Saturday Morning Lab

On this second installment of Campfire Confessions, we tell the tale of a recent college graduate desperately looking for a job then faced with a tough decision after a major screw up during his first couple of days. We also give updates on the X ( https://x.com/SatMorningLab ) and Instagram page ( https://www.instagram.com/satmorninglab/ ).  As always, you're welcome to reach out to me with stori...

In this first installment of Campfire Confessions, we relate the tale of a Masters in Public Health Student who finds himself at odds with his practicum mentor when he decides to strike out on his own with his research project. 

Happy Summer, friends! I love camping and I love swapping tales around the campfire. That is why I am collecting your work stories this summer to feature them on the podcast. Whether it happened during your PhD, postdoc, or work years, tell me about it, and tell me how it turned out and what it taught you! Email me at SaturdayMorningLab@outlook.com . Please be sure to exclude real names to protect...

Hey friends, as we close out season 1, I reflect on the genesis of our little project, I have some people to thank, and discuss what's in store for season 2! Have a great summer!

This week, part 2 of my season finale episode with Dr. Denis Noble. We discuss an expanded view of biology, thinking on a systems level and the need to embrace new paradigms of biology. See Dr. Noble's influential books here for more information.

In this penultimate episode of my first season of the podcast, I speak to Professor Denis Noble, Professor Emeritus at Oxford University, biologist, philosopher, and an early champion of systems biology. He also trained Dr. Dick Tsien, who trained Dr. Eduardo Marban, who trained me. We discuss his childhood early childhood in WWII London, his foray into academics, and thesis training. This is part...

This week, I had the pleasure of chatting with the wise, caring, and and formidable Dr. Mamta Saxena. We discuss her early life in India, her early ambitions in medicine, her detour into home economics, moving to the US, wrangling with years of hard work as a student and mother and achieving academic success in the field of family science and sibling caretaker psychology. 

On this week's episode, I chat with Dr. Jennifer Polk of FromPhDtoLife . We discuss her thesis experience, meeting her first career coach, and how she found purpose in helping others find fulfilling careers beyond academia. Jennifer is kind, funny, honest, and reflective on this very important topic.

This week, I continue my discussion with Dr. Ubadah Sabbagh , Chief of Staff at Arcadia Science. We discuss his transition to industry, perspective on the state of academic research enterprise, and visionary endeavors.

This week, I have the great pleasure to interviewing Dr. Ubadah Sabbagh , the Chief of Staff at Arcadia Science. Ubadah is a biotech strategist, neuroscientist, and policy advisor. In part 1 of our discussion, Ubadah discusses his international upbringing, his foray into research, and development as a thought leader. We also discuss the why and the how of developing your voice. 

This week, I continue my conversation with Professor Graham Kendall ( graham-kendall.com ) , Deputy Director of Research and Enterprise at MILA University in Malaysia. We continue our discussion about his career path in academia, the role of AI, research publication integrity.  

This week, I have the pleasure and privilege of interviewing Professor Graham Kendall, computer scientist, author, and Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Enterprise at MILA University. We discuss charting his path academia when he began his undergraduate education at the age of 34 to his accomplished career as a professor, and moving to Malaysia. We also discuss his perspective on the role of...

On this week's episode, I chat with the bright, sharp, and fearless Dr. Mu Yang , a behavioral neuroscientist and data integrity sleuth from Columbia University. We talk about her upbringing in a family of physicists, and her experience moving to the US for academia. We also delve into research integrity and the vital role of data sleuths.

This week, I have the pleasure of speaking to the wonderful Dr. Anna Clemens , academic writing coach and founder of the Researchers’ Writing Academy . We discuss her upbringing in a small German town, her teenage years making soap and cosmetic products, her chemistry PhD, and discovering her love for scientific writing and developing a novel method for empowering others to communicate their resea...

Part 2 of my two-part conversation with the inspiring Dr. Elisabeth Bik, a science integrity consultant and advocate. She recently won the   2024 Einstein Foundation Award for Promoting Quality in Research. She invested the 200,000 euro award to establish the Elisabeth Bik Science Integrity Fund with the Centre for Research Integrity . Thank you for leading by example, Elisabeth and for your tirel...

This week, I reflect on my discussion with the kind Tanina Arab. I discuss the importance of expanding your professional support network, the rise of online vitriol among the research community over current events, and things you can do for yourself now that you'll thank yourself for later. As always, I welcome your input at SaturdayMorningLab@outlook.com .

On this this week's episode, I have the pleasure and privilege of interviewing Dr. Elisabeth Bik in a special two-part series. We discuss her rich professional experience and her path to data sleuthing and research integrity. This is part I.

On this week's episode of Let's Get Coffee, I reflect on my interview @AnnaCiaunica and why we are so fixated on recreating human consciousness. I close with Shakespeare's Sonet 27 which elegantly illustrates the burden of a mind and body disconnected. As always, your comments and questions are welcome at SaturdayMorningLab@outlook.com . 

In this week's episode, I chat with the bright, sharp, and fearless Dr. Mu Yang , a behavioral neuroscientist and data integrity sleuth from Columbia University. We talk about her upbringing in a family of physicists, and her experience moving to the US for academia. We also delve into research integrity and the vital role of data sleuths.

On this week's episode, I sit down with the fun, engaging, and thoughtful Julie Bauman , a graduate student at Stanford and a science content creator in her own right! Through her TikTok channel 60 Second Science she hopes to distill and disseminate science to the expert and lay public. We talk about her how she developed an early interest in science and medicine, pivoting away from medical school...

On this episode of Let's Get Coffee, I reflect on my discussion with Daniel Manrique Castano. I reflect on the importance of personal initiative, the trials of postdoc training and faculty-trainee relationships, and reforming scientific publishing. I quote from the Christian Larson; The Optimist Creed . As always, your comments and questions are welcome at SaturdayMorningLab@outlook.com . 

On this week's episode, I chat with Dr. Jennifer Polk of FromPhDtoLife . We discuss her thesis experience, meeting her first career coach, and how she found purpose in helping others find fulfilling careers beyond academia. Jennifer is kind, funny, honest, and reflective on this very important topic.

On this week's episode I chat with Professor Pedro Leao at the University of Radboud in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Pedro talks about growing up in a Brazil, his early passion for sports and how it influences his outlook as a scientist. He also talks about a how a series of unlikely circumstances accelerated his training and maturity as an independent investigator.  

Tanina Arab is an Associate Research Scientist at Yale University. On this week's episode, she and I talk about her experience growing up in a small mountain village in Algeria, her thesis training in France, and her move to the US to complete her postdoctoral studies. We also chat about the challenges facing academia today and the spillover of politics on academic relationships. 

On this week's episode of LGF, I look back on my discussion with Professor Ashley Cole. I also reflect on her thoughtful question of how we would describe ourselves without mentioning our work. I also learned much about the rich Potawatomi culture ( https://www.potawatomiheritage.com/ ) and came across the book Braiding Sweetgrass by the Potawatomi botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer ( https://www.amazo...