Welcome to my Blog!
All views and opinions are my own. Please join me on Tuesdays for a new blog post!
Science Slams: Jacquelens the Aspiring Scientist!
I just stumbled across a video of me participating in a science competition! Back in undergrad, I participated in a a Science Slam - a challenge to present your research to a generalize audience and explain it's purpose. This was the first study I cond...
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Hopping Down Memory Lane - My First Scientific Article!
This week we are taking a trip down memory lane to a small rural town in Virginia, USA. Every summer I would visit my grandparents there where I’d swim in the pool and run around the yard with my sisters and cousins. Little did my family realize that t...
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3 Minute Thesis Video
I decided to try out for my University's three minute thesis competition! This is a challenge where PhD students are asked to explain their research and its' impact on society in 3 minutes or less. This explanation must be presented in a way anyone cou... (Link)
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Two Blind Brothers Interview
As a PhD student studying diseases affecting vision, one of the goals of my blog is to expose what vision loss is like. I had the privilege of interviewing the Two Blind Brothers, Bryan and Bradford Manning about their experience with Stargardt Disease...
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Average No Longer
This semester has required me to work harder than I ever have before. There were too many nights where I worked until 12 am to count (no I do not recommend this practice). But although my course work was intense to say the least, I have learned an incr...
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Guest Blogger: Beth Webb!
Today I invited Beth to guest blog! Today Beth is going to be discussing if a masters degree is needed to apply to PhD programs. Beth is in her final year at the University of Leeds in the UK studying platelet inhibitory signaling pathways in relation ...
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Career Planning at Any Stage!
I am a huge planner! Planning helps me prioritize, manage my time, and drive away anxiety. So it should be no surprise that I also plan my career! Today I am sharing an exercise I created and like to call Reverse Career Planning! The best part about th...
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Guest Blogger: Robyn Goldsmith!
Today, I invited Robyn Goldsmith to guest blog! Robyn is a first year PhD student at Lancaster University studying Forecasting and Inventory Optimisation. You can follow her PhD journey on instagram at phd_robyn. Learn more about Robyn's career path in...
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Recovering from Perfectionism
Hello, my name is Jacqueline and I am a recovering perfectionist. I used to spend so much time perfecting my work before asking for feedback. I wanted my professors and mentors to see how exceptional I be on the first try. But as my work load increased...
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Guest Blogger: Meagan Taylor!
Today, I invited Meagan Taylor to guest blog. Meagan is a second year PhD student at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and is studying sex-linked immune responses to viral infections. Meagan's Advice to Future Scientists: Don’t le...
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Cohort or Case-Control, What is the Difference?
I am one month in to my new rotation at the Cole Eye Institute and have already begun working on several studies! One project allowed me to build a research proposal on Retinal Vein Occlusions (RVO). To say I was flattered to be entrusted to build an e...
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Prioritizing YOU in Grad School
I’ll be honest, I am bad about prioritizing my health. It is Hard to balance healthy eating, exercise, graduate school, and a personal life. So for me the first thing that goes is exercise, the second being healthy eating (pizza is always a good idea)....
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Reflections from my First Semester as a Ph.D. Student
Hi Everyone! Sorry for my lack of posts in December. It was a busy time for me, but I'm glad I got to prioritize spending time with my family over the holidays. I hope you were all able to visit with some family this past month. Today I want to share...
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Guest Blogger: Autumn Peterson Discussing Lab Rotations!
Hi Everyone and Happy New Years! I hope you are all healthy and safe as we begin our journey into 2022. Today I have an exciting guest blogger post to share with you written by Autumn Peterson! Autumn is a second year Biology Ph.D. Student at Georgia T...
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Perspectives on the P-Value
Today, I am going to be talking about the all powerful p-value. But before I continue, let me preface this by saying I am a graduate student, not a statistician and I am still in the process of learning! Like most graduate students, I worshiped the p...
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Holiday Gift Ideas for the STEM People in Your Life!
