Happy Graduate Student Appreciation Week to the students of MCW's Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, you "Really Take The Cake"! #mcwpharmtox #pharmlife26

Sage advice. Refine your public speaking and treat your colleagues and collaborators well.

Today, I would like to celebrate Christy Duvauchelle, PhD and Cecilia Hillard, PhD for International Women's Day (although I'm a day late). They are two amazing mentors of mine who have greatly helped shape my career.

They smell especially good when not arriving at 4pm going into a holiday weekend!

If you had the choice of studying cocaine addiction in rats alone in a cage with only cocaine or at least one other substance, what would you do?

In this new interesting study, Nowak and her co-authors chose the second option.

link.springer.com/content/pdf/...

You might be in a Wisconsin bike race if your camelbak freezes 15 minutes in, there’s hammerschlagen (mandatory) and beer stops on the course, and you lose points for not wearing plaid or animal print

Is Penn Vector Core still offering services for external users? If not, what are some reliable sources to have custom high purity AAVs for in vivo use made?

Congratulations, well-deserved!

My wife’s commute soundtrack this morning: “Danger Zone.” Even by Wisconsin standards, that feels about right.

Can you post a link (sorry if I missed it)?

5. Missing the opportunity to connect with faculty.

An interview is a chance to engage with a faculty member who has insight into their research program and the institution. If there's time at the end, ask an informed question about their work or the graduate program.

4. Not articulating motivation or long-term goals.

Many applicants say they “like research” but struggle to explain why a PhD or MD/PhD is the right training path for them. Strong candidates can articulate their motivation, even if career goals are still evolving.

3. Being unable to explain failures or limitations.

Research rarely works as planned. Applicants who only describe successes miss an opportunity. Strong candidates can clearly articulate what didn’t work, why, and what they learned, demonstrating maturity and resilience.

2. Giving unfocused or rambling answers.

Strong applicants respond with a clear structure (e.g., question→approach→outcome→interpretation). Weaker responses drift into excessive detail without a clear takeaway, making it difficult to assess judgment or scientific thinking.

1. Focusing on details instead of the big picture.

Many applicants can walk through experimental details, but the strongest candidates connect their work to the larger research program—what question the lab is really asking and how their project advances it.

Graduate school interview season is approaching.
After ~12 years of interviewing PhD and MD/PhD applicants, I’ve noticed some common interview mistakes that hold otherwise strong candidates back...
#GraduateSchool #PhDLife #MDPhD #GradSchoolTips #AcademicBluesky

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First post in a while. I wanted to share our amazing summer research opportunity (follow me for more opportunities related to biomedical education): x.com/mcwgradschoo...

I'm right there with you!

Research Grants Program | Brain Injury Association of America For some, brain injury evolves into a chronic condition that can cause or accelerate other diseases. Help us find cures for brain injury.

Dissertation and seed grant funding opportunities through the Brain Injury Association of America: biausa.org/professional...

Very nice work supported by NIH grants: R01DA046679 R01DA058374 R01DA035443
T32DA024635 F32DA056201 K99MH135177 TL4GM118977 R01MH119089
Among other sources

Let’s all take a moment to celebrate our ancient lab equipment that just keeps going and going!

Congratulations Alex!

Fantastic resource!

Excellent list, I wish I would have seen this earlier this morning!

Neuropathic pain has sex‐specific effects on oxycodone‐seeking and non‐drug‐seeking ensemble neurons in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex of mice Oxycodone seeking was higher in females following SNI that came after the 10-day SA timeline. A selective increase in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex pyramidal cell intrinsic excitability was detected ...

(Recycled from X-just putting some science out on bluesky) Congratulations to @baileycsarka.bsky.social! Her dissertation work showing sex-specific intensification of opioid seeking in a model of neuropathic pain was published in Addiction Biology. #PhDlife
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Dissociable dorsal medial prefrontal cortex ensembles are necessary for cocaine seeking and fear conditioning in mice - Translational Psychiatry Translational Psychiatry - Dissociable dorsal medial prefrontal cortex ensembles are necessary for cocaine seeking and fear conditioning in mice

Thrilled to have Shuai's work out in Translational Psychiatry now!

nature.com/articles/s41...