Getting a PhD is a lot of work. In fact, if you believe the Princeton Review, maybe no one should pursue them at all. And yet, I have worked with enough people who hold PhDs that it got me wondering about the statistics of PhDs and research. Usually, the people who pursue PhDs really love learning, and are excited about the prospect of making a profession of it. Much of the time, pursuing research is an important component of this learning journey.
Can a party restore our connectedness? There is a colleague that I work with that I have the good fortune of talking with regularly. But the change in him since lockdowns, closings, stay at home orders and protests is notable. He doesn’t dispute the necessity of these things, but it is clear that they are taking a toll on him. Being part of an international community, most of the people I work with on a daily basis rely on online communications as our primary way of getting things done.
I am honored and excited about being featured in the LinkedIn article series by Heather Flanagan of Spherical Cow Consulting, “What’s it like to be…”. Making the decision to become an independent consultant was a scary one when I took the leap in late 2018. It was great to reflect on that decision and consider how things have gone so far during this interview with Heather. You can read the full interview in LinkedIn:
Transparency is essential to trust and efficiency in research. In light of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, there has been increasing discussion about the importance of past and evolving research related to the virus and disease. Ensuring researchers have access to past data and findings that may provide insights is urgent and important, and fortunately is getting some attention with efforts like LitCovid, an open-resource literature hub for COVID scholarship. Despite this encouraging development, it is important that we don’t lose sight of the importance of research transparency in reinforcing the goals of efficiency, efficacy, and long-term trust in biomedical research.