From PhD to Communications in Four Phases: A Practical Guide to Uncover your Career Skills

Posted on by Nour Mozaffari

Remember learning to swim and realizing you could float without trying? While floating alone did not make you fit for the Olympics, it did mean you were ready to start learning the moves without sinking. As a PhD student or recent graduate exploring a career away from research, you might feel similarly unprepared, but without realizing it, you have been building the skills you need right from the start.

Phase 1: Exploration

In every PhD comes a time where you must decide between following the academic route, switching to research in industry, or leaving the bench behind altogether. Facing this decision, you might find yourself facing more questions than answers or even start to doubt your choice of degree. If this is the case, let me reassure you, you are not alone.

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Bacteria From Insect Guts Could Help Degrade Plastic

Posted on by Johanna Lee

For the past few decades, plastic pollution has become a serious environmental challenge. Plastic production has continued to increase and there are a variety of plastic polymer types available. Polystyrene (PS) is one of the most widely used plastics due to its durability, strength, and low cost. However, the qualities that make this plastic valuable also make it highly resistant to degradation.

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Glo-ing Above and Beyond: Simplifying Science with MyGlo Reagent Reader

Posted on by Simon Moe

When it comes to laboratory tools, few things resonate more than the experiences of researchers who rely on them daily. At the University of Cincinnati the MyGlo Reagent Reader has quickly become an indispensable lab companion, due to its compact design, affordability, and intuitive interface with tailored apps for Promega assays. But what truly sets the MyGlo Reagent Reader apart is how it empowers scientists to focus on their research.

Take Ipsita Kundu, a third-year PhD student at the University of Cincinnati working in Dr. Tim Phoenixโ€™s lab. The Phoenix lab, dedicated to studying innovative brain tumor therapies, faced challenges with their outdated luminescence reader. They needed an affordable, reliable solution to streamline Ipsitaโ€™s experiments without compromising accuracy or efficiency.

The MyGlo Reagent Reader was the answer. This blog highlights how this integrated solution is redefining laboratory workflows, enabling researchers to maximize productivity and maintain focus on groundbreaking discoveries. Letโ€™s delve into Ipsitaโ€™s story and explore how MyGlo transformed her research.

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Exploring Career Options for PhD Students: Planning for Success

Posted on by Lindsey Drake

Earning a PhD opens doors to a wide range of career opportunities across academia, industry, government, and beyond. While many students begin their PhD programs with specific career goals, research shows that career interests often evolve during their training (Brown et al., 2023). Therefore, exploring career options and remaining flexible to opportunities is important. By embracing career exploration and self-assessment, students can identify their best career options and make informed decisions about their next steps after graduation.

The Many Career Options for PhD Graduates

PhD graduates today find themselves in diverse roles, with opportunities extending beyond traditional academia. Career paths include:

  • Academia: Research-intensive faculty positions, teaching-focused roles, or administrative leadership.
  • Industry: Roles in biotechnology, data science, or consulting, often in research or management positions.
  • Government and Nonprofit Organizations: Research or policy roles in agencies such as the NIH (National Institutes of Health) and FDA (Food and Drug Administration), and others.
  • Additional Careers: Science communication, medical writing, marketing, patent law, or entrepreneurship.

During their training, PhD students develop highly transferable skillsโ€”critical thinking, project management, data analysis, communication, and problem-solvingโ€”that are highly valued across sectors (Sinche et al., 2017). Recognizing the value of these skills can expand career options for graduates.

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Understanding and Combating Legionella in Water Systems with Viability PCR

Posted on by Anna Bennett

Water plays a vital role in countless aspects of daily lifeโ€”drinking, cooling, recreation and more. However, the same systems that deliver these benefits can also harbor Legionella, a waterborne bacteria responsible for Legionnairesโ€™ disease, a severe form of pneumonia (1). Legionella thrives in stagnant aquatic environments, many of which are human-made and common in modern infrastructure, like in cooling towers, hot tubs and complex building water systems. In this blog, we explore the risks posed by Legionella, the limitations of traditional detection methods and how advanced tools at Promega are transforming water safety monitoring. 

3D illustration showing legionella pneumophilia bacteria in water
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Do Zebrafish Hold the Key to Heart Regeneration?ย 

Posted on by Shannon Sindermann
Heart regeneration after heart attacks can stop poor health outcomes, read for more research

The human body has an incredible capacity for self-repair. Our skin can regenerate after a small cut, bones can heal after fractures and even the liver can regrow to its original size after 70% is lost or removed (3). However, when it comes to the heart, the story is very different. As Miley Cyrus once sang, โ€œnothing breaks like a heartโ€ โ€“ and science agrees. Unlike other organs, the heart has almost no ability to regenerate itself after injuries. In instances like myocardial infarctions, more commonly known as heart attacks, large amounts of cardiomyocytes (CMs)โ€”the cells responsible for heart muscle contractionโ€”are lost and cannot be regenerated, causing the formation of non-regenerative fibrotic scar tissue and, ultimately, decline in heart function (1).  

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The Greatness of Glycogen: A Central Storage Molecule in Energy Metabolism

Posted on by Simon Moe

Introduction

Glycogen is a fundamental molecule in energy metabolism, serving as the critical storage form of glucose that supports cellular health and energy homeostasis. As a polysaccharide, glycogen is essential for maintaining stable energy levels, particularly during periods of fasting and physical exertion. This article will examine glycogen’s synthesis, storage, and utilization, along with its broader significance in human health and disease. Understanding glycogen’s role can provide valuable insight into energy regulation and metabolic health.

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The Benefits of BCAAs: Branched-Chain Amino Acids in Health and Disease

Posted on by Simon Moe

Introduction

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are essential nutrients that play a significant role in muscle metabolism and overall health. Comprised of leucine, isoleucine, and valine, BCAAs cannot be synthesized by the body and must be obtained through diet. Recent research has highlighted how the metabolic pathways are influenced by BCAAs, such as their ability to activate mTOR signaling, which is vital for muscle protein synthesis (Choi, 2024). Beyond muscle growth, BCAAs may support cognitive function and metabolic health, with ongoing research exploring their broader benefits in disease management. This article explores the diverse roles of BCAAs and their impact on health and diseases

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The Brilliance of BHB: A Key Ketone Body in Metabolic Health

Posted on by Simon Moe

Introduction

ฮฒ-Hydroxybutyrate (BHB), the most abundant ketone body, is a crucial molecule that sustains energy production during periods of glucose deprivation. Whether you are fasting, adhering to a ketogenic diet, or simply interested in metabolic flexibility, BHB offers key insights into how our bodies adapt to alternative energy sources. This article will delve into how BHB is produced, the diverse roles it plays, and its implications for health and disease.

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A Diabetes Drug, Metformin, Slows Aging in Male Monkeys

Posted on by Johanna Lee

Aging is a natural process that occurs in all living creatures, seemingly inevitable and inescapable. Yet, it is a collective dream of humanity to somehow avoid the deterioration caused by old age, including declining brain function, chronic illnesses, and organ failure. For decades, scientists have been exploring ways to slow down the aging process in the hope of extending lifespans and improving the quality of life. Now, we may be closer than ever to finding an answer. Itโ€™s called “metformin”.

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