Our Top Picks for July 19th 2018

⭃A medical researcher from the UK by the name of Lois, speaks about her own battle with sexual harassment during her pursuit of a Ph.D. In the article, "Why science breeds a culture of sexism," the authors discuss what she went through during her research and "how the hierarchy, working environment and male-dominated culture of science, not only in their university but in their specialism/discipline, makes tackling sexual misconduct more complex and challenging than in other academic fields and industries."

Flickr Image by Mike Lawrence. 

⭃Special thank you to Jacqueline McGinty for sharing the article, "Women Maintain NIH Funding Similar to Men: Study." While searching for reasons why women faculty members are underrepresented in the life sciences, researchers have looked at factors affecting the retention of female faculty, such as the ability to sustain funding. A new analysis finds that keeping the money rolling in doesn’t appear to be a factor. Of nearly 35,000 researchers who received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) between 1991 and 2010, men and women maintain funding at roughly the same rates.

Flickr Image by Archives New Zealand. 

⭃Join the petition to remove sexual harassers from the National Academia of Sciences. It is not acceptable to allow people to be involved in illegal actions and not suffer the consequences, take a stand and allow your voice to be heard by signing the petition to the NAS here. 

⭃Check out the article, "How the Founder of All Girls Code is Shaking Up STEM in the Middle East," to read about how 20-year-old Aya Mouallem is encouraging the girls who attend her programs to pursue STEM degrees and careers. 

⭃Neuroscientist Brenda Miler turns 100 with style. Learn about her life and legacy in Stat New's article "If you’re neuroscientist Brenda Milner, this is how you turn 100 years old."


⭃It’s easier to make a case for a raise and promotion when you have a clear sense of your own performance. Unfortunately, that part is never easy. Check out the article, "Give yourself a performance review right now. Here’s how," for advice on how to navigate the ins and outs of being honest with yourself and others about your work output. 

Flickr image by Nick J Webb. 

⭃In the article "Twitter for Academics 101" neuroscientist Caitlin Vander Weele gives a crash course on academic Twitter in the new blog post found on Inscopix. She highlights the benefits of using social media as a scientist and gives tips on how to optimize the experience.

Job opportunities 

A postdoctoral position, supported by NIAAA funded T32, is open in the laboratory of Dr. Anushree Karkhanis in the Department of Psychology at Binghamton University in Binghamton, NY. The research program in our lab is guided by two overarching questions: (1) How does chronic stress impact neural substrates involved in shaping neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g.: anxiety, depression, PTSD, addiction, etc.)? and (2) What are the neural substrates responsible for the comorbidity between affective disorders (e.g.: PTSD, anxiety, depression, etc.) and alcohol and substance use disorders? A major emphasis is on understanding the neural substrates and mechanisms affected by stress, which then may lead to comorbid affective and addictive disorders. We utilize a combination of behavioral (operant oral and intravenous drug self-administration, real time conditioned place preference and aversion, elevated plus maze, forces swim stress) and neurochemical (ex vivo and in vivo voltammetry, in vivo microdialysis, HPLC) techniques along with optogenetics and chemogenetics.

For this position we are seeking a highly-motivated candidate with experience in studying behavioral and neurochemical effects of drugs of abuse to lead a NIAAA-funded project investigating impact of stress and drug exposure during adolescence on addiction vulnerability in adulthood. The successful candidate will join a highly-interactive neuroscience community and will work as part of a team that includes members of other laboratories in the Department of Psychology and the Developmental Exposure Alcohol Research Center. 

A recent Ph.D. degree in Psychology, Neuroscience or Pharmacology is preferred. Submit a formal application here: https://www.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=98878. Please also email the application materials directly to Anushree Karkhanis, Ph.D. (akarkhan@binghamton.edu).