the NMR<br />
6. Plant collection trips<br />
7. Ion traps that fragment a compound just right & accurate mass when you need it.<br />
8. Butanol and toluene when you need to evap water faster<br />
9. Getting the solvent system right the first time - and nailing the pure compounds.<br />
10. Training on a 300 MHz, and then moving on to a 500<br />
11. a new HPLC column<br />
12. fixing my own glasswarePhytoalchemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01026512277188217166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-87473263054633635592011-02-25T15:38:00.000-05:002011-02-25T15:38:02.537-05:00Untangling the webExtracting myself from the lab is hard. So much stuff to do before leaving.<br />
<br />
I was hoping to be done by the end of the day today, but now, at 3:30, it's not looking like I'll manage that. I've found all my raw electronic data from the various other labs and core facilities and copied it onto a harddrive. I've backed-up all my data from inside the lab. Cleaned out my bench, my desk, the -20 & -70 freezers, cold room, refrigerators, tissue culture room, etc. I've given away all the little goodies I've collected over the years, passed out primers, solutions, media, etc. I've put away all my specialized glassware, & even created several new storage drawers for stuff I used and no one else will use. Passed on passwords and given lessons in HPLC maintenance/operation. Written up (most) of the new protocols I brought to lab....<br />
<br />
But I still need to label a few thigns that will go into storage. And write up materials and methods sections for 2 papers and hand off all the data, samples, and papers for my 2 main projects. Write a review paper (oy..)<br />
<br />
But I'm close, so close. The faster I finish, the more time I'll have before starting my new job to relax a bit. And I need that...Phytoalchemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01026512277188217166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-13060043291341575292011-02-17T22:58:00.000-05:002011-02-17T22:58:03.621-05:00My million dollar trainingThe Republicans in the House are currently working on slashing science funding in <a href="http://www.labspaces.net/blog/1182/The_GOP_War_on_Science">shocking ways</a>. I can't say I'm surprised. It was <a href="http://phytoalchemy.blogspot.com/2010/11/red-wave-of-anti-science.html">one of the first things I thought</a> about when I watched the map go red on election night. I've always said they're anti-science. And I'm waiting for someone - anyone - to prove me wrong on that.<br />
<br />
So tonight, as I was coming home from the lab, I started thinking about all the money that the government has invested in my training as a scientist. Right now, I'm wrapping up my 4-year postdoc and about to move into industry. I've basically spent the last 11 years doing cancer research on the government dime, and now I'm going to take all that training and head into the private sector to work on something totally different. I can honestly say that the most recent election provided the final nails to hammer shut the coffin wherein I buried any last vestiges of a career in academia-based research. Not only are conservatives anti-science, but I think they're simply anti-education as well. They have enough money, apparently, to pay people to educate their children, so public education be damned. The part I can't understand is that they'll still get cancer at the same rate as everyone else, so by denying science, they aren't helping themselves...<br />
<br />
But aside from all that, let's get down to numbers. My F32 fellowship: $150,000; T32 postdoc fellowship: $125,000; DoD postdoc fellowship $380,250. Then there was my heavily subsidized Public Univ tuition, which was paid in full by university fellowships before my F32, the salary I got as an adjunct lecturer as a grad student, and even some subsidized student loans... All told, we're looking at close to a million dollars, maybe. And that doesn't include the salaries of my professors at the Public Univ, or any of the Public Univ infrastructure that public funds supported. I'm mostly just thinking about money that went to supporting me, my family, and my research directly.<br />
<br />
That's quite an investment. You would think that the country would want to keep me working on cancer pharmacology. After all, I know a lot more about it than when I started 11 years ago. Way more. In fact, I feel like I'm actually getting to the point where I could make some real contributions... But instead, the private sector is benefiting from all that public investment. The company I'm going to work for is getting a bargain. They can pay me well, but they're getting a trained scientist for their money. The US taxpayer, however, is losing my expertise. I'm off to make products!Phytoalchemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01026512277188217166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-59875961267502568542011-02-14T10:43:00.001-05:002011-02-16T22:40:41.071-05:00Good-bye Cruel World!<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">No I’m not going to off myself. Quite the contrary - this post is celebratory! And it marks my break from academia. A job offer has come, on paper, and I have accepted. Good-bye to the pursuit of the elusive, coveted tenure track position. And hello to the elusive, coveted senior scientist industry position. