A Week of Writing and Planning

While the seawater and microplastics are spinning away at the lab, this week I have spent much more time focusing on other aspects of my work, specifically planning and writing components. I am in the midst of working on a few research proposals for fellowship applications to fund my postdoctoral position and the proposal writing process for these positions is very different from the smaller grant applications I've written in the past. The biggest difference is that I am proposing multi-year projects but I have limited space to show the reviewers what I will be doing, the science behind the project, and the reasons why the project matters. Luckily, I have great supporters who have been helping me in this process: my prospective fellowship supervisors, mentors, peers, and of course, Dr. Ingels and my PhD committee. Right now I'm in the process of weeding through papers to extract specific information for one of these projects, as the paper that some of the ideas came from doesn't have readily available data or information. Therefore, I'm reading through how the authors did their work, finding the papers they cited, and then referring to those to piece together some background information for my own work. I have about 4 pages of writing from this process, but I think I have enough information to write the necessary pieces for my own proposal. These applications are not due until October and November, so starting early is very helpful and gives me time to complete these background research steps, get feedback on numerous drafts prior to submitting the full proposal.

Additionally, I have been writing and reviewing writing for publications. Dr. Ingels and I just published research on using nematodes as indicators of environmental health in the St. Andrew Bay system that I've been studying, and the relationship between the nematode community structures and their proximities to nearby wastewater treatment plants. The paper is accessible for free using this hyperlink. Additionally, I have reviewed another manuscript that is currently under review after its first revision. This one is based on the work I did last summer and we are hoping for good news in a few weeks.

Finally, I am getting ready to head back out to the field for one last time at FSU. On Tuesday I am set to go collect my final sediment samples and I luckily roped in Dr. Ingels to come out for one more field day, as it will be our last time out on the boat together. This field collection may represent the last time that I do any sediment work, as my postdoctoral fellowships are based on larger animals that are not permanently living in or on the sediment. Stay tuned next week for hopefully one more awesome field picture of all of us covered in mud but with big bright smiles on our faces.