Michael Venters’ Post

Check out this article! It discusses our amazing acceptance and opportunity for the CUR STR program(council for undergraduate research scholars transforming through research).

Why are you applying for a PhD instead of a DrPH❓Most people have no idea! Here is the only reason you should pick a PhD over a DrPH. The answer lies in one key differentiator ************************ ! Research Intensity and Academic Focus! ************************ If your passion lies in pioneering research and contributing to theoretical knowledge, a PhD is your calling. Unlike the DrPH, which is oriented towards practical, applied public health leadership, the PhD is all about advancing academic research, developing new theories, and pushing the boundaries of scientific knowledge. ************************** 🧬 Academic vs. Applied ************************** Traditionally, PhD programs are designed for those aiming to enter academia or research-intensive fields. This path is ideal for aspiring professors, research scientists, and those driven by curiosity to explore the unknowns in their field. *************************** 💡 Theoretical Innovation *************************** PhD students seek to create new theoretical frameworks that can redefine understanding in their field. *************************** 🌐 Global Academic Recognition *************************** A Ph.D. is universally recognized as the pinnacle of academic achievement and can open doors in academic and research institutions worldwide. ___________________ Key TakeAway ——————————— If your career aspirations lean towards intensive academic research, contributing to scholarly literature then the PhD is a more aligned choice compared to a DrPH. 🗣Are you at this crossroads like many public health professionals? 😁 Reflect on where your true interest lies. Is it in shaping public health policy and practice (DrPH) or in advancing academic research (PhD)❓ At the end of the day, the career trajectory overlaps more than 50% of the time. #repost #share #PhDvsDrPH #HigherEducation #Research #AcademicCareer #PublicHealth

Graduates (or undergraduate students who should graduate before the end of October) in biology, biotechnology, medicine, chemistry, physics, chemistry and pharmaceutical technologies, pharmacy, and similar degrees are invited to participate in the call for the doctorate in Quantum Technologies and Nanoscience of the Scuola Normale Superiore (SNS), which contains a “curriculum” in the biomedical and biophysical fields: https://lnkd.in/dJAyUCQV https://lnkd.in/dwkV9Gvx In particular, in the call expiring on 26 July 2024 there are three dedicated grants in the field of Biophysics (and one in the field of Quantum Technologies). Previous knowledge of quantum mechanics is not necessary, there are dedicated courses for first-year PhD students aimed at filling any physical-mathematical gaps and teaching the rudiments of quantum physics necessary to understand some details of the nanoworld. In fact, within the doctorate (PhD – “perfezionamento”) in Quantum Technologies and Nanoscience there is also a large part of biophysics "at the nanoscale" (but the molecules of biological interest themselves have nanometric dimensions), with a focus on nanomedicine (including on the use of nanoparticles in teranostics) but also on advanced spectroscopy and microscopy techniques for the study of biological systems; furthermore, the collaboration with the “Fondazione Pisana per la Scienza ONLUS” (FPS), a non-profit scientific institute with interests in biotechnology and in biomedical research, allows carrying out researches requiring also genomics (down to the single cell level), transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and cell engineering. The research can be carried out at the laboratories of FPS, NEST, or other entities that co-finance the themed grants. More details on the SNS PhD calls at https://lnkd.in/dJAyUCQV The areas of the themed scholarships can be read in Annex A of the call https://lnkd.in/dNwi-W2T

PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) is a doctoral degree with an academic focus. A PhD course is usually of three years duration and candidates need to complete the course within a maximum time span of five to six years. However, the course duration may vary from one institute to the other. Aspirants need to possess a master s degree to be eligible to pursue a PhD programme. #phdstudent #phdcourse #phddegree #phdcollege

In 2018, Wellcome launched a call to fund PhD training programmes. Not unusual in itself, except for the prominence given to research culture as a selection criterion, on a par with scientific excellence. Also unusual was the degree of reflection exercised in developing and implementing the call. In this Open Letter, I describe the outcome of two studies reflecting on how the call was shaped, how it was responded to by applicants, and by evaluators. The Open Letter is a summary of the main cross-cutting themes; links to the full reports are embedded in it. As the profile of research culture is raised by an increasing number of funders, not least UKRI and the REF, there are many lessons to learn from this experiment in enhancing research culture. https://lnkd.in/e_Nq8Y-F

