How can we make STEM accessible for underrepresented scientists? Join us as we chat with the co-founders of Cientifico Latino, Dr Robert Fernandez (@latinodeciencia) and Olivia Goldman (@oliwiagoldman)! 

"Científico Latino is a volunteer-run grassroots STEM organization dedicated to increasing the pool of underrepresented scientists by creating a platform where everyone—regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or immigration status—has equal access to opportunities and guidance to become successful STEM professionals. 

Last year, we started our graduate student mentorship program (GSMI) to help underrepresented scientists navigate the hidden curriculum of graduate school applications. As part of this program, our scholars are paired with science professionals that provide feedback on all aspects of their graduate school application, access to webinars on demystifying the graduate school application process, one-on-one mock interviews, and a community of mentors and scholars in STEM. We have also generated open-access STEM resources from the high school to graduate level, to help students find summer research programs, fellowships, post-bac programs, and graduate school visit weekends. Our open-access resources and programs are only possible through the dedication of our amazing Científico Latino team, composed of STEM professionals across several universities, who are passionate about changing the narrative and enabling underrepresented scientists to succeed in STEM."  

Learn more about Cientifico Latino through their website and follow them on Twitter (@cientificolatin) and Instagram (@cientificolatino)

A full-text transcript of this episode is available via google doc.

Join us each Saturday at 3 pm EDT/12 pm PDT to talk about maintaining mental health and balance in grad school.

Want to be a guest or know somebody we should be talking to? Fill out our google form!

Follow our host on Twitter: Fay Lin (@xiaofei_lin)

Check out the PhD Balance website for more info on Grad Chat!

What do taxes, money management, investing, student loans, and more mean, while you're going through a PhD program? This week we will be joined by Dr Emily Roberts. Emily earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Duke in 2014. After realizing that her peers had a great need for financial education and support that was not being met by the universities or financial services industry, Emily started her business, Personal Finance for PhDs, shortly after defending.  Through Personal Finance for PhDs, Emily gives webinars for universities, hosts a podcast, coaches individuals and small groups, creates courses and workshops for individuals, and runs a community.

Emily encourages you to join her mailing list. If you do so through this link, and you’ll receive a PDF that details five ways you can improve your finances today as a graduate student or postdoc. To learn more, follow Emily on Twitter (@PFforPhDs) and check out the Personal Finance for PhDs website.

A full-text transcript of this episode is available via google doc.

Join us each Saturday at 3 pm EDT/12 pm PDT to talk about maintaining mental health and balance in grad school.

Want to be a guest or know somebody we should be talking to? Fill out our google form!

Follow our host on Twitter: Fay Lin (@xiaofei_lin)

Check out the PhD Balance website for more info on Grad Chat!

This week, we will be joined by Dr Darryl Boyd (he/him) AKA Dr Boyd "The Chemist." Darryl is a Research Chemist at the US Naval Research Lab (NRL) in Washington, DC, and the co-founder of Science Made Simple LLC, which is STEM Outreach Company he started with his wife.  

"There are so many “terrible mentor” stories that I’d like to share my many positive experiences that I’ve had with various mentors.  I’ll also be imparting what positive qualities I think these mentors displayed.  The end goal is to help people identify mentors that will get the best out of their mentees.  It has been a decade since I was in grad school, but since earning my PhD, I have frequently visited Colleges & Universities throughout the country to discuss my experiences with students at those institutions.  So I hope my perspectives are helpful to everyone. I’m both honored and excited to be joining the chat.  See you there!" - Dr Boyd "The Chemist"  

Darryl runs a STEM-focused YouTube channel that is meant to give simple explanations for fun, hands-on science experiments. Check it out here. Follow Darryl on social media: Twitter: @DrBoyd_Chemist & Instagram: @sciencemadesimple_llc  

A full-text transcript of this episode is available via google doc.

Join us each Saturday at 3 pm EDT/12 pm PDT for the Youtube live stream! The podcast will be posted each Tuesday! Grad Chat focuses on maintaining mental health and balance in grad school. Want to be a guest or know somebody we should be talking to? Fill out our google form!

Follow our host on Twitter: Fay Lin (@xiaofei_lin)

Check out the PhD Balance website for more info on Grad Chat!

