What are YOU going to do with THAT?

Meet Helen Nicholls, a 2nd year PhD candidate at UCL, UK. In this episode Helen chats with Danni about her journey that started with the dream to become a clinical phycologist, and ends (for now) with a PhD at the Division of Psychiatry. Helen shares about her concerns and challenges that have led her to change her course of professional development several time until she has managed to find her true passion of research.

In the episode Helen talks about her research on the mental health and wellbeing of researchers in academic institutions. One of the main aspects she relates to, and comes up often in her interviews, is the lack of job security, and its impact on the wellbeing of early career researchers - their lack of ability to make long-term plans such as planning a family or getting a mortgage to buy a house.

In this episode Danni drank coffee and Helen drank English breakfast tea.

You can follow Helen on:

Twitter: @HelenNic93

LinkedIn: 

UCL Profile page

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Host: Danni Reches (@DanniReches)

Producer and Editor: Ido Rosenzweig (@IdoRosenzweig)

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How important is a catchy title? How about a strong opening sentence or a good abstract? Is a journal's ranking that important? What about tips for better writing and getting over writer's block?

In this special episode 50 of our podcast, Danni chats with Prof. Felicia Moore Mensah from Teachers College at Colombia University. Felicia is a co-editor of a top-tier peer review "Journal of Research in Science Teaching", and the author of the book "Like Words Falling onto the Page" (available as eBook Kindle & Paperback on Amazon). Felicia shares with her tips and advice about better academic writing, and answers many questions from the point of view of both an editor and a supervisor. In this episode Danni drank her amaretto and Felicia drank tea.

You can follow Felicia on:

Twitter: @docmensah

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fmmensah

Teachers College website

The Scholar Mentor Website

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Host: Danni Reches (@DanniReches)

Producer and Editor: Ido Rosenzweig (@IdoRosenzweig)

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Our website: www.what2dowiththat.com

Enjoy the episode!

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Jomana Qaddour has a very interesting story to tell. She immigrated from Syria to the US as a child with her parents, she lived most of her life in Kansas, and was "planned" to become an MD. However her passion and interest drove her to a completely different route - joined a JD (law degree) in Kansas. Her legal career took her to Washington DC where she used her networking skills to get into the world of policy and research, which eventually led to doing LL.M and SJD (on which she is still working) at Georgetown University, while at the same time she works at at the Atlantic Council and directing their Syrian file.

In this episode Jomana talks about her journey, but also about her lessons from her work in policy and research. She talks about how she learned about the importance of perspectives, and that theoretical solutions to complicated problems (such as the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Bosnia) must take into account the local perspective and not just impose an outsider's point of view. Alongside all that Jomana is also a co-founder of the "Syria Relief and Development" - a humanitarian organization that has provided over $115 million worth of aid in Syria and the region which enabled to and provide support to millions of people.

In this episode Danni drank her usual Amaratto, and Jomana drank coffee from a special mug with a picture of all four female US Supreme Court Justices.

Jomana's SJD research is on ethno-sectarianism and its impact on constitutional frameworks in Iraq, Bosnia, and Syria.

You can follow Jomana on:

Twitter: @jomanaqaddour

LinkedIn: Jomana Qaddour

Georgetown profile page

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Host: Danni Reches (@DanniReches)

Producer and Editor: Ido Rosenzweig (@IdoRosenzweig)

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Our website: www.what2dowiththat.com

Enjoy the episode!

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Meet Ursula Schmid, a PhD candidate in media and communication at the LMU university in Munich, Germany. In this episode Ursula talks with Danni about her journey that started with a BA in Communication Science with Sociology, and MA in Communication Science at the Institute for Communication Science and Media Research at LMU Munich from 2016 to 2018. After graduating, she initially worked as a market researcher with a research focus on media and advertising effects, only to figure out that she prefers academia over industry and return to LMU to do her PhD.

Ursula shares about the circumstances that led her to understand that she wasn't happy and decided to quit her industry position, take a few months off, and start a PhD. She also explains about her research on the human response to online hate speech as it (hate speech) appears in humorous memes. Her research is conducted as part of a larger project on the application of AI for the early detection of criminal offences. In this episode Danni drank an unusual tea and Ursula drank a local Munich beer.

Ursula participated in the Hate-Speech - interdisciplinary approaches workshop of the Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions. You can watch her presentation on the Minerva Center's YouTube channel.

You can follow Ursula on:

Twitter: @uk_schmid

LinkedIn: Ursula Kristin Schmid

LMU page

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Host: Danni Reches (@DanniReches)

Producer and Editor: Ido Rosenzweig (@IdoRosenzweig)

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Our website: www.what2dowiththat.com

Enjoy the episode!

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Meet Pavle Kilibarda - a PhD candidate (perhaps already a Dr. by the time you're listening to the episode) in International Law at the University of Geneva. In this episode, Pavle talks very openly about his academic and personal journey. Including his decision to start a BA in International Relations, as he didn't want to study law - and how he ended up doing an LL.M in International Law at the Geneva Academy for International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. Eventually, he even continued with a PhD in Public International Law about the recognition of states. Pavle talks extensively about his PhD research and why he chose this topic. 

Pavle also talks about his journey that started in Belgrade and moved back and forth between Geneva and Belgrade, until he decided to settle in Geneva. He touches upon the financial struggles that he and his partner endured - living in one of the most expensive cities in the world while have a very small income of a

Teaching Assistant.

During the episode Danni drank her Amaretto and Pavle drank a traditional Serbian drink - Gorki list

You can follow Pavle on:

Twitter: @pavle_kilibarda

LinkedIn: Pavle Kilibarda

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Host: Danni Reches (@DanniReches)

Producer and Editor: Ido Rosenzweig (@IdoRosenzweig)

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Our website: www.what2dowiththat.com

Enjoy the episode!