What is the perfect way to assess a PhD course? Most academics agree that the traditional goal of the PhD thesis is to demonstrate the candidate's ability to conduct independent research on a novel concept and to communicate the results in an accessible (easy to understand) way. However, the academics might differ on how best to achieve that goal (Julie Gould, 2016). Shirley Tilghman, a molecular biologist, and former president of Princeton University in New Jersey highly valued the merit in the monograph form of the thesis. She opined that the PhD thesis demonstrates the candidates’ scholarly ability to “frame the historical context of a problem, describe in detail the purpose and execution, and then come to a credible conclusion.” (Julie Gould, 2016). But should the thesis involve academic publications, too? That's the practice at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, where most theses are a collection of the student's original articles, along with a relatively short discussion (about 50 pages long). The institute argued that publishing should be part of PhD training because it better prepares students for academic life and securing jobs (Julie Gould, 2016). But others opine that the pressure to publish could demote PhD students of valuable parts of their studies, such as the time to shape their research path and to think creatively and independently (Julie Gould, 2016). “The PhD might become driven by papers only.” “Students might end up spending their time focusing only on what papers they can produce, then assemble them together with a summary and they're done — adding to the sense that the whole scientific enterprise is a paper factory rather than an exploration.” --Jeremy Farrar (former director of the biomedical research charity, the Wellcome Trust in London). During her tenure as Princeton's president from 2001–2013, Shirley Tilghman was frequently asked if there was a perfect way to assess a PhD course. Most disliked her answer — that she could only really evaluate a student at the 25-year reunion. “In the end, that is the only way you can assess whether the graduates of the programme become successful scientists. If they do, you've done a good job. If they haven't, you haven't.” (Julie Gould, 2016). Reference: Julie Gould (2016). What’s the point of the PhD thesis? Nature 535, 26–28 (07 July 2016) doi:10.1038/535026.

Wellcome’s 2019 funding for PhD programme training: An experiment in enhancing research culture "In September 2019, 23 Wellcome funded PhD programmes were launched. These programmes had been funded in a call that for the first time put positive research culture on a par with scientific excellence. This was a bold and experimental intervention in the research system. Aware of this fact, Wellcome also commissioned two studies into the shaping and implementation of the call, and into the way it had been received by applicants to the call. This Open Letter summarises the main themes that cut across the two studies: the difficulties of defining positive research culture and of balancing it with scientific excellence; the expectation that supervision of PhD students is a key way to effect research culture change; the need for coherence between funding calls; issues around evaluating the track records of programmes on research culture, which further feed into defining the criteria of evaluation and selection relating to research culture." https://lnkd.in/eWtJ5ri3

For anyone applying or considering a PhD, here are my insights from my lucky experience as PhD at the University of Cambridge, with some selection hints: 🎯 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: A PhD will take at least 3-4 years of your life. Understanding why you want to pursue it will help you persevere during tough times. But don’t be naïve such: “I want to cure cancer” 🧑🏫👩🔬 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗯 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺: Your supervisor and team will be the factors that most significantly influence your PhD success. A supportive team can help you grow and get the best out of you, even on bad days (trust me, you will have them) 🎓 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗯𝘂𝘁...: I’m not going to lie, university rankings do matter. But It’s not the ranking itself that matters most, but the culture of the university. Focus more on the research group you are applying to. 🔍 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗯 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗹𝘆: Look at the group’s publication frequency, graduation times, and most importantly, the career paths of recent graduates. In my experience, if many graduates stay in academia, it might indicate they enjoyed their experience—👌 group. Check that many members of the group are involved in publications, not just the PI’s name, as it can mean the PI was an advisor in the project, but the lab was not involved at all. 🌟 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆: Groups led by highly established PIs often lack attention to new students/research. The PI might have limited time to guide you personally. Remember: “The wolf on the hill is not as hungry as the wolf climbing the hill.” Look for a PI who is still climbing the hill 🧗♂️. 🧪 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗯 𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲:  K and R reproductive species theory for lab size. Labs with many PhD students often offer less guidance and time with the PI, but a single successful research project can “cover” the cost of others in terms of new grants and projects (R). In contrast, smaller labs usually provide better training and supervision, as the success of the lab depends on the student’s research (K). 👥 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘃𝘀. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲: While the project is important, the people supporting you are far more. Projects can change anytime, but your supporters remain the same for most of your research time. 🏃♂️🏃♀️ 𝗣𝗵𝗗 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗻, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁: Choose a lab that values mental health and has a sustainable work culture. Exhaustive lab environments, where every day is a rush, can lead to burnout soon, lowering your motivation. Choose a group where the members enjoy activities outside academia. 🌅 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝗯 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲: Ensure the lab allows you to have fun, be yourself, and nurture your creativity/curiosity. Micromanaging can drag down your confidence and morale. Remember, it's your PhD journey, not anyone else's. #PhDresearchers

"Congratulations, fellow scholars, on completing this crucial step in your PhD journey - mastering the art of research methodology!" "A toast to perseverance, dedication, and intellectual growth! Today, we celebrate not just the end of a course, but the strengthening of your foundation for groundbreaking research." May your PhD journey be one of immense satisfaction and groundbreaking discoveries. Best of luck, scholars!" Congratulations again, and best wishes for a successful and fulfilling PhD journey! #PhD #researchmethodology #PradeepKumarTS #Vitchennai #vit #Research

If you have your sights set on becoming an Assistant Professor - this article, with some great insights from Caesar Miguel Hernandez, Ph.D. is packed with advice for that next career step! #postdoc #tenuretrack