In this episode, I reflect on some lessons I've learned from being a website designer for grad students and early career researchers to experiencing the same challenges after becoming a graduate student myself. I share some tips on what I'd focus on to get started on building my online presence.

Enter the Best Personal Academic Websites Contest: https://theacademicdesigner.com/2025/best-personal-academic-websites-contest-2025/  (Entries are open through August 15, 2025 at 11:59pm Pacific Time.) Build your personal academic website with Owlstown: https://www.owlstown.com/ Read the Website Design Guide: https://brittanytrinh.com/website-design-guide/ 

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanytrinh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brttnytrnh Website: https://brittanytrinh.com

Listen to Brittany’s Music Box: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/76wGgr7qaDP9ssGRVqdAK5?si=1653e13131e14030 

Intro/Outro Background Music Credit: Op. 10 No. 1, composed by Frederic Chopin, performed by Chiara Bertoglio, piano (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0)

In this episode, we’ll chat about how I started my science communication journey and what I've learned. I will also read my most recent article that was published in The Dish Wisconsin, a food literary magazine at UW-Madison.

My Science Communication Articles:

1. How Non-sugar Sweetners Affect Gut Health: https://magazine.scienceconnected.org/2019/08/how-nonsugar-sweeteners-affect-gut-health/
2. Mmm, Chemicals: Food Cannot Be Chemical Free: https://issuu.com/wisconsinunion/docs/the_dish_-_the_education_edition_2025/20?ff 

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanytrinh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brttnytrnh Website: https://brittanytrinh.com

Listen to Brittany’s Music Box: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/76wGgr7qaDP9ssGRVqdAK5?si=1653e13131e14030 

Intro/Outro Background Music Credit: Op. 10 No. 1, composed by Frederic Chopin, performed by Chiara Bertoglio, piano (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0)

Arabesque No. 1 by Claude Debussy Performed by Brittany Trinh

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanytrinh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brttnytrnh Website: https://brittanytrinh.com

In this episode, I share about how and why I deferred grad school and what I wish I did instead. I also share some tips based on my experience for graduate school applicants who want to defer. 

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanytrinh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brttnytrnh Website: https://brittanytrinh.com

Listen to Brittany’s Music Box: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/76wGgr7qaDP9ssGRVqdAK5?si=1653e13131e14030 

Intro/Outro Background Music Credit: Op. 10 No. 1, composed by Frederic Chopin, performed by Chiara Bertoglio, piano (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0)

Sound Effect Credits: Turn a Page by CreatorsHome from Pixabay Wind up music box by freesound_community from Pixabay

In this episode, I talk about how Chopin's Op. 10 No. 1 changed my attitude at two different times in my life: learning piano during my middle school years and completing this last year(ish) of my chemistry PhD.

01:33: The story behind choosing Chopin’s Etude Opus 10 No. 1.

07:06: Connecting the music and my current challenges in my last (ish) year of my PhD

08:02: My renewed intention to document my journey through the podcast.

09:49: Introducing “Brittany’s Music Box” segment.

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanytrinh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brttnytrnh Website: https://brittanytrinh.com

Listen to Nobuyuki Tsuji's 2009 Van Cliburn performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vshKjti_lTU 

Listen to Brittany’s Music Box: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/76wGgr7qaDP9ssGRVqdAK5?si=1653e13131e14030

Intro/Outro Background Music Credit: Op. 10 No. 1, composed by Frederic Chopin, performed by Chiara Bertoglio, piano (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0)

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanytrinh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brttnytrnh Website: https://brittanytrinh.com

Background Music Credit: Op. 10 No. 1, composed by Frederic Chopin, performed by Chiara Bertoglio, piano (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0)

In this episode, I share my experience of coping with homesickness as a graduate student over the years.

Credits:

• Intro excerpt, read from Breaking Through: My Life in Science by Katalin Kariko
• Piano excerpts: La vallée des cloches from Miroirs by Maurice Ravel, performed by Thérèse Dussaut (piano), from a recital at the Salle de Pleyel, Paris, March 1975; Publisher: Pandora Records/Al Goldstein Archive
• Orchestra excerpt: Symphony No. 8, 1st mvt by Antonin Dvorak, performed by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Medical Sciences Orchestra (Fall 2023)
• Ending song: Songs My Mother Taught Me from Gypsy Songs, Op. 55 by Antonin Dvorak, performed by Jennifer Johnson Cano (mezzo-soprano), Christopher Cano (piano); Publisher: Boston, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanytrinh   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brttnytrnh   Website: https://brittanytrinh.com 

In this episode, I share some of my tips for fueling your brain and body by maintaining a healthy diet and exercise as a graduate student (from someone who is learning how to be healthier slowly).

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanytrinh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brttnytrnh Website: https://brittanytrinh.com

Music Credit: String Quartet No. 12, 1st mvt composed by Antonin Dvorak, performed by Borromeo String Quartet

In this episode, we’ll talk about:

• Why I wanted to redesign my website
• How I updated my website strategy
• Breaking down the steps I took to redesign the website

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanytrinh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brttnytrnh Website: https://brittanytrinh.com

Music Credit: String Quartet No. 12, 1st mvt composed by Antonin Dvorak, performed by Borromeo String Quartet

In this episode, I interview Dr. Lucinda Jackson of LJ Ventures. We talk about

• How her career in environmental chemistry led to starting her own consulting business
• How she incorporated many different aspects of her work, including speaking and writing books, into LJ Ventures
• How we can empower and retain more women in STEM

Follow Dr. Lucinda Jackson for updates on her speaking events and books!

• Website: https://lucindajackson.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucinda-jackson/

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanytrinh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brttnytrnh Website: https://brittanytrinh.com