By Courtney Thomas

You spent weeks perfecting each word of your abstract and you finally get the email you have been waiting for:

“Your poster presentation has been accepted in the technical program for the upcoming meeting.”

From preparing data for your poster, to practicing your presentation, to attending the conference itself, there is a lot of hard work that goes into getting ready for any conference.

Here are some tips for preparing to present your first poster:

By Niharika Vattikonda

The abstract of a scientific paper serves two main functions: selection and indexing. Readers use the abstract to decide whether it is worthwhile to read the paper. Indexing databases search abstracts, not full texts, to find relevant results. Therefore, an abstract should both be easy to comprehend and contain all of the key words and phrases of the paper.

Most abstracts follow a strict format that includes the following sections: Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. Some journals may require additional sections, such as Objectives or Limitations. Always check with the professor, journal, or competition guidelines to make sure you have the required sections.

By Julie Wolf

Despite the U.S. News and World Report’s rankings, there is no one “best” college experience for everyone. A number of personal preferences are involved in choosing where to go to school, including location, cost, competitiveness, and interests. An important factor when it comes to choosing a school is the size of the institution. Will you go to the large, research-focused university? Or do you prefer a smaller, more undergraduate-focused liberal arts school? Either choice can contribute to a top-notch education, but it’s important to ensure you are making the most of your opportunities wherever you decide to attend.


Although there are a wide variety of university types, this two-part series will focus on the opposite ends of the spectrum mentioned above. Previously, we have discussed the benefits of a large, research-oriented university. This article will cover how to get the most from the opportunities offered by a small, liberal arts college. Nobel-prize laureate Thomas Cech has high praise for the research preparedness of liberal arts graduates, and we here at Scientista thought of a few ways to maximize your experience while in school:

By Chelsea Travers

I previously wrote a series on getting into medical school. But after only nine months of my new adventure, I was struggling to maintain the enthusiasm I’d felt when first accepted. This is how I dealt with my struggle.

By Martina Efeyini

Many of us have lived at one point in our lives in a small apartment. When you live in a small apartment finding a productive study space can be a challenge. But no matter how small your apartment is, these tips will help you turn it into a productive study space.

By Lipa Long

For teachers struggling to channel the complex concepts of calculus to their students, researchers at the University of British Columbia are heralding a new key component to the higher math learning process: interactivity.

In a recent study published in The International Journal on Mathematics Education, researchers found that  first-year calculus students taught in an environment focused on interactive engagement  were 10% more likely to reflect a higher conceptual understanding of the material and the increased ability to apply learned concepts toward new ideas. The study’s heightened engagement factor was achieved through a subject-focused “intervention” week, which employed active-learning pedagogies such as pre-class assignments, small-group discussions, and clicker quizzes designed to enhance student participation.

By Molly Gasperini 
  
The modern era of biology is shooting forward on the back of computational progress. Harnessing big data is a vital part of being a competitive and skillful modern scientist. However, traditional biology curriculum provides little computational training, and it can be incredibly easy to feel far behind peers with formal computer science training. As a molecular biologist, I questioned whether I could become an adept computational scientist without the formal training!

After tackling a computational project in my first rotation of graduate school, I learned that every pipette-wielding Scientista can learn computational skills, and keep up with the computer nerds.

Here are some important tips to get you started:

By Julie Wolf

Despite the U.S. News and World Report’s rankings, there’s no one “best” college experience for everyone. A number of personal decisions are involved in choosing where to go to school, including location, cost, competitiveness, and interests. An important decision in school choice is the size of the institution: Will you go to the large, research-focused university? Or do you prefer a smaller, more undergraduate-focused liberal arts school? Either choice can lead to a top-notch education, but it’s important to ensure you’re making the most of your opportunities wherever you choose to attend.

Although there are a wide variety of university types, this two-part series will focus on the opposite ends of the spectrum mentioned above: this article will cover how to get the most from opportunities at a large, research-focused university. 

By Martina Efeyini 

Choosing a college major can be one of the most challenging decisions for young Scientistas. With so many interesting scientific problems to solve, Scientistas can suffer from the tyranny of choice : paralysis in the face of so many exciting potential avenues to travel! Even with a broad interest like vaccines, one has to decide between biology, toxicology, chemical engineering, pre-medicine, and immunology! The great thing about STEM is that many majors overlap and will help you build a satisfying career. This important decision is one that many undergraduate students face and it is normal.