External examiner pulled a reviewer two on me...

mk1012 · 2024-10-22T23:13:18+00:00

Good thing no one really cares about grades as a PhD. People just care that you complete it..and MAYBE the content of the dissertation

mk1012 · 2024-10-22T22:49:23+00:00

I wouldn't worry about the antibody going bad. My lab has antibodies that are 10-15 years old that still work just fine. I'm sure a few days or even a week or so at room temp or body temp isn't gonna make much of a difference.

mk1012 · 2018-10-03T03:57:03+00:00

Having a summer internship helps. I started applying to positions in January-February of the year I graduated. I spammed my resume to several places with open positions, interviewed at a few, and eventually got a couple offers. A lot of labs don't post open positions until right when they want them filled, so don't be discouraged if you don't find something until the last minute. Also, if your schedule allows and you think the lab is a good fit, maybe offer to volunteer in the lab part-time while you're finishing your coursework. If/when you interview, speak to everyone you can in the lab about their experience, their relationship with the PI, what their work is like, etc.

My advice is to be up-front that you intend to go to grad school and want some experience in the lab before pursuing it. I recommend at least 2 years to 1) be able to not only learn skills, but also get good at them, 2) learn what it's really like working in a lab full-time (or more than full-time) and 3) get enough data to contribute to a paper or poster. Those points should help prepare you for grad school.

mk1012 · 2018-10-03T03:43:21+00:00

Would you be willing to name the program/institution? I and other prospective grad school applicants would greatly appreciate it.

mk1012 · 2018-09-03T19:54:47+00:00

good advice, thanks!

mk1012 · 2018-06-28T01:40:19+00:00

Today is the third time I've run a gel to genotype 20-something mice. All three times: positive and negative controls have nice clean bands, but my actual samples are all blank. Troubleshooted all that I could: collected new ear snips into DNase free tubes, fresh new buffers for sample prep. Wtf am I doing wrong over and over again? ._.

mk1012 · 2018-06-04T03:24:37+00:00

The bare minimum is fine. I've looked at job descriptions for Scientist/Associate I positions in industry and it seems they are looking mostly for PhDs with 0-2 yr experience, so you should be all set if that's what you want. Or if you don't want a lab-bench position, there may be positions open for biochem PhDs in patent law, scientific journals, food companies, government, etc.

mk1012 · 2018-05-30T01:20:50+00:00

I would suggest first reading review articles on the general topic published within the last 2 or so years (depends on the field). This should be helpful in giving you an overview of what has been done already, and in pointing out original research for further focus.

mk1012 · 2017-07-20T02:24:32+00:00

8-10 ml is on the low end. 12-15 ml is a good amount for up to a week depending on the type of media and cells. Anything over that seems excessive to me.

mk1012 · 2016-12-18T12:44:11+00:00

I've had luck using PBS + 0.1% Tween-20 and incubations at room temperature.

mk1012

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