#Phd

[volchiitza]

clearly trying to stop fixating on "productivity" has actually improved my focus

[discoursets]

[miss-biophys]

Work on a scientific article

What it actuallly entails:

Come up with an idea, define an interesting problem

Do thorough literature research. Maybe similar stuff was already done. Define the knowledge gap well.

Plan in detail, how we can solve the problem, design experiments

Reach out to potential collaborators, agree with them on a plan

Buy necessary equipment, chemicals

Do pilot experiment, optimize the conditions to get reliable data

Perform experiments, calculations, make everything multiple times so it's reliable

Analyze the data

Urge collaborators to deliver their parts

Coordinate your progress with the collaborators

Manage the collaborations, organize meetings

Be diplomatic, you don't want to make enemies in academia

Agree with direct colleagues, who worked on it, what will be the message of the article. Will it be a long story and we need to add some more data? Or will it be short and right to the point and we write a short "letter"?

Do literature research again. Maybe new stuff appeared, and for sure your data must be confronted and discussed with already known facts.

Write the first draft of the article

Send it around for feedback, first only to direct colleagues from your lab

Incorporate the feedback, maybe do more experiments and more analysis

Rewrite the manuscript

Send it around the second, third, fourth, fifth... time

Incorporate the feedback

Send the manuscript to all collaborators.

Wait for the feedback, urge everyone to give it, maybe you don't have all data from all the collaborators yet

Incorporate feedback

Prepare the manuscript for journal submission

Get approval from all co-authors

Submit the manuscript

Wait for editor response, hopefully they send it to reviewers. If not, you need to rewrite a bit the article to adhere to the new journal's format and send somewhere else.

Get reviewers' reports, deal with them, reply truthfully, make effort to explain everything even if you know that the reviewer's suggestion is just impossible or irrelevant. Be diplomatic.

Maybe you need to do an additional experiment, analysis, or rewrite a major part fo the manuscript. This can take months.

Submit revised manuscript with all the changes

Wait for editor's nad reviewers' comments in the second round. You can get many rounds of review and still get rejected.

Finally get a "Congratulations, your manuscript has been accepted for publication"

Pop a shampagne! You deserve it!

What part of this do you usually do in different career stages:

BSc. and MSc. students: Perform experiments and analyze data

PhD students: Do all the experimental and analysis parts, write the manuscript, discuss with their supervisor and direct colleagues, incorporate feedback. But does not have to come up with their own idea and manage collaborations and diplomacy.

Postdocs: Do literally everything on the list

Group leader/Professor: Do the thinking and managing parts, help with writing and feedback, provide discussions and insight. Do not perform actual experiments and analysis.

Being a postdoc is the transformation between the student and the group leader.

As such, we just have to do all these tasks. It's stressful. It's challenging. It's definitely not boring. I am taking every opportunity to get a student, who can help with the experimental repetitions so I have time for all the other stuff.

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[katiajewelbox]

It is with great pleasure that I share the news that I passed the PhD viva voce exam with only minor corrections today.

[stormbear]

[cuterusuterus]

ootd + to do list 🙂

School meeting

Gyn appt

Psych appt

Work on paper

Union meeting

Nap

DSA meeting

Date night <3

[lottiestudying]

31.05.2025—as if it’s the end of may. also, happy swiftie independence day to those who celebrate!!!

[equinesandeducation]

Super early gym moment, protein smoothie on the way and a productive day working on my thesis 🌸💪🏻

[xiaq]

Yeah that’s about right

[one-time-i-dreamt]

I was applying for PhD funding. The guy in charge (whose name I had already forgotten) told me they were going to give £90k a year. He told me it was a lot but you’ve gotta spend your money on something. Then I went outside to see that the zombie apocalypse had begun while we’d been talking.

[phdiaries]

I haven’t posted on here for like four years but I found out this week that I got full funding for my PhD 🥹

[lumettaria]

i resurrected this zombie account solely to get academic support so riddle me this bitches: phd students, will this path be the end of me or a 0/10 not recommend please advise

[absinthemindedly]

On today's todo list:

Draft and schedule emails

Review existing literature on my PI's current research direction

Review previous NSF GRFP applications

Look into other national fellowships (listed)

Brainstorm about personal statements + project proposals

I've unfortunately fallen off my daily journaling/work routines the last few months, and I'm working on getting myself back into good habits. Today, my main goal is to schedule all my emails to other PhD programs their declining offers of admission. I just finalized everything with my chosen program this week, and the April 15th decision deadline is looming. I feel terrible for dragging my feet on communications, but I want to make sure I send personalized emails to each professor I interviewed with. I know this is part of the process, but I still hate disappointing people.

On the upside, I've already set up my graduate school accounts, put together a preliminary schedule of my classes in the fall, and set up my new email. I'm eager to get back to work

[amnhnyc]

🕷️Meet Joe Arguelles, a comparative biology Ph.D. student in the Museum’s Richard Gilder Graduate School. His research focuses on understanding the molecular drivers of the incredible mechanical properties of spider silks.

🕸️He also studies the evolution of “prey capture systems” (silk, venom, and vision) in active hunting spiders, and how these genes have changed in response to the loss of web-spinning behavior.