Margin Notes
Avec un peu de volonté, on peut y arriver, selon des experts réunis au Congrès des sciences humaines.
Imaginez que vous devenez sous-ministre de la santé et souhaitez vérifier de quelles données vous disposez sur le système de santé. Vous vous rendez toutefois compte que très peu de données existent sur les raisons des consultations des patients, que la collecte de données sur les médecins...
https://www.affairesuniversitaires.ca/opinion/en-marge/combler-le-manque-de-donnees-sur-leducation-postsecondaire/
The Black Hole
This short blog entry argues that when looking at the relationship or science and society, the majority of scientists only see (and avoid) the energy barrier in front of them and fail to imagine and strive toward the products on the other side. There are of course exceptions to the rule and this article hopes to inspire such visionary thinking. It contends that the products, similar to those in a chemical reaction, will provide a state that will in their own time lead to less energy expenditure for scientists.
A high school geology teacher once explained to me a guiding philosophy for his life which seemed quite confusing at the time – he called it “The least work principle” which stated that one should always aspire to expending the least amount of effort to get an outcome. I thought “Great, I ha...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/the-least-work-principle-and-catalysing-from-complacency/
The Black Hole
QUICK HITS:
1. If you were interested in previous posts of mine about how well science information is distributed and received in the UK, then you might also want to have a gander at a recent post that I made on the Stem Cell Network Blog entitled
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/so-you-want-to-be-a-researcher-in-industry/
The Black Hole
In a break from normal lab routine, I'll be dabbling in the black arts of science policy this November and running a session at the 3rd annual Canadian Science Policy Conference. The conference runs from Nov 16th-18th and features an excellent lineup of speakers that should result in a fantastic p...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/what-to-do-with-all-the-scientists-find-out-at-the-2011-canadian-science-policy-conference/
The Black Hole
This is a follow up on my previous blog post where I described my choice to enter an industrial position: “Academia vs. Industry: A former Postdoc’s perspective". I have been in my current position (a management position in a small start-up biotech company in Canada) for a little over a year....
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/happiness-outside-of-the-academy-one-year-later-see-how-this-former-postdoc-is-doing/
The Black Hole
We were thrilled this quarter to welcome Dr. Jonathan Thon to the Black Hole in the capacity of regular contributor. He's enthusiastically launched himself into the online blogging world with several articles and I've tried to scatter in a few along the way. If you fancy doing something simil...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/quarterly-summary-jonathan-thon-starts-with-a-flourish/
The Black Hole
It falls to scientists to speak up in support of federally funding research and in this third installment of a four-part series, I explore the economic cost of doing research in a cash-strapped system and the burden this is placing on young investigators.
To bring yourself up to speed, installeme...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/show-me-the-money/
The Black Hole
In the 1990s the typical PhD in biological sciences entered the job market in their mid 30s, after spending approximately 3.8 years as a postdoctoral fellow (National Academy of Science, Enhancing the Postdo...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/introducing-career-streams-into-academic-research/
The Black Hole
The following is my response to a letter from Canada's federal minister of health, Leona Aglukkaq, who was in turn responding to an earlier letter from me:
Honourable Leona Aglukkaq,
Thank you first and foremost for taking the time to respond to my letter on February 7, 2012, regardin...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/the-truly-bleak-job-prospects-for-young-scientists-in-the-life-sciences/
The Black Hole
For those who have not yet heard, the CIHR plans to make major changes to their funding mechanism for health scientists. Last week, at the height of summer vacation, the CIHR released a "What CIHR heard" document that summarizes the feedback they received on the proposed changes.
At first, I was ...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/grumpy-old-men-and-women-feedback-on-proposed-cihr-reforms/
The Black Hole
In my Continue reading, I made the argument that the government is wasting money training a multitude of postdoctoral fellows for jobs that only a fraction wil...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/playing-the-devils-advocate-on-low-salaries/
The Black Hole
This past weekend, I attended the inaugural meeting of the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Administrators in Ottawa. As with most inaugural meetings, there was a combination of excitement and confusion but it appeared that the overall theme was one of identi...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/inaugural-meeting-of-canadian-postdoctoral-administrators-will-fanfare-results/
The Black Hole
In order to streamline career advancement, more effectively meet employment demand for the biomedical research industry, and reign in ballooning administrative costs, I propose the following paradigm shift: at academic research institutions relying primarily on federal funding to support their princ...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/a-paradigm-shift-in-academic-advancement/
The Black Hole
I thought I would take the opportunity this week to share with you a personal story regarding a recent academic milestone. My research focuses on platelet production, and earlier this year I filed a provisional patent, through Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School on a platelet b...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/patenting-at-academic-institutes/
The Black Hole
A little while back I wrote a blog post called "Continue reading which proposed that PhD programs finish in 4 to 5 years and that thesis committees take a more a...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/postdoctoral-mentors-and-a-regular-reality-check/
The Black Hole
Last week, the International Consortium of Research Staff Associations (ICoRSA) was launched in connection with the VITAE Research Staff Conference. Forged in the fire that burns in the bellies of early career researchers with low salaries, little stability and poor career prospects, this organizati...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/official-launch-of-the-international-consortium-of-research-staff-associations/
The Black Hole
As our readers know, we Continue reading last month in Toronto at the 5th Annual Canadian Science Policy Conference. It was a packed room and ...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/tough-love-and-a-plan-for-the-future-cspc-panel-recap/
The Black Hole
I was recently invited to give a keynote address at the Human Disease Mapping conference at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland that was fully coordinated by a small group of the college's PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. The scope was to share my experience and story of my ac...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/start-creating-career-options-for-yourself/
The Black Hole
I was recently invited to give a keynote address at the Human Disease Mapping conference at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland that was fully coordinated by a small group of the college's PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. The scope was to share my experience and story of my ac...
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/defining-the-role-of-the-scientific-activist/
The Black Hole
Editor's note: A few weeks back, Jenn and Erika shared their stories about being postdoctoral moms (Continue reading and
https://universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/the-baby-gap-who-was-that-postdoc-anyway/
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