Los Angeles freelance science writer and editor
The revelation after my six years of study and lab work to complete a PhD in biology is that I wasn’t on an automatic path to career fulfillment, or happiness. And I had an envious PhD experience. My principal investigator had a clear vision. He was so sure about his goals that our only problem... Continue Reading →
Janice Nigro I just got done discussing how much I dislike New Year's resolutions, and now here I am writing about them. Because if you're like me, New Year’s resolutions set up a certain dilemma. Panic sets in already on New Year’s Eve when the pact with the new year might fall apart at the... Continue Reading →
Scientists don’t get into science to become writers. But the job demands it. We write, or we try to, because we need to communicate results. To survive. To move up in our career. To advance science. But that’s the problem. Scientists have to do it. And when you have to do something, it can become... Continue Reading →
by Janice Nigro My colleagues and I just submitted a scientific paper we have been working on for seven years. Seven years. It’s hard for me to admit that. Maybe I shouldn’t admit it. A lot can happen in seven years. Babies have been born, and people spread around the western world like they were... Continue Reading →
A PhD in biology isn't the direct route to becoming a travel writer, but my wish to be paid for a travel story recently came true. Not only was it my first paid travel article, but it was also my first byline in a major media outlet. “How did you get your article into the... Continue Reading →
by Janice Nigro Sometime immediately after the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, panic sets in. Suddenly, it's the new year, and just like that I am supposed to adopt some new behaviors that will make life better for me. Then I relax for a moment. I am a scientist. Our job is to... Continue Reading →
by Janice Nigro A highly successful scientist friend joked recently that he still doesn’t recognize much in his original drafts of manuscripts, even after thirty years of working consistently with a certain collaborator. Together they can boast of hundreds of articles reporting cutting edge science and hundreds of thousands of citations. After so much time, experience, and... Continue Reading →
by Janice Nigro As scientists, we are in the business of solving puzzles. We think of the puzzle and then work sometimes over a life time to find a solution. Most puzzles we simply do not have the time to answer. Then there are those puzzles that intrigue us, but the technology to answer them simply does not exist.... Continue Reading →
by Janice Nigro I am not a surfer, an actress, or a musician. But here I am-a scientist-three years into making a life in southern California. Yes, in LA LA Land. LA is a great city to be in, but it is not all that easy to live here. The city is big, expansive, and cars... Continue Reading →
Scientists are human too! by Janice Nigro Critical review serves as an important regulator of the quality of our science. We are supposed to man up and take it, but do we really know how to give it effectively? Based on the myriad reviews I now have the pleasure of reading as an editor, I... Continue Reading →
Janice Nigro 