Dr. Emily Webb is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Rockford University in Rockford, Illinois. Her research in graduate school focused on the physiology of color in birds. In her current position, she primarily focuses on teaching undergraduate biology courses, including Anatomy and Physiology, Genetics, and Intro Bio. In this video, Emily discusses her experience of having a dissertation idea rejected by her committee and how she overcame this challenge.
Dr. Fernando Salinas-Quiroz is currently an Assistant Professor in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University. Their dissertation research focused on assessing the quality of Mexican daycare. In their current position, they study with and for trans youth (you can check out more of their work on their website here: https://www.transfermative.com/). In this video, Fer discusses their experience navigating academic bureaucracy and how it affected their dissertation project.
Dr. Leah Jones-Crank is an Assistant Professor in the School of Environment, Resources, and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Her PhD research focused on collaborative governance of the food-energy-water nexus in Phoenix, Arizona, and Cape Town, South Africa. Currently, she is expanding that research to focus on the environmental and ecological impacts of the food-energy-water nexus in Southern Ontario. In this video, Leah discusses her experience with a change of plans in fieldwork for her dissertation during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Nigel Rothfels is currently a Professor of History and Acting Vice Provost for Research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaulkee. His dissertation research focused on how animals have been thought about in different historical times, but now his scholarly work is squarely in the humanistic study of animals and culture – often called Animal Studies. In this video, Nigel discusses his experiences struggling with finishing his dissertation and going on the job market at the end of graduate school.
Dr. Paige Madison currently works for Complexly as a script editor for PBS Eons. She is also a science writer, most recently working with National Geographic. In addition, she is writing her first book, which is due to be published in 2026. Her dissertation research focused on paleoanthropology, or the science of human origins, specifically looking at controversial fossils in science’s history. In this video, Paige talks about the difficulties she had writing and defending her prospectus during her PhD.
Dr. Sara Brownell is Professor and biology education researcher at Arizona State University, where she studies how students and instructors navigate concealable stigmatized identities in academic science. Sara transitioned to studying undergraduate biology education during her postdoc. She received her Master’s from Scripps Research and her PhD from Stanford, both in neuroscience. In this video, Sara discusses the challenges she had with her comprehensive exams, both during her Master’s and PhD.