PhD Balance continues to grow and our efforts to support academic mental health are constantly evolving. In this Grad Chat, we are so excited to welcome our new president, Liesl Krause!

Liesl Krause is a third-year PhD candidate at Purdue University Polytechnic. She is currently studying graduate student mental health, especially as it relates to their advisor and online support systems. Previously, she obtained her bachelors in electrical engineering from Villanova University and her masters in biomedical engineering from Purdue. Liesl is excited to be the next president of PhD Balance and hopes to expand the resources the organization can provide to graduate students internationally. In her free time, Liesl is learning how to train dogs through positive reinforcement behavior modification. She also enjoys going on runs, hiking, crafting and reading. Follow Liesl on Twitter @SourKrause94  

A full-text transcript of this episode is available via google doc.

Join us each Saturday at 3 pm EDT/12 pm PDT for the Youtube live stream! The podcast will be posted each Tuesday! Grad Chat focuses on maintaining mental health and balance in grad school. Want to be a guest or know somebody we should be talking to? Fill out our google form!

Follow our guest host Fay Lin on Twitter: @xiaofei_lin

Check out the PhD Balance website for more info on Grad Chat!

What can we expect for graduate school interviews in 2021? Finding the right grad program has always been intimidating, but students have even less of an idea of what to expect for this year's rounds of interviews. 

This week, we will be joined by Dr Joshua Hall (he/him). Josh is the Director Of Graduate Admissions for the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program (BBSP) in the Office of Graduate Education at UNC School of Medicine. BBSP is an umbrella admissions mechanism and first-year training program for 14 biomedical PhD programs at UNC-Chapel Hill. Each year BBSP recruits a class of 85-95 biomedical PhD students. Josh will be here to answer your questions about dealing with virtual interviews this year, as well as give some basic guidance about how to keep your cool and make a great impression. Hello PhD Podcast, run by Drs. Joshua Hall and Daniel Arneman takes a casual approach to help students, postdocs, faculty and scientists navigate the hard questions they face. Find them online or follow them on Twitter at @HelloPhD- The podcast is available for download across all major streaming platforms! Follow Josh on Twitter: @JDHallPhD

To learn EVEN MORE about how to ace your virtual grad school interview, check out Episode 146 of Hello PhD here!

A full-text transcript of this episode is available via google doc.

Join us each Saturday at 3 pm EDT/12 pm PDT for the Youtube live stream! The podcast will be posted each Tuesday! Grad Chat focuses on maintaining mental health and balance in grad school. Want to be a guest or know somebody we should be talking to? Fill out our google form!

Follow our guest host Jaedyn on Twitter: @JaedynRuli  

Check out the PhD Balance website for more info on Grad Chat!

CW: Mentions of Eating Disorders

This week, we will be joined by Jaclyn Siegel (she/her) (@jacasiegel). Jaclyn is a PhD candidate in Social Psychology at Western University, where she holds a doctoral fellowship in the Network for Economic and Social Trends. Jaclyn is a feminist social psychologist, and her research spans a variety of topics related to gender, sexuality, stigma, social justice, and mental health. Before entering her PhD program in 2017, Jaclyn faced the challenges of her mother's ALS diagnosis while fighting an eating disorder.  

"I let myself lean into healing my relationship with my body and unlearning how to be a 'good woman.' I practiced being angry and taking up space. It made other people feel uncomfortable. It made me feel powerful...I continued speaking up, asking questions, and interrogating norms and expectations in academia, and I earned a reputation as a “mouthy feminist,” a title I wear with pride." - Jaclyn Siegel 

A full-text transcript of this episode is available via google doc.

Join us each Saturday at 3 pm EDT/12 pm PDT for the Youtube live stream! The podcast will be posted each Tuesday! Grad Chat focuses on maintaining mental health and balance in grad school. Want to be a guest or know somebody we should be talking to? Fill out our google form!

Follow our host on Twitter: Fay Lin (@xiaofei_lin)

Check out the PhD Balance website for more info on Grad Chat!