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Meet Ilona Láng-Ritter, a meteorologist, storm researcher and expert in international projects at the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), and a PhD candidate in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Helsinki. In this episode, Ilona shares her academic journey that went from leaving her position as a TV meteorologist, to become a researcher at the FMI and doing a PhD. Her research focuses on the impact of non-tropical storms on electricity in Finland. Ilona also talks about her many business trips to different countries and what it was like to be the only woman at the table of experts, and how that influenced her decision to do her PhD.

In this episode Danni drank her regular Amaretto and Ilona drank the super-quality and healthy Finnish tap water.

You can follow Ilona on her:

Twitter: @lang_ilona

LinkedIn: Ilona Lang-Ritter

Ilona's Profile on FMI

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Host: Danni Reches (@DanniReches)

Producer and Editor: Ido Rosenzweig (@IdoRosenzweig)

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On Twitter: @What2DoWithTHAT

On Facebook: @What2DoWithTHAT

On Instagram: @What2DoWithTHAT

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Our website: www.what2dowiththat.com

Enjoy the episode!

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Meet Sandra Wellner, a PhD candidate from the University of Copenhagen and a fellow at the EU funded INNOTARGETS project. In this episode Sandra and Danni talk about the value of traveling abroad for school, as Sandra managed to travel to no less than seven countries during her academic journey. Sandra also talk about the cultural and professional differences between the labs in different countries when referring to her research on antimicrobial resistance.

In this episode Danni drank a special holidays edition of her Amaretto and Sandra drank Chai latte in a special biology cup.

INNOTARGETS is an EU funded project which includes 12 international PhD students from 11 countries who are all trying to solve the antimicrobial resistance crisis. For more information about the program see https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/956154

INNOTARGETS twitter account: @Innotargets2020

Host: Danni Reches (@DanniReches)

Producer and Editor: Ido Rosenzweig (@IdoRosenzweig)

Contact us:

On Twitter: @What2DoWithTHAT

On Facebook: @What2DoWithTHAT

On Instagram: @What2DoWithTHAT

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Our website: www.what2dowiththat.com

Enjoy the episode!

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Meet Dr. Guy Cameron, a proud Wailwan (Aboriginal) man living in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Guy has recently received his PhD (Immunology & Microbiology) from the University of Newcastle, and he is now a postdoc fellow with the Aboriginal Ear Health Group. After he finished his PhD Guy decided to continue studying in the Joint Medical Program at the University of Newcastle which includes a Bachelor of Medical Science & Doctor of Medicine.

In this episode Guy talks about his journey that started with no intention to continue his education and ended up (so far) with a PhD. He explains what made his decide to pursue a Bachelor of Art, during which he discovered his passion to biology and the human body. That passion led him to pursue Bachelor of Biomedical Science, and following that began his PhD (Immunology & Microbiology) - all at the University of Newcastle. He also talks about his future plans to combine his research knowledge with the medical knowledge.

Guy talks about both his PhD research and his current postdoc research. He describes some of his challenges during his PhD, the importance of a good support system and the important value of academic twitter. Guy is a very strong advocator of mental health and during Covid-19 pandemic he spent his time dispelling misinformation and providing his community with reliable knowledge sources.

Because of the time differences, in this episode Danni drank her morning coffee, and Guy drank local dry Gin.

You can follow Guy on his:

Twitter: @DrGuyCameron

Website: https://www.guycameron.me/

Host: Danni Reches (@DanniReches)

Producer and Editor: Ido Rosenzweig (@IdoRosenzweig)

Contact us:

On Twitter: @What2DoWithTHAT

On Facebook: @What2DoWithTHAT

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Meet Dr. Sara "Jacka" Iacopetti, Danni's rugby team's captain, a post doc fellow at the Technion, and a very fresh mother. So Fresh that during the interview she was still pregnant! In this episode Sara talks with Danni about her journey that began with BS and MS in Milano and ended up in doing a PhD in Materials for Electronics in the Technion in Israel. Sara talks about doing an industry funded PhD which actually means that her research was confidential and she is unable to share what her actual work was about.

She talks about the pros and cons of doing an industry funded PhD as well as the challenges of looking for the next position while being pregnant. Jacka and Danni also talk about the importance of sports while doing a PhD, and the advantages of Rugby in that sense.

In this episode Danni drank her Italian Amaretto and Sara drank Israeli water.

You can follow Sara on her:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-iacopetti/

Host: Danni Reches (@DanniReches)

Producer and Editor: Ido Rosenzweig (@IdoRosenzweig)

Contact us:

On Twitter: @What2DoWithTHAT

On Facebook: @What2DoWithTHAT

On Instagram: @What2DoWithTHAT

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Our website: www.what2dowiththat.com

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Meet Harini Sridharan, a 2nd year PhD candidate from Georgia Institute of Technology and our guest in episode 42 of our podcast. In this episode Danni chats with Harini about changes:

Changing place of living - moving from India to Ohio and then to Atlanta; Changing fields of research and practice from chemical engineering, to polymer engineering, and now, as part of her PhD to chemical and biomolecular engineering. Harini and Danni also discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion in academia - a topic that Harini has been very active and passionate about.

In this episode Danni drank her usual Amaretto and Harini drank a filter coffee.

You can follow Harini on her:

Twitter: @harinisridhar3

Host: Danni Reches (@DanniReches)

Producer and Editor: Ido Rosenzweig (@IdoRosenzweig)

Contact us:

On Twitter: @What2DoWithTHAT

On Facebook: @What2DoWithTHAT

On Instagram: @What2DoWithTHAT

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Our website: www.what2dowiththat.com

Enjoy the episode!

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