Kikie’s Biotech Hub November 15, 2019 Hello friends, First, a big thank you for always stopping by and reading my stuff! I’m calling you friend because I appreciate you for taking time out to read my imperfect writing. I’m also writing this post as a letter and it would be rude if you do not respond to me (expecting a response in the comments 😉). It’s been a little over a year since I finally bought my domain name and set up this blog (even though it took some more months before I decided to publish my first post). I honestly didn’t know what to expect after I started up…
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My First Scientific Conference and Presentation
I will be away from the lab for a week, attending the annual of Biotechnology Society of Nigeria, conference. The conference this year holds at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan and I’m super excited to attend. I’m also really excited because I’ll presenting my work, on a poster. This post will share basic information on poster presentations: what you need to know, as well as some reference materials that I’ve found helpful.
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Alcohol vs Bacteria
I was at a gathering and someone suggested that a lady could rinse a cup with some alcohol because it can “kill germs” and somehow, I became annoyed. So I used that opportunity to school him a little on microorganisms 😉. I’m here to teach you too 😅 I remember when I learnt that 100% alcohol cannot kill microorganisms, but 70% can. This didn’t make sense to me. I’m like, how is that possible? 😅 In the laboratory, we use 70% alcohol (especially ethanol) to sterilize work benches, our hands, laboratory bottles, and some equipments. A lot of hand sanitizers also contain some alcohol. Scientists have established that 50-80% alcohol…
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STEMM Role Models _ Tochukwu Ozulumba
A major reason why I started this blog, is to highlight women doing science that I admire. So welcome to the new category that I have named “STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Medicine) Role Models”. On my first episode of science role models, I spoke with Ms Tochukwu Ozulumba (TO), a final year PhD candidate at the University of Brighton. She shares her self-care tips, her thoughts on science communication in Nigeria and some advice for young scientists. She explains the impact of volunteering on her career, relevant skills young scientists should acquire and tips for earning a scholarship. Can you tell us a little about you? Three things…
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11/02 – International Day of Women and Girls in Science
Hello readers, So I am really excited about today, I decided to put my thoughts down on Women in Science and I hope you take something from it. Please let me know your thoughts and contributions to this topic in the comment section. The eleventh day of February was declared as the international day for women and girls in science by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 2015. The UN resolution decided to celebrate this day to encourage the participation of women and girls in fields related to science and technology and to achieve gender equality and education for all. The theme for 2019 is Investment in Women and…
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My week as a Research Assistant
Research is creating new knowledge Neil Armstrong Hello Readers, In my last post, I mentioned that I work as a research assistant and in this post I’m going to be explaining what the role entails. Research Assistants offer support to professionals who are conducting experiments, or gathering and analysing data in order to create new knowledge and educate people. I work in an institute of medical research, consequently I can refer to myself as a medical research assistant. The goal of medical research is to improve our health https://swhr.org/what-is-medical-research/ My work is primarily done in a wet laboratory which is basically a lab where chemicals, drugs or other biological matter…
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My First Post!
Happy New Year my lovely readers. It’s my first post on the blog and I’m so elated. I’ve put so much pressure on myself, trying to decide the perfect post and waiting for a major success. Then I remembered: I decided to start this blog to share my journey in the biotechnology industry as a researcher and not only for “jumbo” accomplishments. Anyway, the post is here finally! (Yasss, my first post ever!!!) My name is Edidiong Nkiruka (Kikie) Essien, a recent graduate of Biotechnology, I am very keen on medical research and would love to be a scientist/researcher as well as a science communicator. I enjoy talking about my…