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">How exactly did I get to this point? I know a lot of people are probably scratching their heads. Each one has a different picture of me – the alchemist – and what I <i>should</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> be doing, according to their own self-styled portrait. Well, most of them simply don’t see the world through my eyes. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I enrolled in grad school after about 7 years of traveling and pirate-style living on the fringes. I never realized at the time that I was making a career choice. I was simply doing what I had always done – following my interests. I was fascinated by plants and their intricate chemistry, intrigued by their human co-evolution, and the pragmatic, magical, and ritual the uses that we associated with them. After teaching myself as much as I could on my own, I talked my way into a couple doctoral-level classes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Soon, however, I was an official a PhD student, and that was cool, too. Lots of my friends had gone to college, but I didn’t know anyone who had gone on to get an advanced degree, except for a couple MFAs. My friends were artists and punks, drop-outs and musicians. We worked as little as possible. It just happened that NYC, where I was living, has one of the largest doctoral programs in plant science, in association with one of the most respected botanical research facilities in the world. Not only did I get into the program, but I also secured one of 2 fellowships that would cover my expenses. You see, I wasn’t really interested in pursuing the education unless they paid me to be there. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In general, as a grad student, I played my cards right. While I did manage to piss off a few people (faculty), I did all the things that someone working towards a career in academia should do, without being manipulative or back-stabbing. I hit the ground running, got an NIH fellowship, landed in a good lab, did my project right (in 6 years exactly), built good collaborations, sat on committees, went to conferences, presented, published just a little more than most, helped others with advice, editing, or negotiations, won the occasional award or acknowledgement, and was a genuinely and easy person to work with… In short, while I didn’t publish in Cell, Nature, or Science, I did well, and went on to score a postdoc in a solid Ivy-league lab.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For my postdoc, I switched fields. I went from natural products chemistry (pharmacognosy) to molecular pharmacology. Chemistry to biology. A lot of people thought I was crazy, and told me it was a bad idea, including some faculty. A few faculty said it was a smart move. I still wasn’t thinking about my career, but trying to learn, grow, and develop as I had always done. Throwing myself into something new is a pattern for me, I guess.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now, four years later, I’ve published some of the work, but not all of it. Switching fields was a hard adjustment, and took some time to get up to speed. I was first supported by an NIH postdoc fellowship and then by a competitive Dept. of Defense postdoc career award. Not bad. Still no Cell, Nature, or Science publications, but I’ve done OK. And all along, I always assumed that I would stay in academia. Until the last year or two. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So here we get to the meat of the issue. Why am I now happy to leave the “cruel world” of academia? A few things come to mind, and each day I think of other things. I’ll name just a few: There’s less and less actual tenure-track positions. Federal funding is dismal. The expectations on time investment are huge. You’re expected to work like a dog for minimal pay in the name of “freedom to study what you want.” (But only as long as you can get funding for your work, which has to be both safe AND innovative.) I’m already in my 40’s, because I took many years off between undergrad and grad school. I’ve got a mortgage and 2 kids. If it takes me another year or two to find an academic position, followed by a 7-year tenure process, I’ll be about 50 by the time I was finally secure and settled. Ugh. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So when a friend emailed me a job posting for this Senior Scientist position, I dusted off my CV and sent it out, not really expecting a response. But to my amazement, things have gone <a href="http://phytoalchemy.blogspot.com/2011/01/whats-next.html">well</a>, and last week I accepted the job. The clincher came when I was asking about day-to-day expectations, and the response was essentially that they were hiring ME, to be ME, and to figure out my role and how I could best contribute. I won’t simply be chained to the bench, isolating assigned compounds or doing work assays on command. It will be, in some sense, pure science and exploration. “Unstructured” time is built-in to the job. How could I say no? They wanted me for my collection of skills and experience, and not simply because I could run a mass spec or NMR or culture cells. My interdisciplinary experience and ability to build collaborations is precisely what makes me a good fit. