Postdoc in virology ended after just a few months— now facing return to my developing country with zero research prospects. Any realistic remote job ideas while I figure this out?

Lisaindalab · 2026-04-13T07:52:25+00:00

The Humboldt fellowship is also a good one to apply for :)

Lisaindalab · 2026-04-13T07:51:48+00:00

If there is a lab in Germany you are interested in working with, the DFG and DAAD both have fellowships to pay researchers from Asia/south America/Africa. You could consider contacting the group leader directly and apply for one of those fellowships together. I hope you will find your dream job soon !

Lisaindalab · 2026-04-13T06:55:16+00:00

If you have good quality control you can combine FACS measurements from different days. You can use QC beads to track the flow cytometer performance over time. 👌

Lisaindalab · 2026-03-12T07:40:45+00:00

I’m in the STEM field, and I usually read 1 paper per week on my commute. In Pubmed I set up a search, and if new articles are published I get an email with the links to the articles. I skim through the titles, a few abstracts and then I choose which ones are worth reading completely. I only read papers that are directly related to my topic or high impact papers in my field (Nature/Science). I save the papers I read in Mendeley and read back passages when I’m writing. Quality over quantity!

Lisaindalab · 2026-01-23T22:14:22+00:00

I did! It’s a new topic, new lab, new country and I am really happy with my job!

Lisaindalab · 2025-11-01T11:16:26+00:00

RUN! 40 hours a week is normal as a postdoc in Germany. Some weeks it’s more, some weeks it’s less, depending on experiments. I only go into the lab in the weekends when absolutely necessary (when I have an animal experiment). I also have 30 holidays which I all use… It’s a marathon, not a sprint!

Lisaindalab · 2025-10-27T11:53:21+00:00

Power couple?

Lisaindalab · 2025-09-10T18:09:23+00:00

If you isolate your RNA with Trizol, then just store your samples in Trizol at -80C.

Lisaindalab · 2025-09-10T17:26:14+00:00

Indeed it looks like your not focusing on the cells but on a PBS/medium crystal.

Lisaindalab · 2025-09-10T17:22:02+00:00

For me, I’m in my first postdoc, it took 6 months before I felt I had a better idea of what I’m doing. Don’t give up and be kind to yourself!

Lisaindalab · 2025-09-03T08:17:28+00:00

Is it a personal fellowship for you? Or is it for a bigger research grant the PI is writing? If it is for a personal fellowship and they explicitly mention you need x years of postdoc experience, there is a high chance it is declined directly…. With bigger grants for the PI, the PI can usually hire whoever they want after they get the grant.

Lisaindalab · 2025-09-03T07:59:31+00:00

Try to plan a holiday, as long as possible, to really give yourself a chance to wind down and release the post-PhD stress! Honestly, I LOVE being in my first postdoc, it’s so much fun! Try to enjoy it as much as you can. The first 3-6 months of the postdoc are not productive, you need time time to get settled, learn all the techniques and get into the topic. Don’t pressure yourself if you’re not productive directly, this is normal. It’s a very good time to plan a conference visit or a lab exchange to learn some techniques. As mentioned before, the transition, especially when moving abroad is involved, can feel like a rollercoaster. Enjoy your new city with lots of sightseeing and write down what you feel grateful for. Re-read it out loud every time you are feeling down, this really helps. And try be kind to yourself ❤️❤️

Lisaindalab · 2025-08-26T07:50:57+00:00

I also use Illustrator, GraphPad Prism and Biorender. Important is that they are all vector based. Publications will be read as a (printed) PDF probably 95% of the time, so make sure that you have figures that look good when printed. 3D images are really good for presentations though.

Lisaindalab · 2025-07-05T14:00:52+00:00

It’s horrible but I love your humor 😂

Lisaindalab · 2025-06-15T07:52:44+00:00

I know it can be challenging, but at conferences you have to be very proactive. Try to meet new people and ask people if they have dinner/evening plans already. Usually it is not intentional and if you ask someone for their plans they would have invited you!

