One of the primary functions of a “Community of Minds” (COM) is to help its members break free from the trap of “survival mode” and discover the “Good Life” that results from being active participants in a Community. As applied to scientists, each stage of our development has its own hurdles that we can either face alone or reach out to our COM to help us overcome. In graduate school, one of the most daunting challenges is the preliminary or comprehensive exam.

Brad Paasch (He Lab) is in the process of polishing the written research proposal for his preliminary examination. As his exam date approaches, he is reaching out to the Community of Minds to provide critical feedback on his proposal to ensure it thoroughly examines well-formulated hypotheses with appropriately designed experiments. To achieve this, Brad will present highlights of his proposal, entitled “Requirement of the microbiome in the maturation of plant innate immunity,” for your analysis this Friday. He is specifically asking for input on 1) the hypotheses being tested, 2) their rationale, and 3) the experimental design behind the proposed experiments.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to Fill the Void by honing your scientific research skills – along with your communication and critical evaluation skills – by joining us this Friday for another meeting on the edge of science. Hope to see you there!