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">All through grad school, we are told that it is important, in today’s world, to be able to work with a multidisciplinary approach – to be able to collaborate and have skills across more than one discipline. I’ve done that simply because that’s the sort of person I am – I have too many interests, sometimes, and I like to explore many angles of a problem. But in looking for academic positions, I’ve never seen an ad for an interdisciplinarian. Chemistry departments won’t hire me because my degree is from a Biology program. Biology departments are wary because my skills are strongest in analytical chemistry. As a postdoc, I’ve carved out a niche in a Pharmacology department, even though very few people are interested in drug discovery. Some pharmacy programs still value pharmacognosy, but there’s very few of those spots around anymore.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Most everyone in my lab is supportive of my move to industry, even my PI, who says she always thought of me as the “academic type.” I thought she would try to encourage me to “stick it out” for an academic job. But she’s realistic, and knows that I face a different climate than when she was at this stage in her career.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My new field of research will be different – once again, I’m throwing myself into a new realm and will be forced to learn, and synthesize what I already know with their interests. It’s exciting. I’m looking forward to the change. Wish me luck.</div>Phytoalchemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01026512277188217166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-49480587976255732982011-01-23T23:58:00.001-05:002011-01-24T00:00:57.081-05:00What's next?Just when I'd decided to wait out applying for any new jobs for a while, something's come up.<br />
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For the most part, I've been had the mindset that I would naturally follow the grad student-postdoc-assist prof track and settle into being a PI somewhere. Since I already live in NYC with kids, I was hoping that it would be here. I love this place, and have had a hard time imagining leaving... But I always knew that at some point, I would likely have to make some decisions about the Big Apple.<br />
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After being totally frustrated with the process of applying for jobs (see <a href="http://phytoalchemy.blogspot.com/2010/11/dear-academic-search-committee.html">here</a>), this past Fall, I took one or two looks at the list I made of positions I planned to apply for, and quietly set it underneath a stack of papers to be read, which were under notes from seminars and my lab notebook. I just didn't have it in me. In addition, I am lucky enough to have my own funding, which is good for another (almost) 2 years. So instead of sending out applications, I decided that I should really focus on getting out a couple publications.<br />
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In my mind, I imagined a scenario where I submitted my K99 at the end of 2011, and it came through just as my current funding ended in fall of 2012... or even a little earlier. Then I would be applying for academic jobs in the Fall 2012 with that in my pocket. It wouldn't necessarily guarantee that a job would open up in NYC, but at least it would give me a big boost when applying for jobs. But then, of course, the most obvious wrinkle in the plan is the possibility of not winning the K99....<br />
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Either way, I'd still be a postdoc going into debt living in NYC for far too long. <br />
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So when a friend emailed my a job listing for a position that described me fairly well in Industry (HUGE industry), I said "what the hell" and sent a CV. In my experience, Industry does not call back unless someone on the inside hands your CV to the person in charge of hiring; I didn't expect any response. But then the strange things started happening. They emailed back. The next day. And wanted a phone interview 2 days later. The phone interview went well, & I could tell they were planning to ask me in for a visit. Which they did - within a week.<br />
<br />
The day of interviews started off with a 30 min Powerpoint presentation, where I tried to summarize 10 years of research on various projects into an interesting cohesive story. Then I met with several people, all of whom were super nice and seemed to be trying to persuade me more than I was trying to persuade them. And I liked them. I liked what they were doing. And I told them so...<br />
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And on the train back to the City, I got a call on my mobile that the consensus was positive, and HR would call me very soon. And now, after a few more phone calls, I'm waiting to see what the "offer" will look like... and have just told our 9-yr old about the possibility of leaving the City (more on that later).<br />
