Mercy Rophina is a graduate of Biotechnology from PSG College of Technology, Tamil Nadu, India. She is currently pursuing her final year of PhD under the supervision of Dr. Vinod Scaria at CSIR - Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi. Her primary research focus revolves around the domain of ‘Genome informatics’, where she is actively involved in “Understanding the genomic landscape of blood group alleles and antigens in the Indian population”. She has been an active member of various projects that aimed at exploring and understanding the functional impact of genomic variations. Mercy has over 25 research publications in international peer-reviewed journals. She has recently been selected as a coordinator of a research topic titled Emerging Advances in Transplantation and Transfusion Medicine - Insights into Genomic Technologies in Frontiers in Genetics. Reflecting upon her current experiences she is eager to explore new frontiers of public health to make even the smallest difference in community welfare.

90 and Thriving: Dr Bronwyn Herbert’s Later-in-Life PhD Kept Her Feeling Younger

At ninety years old, Dr Bronwyn Herbert has completed her PhD at the University of Queensland, Australia. The PhD Place had the pleasure of interviewing her across the globe to share her inspiring story with our readers! Drawing on her extensive career in social work and her wealth of life experience, Bronwyn promotes the joy of lifelong learning and showcases the power of resilience that every PhD student can seek to emulate.

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Coping with Bereavement During a PhD: Grow Around the Grief

Grief is a lesser-discussed topic in academia, but processing grief due to the loss of a loved one compounds the challenges of doing a PhD. In this thought-provoking article, Kathryn Zacharek shares her experience of navigating a PhD during bereavement, where she took time out, leaned on her support networks, and researched ways to let her life ‘grow around the grief’.

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To Be or Not To Be (a Reviewer 2): Should I Review Articles as a PhD Student?

For the wheels to continue turning in research, we need reviewers. Although often a thankless endeavour (littered with Reviewer 2 jokes), acting as a gatekeeper for the integrity of your research field remains vital. As a PhD student, you may find the process of reviewing a manuscript pretty novel, but a reviewer request email may enter your inbox in the near future. This article guides you through the pros and cons of reviewing articles.

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