simply blood

We have all felt the inertia when we need to write – whether it’s an abstract, paper, report or grant – and it can feel daunting and hard to get started. We feel like we need a big slot of time, or we need to have all the conditions just right (if you are anything like me - quiet, a cup of tea, and tidy desk) or that there’s just one more experiment that we need to complete before we sit down and begin.     And, what happens when we do not get started? We lose the momentum of our greatest ideas. We end up working closer to deadlines and under pressure, which may not create our best work.  Or worse, if there’s no deadline (for example, when you are writing a paper), we end up putting it off and suddenly we’ve been scooped, or the data has lost its vitality. During my 15 years of organizing, editing and developing grants with leading scientists, I have learned that writing is a process. Learning how we approach writing and the roadblocks that come up for us ...

Each month, Simply Blood spotlights a lab focused on the research of basic hematology, immunology, stem cell research, cell and gene therapy, and other related aspects.  Get to know these different labs around the world! This month, we are featuring the Passegué Lab at Columbia University in New York City, USA. How long have you had your lab? I got officially hired by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in December 2005, but I didn’t hire my first lab member until March 2006. My lab relocated to Columbia University in New York City last year. How many members make up your lab? Students/postdocs? Since the relocation, my lab consists of 4 postdocs, 1 MD/PhD fellow, 1 graduate student, 1 lab manager and a junior tech, as well as a number rotating students and interns. What is the major research theme of your lab? The big question is regulation of blood production. All the current projects further fit under two axes – 1) emergency myelopoiesis and regenerat...