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I'm a little dumb-founded by it all. The speed, the new directions, the possibility of getting out of debt and making a radical change in life. My current PI is nice enough about it, but I don't think she likes the idea of me leaving academia. Neither does my former thesis adviser. It's like I'm turning my back on them. I can go on and on about this point, but I won't right now. If I end up taking the job, then I'll write all about my feelings on why and how it came to this... for now, I'm just going to say, I hope they make me an offer I can't refuse, because academia is getting on my nerves a little right now.Phytoalchemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01026512277188217166noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-670751250880539442010-12-13T09:52:00.001-05:002011-01-24T06:44:25.447-05:00Glut of Scientists?What happens when a PI churns out ~40 PhD students during a career? About 39 of them won't get his job, leaving them to look elsewhere for work....<br />
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See Beryl Lieff Benderly's article <a href="http://bit.ly/e52hbS%20">The Real Science Gap</a> at Miller-McClune.<br />
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Update:<br />
Another piece in the Economist on this topic <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/17723223?story_id=17723223">here</a>.Phytoalchemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01026512277188217166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-21585853032459959452010-11-22T15:18:00.006-05:002011-02-16T22:40:11.343-05:00Dear Academic Search Committee<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Dear Academic Search Committee,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Do you have a minute? Are you sure? I’ve got something that I need to tell you. It’s a little embarrassing to have to bring this up, but it’s gone on a little too long now. We’re all professionals here, right? Can I tell you something that’s a little personal? </div><div class="MsoNormal"> It’s about manners. It’s pretty basic, really. Everyone bemoans the young kids and their smart phones, always texting, IMing, and in general being rude to the people standing right in front of them. But the interesting thing about all this technology is that they are <i>communicating</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. There are so many ways to stay connected. It’s amazing. And while many of you on those search committees may not have grown up with a computer, it’s impossible to think that you don’t spend a little time in front of the computer each day. I know that you use email. And so here’s what I’m proposing: Use your email.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"> OK, let me be a little more explicit. I answered that job add that you placed in all the academic journals and online job boards. First of all, if you aren’t going to answer email inquiries about the job, leave out the line “For more information, contact faculty@college.edu.” That’s easy enough, right? </div><div class="MsoNormal"> OK, next: I am not 100% certain when I hit that send button that your spam filter won’t see an incoming message from an unknown address (mine) with an attachment (my application package that you requested should be “sent by email only”) and unceremoniously direct my future into the junk mail folder. You don’t know how many times I’ve sent an application package to a committee and felt like it dropped into a black hole. Can you believe it? How do I know I’ve really applied? Why not try this: Dear Applicant, We received your application package. Thanks for applying to the position.” There, you can even cut and paste that text. I don’t mind.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Maybe you’re not really not serious about hiring, despite the multiple postings – just testing the waters? I usually do get some response at this point. Sometimes it’s even invitation for a phone interview (or a Skype interview: now I know you’re into technology). As a postdoc, I’ve been to various seminars and meetings and workshops about making the next steps to independence. I’ve learned about the ways to make a letter and CV stand out, how to write thank you notes, and so on. And maybe it has something to do with growing up with a European mom, but manners mean a lot to me. I see these things as basic human courtesy. It’s easy for me to send emails or postcards to the interviewing faculty, thanking them for their time and thoughtful conversation. I do it without much effort.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> So when months go by, and I haven’t heard anything from you, I get antsy. I assume that I’ve been passed on – but how am I to know, really? Do I call or email to find out if there will be a follow-up? I don’t want to be annoying, I just want to know. I realize that there may be hundreds of initial applications, but generally they get whittled down to just a handful for the phone interviews. So someone on the committee should be able to follow up, right? So when you pick your onsite interview candidates, do me a favor: Update me. “We’ve reviewed the applications and have chosen our top candidates for onsite interviews. Unfortunately, we cannot invite you at this time.” There, you can use that text, also – I don’t mind.