“The anti-science sentiment is entirely the fault of well-funded Koch brothers and people like them.”
I was helping out with the petition to get Obama’s attention on the issue of biomedical research funding. Amongst the flurry of emails, I got one that said essentially this:
“I’m trying to get people to sign this petition, but some people are pushing back because they’re not really sure of the value of science.” The email then went on to point to this article that discussed ...(read more)
Tagged as:
grant funding,
science funding,
science in the usa
Recently, I posted a link to a story by the Atlantic over on my Facebook page called “How Your Cat is Making You Crazy.” The article discusses Jaroslav Flegr, a Czech evolutionary biologist who has been studying Toxoplasma gondii, or the brain parasite which can be passed from cats to humans.
But this article isn’t really about that: this article discusses how Flegr and his research haven’t always been taken seriously–in fact, just the opposite. His idea (that T. Gondii actually ...(read more)
It depends on what your definition of is is… but the white house shut down the biomedical research funding petition with only 10 hours and 446 signatures to go, with signatures coming at 4/minute. At 2PM. On a Sunday.
Weird.
Maybe it was a typical moronic computer programmed to cut it off at exactly the same time of day that the petition was started. Or maybe it was a conspiracy by the White House because they knew that if this hit the ...(read more)
One of the most difficult jobs I have in teaching people how to write better grants boils down to convincing them of one simple thing:
A grant is not about promoting or pursuing your own interests, it is about promoting and pursuing your funders and reviewers’ interests.
If you are so lucky as to be at a place where you can find the juncture between your interests and reviewer/funder interests, then you’re in the sweet spot. But most people aren’t.
I have worked ...(read more)
Tagged as:
grant writing,
NIH grants,
science careers
This stressed out dude will not bring clarity or focus to writing his grant. Don’t be like him, it does not lead to success.
To take the stress out of writing, develop a good writing habit
Through my work with academics in grant writing, one of the most common concerns I hear is how to find the time to actually sit down and write. The days of an academic scientist (and most people, nowadays) are chock-full of an endless series ...(read more)
Tagged as:
free grant writing tips,
grant writing,
NIH grants
