Foundational Skills in Life Sciences

61. How I prepare for teaching how to read papers to professional students

What does it take to prepare a single lecture?    In this episode, I will talk about months-long process for crafting a lecture on how to read clinical papers.    I am passionate about teaching this foundational skill.    The preparation includes choosing a paper that is best fit for the interest of the student body. It also includes making presentation slides tailor-made for the specific paper.    I hope this episode is helpful for both fellow instructors and students.    This episode = mini-series: training-2.    (My email is active. But my website is under construction. Please wait for a while. Thank you for the patience!)

60. Postdoc training program (that I organized in my university)

I have set up a training program for the postdoctoral researchers (postdocs) in my home department. Today, I would like to talk about: how and why I have done it, what we do in the program and what (positive!) feedback that I received.    This episode might help you if you are a student looking for training opportunities or if you are a mentor who is already guiding your immediate trainees.    This episode = mini-series: training-1.    (My email is active. But my website is under construction. Please wait for a while. Thank you for the patience!)

59. Happy 2-year anniversary! (plus, how I am scripting episodes)

This podcast is now two years old. And it is the start of the third year! Thank you for listening and for your support!    I would like to give you my behind-the-scenes information, so that you will have some understanding about how I am preparing the scripts of the episodes for you.    This episode = podcast update 8.    This podcast is a product of my own thoughts, research, and voice. In other words, it is human-generated, not AI-generated.     (My email is active. But my website is under construction. Please wait for a while. Thank you for the patience!)

58. Paragraph 1 of Introduction, written by Nobel Laureates: meaning of each sentence therein

Let’s read the first paragraph of the Introduction section in a paper written by the Nobel Laureates. Specifically, we will read each sentence in the paragraph, and think about the meaning and the role of each sentence. One key point is that the structural components of the Abstract will help us understand the paragraphs and sentences of the Introduction.    We are reading the paper written by Dr. Katalin Karikó & Dr. Drew Weissman, that led to the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023. We call it the Milestone Article 1. Here are two sets of links related to the paper.   Milestone Article 1:  - “Suppression of RNA recognition by Toll-like receptors: the impact of nucleoside modification and the evolutionary origin of RNA” by Karikó, Buckstein, Ni & Weissman. Immunity, 23(2): 165-75, 2005. - HTML: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2005.06.008 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2005.06.008]    - PDF: https://www.cell.com/immunity/pdf/S1074-7613(05)00211-6.pdf [https://www.cell.com/immunity/pdf/S1074-7613(05)00211-6.pdf]    - PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16111635/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16111635/]     Copyright of the paper (as of July, 2025): - See the pull-down menu “Article Info” near the top of the article webpage (Use the DOI above to reach it). - Check the “User License” section which lists the “Elsevier user license”: --- http://www.elsevier.com/open-access/userlicense/1.0/ [http://www.elsevier.com/open-access/userlicense/1.0/]    --- https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/open-access-licenses/elsevier-user [https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/open-access-licenses/elsevier-user]    This episode = mini-series: reading-38.    (My email is active. But my website is under construction. Please wait for a while. Thank you for the patience!)

57. How to read the main points of Introduction paragraphs

The Introduction section of a life-science paper tells the main story, sometimes even multiple related ones. But without helpful subheadings, understanding its core points can be challenging. Then, how do we effectively read Introduction paragraphs to understand the section?     We will talk about it today, and we will keep reading one of the best papers as our example.    We are reading the paper written by Dr. Katalin Karikó & Dr. Drew Weissman, that led to the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023. We call it the Milestone Article 1. Here are two sets of links related to the paper.   Milestone Article 1:  - “Suppression of RNA recognition by Toll-like receptors: the impact of nucleoside modification and the evolutionary origin of RNA” by Karikó, Buckstein, Ni & Weissman. Immunity, 23(2): 165-75, 2005. - HTML: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2005.06.008 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2005.06.008]    - PDF: https://www.cell.com/immunity/pdf/S1074-7613(05)00211-6.pdf [https://www.cell.com/immunity/pdf/S1074-7613(05)00211-6.pdf]    - PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16111635/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16111635/]     Copyright of the paper (as of July, 2025): - See the pull-down menu “Article Info” near the top of the article webpage (Use the DOI above to reach it). - Check the “User License” section which lists the “Elsevier user license”: --- http://www.elsevier.com/open-access/userlicense/1.0/ [http://www.elsevier.com/open-access/userlicense/1.0/]    --- https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/open-access-licenses/elsevier-user [https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/open-access-licenses/elsevier-user]    This episode = mini-series: reading-37.    (My email is active. But my website is under construction. Please wait for a while. Thank you for the patience!)