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The Black Hole

BY JONATHAN THON | JUN 02 2017

Once you’ve raised enough money, it’s very important that you find a private incubator space.

BY DAVID KENT | MAY 24 2017

Tackling the “mega-lab” problem.

BY JONATHAN THON | MAY 16 2017

Your teams should consist of people that you trust implicitly, that will work hard on whatever it is that you’re trying to do and will do it for free.

BY DAVID KENT | MAY 08 2017

Get ’em while they’re young, says David Kent.

BY JONATHAN THON | APR 28 2017

When bringing your discovery to market, make sure you construct an investment case, resolve your supply chain and plan your approach.

BY DAVID KENT | APR 20 2017

UBC dataset on PhD outcomes holds key for prospective graduate students to make an informed choice about obtaining PhD training.

BY JONATHAN THON | APR 06 2017

A guest post from Dr. Kellie Machlus, who asks the question: what processes can we set in place to guard against implicit bias and increase diversity in our ranks?

BY DAVID KENT | MAR 27 2017

“I felt a bit like a new animal at the zoo, people were listening because they were curious about me in the way they would be about a rare creature,” says David Kent.

BY JONATHAN THON | MAR 21 2017

We at The Black Hole have serious concerns about the impact such drastic cuts to the NIH would have on basic research, and the effect it will have on Canadian researchers.

BY DAVID KENT | MAR 14 2017

It is time we stopped investing in MD/PhDs as if they were a special class of worker, entitled to more than someone with “just a PhD.”

BY JONATHAN THON | FEB 28 2017

You need to recognize a problem by correctly identifying your customer and then refine your solution into a value proposition.

BY DAVID KENT | FEB 17 2017

They lead to more stability and may force early career scientists to stop waiting to make that next “substantial” contribution.

BY JONATHAN THON | FEB 07 2017

The following is an edited transcript from a talk I gave at the medical device development course, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, MA) on May 12, 2016. Due to length, I have broken the talk up into seven parts: Part 1: Why do this? Part 2: What you need to do before you start Part 3: Identifying […]

BY DAVID KENT | JAN 31 2017

In 2015, even before I took up my official job as a group leader here in Cambridge, I was in my future director’s office and he asked if I would be able to act as the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute’s public engagement champion. He thought it would be a good fit with the sort of […]

BY DAVID KENT | JAN 17 2017

Is there an important issue you feel the Black Hole hasn’t covered? Why not write a guest post!

BY JONATHAN THON | JAN 10 2017

The following is a transcript from I talk I gave at the Mentor Celebration Event, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, MA) on May 23, 2016. Due to length, I have broken the talk up into three parts: Part 1: Academe and industry are not your only career choices as a life sciences scholar Part 2: […]

BY DAVID KENT | DEC 19 2016

Go get ’em Canada!

BY JONATHAN THON | DEC 13 2016

The following is an excerpt from a talk I gave at the Mentor Celebration Event at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA on May 23, 2016. Due to length, I have broken it up into three parts. What follows is the second part. In the first part, I addressed career options in academe when […]

BY DAVID KENT | DEC 07 2016

Last week, the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars (CAPS) released its most recent survey of over 2,000 postdoctoral fellows across Canada. It is the third such survey (the others were 2009 and 2013) and offers the first robust longitudinal data set to help us understand the core issues facing the most uncertain and precarious phases […]

BY JONATHAN THON | NOV 24 2016

The following is an excerpt from a talk I gave at the Mentor Celebration Event at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA on May 23, 2016. Due to length, I have broken it up into three parts. What follows is the first part: Part 1: Training, Life sciences careers, and academics PhD and postdoctoral […]