Wendy Xin
“A postdoc was just a great opportunity to give myself a little bit more time and explore those new questions that I really became passionate about towards the end of my PhD.”
School of Medicine
Neuroscience, PhD 2018
Postdoctoral Fellow at University of California San Francisco
Wendy‘s Podcast Episode
In this episode, we discuss what led Wendy to pursue a postdoc in Neuroscience and a career in academia, the different factors she considered when choosing which postdoc position would be the best fit for her and her particular needs, and her advice for those interested in pursuing lab-based postdoctoral fellowships.
Learn More About Wendy‘s Story
Growing up in North America has, of course, fundamentally defined my life trajectory. I had access to numerous privileges that facilitated my path in science, including a primarily English education. The downsides of this upbringing were being cut off from most of my family and navigating two distinct cultures at home and outside, neither of which gave me a full sense of belonging. We were able to take a trip to China once every few years, which is where this photo was taken. These trips always brought a mixture of warmth, longing, anxiety, inadequacy, and guilt. I don’t know where life would have taken me if I had grown up in China, but I do mourn the lost opportunity of having close relationships with my family.
Entering graduate school, I had major anxiety about my qualifications and capacity to keep up. Luckily, I found a welcoming community within and outside my graduate program, through department events as well as being a part of the graduate school acapella group, aptly named the Centrifugues. Thanks to moments like the one depicted in this photo, graduate school was an immensely happy period in my life, despite the many days when I felt discouraged about science or my own progress.
