My blog was recently nominated for The Versatile Blogger Award by lovehappily. Thank you dearly for this very sweet gesture that I will gratefully accept. Paul’s blog is one of my favorite places to visit for general life encouragement and positivity, and I think its an inspirational blog to all who visit.
In acceptance of this award, here are the seven things about myself that others may not know.
- When I lived in Sydney I had quite a large orchid collection (around 100)
- I had never travelled overseas before the age of 23, and now I live overseas
- My background is Italian, and I have never been to Italy….(yet)
- I am lactose intolerant, which developed 6 months before I turned 30
- I’m a scientist researching heart disease, but my PhD was in reproduction
- A food I eat every day is peanut butter on toast
- I love the smell of coffee, but hate the taste, so instead I drink tea
Lastly I would like to pass this nomination onto 15 of my favorite blogs.
- https://earthstarblog.wordpress.com/
- http://passingbyphoto.com/
- http://theflipoftheswitch.com/
- https://anroworld.wordpress.com/
- https://onartandaesthetics.wordpress.com/
- http://laurazphotoblog.com/
- https://dansdailyphoto.wordpress.com/
- http://colourlightenergy.com/
- https://velvetcandle.wordpress.com/
- http://truenorthnomad.net/
- https://waltersanford.wordpress.com/
- https://pjayphotos.wordpress.com/
- http://culinarymosaic.com/
- http://jenniestock.com/
- https://littlefoodiechef.wordpress.com/
Thank you all for welcoming me into the blogging community! It has been a truly wonderful experience that I hope continues for a very long time.
Laura Lecce's art and photography 
Hey thanks for the nomination and shoutout! I really enjoy your blog and am glad you enjoy mine!
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Congratulation on your award. I also like the smell of coffee but not the taste 🙂
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really? I thought I was the only weirdo 🙂
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Number 5 is very interesting (and now I understand your appreciation of those “cuddling lizards” in Puerto Rico a little better ; D ).
Did you study a specific reproductive dysfunction? I am very interested in Klinefelter syndrome. Almost all of the symptoms have been alleviated by testosterone supplements, but infertility remains an issue. There is some groundbreaking work being done to help with that.
Thought you might be interested in this article. It knocked my socks off!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16824959
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Hi, that’s very impressive investigative skills you have 🙂
I used to study changes in uterine cells that would make them receptive to the implanting embryo… thus we could better improve IVF success rates if we can understand what a receptive uterus should look like. My colleagues have gone on to prove that ovarian hyperstimulation (where they inject you with a heap of hormones to get lots of eggs from you) actually ruins the next uterine cycle (so implanting an egg straight away wont be very successful the first IVF round).
That article you referenced is incredibly cool! I think the days of needing sperm will truly be behind us soon, all you need is male DNA.
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Neat! Your work sounds very applicable. I love that!
I couldn’t agree more. We are definitely going to see some big changes in reproduction over the next decade. It’s very interesting to me to think about how technological advances are tied to social changes in gender perception too!
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I wish I was still doing research in reproduction, but it receives very little attention or funding. So for the sake of my research career I have had to move into heart disease (cancer or neuroscience) as they are better funded, even though they are also more competitive. Reproduction was way more fascinating though!
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Oh Laura, I couldn’t agree more! The big 4 (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and neuroscience) really have a bit of a monopoly on funding, and therefore, on employment opportunity. Lots of bright minds are funneled into those giants, who might have felt more engaged with their work if they had been able to pursue another specialty.
It breaks my heart a little bit!
And money follows a similar pattern. I manage the financial side of my lab (as well as running experiments), and I am truly disheartened by the amount of funding we spend on experiments that have never come close to effecting a patient. Just one of our grants (we have six) could enable a lab in a smaller field to do work that would directly impact patients. Instead, we are amassing data that may or may not ever effect a patient, just because we can play the cancer card.
Sorry for the mini-rant; your wish to work in reproduction hit a soft spot! Of course, all scientific research is valuable…I just wish there was a way to even the playing field for the little guys.
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