Author Archives: mcdonouce

Many Drafts of my Personal Statement
I hate writing personal statements. I stare at a blank page, wildly uncomfortable talking about myself and daunted by the enormous influence over my future I ascribe to this one document. Nevertheless, through an arduous process of many drafts and numerous rounds of edits, I managed to write a statement that contributed to my acceptance into grad school and […]

Visualizing the Drosophila Female Reproductive Tract
Scouring the literature on Drosophila reproduction for my research, I’ve encountered illustrations of the fruit fly female reproductive tract (FRT) that range from intricate and realistic to simple line drawings. I started paying attention to these different styles when I was working on my own figure for a recent review paper. I went through several iterations […]

The First Year
On one of the first warm days this past spring I worked up the courage to ask a senior graduate student in my lab if she was keen for an afternoon Starbucks trip. The coffee invitation was a ruse, I really wanted to ask her for advice on feeling productive in as a graduate student. […]

A Genital by Any Other Name …
Originally posted on Molecular Love (and other facts of life):
People are talking about insect genitalia more than ever before, because a paper was published with the title: “Female Penis, Male Vagina”. It was even mentioned on the Colbert Report: Tip of the Hat, Wag of the Finger 2:48 – 4:28 The Colbert Report 5/7/2014 This sensational…