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> The thing I’ll never understand is why academia puts up with rudeness and social ineptitude. What is it about academia that forgives someone so easily for faults that actually affect their jobs. People should not be given latitude because they are “brilliant but eccentric.” If that’s really the case, then they should be brilliant enough to know that they need to pass on the responsibility to a secretary or another responsible faculty member. Science is increasingly about collaboration, so even the most “brilliant but eccentric” faculty has to be able to play nice with others. And please, give me a break with the other lame excuses about heavy teaching loads, grant writing, managing students and postdocs, committees. Sorry, we all know what those excuses are simply covering for your colleagues’ inability to think past the end of their noses. Delegating someone to send a 2-line email to five or ten candidates does not take up much precious time. Face it, we all could use a few more hours in the day. Regardless of rank or status, we’re all busy, we’re all doing research, and managing our lives as committee members, commuters, husbands, wives, parents, and those in need of grocery shopping. Just because you have made it into that precious faculty position doesn’t mean that your life is so much more hectic and troublesome that you should forgo simple human courtesy. Send that email. Do it now.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sincerely,</div><div class="MsoNormal">Frustrated Scientist</div>Phytoalchemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01026512277188217166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-23086338027431338902010-11-22T14:56:00.001-05:002010-11-22T16:00:11.893-05:00The Red Wave of Anti-ScienceThe mid-term elections are over, and now we’re left with tattered, abandoned political posters taped to street signs and the promise of a Republican majority in the House and what seems to be Republican control of the Senate, even without a majority. It may have been a referendum on Obama’s politics or style of governance; many people cite frustration and anger as reasons for voting Republican. They say they are worried about the unemployment rate and economy, and angered that the Obama administration was too focused on passing the historic healthcare bill. At the same time, they criticize the stimulus package funding that kept the jobless rate from climbing even higher. <br />
<br />
But as I watched the election map turn red on Tuesday night, I couldn’t avoid the sinking feeling that my own job was being threatened. And not only my job, my livelihood, and everything that I’ve worked for over the last dozen years, I think it threatens your personal health. Not just because the Republicans want to overturn “Obamacare.” The problem is the apparent disregard for science in the conservative camp. I have a Ph.D. and work as a cancer pharmacologist at major medical school. But my research and salary are paid for by Federal grants. So between the Republican distain for science, education funding, and the use of embryonic stem cells in research, the red map is truly scary. <br />
<br />
When I began grad school, the NIH budget was in a period of increasing funding. Then under the second Bush Adminsitration, the NIH budget plateaued. In real dollars, it registered as a budget squeeze. Funding became tighter, and grants became more competitive. The average age of the first-time grant winner increased into the mid-forties. With research dollars disappearing, and education funding in decline, tenure-track positions began disappearing along with postdoctoral and grad school slots. Everyone has had to tighten their belts.<br />
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And if budgetary concerns aren’t enough, it became obvious during the Bush years that politics will trump good science. Regardless of field of research we’re engaged in – the effect has been noticed and felt by all scientists. Data from climatologists and environmental scientists has been the most obvious examples in the media. EPA, FDA, and USDA scientists have described pressure to change or suppress results that conflicted with Bush polices. And for me and many in biomedical research, there’s the stem cell issue. Stem cells open up so many possibilities in biomedical science, I can’t describe them all here.<br />
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I’m afraid that students in our schools are gorwing up scientifically illiterate. Kids are naturally curious, ready to engage the world. Without classrooms that nurture that love of experimentation and exploration, or that teach kids critical thinking, we will be looking at a dearth of invention and innovation in America. And we’ll be faced with a generation who can’t distinguish between the “theory” of intelligent design and the theory of evolution. And America will not evolve intelligently.<br />
<br />
