'Little' 10!

I am so happy about science write now (which is not something I have been able to say lately)!!!

I just got a paper accepted!!! YAY!!

I am even more excited because it was the Pesky Thesis Paper that has haunted me for more than 4 years!!

The paper is on the behavior of every scientist's favorite fish, so I thought it just had to be published at some point. But this paper has been rejected so many times that I actually lost count (I am not being cute ... I really lost count ... it has to be 4 or 5 times now ... in various forms). But now, after my old advisor got asked to be part of a special issue in an international journal, and he re-wrote some stuff, and his student did some more tests ..... it was accepted for publication! Without revisions!!!!!! YAY!!!!

And, as a milestone, this is officially my 10th paper!

It doesn't count toward the Big 10 that my current advisor challenged me to get, but it is still 10 for me!! And I am very happy!

So long sweet summer ...

The "crazy" summer is now over, so I hope to get back into blogging!

Life is going OK here!

With the start of the new semester, I was granted a fellowship, which means I don't have to teach or be my boss's bitch. I get to focus on my own research!! My contract/letter even says that because this fellowship is a gift "no work is required". So cool! If I can get A LOT of stuff done this semester, I will actually get to graduate in May! So here's hoping the fellowship is a big help and I actually do get to focus on my own research!

Of course, with the "fellowship freedom", I was already asked by 2 different professors to lecture for them while they're out of town. This week I took over Evolution and in November I am doing a week of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology. In truth, I don't mind much. I like to give lectures and I like the topics I have been asked to cover. But it just makes me laugh that I have managed to be roped in to teaching when I am not getting paid to do so!

So, this semester, I hope to keep you up to date on my progress towards graduation! I hope to finish my dissertation, submit lots of papers (and make my Big 10) and find a job!

Wish me luck!!

Submitted (x2) !

2 papers submitted in one day! Woohoo!

I think I accomplished enough work this week!

One paper was submitted to a BIG journal and I sort of doubt it will be accepted there, but my advisor thought it was worth a shot! It's some data that I collected my first year of my PhD (like ... 3 years ago), so I am pretty excited to get it written and out to the world! It's been a long writing processes with my advisor (my only co-author on this one) and I am excited to be done with it! Also, it counts toward my "Big 10" goal, so please keep your fingers crossed that the reviewers like my ideas as much as I do!!

The second paper is even "older". It's data from my Masters work that has been written in various forms and submitted multiple times. But I really think it's in the proper context now, so I am hopeful that the mid-to-low-level journal that we sent it to will like it! And it would be nice to be DONE with my master's work (except one more little bit of data, but my old labmate is now in charge of that paper and some more data is being collected this summer by my old advisor ... so it's pretty much out of my hand except some editting!)!

Overall, a pretty good week! And a busy weekend/week coming up!!!

Hate email

I got "hate" email about a recent paper that I published on my research.

I am so excited!

I know it sounds silly to be excited about mail from someone that disagrees with your work, but, in this case, it is a good thing! The paper we wrote goes against a popular hypothesis. So, I kind of wanted it to upset some people!

So "European Grad Student who works on Popular Hypothesis" decided to write me (his "colleague") to ask some questions. Unfortunately, he didn't actually have any questions. It's more like he wrote statements with question marks at the end and then answered the "questions" himself.

My reply:

Mr. "European Grad Student who works on Popular Hypothesis",
Thank you for the interest in our paper! Best of luck with your work on Popular Hypothesis!
Cheers!
Sneks

Too nice?

Big 10 Update = 6!!

As I wrote about in October, my advisor has this little ... goal ... for his grad students to publish 10 papers (not including dissertation work). Oh ... how I like a challenge!

Today, my labmate Joe got his very first first author paper (yes ... first first author)! Which is very exciting for him (CONGRATS JOE!!!!), but also exciting for me! Because I was second author on his paper, bringing me up to 6 publications (including the paper I got accepted just 2 weeks ago)!

Yep, 6! More than halfway to my 10! YAY!

Keep your fingers crossed that 2009 will be a very big publication year for me!

Must ... publish ... must ... publish ...

Why do I need to publish?

2 reasons:
(1) I want a job some day.
(2) My advisor has this ... goal ... for his students -- "publish 10 papers in grad school" (10 is a lot). Then, 2 guys actually did it (eventually). So, my advisor said to me when I started "publish 10 papers ... no including your dissertation". I decided that this would be a good way to achieve my main reason for being in grad school -- to get a job. And I'd be the first person (and woman) in the lab to do it. (Have I ever mentioned I am slightly competitive, in a non-cut-throat way?)


Thus, I have been working hard on this quest for the "Big 10", and this summer I managed to get out quite a few papers:

1) Great study on Jamaican fish that provides evidence against a hypothesis that I really disagree with. Data from Summer '07. Status: Being published in a very good journal! Available online now!!!

2) Cool study about one endangered species endangering another. Data from Summer '06; second author. Status: Being published at cool journal of short articles!

3) Random little study on zebrafish. Asked to assist due to my amazing zebrafish sexing abilities, but ended up doing quite a bit of work on it. Data collected from Spring '06 until recently; second author. Status: Accepted at an OK journal after many revisions.

4) Awesome study on convict cichlid parental care (wow -- almost related to my dissertation). Data collected in Costa Rica January '08; second author. Status: Being published in a second very good journal! Will be out in January '09!

5) Little study on Jamaican fish that we did at the end of the Summer '07 field season because we had a few extra days and nothing else to do; second author. Status: Being reviewed at very good journal, will likely be rejected and will then be sent to cool journal of short articles.

6) Lab study on my fish that is the preliminary data of my dissertations. Data collected between Fall '05 and Spring '06. Status: Rejected from pretty good journal, with the option of resubmission. (Reject & resubmit is totally lame and I am waiting to hear back about my compelling argument that my paper is fine how it is)


Because that's only 6, I am currently working on ... 3 more manuscripts. Plus a collaborator is working on one more. And I have potentially a few more than that.

Oh, and maybe I should actually get some data that goes towards my dissertation. Because all of the above articles will be great for helping me get a job. But none of them are helping me graduate! (Can I get a job without graduating?? Hmm ....)

So, if you're bored in the next few months, Google me and you can find some very boring articles about fish behavior to read! :)