Government Research

Ex Lab
Junkie

Can a Lab Junkie Escape and Find Happiness?

Yes. I know, because it happened --- to me.   I bet you would like a more detailed answer. Well... if you follow my posts, you will find out.   Some people say I am lucky to have my current government job as a regulatory health and safety evaluator. They are right. I feel very lucky to h...


Wenny
Lin

Sneaking out of the lab

During the summer of my first year in graduate school, I audited my first public-health class. The class was foreign territory to me. Rather than discussing the shortfalls of the latest name-your-favorite-protein study or squinting at and scrutinizing the faint lines on a gel in a publication figu...


Ex Lab
Junkie

How Constructive Is Your Criticism? (Simon, Paula or Ellen)*

(I am interrupting my "how did I get here" posts, to discuss something that happened at work this week.) We have all heard the term "constructive criticism" and most of us have been on the receiving end of it, thinking unprintable thoughts about the person offering their assessment. But if you ...


Wenny
Lin

Questions to ask when looking for a postdoc

You finally see the light at the end of the graduate school tunnel. The frustrations and triumphs of your dissertation experiments have only whetted your appetite for more research training. Or, perhaps, you’ve sprinted toward the broad and diverse “alternate” career horizon, but haven’t lan...


Wenny
Lin

Out of the lab and into a post-doc in government

At the end of my graduate career at the University of Pennsylvania, I deeply dreaded doing a post-doctoral fellowship.  How many more sleepless nights would I run the same mindless assays to find that the experiments didn’t work?  How many more hundreds of nameless mice would be sacrific...


Christie
Canaria

Making Friends in All Sorts of Places

Not too long ago my neighborhood had a street festival, the kind that’s celebrated with a community parade, a Ferris wheel, and 26 dedicated street blocks for booths. One of those booths happened to be the local Department of Energy (DOE) Lab’s booth, where I volunteered to work.


Wenny
Lin

Provocative Questions

Last month, I co-chaired the steering committee to plan the 3rd Annual Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics Fellows’ Training Symposium. Our symposium’s theme this year was, “Shaping Future Research: Provocative Questions in Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics.” 


Xiaoli
Du

Escape From Lab and Think About Your Future

The 11th annual fellows and young investigators colloquium of National Cancer Institute (NCI) has been held in Williamsburg, VA from February 23-25th. The purpose of this retreat is to foster networking among young investigators, to facilitate career-development opportunities and to moderate the com...


Eric
Wong

Career Commentary #1: The Person Behind the Desk - An Often Overlooked Key to Success

April 21st, 2010. Did this day have any significance for you? My guess is that unless you were brought into this world or blissfully wed on that day (in which case belated "Happy Birthday" or "Happy Anniversary" wishes go to you), it probably didn't have any real importance, but April 21st, 2010 was...


Wenny
Lin

March Madness in the government

We are now a few weeks into the “NCAA March Madness” of the college basketball championships. In my past experience outside of the government, filling in the tournament brackets and following the events served to build community among co-workers, encouraging friendly competition and camaraderie....