Grad School
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Five Days in Louisville
Earlier this month, I was at the FASEB conference on Protein Folding in the Cell. These meetings are small with a few hundred people in one hotel. There’s no crowd to disappear into. You eat breakfast next to someone, watch them ask a question two hours later, then end up beside them again at dinner.…
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A Good Spring Semester and the End of my Third Year
As I wrap up this semester, I am taking some time to reflect on the past year as a scientist. It has been a memorable, yet trying year. I have felt disappointment and joy. I have been excited about my work, yet quietly questioned whether I belong in it. It is a strange combination of…
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’25 Wrapped
Reflecting on 2025, it has been a year truly for the books. A year so profoundly challenging in many ways, yet deeply rewarding. As a scientist, my biggest lesson was making peace with the understanding that not every problem has a solution. I am learning to show up with greater consistency in how I approach…
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Onwards
Lately, my research has been a cycle of hard work and unexpected results, testing my belief in my own progress. Despite long hours and countless experiments, I’ve had more dead ends than breakthroughs. While I’m blessed with a support system that remind me I’m on the right path, it’s hard to silence the doubt that…
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A Lasting Lesson, A Little Win
As I begin the third year of my PhD, I’ve been reflecting a lot on the pace of research and how often it feels like two steps forward, one step back. A friend and college recently told me that it’s called ‘re-search ‘because you have to keep searching, again and again, to uncover the truth. Lately that…
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What Exactly Is My PhD About?
At the most basic level, what makes each of us unique is our DNA. Think of DNA as the instruction manual for building and running your body. A complete set of these instructions is called your genome. Unless you have an identical twin, your genome is entirely your own! And the fascinating part is that every…
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One Step Closer: Officially A PhD Candidate
Two nights ago, my mind was a mess. “You’ve been preparing for this for weeks” I told myself. “So why do you feel like you’ve retained nothing?” Today, the day after, here’s the update: I passed with a unanimous “Yes” from my committee! God is good. It still feels surreal. Now that I think back…
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A Year Into My PhD – 3 Lessons
1. My PhD experience is more personal than collective. No two Ph.D. experiences are the same, and your research is unique to you. In a lab, you will most likely share a similar research area, but the content and context will be unique to each of you. You will be delving into areas of research…
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More Than Just Science: Selecting My Dissertation Lab
It’s official—after careful consideration, numerous discussions, and a fair amount of soul-searching, I’ve made one of the most important decisions in my PhD. I’ve chosen my dissertation lab. It feels a lot like embarking on a new journey, full with both excitement and cautious expectation. While I would like to belabor this post with all…
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Inside My First Semester: Lessons and Triumphs
The first few weeks of my PhD program resembled a complex dance of enthusiasm and nerves. In my department, I found a community of scientists with different focuses, all passionate about research. But dealing with all the coursework was challenging, making me feel overwhelmed at times. My first semester of graduate school passed by so…
PhD Journal Of A Ghanaian Woman in Stem 