Anyway, I just don't get it. Without research funding, we won't have new PhDs to hire. And if you are already paying for us, you clearly see our value.
Please. Please. Please think more than 6 months ahead and realize the damage being done.
If not for our society, at least for your bottom line.
(Also, I'm not even going to touch the fact that some people with PhDs themselves are implicitly or explicitly okay with the funding cuts. Either you made a really bad choice earlier in your career and feel like the training wasn't worth it, or you feel entitled to being the last generation of us.)
Do these folks want so badly to cut essential research that they are willing to pay the costs to train people to PhD-type thinking themselves?
Obviously not.
Do people really feel like a PhD confers a high enough social status to provide an automatic boost just because of the Dr. title?
Well, if we don't value the research, why would that be a status symbol anyway? Hello, Emperor's new clothes.
Can people be great scientists, business leaders, communicators, etc without a PhD? Absolutely.
So why pay more for a PhD-trained employee unless you see the value? I'd like to believe most leaders are budgeting decisions based on logic, so that can't be it.
It bums me out to see so many leaders of private companies--from startups to global corporations, from VCs to public investors--not standing up and fighting for the system that created their teams.
(PS- I'm also grateful to be at a firm that ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด do this)
My PhD was sponsored by the federal government, from project-specific grants to the NSF GRFP. The companies that have hired me did so because I have a PhD. Because I know how to think like a scientist. Because I speak the language of scientists. And because I believe science can change the world.
Okay here's a thing I don't understand about the debate around whether to fund academic research:
How can anyone who ๐ฉ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด PhDs onto their teams not see the value of the work that got them there?
Dig deeper in todayโs @techcrunch.com exclusive on Phantom Neuro with Founding CEO Connor Glass,= by Ingrid Lunden. techcrunch.com/2025/04/15/p...
While most BCI tech starts at the brain, Phantom Neuro started at the ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. With Ottobock leading the $19M Series A, weโre thrilled to double down on Phantomโs radically intuitive approach to mobility.
Read why we (re)invested, by Breakout Venturesโ Dana Watt, PhD: medium.com/breakoutvc/p...
BTW - one of the most fun parts of my job is getting to learn about this stuff a few months before the world. Science comms really has no limits.
Thoughts in order after hearing this news as part of the team that invested early in ZymoChem:
1. Woah, sustainable nylon production would be huge for the planet.
2. What a big win for ZymoChem and biomaterials producers in general.
3. Please please please let this turn into lulu-x-Zymo swag
You can check out last year's list of awardees (ooooh and spot familiar faces!!) here: www.nationalacademies.org/news/2024/10...
For all my awesome sci-commers: the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications is open until March 31st.
Check it out and share with others! www.nationalacademies.org/awards/excel...
Looking forward to meeting everyone at the AUTM Annual Meeting next week! Send me an email if you're in town so we can grab a coffee or attend some meetings together.
I don't always include puns in our portfolio news posts, but when I do... they are really, really bad
You're too kind!
Nearly 5 years out of my PhD, I still learn new science... I still work with researchers... I still speak at conferences... I still explore what I find most exciting... just without the .edu address.
Full post over on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/posts/susann...
Thanks for doing all of this, @atinygreencell.bsky.social! I had a great time talking with you
Episode #2 of my show Tears In Rain is live!!! I interviewed @susannalharris.bsky.social and she gave us a peek into what it took for her to become the scientist she is today. Highly recommended viewing for PhD students pushing themselves to grow as researchers.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R6M...
Fun research fact of the day: Cornell invented the chicken nugget.
One of the best parts of venture community+platform work is getting to share exciting news every. damn. day.
My dream is to do an interview series just on the science of our portfolio's tech. Like, Cytovale uses high-speed cameras + immunology to detect sepsis ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด instead of hours. What?!?
My thoughts in order:
1. Science is so pretty
2. Wow this is a big deal for research
3. Preeeeetttyyyyy
hey hey! Great to see you here as well
So much this ๐
I've gotten many opportunties because of social media. I've also made my positions so clear that I've ruled out jobs but I see that as a positive.
My COVID work had collaborators I'd found on the bad place and they were absolutely brilliant (& just lovely folk).
Spending a month on Bluesky has created a whole new model of a fight we need to be having right now. Not liberal vs. conservative or whatever, but respect vs manipulation.
I am tired of being manipulated everywhere I go. Thatโs why I like it here, I feel like Iโm in charge for once.
No no, thank YOU! Your book reshaped a lot of how I think about my work and what I could be doing better. Loved the interplay of research and anecdotes.
omgsh loooove. Thank you for sharing it!
Hello hello! It's been a minute, huh? Glad to see your profile pic again :)
As difficult and scary as it sometimes gets, I'm thankful for social media for connecting me with some of my best friends and teaching me new things each day. Having a feed full of badass scientists reminds me why we communicate: science is cool, science is helpful, and more people deserve to see it
