The Lonely Pipette : helping scientists do better science

TLP #19 : “Should I stay or should I go?” - Jenny Rohn


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In this episode, we talk with the multi-talented Jenny Rohn about her journey zig-zagging from academia to a biotech-startup, to science publishing and then back into academia.

  • She tells us about her unconventional path and how she decided to go to a start-up and then come back to academic research
  • She made long, agonizing lists about pros and cons of leaving or staying in academia
  • This period of indecision led her to start writing novels
  • Jenny admits that it was not easy to get back on to an academic path
  • She warns people against giving negative advise and she always tries to be honest, but positive feedback
  • Jenny says that In the ‘old days’ there used to be a myth that there was only one way to do science. She says that somewhere in the ‘90s there was a shift but it took a while for the old-guard to notice.
  • “Do not ever turn away from an opportunity to network. You need to get out and talk to people”
  • She tells us how she came up with the idea of ‘lab-lit’ and recommends some of her favourites
  • “If you want to be a writer… you need to write a lot and read a lot”
  • Jenny shares her thoughts about the place of narrative in scientific writing 


She mentioned these labs, resources and lab-lit authors

  • University College London (UCL) : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/
  • The Lab Lit website : http://lablit.com/
  • Science is Vital : https://scienceisvital.org.uk/
  • Jenny’s blog ‘Mind The Gap’ : https://occamstypewriter.org/mindthegap/
  • White Coats At Dawn on the Cosmic Shambles network : https://cosmicshambles.com/words/blogs/jennyrohn
  • Her first novel ‘Experimental Heart’ : https://jennyrohn.com/exheart
  • Her second novel ‘The Honest Look’ : https://jennyrohn.com/honestlook
  • Her third novel ‘Cat Zero’ : https://jennyrohn.com/catzero
  • Barbara Kingsolver : http://barbarakingsolver.net/books/
  • Carl Djerassi : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Djerassi
  • Allegra Goodman : https://allegragoodman.com/
  • John William Waterhouse : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_William_Waterhouse

To find out more about Jenny visit her website or follow her on Twitter

  • https://jennyrohn.com/
  • https://twitter.com/jennyrohn
  • Orcid : https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8766-6056
  • https://www.instagram.com/jennifer.rohn.3/

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To find out more about Renaud and Jonathan :

  • Twitter : https://twitter.com/LePourpre
  • LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaudpourpre/
  • Twitter : https://twitter.com/Epigenetique
  • LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanweitzman/%20


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The Lonely Pipette : helping scientists do better scienceBy Jonathan Weitzman & Renaud Pourpre

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