This week, we will be joined by Ariana Castillo (she/her/ella) (@ArianaElena97). Ariana is a Disabled, Latinx PhD student in Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University with a focus on atmospheric dynamics, atmospheric chemistry, and climate. She also does part-time research at NASA Langley Research Center studying wildfire emissions. Ariana was diagnosed with severe depression, anxiety, panic, and bipolar disorders in the middle of undergrad. From withdrawing due to her life-threatening illnesses and an attempt on her life to interning at NASA, applying to graduate school, and graduating late, her unconventional journey has opened her eyes to ableism, elitism, and racism in academia. 

Check out Ariana's Mental Health/Disability Twitter: @DisMHMatters

A full-text transcript of this episode is available via google doc.

Join us each Saturday at 3 pm EDT/12 pm PDT for the Youtube live stream! The podcast will be posted each Tuesday! Grad Chat focuses on maintaining mental health and balance in grad school. Want to be a guest or know somebody we should be talking to? Fill out our google form!

Follow our host on Twitter: Fay Lin (@xiaofei_lin)

Check out the PhD Balance website for more info on Grad Chat!

How do we thrive in grad school among repeated disruptions? 

This week, we will be joined by Dr Prerana Sabnis (she/her) (@preranasabnis). Prerana's PhD program was an Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate hosted by 5 universities in Italy, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, and the UK. From the beginning, Prerana expected her PhD to be disrupted by a few moves. However, she did not anticipate countless additional disruptions, such as a complete change in PhD topic, a painful heartbreak, her mother's cancer diagnosis, carer responsibilities, burnout, depression, anxiety, and 9 international moves in 3.5 years. All this while being an international student with a constantly changing social support system. Tune in hear her story and tips for managing disruptions in grad school.  

A full-text transcript of this episode is available via google doc.

Join us each Saturday at 3 pm EDT/12 pm PDT for the Youtube live stream! The podcast will be posted each Tuesday! Grad Chat focuses on maintaining mental health and balance in grad school. Want to be a guest or know somebody we should be talking to? Fill out our google form!

Follow our host on Twitter: Fay Lin (@xiaofei_lin)

Check out the PhD Balance website for more info on Grad Chat!

How can we work to establish effective and inclusive teaching and learning environments (especially during pandemic conditions)?

This week, we will be joined by Graham H. Read (he/him). Graham is a PhD candidate in Radiation Biology at UCLA, as well as the chair of the Graduate Program in Biosciences (GPB) Mental Health Committee, a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, and one of the TA Coordinators for the Life Sciences Core. He is also an Undergraduate Research Mentor at the Undergraduate Research Center – Sciences, where he runs workshops to teach research-based skills to undergraduates. In the lab, Graham is a proud mentor to four terrific students- one from each class year!

A full-text transcript of this episode is available via google doc.

Join us each Saturday at 3 pm EDT/12 pm PDT for the Youtube live stream! The podcast will be posted each Tuesday! Grad Chat focuses on maintaining mental health and balance in grad school. Want to be a guest or know somebody we should be talking to? Fill out our google form!

Follow our host on Twitter: Fay Lin (@xiaofei_lin)

Check out the PhD Balance website for more info on Grad Chat!

CW: Mentions of Suicide

This week, we will be joined by Dr Wendy Marie Ingram (@pyromanticism) (she/her). Wendy did her PhD at UC Berkeley in Molecular and Cell Biology and her postdoc at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Psychiatric Epidemiology. Her research focuses on understanding psychiatric illness from molecules to populations  CW. Suicide.  Wendy's mental health advocacy is highly personal. In addition to her own struggle with mental health, Wendy tragically learned that she was not alone. In 2013, Wendy's research community at Berkeley was devastated by the loss of a classmate to suicide and depression.   Wendy founded a nonprofit called Dragonfly Mental Health. Dragonfly is dedicated to cultivating excellent mental health among academics worldwide. They are a volunteer-driven global consortium that develops, deploys, and researches evidence-based approaches to improve mental health among academics. Visit their website to learn more! 

A full-text transcript of this episode is available via google doc.

Join us each Saturday at 3 pm EDT/12 pm PDT for the Youtube live stream! The podcast will be posted each Tuesday! Grad Chat focuses on maintaining mental health and balance in grad school. Want to be a guest or know somebody we should be talking to? Fill out our google form!

Follow our host on Twitter: Fay Lin (@xiaofei_lin)

Check out the PhD Balance website for more info on Grad Chat!