Published online 3 June 2009
Postdoc journal
The little green monster
Joanne Isaac
Joanne Isaac was a postdoc in climate-change effects on biodiversity at James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.
Staying at home is making me jealous.
Towards the end of last year, my husband Brett and I discussed our options if one of us were offered a postdoc overseas. Disillusioned at the time with academia, I agreed to temporarily put aside my research career to be a stay-at-home mum if he got a position first.
In retrospect, perhaps this declaration was rather rash. Now Brett has a postdoctoral fellowship in the United States and I really am a full-time mum. Reality has set in — maybe I'm just not 'soccer mom' material?
To make matters worse, our new house has become a hub for disease ecology as Brett, his boss and two PhD students turn the garage into a lab and plan their experiments for the summer field season. I, on the other hand, contemplate such pressing issues as dealing with a case of viral tonsillitis and finding toddler-friendly activities in our neighbourhood while simultaneously learning to drive on the wrong side of the road.
When the conversation turns to what Brett and his colleagues have seen and caught in the field, I feel especially wistful; I love field work, but since I entered the realm of motherhood it has been the most difficult aspect of research to coordinate.
Although I truly appreciate being able to spend more quality time with my wonderful son Kai, I think I may have to squish the little green career monster inside a few more times, as I settle into my new role.
Postdoc Journal Keepers 2009
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Julia BoughnerJulia Boughner is a postdoc in evolutionary developmental biology at the University of Calgary, Canada.
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Bryan VentersBryan Venters is a postdoc in biochemistry and molecular biology at Pennsylvania State University.
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Joanne IsaacJoanne Isaac was a postdoc studying the effect of climate change on biodiversity at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia. She is now in the United States so that her husband can complete a postdoc.
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Sam WalcottSam Walcott is a postdoc in theoretical biophysics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