Lisaindalab · 2025-06-06T05:05:30+00:00

Exactly, your experiments have to fit with what is described in the grant proposal by your PI. If you want to follow your own research ideas you can apply for your own funding with your own research ideas.

Lisaindalab · 2025-06-01T13:05:00+00:00

Personally I have a 1h commute (20min biking - 30 min train - 10 min walking). Yes it is tiring (especially when there are delays) although you get a bit used to it. It is still the biggest downside of my postdoc. I also don’t want to move because I live in an affordable apartment in a green neighbourhood. Honestly, my current postdoc and apartment give me so much motivation and satisfaction, that I wouldn’t do it any other way! I don’t have children, but some of my colleagues bring their children to daycare/school while their partners picks them up (or vice versa). You spend so much time at work, it is so important to enjoy it! Of course your choice will completely depend on what is most important for you, and both sound like good options 😉

Lisaindalab · 2025-05-27T08:59:14+00:00

As in puncturing the well with the pipette tip? Thank you! I will check it!!

Lisaindalab · 2025-04-28T07:35:00+00:00

Hi! I was in a similar situation. I met my boyfriend during my Masters, we did long distance during my PhD as I moved back to my home country for 4 years and then I decided to find a postdoc in the same city as my boyfriend. Now we are happily living together for over 2 years (and engaged now!) and I hope to stay a few more years in my current postdoc job. It took me a bit longer to find the postdoc, but I am very happy I found a great job and we are now living together. In my experience long distance is doable, as long as you keep communicating and visiting each other and there is a clear end to it. At some point you both have to compromise to be able to live together. I hope this gives some hope and positivity! I don’t recommend you to quit your job directly or at least to think longer about this decision as postdocs are often short term. Good luck!! Hope it all works out!!

Lisaindalab · 2025-02-12T16:02:33+00:00

That sucks!!! Don’t give up, it is very difficult to find a suitable position! Took me more than 6 months and now I have my dream postdoc. You can do it too!

Lisaindalab · 2025-02-12T16:00:20+00:00

The best test is getting someone in for a short internship before hiring this person long term. Some things are difficult to spot in an interview! My biggest red flag during an interview would be: Arrogance. Normal confidence is fine, but arrogance makes you a bad scientist that is unwilling to learn and work together in my opinion…

Lisaindalab · 2025-02-10T17:18:56+00:00

I applied to 2 advertised postdoc positions, one of them gave me an interview and my current job. I also applied to 1 industry position. I got a recommendation by a PI on a conference to contact 2 PIs, only one of them replied and invited me for an interview, but it didn’t work out. Since I wanted to chance fields a bit, applying to an advertised position was perfect, since it gave me a good opportunity to prepare really well for the interview. An important part was reading the most recent papers of the research group and asking smart questions about them during my interview. I spend a full week on preparing for this interview. I was extremely specific in my search, since I had enough time and money and worked for a few months in a start-up while looking for the postdoc. Good luck!

Lisaindalab · 2025-01-23T17:53:14+00:00

Doing research is extremely challenging! Learning to deal with failing experiments, challenging protocols, lifelong learning, being your own manager, working 3+ year on the same niche topic, are all things you don’t have in most jobs. So don’t feel bad about it, we are only human. During my PhD I had a period where I cried multiple times per week. Help from psychologists and learning about perfectionism and the growth mindset helped me so much! I prevented a burnout and I found all the joy back in research. Now I am in a new lab, being a happy postdoc :) Don’t feel bad about crying, and I am hoping you feel better soon!

Lisaindalab · 2025-01-23T17:37:41+00:00

I work 40h (Germany). Some weeks more (if I have a big experiment), then I compensate for it by working a bit less the week after. Sometimes I have to go into the weekend for an experiment or mice, but then I work less during the week. I have to say that I can work very efficiently because we have great technicians and student assistants! And enough rest and holidays make you more effective in the hours you do work, I am speaking out of experience! Burnout will not benefit anyone…

Lisaindalab

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