Queer latine scientist; something approximating a microbiologist; they/he, in all my non-binary finery 🏳️🌈🌵🌱🦠
Joined February 2019
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Just a broad reminder that I'm a "man" in the same way that a Muppet is a person. It's not. It's absolutely not. But I can see how you might be confused.
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I love my project. I love my lab. I am determined to succeed come Hell or high water. I am also determined to rest and spend time on the other things I love. I am determined to respect myself and the quality of my work by not pushing past my healthy limits.
So many of the responses apparently can’t conceive of a person who is excited about doing research and determined to be successful, even in exchange for some amount of personal enjoyment or free time. It is pretty hard to have a productive PhD with a clock-in clock-out mentality.
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I've been watching this gif on loop for longer than I care to admit.
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Ryan A Valdez retweeted
I want to glue a worm (C.elegans) to a flow cell so that I can flow different concentrations of zinc over it. I want to observe lysosomes in these conditions in the same worm so it has to stick. So far I’ve tried poly-L-lysine and meh. Any alternatives? Please RT!
Ryan A Valdez retweeted
In all seriousness the debate over grad school rotations or not (assuming funding permits) is a debate between anticipating best case scenario (often we view science only from lens of successful scientists) vs planning to avoid worst case scenario (bad fit, abusive advisors). – at Shoreline, WA
Rotations are a lifesaver. In fact, I generally recommend undergrads avoid applying to programs that don't do them. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and all that.
Ryan A Valdez retweeted
Counterpoints: IMO the *most* important part of a rotation is giving students enough time in labs to recognize & avoid toxic mentors and lab environments. This is *most* important for students who have less experience in lab environments- e.g. firstgen & underrepresented students
For just a dash of chaos, pronounce anole like canoli and refuse (under any circumstances) to say it any other way.
This tweet brought to you by: I grew up saying it that way and now it's stuck.
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Ryan A Valdez retweeted
My somewhat cynical take on bullies in academia is that they’re a feature, not a bug. I touched on this with an earlier tweet, but the qualities we commonly associate with “top scientist” in academia are extremely present in the kinds of people who bully others.
I have absolutely told my boss "yeah, I would love to do that, but my brain is a little broken right now" verbatim.
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The status of the presentation I'm giving Monday is "my car hasn't been this clean since I bought it"
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My path has been edu psych -> institional leadership -> carbon partitioning -> microbial ecology -> microbial physiology. All else equal, I think I would be just as happy doing a PhD in any of those other things. It's way more important to be curious than obsessed with a topic.
Unpopular opinion I find myself sharing with lots of undergrads lately: The “only pursue a PhD if you’ve found the topic that’s your One True Passion & keeps you up at night” advice is bs. I think I could have pursued several different paths happily.
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Ryan A Valdez retweeted
Thank you so GPC/GSS and SAC for making the continued effort to give stipend equality across all PhD programs at WashU! This is a HUGE deal!!!!
My dog knows how to ask me to take her outside. But sometimes if I'm trimming her nails or doing something she doesn't like, she'll ask. Her ability to say "This is hard for me. Can we take a little break, please?" far exceeds most humans I know.
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Really fun thing happening with my dog - she can't have walks rn for medical reasons, so instead she manifests the Devil's mischief at every opportunity.
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