[Nfb-science] Introduction

[John D. Trawick]

Thanks everyone for the welcome and advice! If I can offer any perspectives on a career in science as my offering, I'll be happy to do so. Some details: PhD in microbiology from U. of MN/Mayo Grad School of Medicine (a joint program long since dissolved), I am a molecular geneticist and have worked in the biotechnology industry since 1997 with some low level academic experience prior to moving into industry. My employer believes in a hands on approach and that means a lot of lab work but I also do bioinformatic and other computer work. While a hand held magnifier is convenient for reading papers and books, for the computer and lab I am using +3 readers which are far from perfect. I would go for more magnification except I already am getting pretty close to the screen or pipet, etc.Apart from seeing details sharply enough, the other issue in the lab is contrast. Things in shadows or nearly the same color and density of surroundings are easy to miss. The other day I let a polyacrylamide gel slide out of a container because I didn't see it (these gels are very thin and transparent). Found it in the sink a few minutes later, luckily unharmed.
At any rate, I hope that this is the right place to learn as I adapt to the slow but inevitable changes in vision.
Cheers,
John
---- Christine Szostak <szostak.1 at osu.edu> wrote:

=============
Hi John,
Welcome to the list. My name is Christine and I am working toward my
second Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology with an emphasis in language
processing. I am totally blind and can say that with some innovation, you
can still perform quality research without vision, so you should not feel
any need to change positions. You will likely need to make adaptations, but
maintaining a scientific career is still fully possible. Again welcome to
the list.
Many thanks,
Christine


M. Szostak
Graduate Student
Language Perception Laboratory
Department of Psychology, Cognitive Area
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
szostak.1 at osu.edu