Chris Olsen

@olsenlabmcw.bsky.social.
Professor and Director of the Pharmacology PhD Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Sharer of insights and opportunities.

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

Graduate school interview season is approaching.
After ~12 years of interviewing PhD and MD/PhD applicants, I’ve noticed some common interview mistakes that hold otherwise strong candidates back...
#GraduateSchool #PhDLife #MDPhD #GradSchoolTips #AcademicTwitter

👇

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

Thrilled to share that @mantschjr and I have received NOA for the PRISM T32 (Pharmacology Research on Individualized factors in Substance Misuse) award!

Trainees will gain unique research experiences and engage directly with affected communities.

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

Today, I would like to celebrate Christy Duvauchelle, PhD and Cece Hillard, PhD for International Women's Day (although I'm a day late). They are two amazing mentors of mine who have greatly helped shape my career.

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

Is Penn Vector Core still offering services for external users? If not, what are some reliable sources to have custom high purity AAVs for in vivo use made? #Neuroscience

[Marquette & MCW Joint Dept. of Biomedical Eng. @MU_MCW_BME]

The @mcwgradschool will be hosting a #TownHall this Thursday - for more information, please email [email protected]

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

My wife’s commute soundtrack this morning: “Danger Zone.” Even by Wisconsin standards, that feels about right.

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

5. Missing the opportunity to connect with faculty.

An interview is a chance to engage with a faculty member who has insight into their research program and the institution. If there's time at the end, ask an informed question about their work or the graduate program.

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

Graduate school interview season is approaching.
After ~12 years of interviewing PhD and MD/PhD applicants, I’ve noticed some common interview mistakes that hold otherwise strong candidates back...
#GraduateSchool #PhDLife #MDPhD #GradSchoolTips #AcademicTwitter

👇

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

4. Not articulating motivation or long-term goals.

Many applicants say they “like research” but struggle to explain why a PhD or MD/PhD is the right training path for them. Strong candidates can articulate their motivation, even if career goals are still evolving.

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

Apply to join us for this immersive research program!

[MCW Graduate School @mcwgradschool]

Are you or do you know a current undergraduate student who wants to pursue research? Our Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) application is now open!

Apply here: https://t.co/DSRw7yniue.

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

Dissertation and seed grant opportunities through the Brain Injury Association of America: https://t.co/fOvSWs9lk4

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

@McwPharmTox Fantastic talk and wonderful conversation!

[MCW Pharmacology & Toxicology @McwPharmTox]

MCW Pharmacology & Toxicology celebrates the exceptional women in our department on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. #WomenInScience #mcwpharmtox

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

Fantastic seminar by @kwanalexc yesterday as the last @McwPharmTox seminar of the calendar year. It was great to see this and other work from his lab.

[Alex Kwan 關進晞 @kwanalexc]

Our latest study - psilocybin evokes structural neural plasticity, and we wanted to know how this maps onto pyramidal cell type-specific circuits to produce behavioral effects. 🍄🔬🧠

Link to @biorxivpreprint: https://t.co/xvQh1JmBPf

Led by Ling-Xiao Shao and @ItsClaraLiao.

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

On this Veteran's Day, I encourage you to support the Military and Veterans in Parks Act. https://t.co/QZvFxabpuV

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

And if you just want to take a shortcut to apply to our programs, click here: https://t.co/vLWapcbYNc

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

One more call to join us for the biomedical PhD program fair tomorrow. Registration information below.

[Chris Olsen @OlsenLabMCW]

Join us on Tuesday, November 12, 2024 at 4:00 PM CT to learn more about MCW’s various biomedical PhD programs! #academictwitter #phd #biomed #MCWKnowledge @mcwgradschool

We also have Interdisciplinary and Neuroscience programs.

Register here: https://t.co/fTBWJKg3Hz

[Gary Laevsky @glaevsky.bsky.social @glaevsky]

Please RT!

We are very proud to announce LSFM 2025!  The light-sheet conference/workshop will be held this year June 1st-7th, 2025, at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (MDIBL) @MDIBL in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Application portal open now!
Application deadline (rolling) May 12th, 2025.
Limited financial assistance is available.
https://t.co/dEtbi4VSja
This is the only comprehensive conference/workshop of this length in the US.
This year, the conference will be 1.5 days and the workshop will be 4 days (more time on the systems!).

Workshop space is limited. First come!

Confirmed Speakers;

Reto Fiolka @RetoPaul - UTSW - Keynote

Steve Ross @NikonInst -Nikon Instruments
Simon Watkins @simoncwatkins1 -University of Pittsburgh
Claudette St. Croix @ClaudetteCroix -University of Pittsburgh
Kate McDole - MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Holly Gibbs @holly_c_gibbs -Texas A&M
Anna-Karin Gustavsson @gustavssonlab -Rice University
Stephanie Kramer - Case Western Reserve University
Ruixuan Gao @Ruixuan3 -University of Illinois, Chicago
Bingying Chen @bingy_C -UTSW
Fabian Voight @voigtvision -Harvard University
Stephanie Rudolph @StephRudolphLab - Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Melissa Cooper @MelCooperPhD -NYU Langone Health
Doug Shepard @DougPShepherd -Arizona State Univesity
Doug Richardson @Harvard_CBI -Harvard University
Emmanuel Reynaud @ReynaudEmmanuel -University College Dublin
Kara Cerveny @kara_cerveny -Reed College
Carsten Wolff @carsten_wolff -MBL
With more to come!
Confirmed vendors:  12 systems!
3i
ASI
Leica
Bruker
MBF
Zeiss
Miltenyi
LifeCanvas
LIT
Hamamatsu
Abhishek Kumar (co-organizer) - MBL
Kate McDole (co-organizer) - MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Gary Laevsky (co-organizer) - Princeton University