This page aggregates resources for academics, especially new PIs that I have accumulated from twitter and other nebulous places.
By: Dr. Nicole Ackermans (@AckermansNicole)
This is a list of resources that have helped me, I hope they can help you too. I welcome updates and advice. However, if someone got canceled and I haven’t deleted their specific piece of advice don’t @ me
GRANTS
WRITING
ORGANIZATION
SUPERVISION
TEACHING
GENERAL ADVICE
MENTAL HEALTH
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
BUDGETING/EQUIPMENT
STUDENT & TRAINEE RESOURCES
PRESENTATION ADVICE / INSPIRATION
JOB APPLICATIONS
CODING
OTHER
GRANTS
- Project, Person, Place. A grant advice thread by @PonderosaMstrys.
- NIH RePORTER advice, tweet by @Napaaqtuk
- Postdoctoral fellowship cheat codes blog post by Jasmine Kwasa
- Common feedback on fellowships, thread by @BallouLab
- Common K-series grant pitfalls, thread by @davidwdowdy
- Grant framework: https://parkerderrington.com/get-the-framework-in-place-quickly/
- Recipe for a proposal (SUPER HELPFUL)
WRITING
- Press release advice, a thread by @NikiRust
- How to cover letter, thread by @DrBreaky
ORGANIZATION
- Email templates, a twitter thread by @CterminiPhD #TheLabEdit
- “Never put away a specimen unlabeled, not even for an hour, you may forget it or you may die” – Elliott Coues – Field and General Ornithology (1890)
- The famous organization twitter thread by @Dr_KatieG1
- AND the related R script I wrote to track hours: https://github.com/NLAckermans/CountingHours
- An “emails for tenure folder”, tweet by @ATKuperberg
- Antibody organization, tweet by the organizing queen @CterminiPhD #TheLabEdit
- Lab space organization, thread by @CterminiPhD #TheLabEdit
- Ordering inventory method, thread by @CterminiPhD #TheLabEdit
- Dissolvable labels, idea by @chorye
- Labeling everything in the lab blog post by @CterminiPhd
- Colorful lab tools product numbers, tweet by @MelodyGCampbell
- Project overview spreadsheet, tweet by @Prokaryota
SUPERVISION
- Prospective student section on website, tweet by @DocHPJones
- Student welcome packets! Thread by @STEMxicanEd
- Template for requesting rec letters! Tweet by @matthewrcover
TEACHING
- Book: Syllabus: The Remarkable Unremarkable Document That Changes Everything, by William Germano and Kit Nicholls. link
- Open house anatomy class, tweet by @coereba
- How to increase student participation, part of a twitter thread by @KristaLerista
- Office/drop-in hours, part of a twitter thread by @Hannah_R_Snyder
- Online anatomy resources by @kvflaherty
- Syllabus date maker tool by @LindaSkitka
- How to avoid overpreparing for your class
- Syllabus policies, tweet by @guygrossman
GENERAL ADVICE
- New faculty list of tips, tweet by @sarahsheffield
- General new PI advice, thread by @CTerminiPhD
- Lab policies (examples): https://github.com/PoisotLab/LabPolicies?files=1
- Misc resources from the Hayne Lab
- Misc resources from Dr. Rebecca Pollet’s website
- How to start a lab (a list of links from me):
Preparing to launch a laboratory
The things we wished we had known
A short guide to starting a research group
10 simple rules to becoming a PI
Making the right moves
How to create a lab (social) culture
Strategies on how to maximize the moment as junior faculty
MENTAL HEALTH
- Book: Managing your Mental Health during your PhD by Zoe Ayres (FREE PDF through your institution)
- “If you don’t make time for your wellness, you’ll be forced to make time for your sickness.” – Joyce Sunada
- Niel Gaiman on Impostor Syndrome
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
BUDGETING / EQUIPMENT
- Used scientific equipment, twitter thread by @bat_biomes
- Office chairs <$500, twitter thread by @biologistimo
- Equipment recommendations, twitter thread by @MartinBJensen
- Paying students through Federal Work Study, tweet by @RachelRRomeo
- 3D printed research tools, tweet by @ChiKuoHimself
- Academic funding terminology, thread by @JSchleiderPhD
STUDENTS & TRAINEE RESSOURCES
- How to download papers and books for free flowchart, tweet by @AStrasser116
- How to break down academic articles, tweet by @HeatherKEvans
- How to email faculty prior to applying to grad school by the Luck Lab
- How to write precise efficient emails to your PI, Twitter thread by @LNivisonSmith
- “Some thoughts on starting grad school”, blog post by @FloodHydrology
- How to find, read, and organize papers: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01878-7
- Postdoctoral fellowship list by John Hopkins University (frequently updated)
PRESENTATION ADVCE / INSPIRATION
- The better posters blog
- A really cool poster. Tweet by @Marsupialtapir
- Resources for silhouettes, vectors, and photos, thread by @NuriaMelisaMor1
- Step by step graphical abstract, thread by @NuriaMelisaMor1
- Fonts! https://fonts.google.com/
JOB APPLICATIONS
- Book: The Professor is In by Karen Kelsky (SO HELPFUL)
- List of successful job applications by the Ross-Ibarra Lab
- How to design a chalk talk
- Interview/chalk talk compilation of resources, tweet by @wythelab
- Chalk-talk tips by @leslievosshall
- White space on your CV, tweet by @AmyYeung08
- Negotiating a job offer, thread by @queenofpeat
- Tips for PhD students going on the market, thread by @ndrewwhitehead
CODING
- Book: R for data Science, by Hadley Wickman & Garett Grolemaund
- Book: Fundamentals of Data Visualization, by Claus O. Wilke (FREE & open source)
- R package for eBird observations, tweet by @jcoliverAZ
- R package for extracting cranial endocasts, tweet by @AntProficio
- Data visualization twitter thread by Albert Rapp (@rappa753) and @IamSciComm.
His data visualization blog is also great!
OTHER
- My thread on how to find, identify, and clean bones (for science), thread by @AckermansNicole
Nicole Ackermans, PhD 