Hi All, So sorry I’ve been absent recently. Exam season has been a whirlwind! I will be doing a debrief of the semester and updating you on all the things my first semester as a PhD student has taught me, but until then, I wanted to give you all holid...
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Imposter Who?
It took a ton of work to get into a PhD program and now that I’m here, when my peers ask what I am studying at Case Western, I find myself saying “I’m just getting a PhD”. In my department, many of my peers are MD/PhD students, already have a medical ...
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Guest Blogger: Denny the Scientist!
Today I invited Denny the Scientist to be a guest blogger! Don't forget to follow Denny on Instagram at: denny.the.scientist. Denny's advice for potential and current PhD Students: If you are afraid you aren’t smart enough to start a PhD, don’t be. ...
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How to Write an IRB Proposal
First, what is the IRB? The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a committee that reviews and monitors all research involving human subjects. Their job is to protect human rights and welfare in research. When performing research involving children, preg...
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The Missing Piece
I sit down and begin a 1,000 piece puzzle. There is that one piece that I simply can’t find. I try finding it by color, shape, and looking at the picture on the box, but I still cannot find it. To me this is research. We are all hunting for that puzzle...
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The Matilda Effect
It is no coincidence that my website motto is “There have always been highly capable women wanting to be scientists,” by Rita Colwell, PhD. But the fact is, even if there have always been women wanting to be scientists, their contributions to the scien...
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Guest Blogger: Caitlin Meyer the Science and Technology Policy Lady
Sorry for the delay in updating my blog! It is midterm season and the last two weeks have been incredibly busy. Today I invited Caitlin Meyer also known as the Science and Technology Policy Lady on Instagram to be a guest blogger! Caitlin's Advice to...
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The Hidden Rules of Graduate School Applications
When I decided to apply to doctoral programs, I had no idea what the applications entailed. I decided to talk to a cousin of mine who had entered a PhD program a year before and discovered that there seemed to be these hidden rules and expectations tha...
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The Big Picture
Thus far the most important thing I’ve learned in my PhD is that research is HARD, especially when you are working with human subjects. Although I am not working with people directly, I am doing research with electronic medical records in a database th...
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The Debate: Physician or Scientist
For years I was a hardcore, ambitious premedical student. I lived and breathed medicine and I had only one ambition - become a physician. And then, I began working in academia and it opened me up to a career I hadn’t yet considered, a PhD. For the last...
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Starting a PhD in Melbourne, Australia during the COVID-19 Pandemic
As part of my blog, I aim to share many voices from other PhD students. As my first guest blogger, I asked Shakira Milton to share her story about starting her PhD in Australia during the pandemic. Shakira is a PhD Candidate at the University of Melbou...
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Read, Read, Think, Write, and Read.
When I was working at EVMS I told my supervisor that I wish we had the time to start our day with two hours of just reading the scientific literature. This way we could keep up with the new literature as well as explore new ideas for our research proje...
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Starting a New Journey with a White Coat!
By the end of high school, people expect you to start figuring out what you want to do with the rest of your life. But how can you decide your career if you haven’t had any experience in that career field yet? In college, I dreamed of becoming a physic...
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Share Your Voice
This post is dedicated to Carrie Elzie, a mentor who showed me that no matter my age or credentials, my voice matters. Working in academia taught me many lessons, but one of the most valuable ones was that my voice was important. I started my academi...
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The Power of a Learning Disability
When I was in second grade, my parents learned that I had a learning challenge, dyslexia. Although I have not always had accommodations, being labeled with dyslexia has haunted me. I was constantly afraid that people would treat me differently because ...
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Finding Your Research Rotations
Similar to most science PhD programs, during my first year I will complete three research rotations to identify possible research mentors. In my second year, I will officially pair with one of these scientists to conduct my research for my degree. We w...
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So What is Clinical Translational Science Anyways?
I have just moved to Cleveland, Ohio and am starting a doctorate program in Clinical Translational Science at Case Western Reserve University. This past month I have been bombarded by questions from my family and friends. “So what degree are you actua...
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