Jennifer Tribble

Alongside my research, I am the STEM Graduate Career Consultant at UCLA’s Career Center. I usually spend Tuesday mornings either attending one of their seminars or workshops, or working closely with the Graduate Student Services team to develop programs for graduate professional development.

I attend the Joint Seminar in Neuroscience talk for a lunch break, and then get back to experiments! Sometimes, I even attend lunch with the speaker for an opportunity to further discuss research.

Typically I spend Tuesday evening reading papers from the week that are relevant to my field. I use this time to brainstorm new experimental ideas, or next steps in my current experiments.

I have my office hours for the class I am TAing, an undergraduate neuroscience course.

I usually schedule meetings with collaborators or my supervisors on Wednesday afternoons. If my afternoon is free, I try to get in a quick trip to the gym in between experiments!

I hold STEM graduate student drop-in advising in the Biomedical Library of CHS. It’s a great chance to get a quick CV or resume review, or talk about career preparation!

I attend lab meeting, and make sure to speak to my P.I. about my experiments for the week.

I try to fit in an experiment before attending lecture for the class I am TAing at 2 PM.

I meet with the group of coordinators from AWiSE (Advancing Women in Science and Engineering) to talk about upcoming events and de-brief past events. This week, we had a panel called “Beyond your PhD: Careers in Biotech” where graduate students can meet with professional women from the industry for valuable insight on that career path.

I teach discussion sections for the class I am TAing. Otherwise, I would attend the Learning and Memory journal club in Gonda.

I use the afternoon to finish up any remaining experiments from the week, or analyze data.

I get together with a few friends for baking and a game night.

Typically I spend the morning catching up on lost sleep! Then, I make a protein filled breakfast and enjoy a cup of coffee.

I try to make it out to the beach, or explore LA. Otherwise, I catch up on emails and random tasks while watching college football.

I meet up with friends for a drink, usually in Santa Monica or Culver City.

I meet friends for brunch. Usually we go to a local favorite, P’tit Solei, but this time we tried Areal in Santa Monica.

I do laundry, catch up on tidying and cleaning the apartment, and make sure my agenda is set for the week. I also recently completed a DIY project of painting Ikea shelves!

I usually try to get to sleep early as to get a good start on the following week after relaxing with a cup of tea and a good book.