HGSAC member, Venky Zambare,  spoke with Chinmay Sankhe about his experience presenting at the Life Sciences Symposium. Chinmay is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Penn State whose work focuses on the epigenetic regulation of  Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), a process involved in cancer progression.

Q1. What is your academic and research background?

 A1. I am a fifth-year graduate student in the Department of Chemical Engineering. My research is in the field of mechanobiology and cellular signaling. We study the mechanistic regulation of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and the role of nuclear epigenetics in modulating this process in pathological contexts of cancer and fibrosis.

 Q2. Why did you consider participating in the LSS?

 A2. I did not get a chance to participate and present my work in any in-person conferences due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so when I saw this opportunity of presenting in person in front of a real audience, I decided to participate in LSS. I believed that presenting in-person will help improve my confidence in public speaking and would also provide me with constructive feedback about my work from a diverse set of audience.

 Q3. What talk/presentation formats did you participate in? Did you have prior public

A3. My abstract was accepted for an oral presentation. In addition, I participated in the 3-min elevator pitch competition. Due to the pandemic, majorly, I was presenting over Zoom, but I did have my qualifying exam in person. So, I can say, I had prior experience presenting in the format of the oral presentation.

 Q4. How did LSS participation impact your science communication skills?

A4. Even though the members of the audience were from Life Sciences fields, it’s always a challenge to present your research so that everyone understands the key takeaways and have something they can remember your research with. I learned how to use less jargon words and describe my problem statement in simple terms. After my talk, I interacted with few of the audience members to get additional feedback on how to get better in my delivery of speech. The poster session was particularly helpful as I got to learn a lot more diverse life science research and also to observe on how the poster presenters give a perfect pitch to engage the audience.

 Q5. What advice would you give someone who is going to present at the LSS?

 A5. Just be calm and free. There is nothing to stress about as it’s a student-run event aimed for you to gain confidence in yourself and your research. Try to practice your talk or poster and be open to all kinds of feedback that you get. Presenting at LSS will help you in improving your communication skills and to better explain your research to other researchers.

 Q6. What did you enjoy about your time during the LSS? Was there anything you didn’t enjoy/wish was done differently?

 A6. The obvious part I enjoyed the most was presenting to a real audience instead of a virtual setting. The event was perfect, with nothing needed to be done differently.

Contact information  for Chinmay Sankhe

Email: css313@psu.edu

Linked in: linkedin.com/in/chinmay-sankhe-4b7140b0

Ph.D. thesis writing – tips from my own experience

Dr. Rupinder Kaur

It was a challenging task to perform. After finishing four years of research work in December 2016, I started writing the very first draft of my Ph.D. thesis and aimed to complete it in 3-4 months. Now, if you got the art of procrastination like me, it may take a couple of weeks to gather motivation and pen down the first few words. Trust me, these first words get you going and inspire you to keep writing!

Below are a few ‘how to’ tips for thesis writing that I followed-

Plan the timing in advance

If you’re sure you will complete your Ph.D. in four years, I recommend planning your agenda and starting writing in the 3rd year. If you already have a rough first draft ready during your 3rd year, think of how much easier and faster it will be to finalize your dissertation during your final year!
Also, keep an additional month or two as a buffer for your supervisor to make edits before the final submission. Remember, their schedule is way busier than yours, so respect their time.

Research your topic thoroughly before writing

Your thesis will be your own ‘masterpiece’ with limited input from your supervisor. Therefore, it is “your” job to invest adequate time researching the topic.

Communicate with your supervisor

Once you’ve planned the writing agenda, start communicating your ideas to your advisor. Do not hesitate to tell them your opinion about the thesis’s structure and content. Good communication is vital to a healthy and successful relationship with your mentors. Remember to ask for their feedback. Input from your supervisor will eventually make your thesis look, read, and sound better!

Mark your calendar

Designate time in in your calendar for strictly writing, this will prevent procrastination. Make it a goal to finish at least two pages per day. This way, you will build momentum, and your first thesis draft will be ready in a couple of months.

Keep a continuous flow

When you start writing, keep the flow going and do not pause to reread what you have written.  Write whatever comes to your mind about the topic. It does not matter if some things need to be clarified or edited. Once you finish writing the first draft, take a break and start working on it again after a couple of days. You will undoubtedly come back to it with a fresh set of eyes that will allow you to catch mistakes that were previously missed or add novel ideas that you did not think of during the first draft.

Control your social media feed

Social media has been one of the biggest distractors in recent years. You need to have self-control and avoid constantly checking social media. When writing, I suggest turning off the notifications, activating silent mode, and limiting the amount of times you allow yourself to check your phone.  This will help you focus and finish writing on time.

Keep your snacks handy

It sounds funny, but I munch on food around every hour. There are a lot of people like me out there. Hence, my best advice would be to keep your snacks handy while writing, so you won’t have to go into the kitchen and be distracted.

Final remarks
At last, I wish you good luck writing! I understand it can be daunting initially, but enjoying the process and not stressing about it will eventually pay off. Remember, a grand celebration is waiting for you when it is over!

Rupinder Kaur, PhD

PSU ID – rjk6018
Dr. Kaur’s Penn State webpage
Dr. Kaur’s Twitter page