Melina Estela Dalmau: Hippocampus: a structure to remember
I’ve been exploring (and getting lost in) the microscopic world of brain tissue for almost two years now. The reason is that part of my PhD has to do with high-magnification images (aka photomicrographs) of rat brains. Honestly, I’m still amazed every time I zoom in on these images, discovering all the patterns and the […]
Hannaneh Moradi: The Art of Qualitative Data Analysis: From Complexity to Clarity
As a researcher who is constantly engaged in the analysis of qualitative data, I find this a complex and fascinating process that merges art and science. Unlike quantitative analysis, where numbers and figures are present to help draw conclusions, qualitative research relies on words, patterns, and meanings. The challenge is to transform vast, unstructured texts […]
Elena Ppali: The importance of challenging current knowledge and ‘scientific truths’
A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a scientific seminar, where the final keynote speaker gave a talk about challenging and testing the assumptions that have been at the center of research on neurodegenerative diseases. The speaker made some excellent points and after listening to this talk, I found myself thinking about how challenging […]
Shekhar Singh: Psychological Bullying in Research Environments: How to Address and Take Action
Recently, I personally went through psychological bullying, and I can understand how bad it is. Even after you have done so much and worked hard but later you listen “you are worst student ever”, it’s kind of demotivating and heart breaking (from unknown). Furthermore, worst part is you want to let it go but you […]
Alex Berg: Challenges Associated with Data Collection
Collecting data through interviews can be a challenging experience. Factors that affect the process include difficulty finding participants, especially if they are minorities, and this goes hand in hand with how big your network is, your ability to reach out to as many people as possible, and your geographical location. Watch this video hosted by […]
Faezeh Heidari: My First Solo Scientific Journey: Exploring Germany and the World of Neuroimaging in Epilepsy
Embarking on my first solo scientific trip to Germany was a mix of excitement and nervous anticipation. I had been to conferences before, but this time, it was different. The journey was not just about the knowledge I would gain but also about the experiences and connections that awaited me at the ILAE School on […]
Kanishka: How do we see stimulus-response in brain?
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” Have you ever jumped at a sudden loud noise or reflexively pulled your hand away from something hot? These quick, seemingly automatic reactions are your brain’s way of […]
Meheli Banerjee: From Lab Coats to Literature: Crafting Manuscripts Without the Smoke and Mirrors
As I hit the two-year mark of our PhD journey, it’s time to put the Excel sheets, statistical analyses, and programming codes into words. Opinions on this part of the research – writing the manuscript – vary widely, but it can be a bittersweet experience. The first challenge is bringing everything together in our heads, […]
Aidan Mason-Mackay: MRI, circumventing the rules I learnt in my physics degree
I was introduced to MRI when I started my PhD, and I was fascinated to learn that it circumvents two so-called rules I’d learnt during my undergraduate degree in physics. I’ll share the first one with you here, and the other in my next blog post. I hope these posts will give you more appreciation […]
Ahmed Mohamed: Pitching and Science
Why do we use presentations? It is a way to gather information and put it in a structured manner with some visual aids. It is used to show information to a wide audience in an easy-to-follow way. In other terms, presentation is a means to communicate information, ideas or promote discussions. It can be long/short, […]