iJOBS Blog

Hello everyone! My name is Fatu Badiane Markey and I am very excited about blogging for iJOBS at Rutgers University. Before we get into the more serious articles, let me tell you a little bit about myself. As an undergraduate, I majored in Biology with a concentration in Neural and Behavioral studies at Bryn Mawr College. At that time, I was interested in pursuing a career in medicine. My goal at that point was to become a neurologist, or neurosurgeon. I took pre-med classes as part of my course work and even prepared to take the MCAT.

My name is Sarah Misenko and I am a 4^th year PhD candidate in the Biochemistry department at Rutgers University. My broad research interest lies in precision medicine for the oncology field. Ultimately, I hope to work as a project manager in the pharmaceutical industry or as a clinical trial manager.

Here’s a list of a few of the things that I said I wanted to be ‘when I grow up’: an astronaut, a doctor, a lawyer, a dolphin trainer, or a marine biologist.  As it turns out, I’m none of these things, and I’m not meant to be any of these things.

This past spring, my advisor informed me that I would be graduating in the coming year.  Most graduate students would be ecstatic to hear this news, but I was nervous.  After the conversation, I was left wondering whether I have enough data to graduate, if my committee would agree that I am ready, and what on earth I am going to do next.

My name is Chris Lowe and I’m a 5th year PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering department. I’m advised by Dr. David Shreiber and my work is focused on developing novel biomaterials for nervous system regeneration and repair.

Have friends and relatives asked you questions like: “How long does it take to get your postdoctoral degree?” or, “Oh, so when do you finish your postdoctoral training position and actually get a job?”

My name is Ina Nikolaeva. I was born in the small country of Bulgaria in 1989, from where my family moved to Canada, via South Africa. I am fluent in two languages, Bulgarian and English, with some knowledge of French left over from my time in Canada. I completed my Bachelor’s Degree in General Biology and a Chemistry minor at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada.

I am Myka R. Ababon, currently working on my PhD in the Cell and Developmental Biology Program at Rutgers. Outside the lab, my interests lie in music and physical activities.

I was an undergraduate student at the University of Puerto Rico when I had my first research experience in neuroscience. Dr.

“Where a door closes, a window opens.” But what happens when you stretch to keep the door and the window open at the same time? Even after being “in school” for more than two decades, narrowing the field of opportunities to pick just one career still seems like a daunting task. All science is exciting. Every good research presentation leaves me pumped and wishing I was breaking into that field.