[Note: originally published Nov 8, 2010 @ http://bike-nyc.blogspot.com/2010/11/red-wave-of-anti-science.html]Phytoalchemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01026512277188217166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-30116697610129465022010-11-22T14:50:00.002-05:002010-11-22T16:00:34.870-05:00Why are Modern Scientists So Dull?Bruce G. Charlton, Editor of <span style="font-style: italic;">Medical Hypotheses</span> and Professor of Theoretical Medicine at the University of Buckingham (UK) wrote an article last year titled <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2008.11.020">Why are modern scientists so dull? How science selects for perseverance and sociability at the expense of intelligence and creativity</a>. <br />
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He then followed it up this year with another in the same vein <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2009.06.048">Why it is ‘better’ to be reliable but dumb than smart but slapdash: Are intelligence (IQ) and Conscientiousness best regarded as gifts or virtues</a><br />
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It's funny, though, because while I do see creativity hammered out of people by schools, from elementary all the way up to graduate school, I have always felt that academia protects socially-inept misanthropes - they are given far too much leeway to be stupid annoying people because pehaps that somehow is the mark of real genius... <br />
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[Note: originally published Oct 6, 2009@ http://bike-nyc.blogspot.com/2009/10/dumb-and-dumber-science.html]Phytoalchemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01026512277188217166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-65756911831406557332010-11-22T14:47:00.001-05:002010-11-22T15:59:41.721-05:00Mind the GapAs postdocs applying for fellowships, funding, and tenure-track positions, we’ve heard it again and again: Find the gap in the literature and make your previous work applicable to the gap. Match that with the priorities of the funding agency and a well-written proposal, and you’re on the right track. But nothing is guaranteed. You might get a reviewer who isn’t familiar with your line of work, or another reviewer who has a grudge against your advisor’s past work. <br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But the gap is coming to mean a different thing for me as a second-year postdoc. With the birth of my second child, I’ve decided that I can’t afford to keep a job. This is not because of the impending recession, the Economic Downturn, the Subprime Crisis, the rapidly rising price of food, or the fact that <span style="color: black;">we live in New York City, where the cost of living is high</span>. It mostly concerns the cost of child-care and the stipend of a postdoc. I am paid on the NIH payscale. For a second-year postdoc, that’s $38,976 a year, or a take-home pay of $<span style="color: black;">1,282.56 every two weeks. At $641.28 a week, I will make just about enough to pay a nanny to take care of our new son. I could quit and stay home and we would be in a better financial situation without the tax-burden of my salary. As poor graduate students, my wife and I got by because we had the flexibility to juggle our schedules to avoid most child-care costs. I used student-loans to pay for pre-school. Now, however, we are both done with school and working full-time. My wife has taken a temporary (unpaid) maternity leave for a couple months, and when she returns to work, someone will have to watch the baby. She is paid a similar wage as me, and here in New York, that salary cannot sustain a family of four. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My first instinct was to ramp up my search for permanent tenure-track assistant professorships. But how much more can I expect to make as a junior faculty? An additional $10,000 or $20,000? That translates into only a couple hundred dollars a week more. The nanny still makes a higher salary in the end. Is that enough to justify leaving my youngest child to be cared-for by someone else? Everyone bemoans the poor pay that America’s teachers get, and yet I’ve been offered a much higher salary to work in a middle school than I can ever make as a postdoc. No one seems aware of the underpaid Ph.D.s fighting cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and so on. Currently, I earn about $18/hour for a 40-hour week, and a 40-hour week would be a short one, indeed. I can’t do the calculations to determine what my take-home pay is following a typical 50-hour week. It’ll depress me.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Mind the gap, but don’t fall through the cracks.</div><div class="MsoNormal">[note: this was originally published on May 19, 2008 @ http://bike-nyc.blogspot.com/2008/05/mind-gap.html] </div>Phytoalchemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01026512277188217166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11187673.post-19064933282741331872010-11-22T14:12:00.000-05:002010-11-22T14:12:24.722-05:00New StartI plan to move some of my random writings, comments, etc. on science (and my life in science) to this location.. More to come.Phytoalchemisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01026512277188217166noreply@blogger.com0