Resources

This is a mishmash of resources that I’ve found helpful and interesting over the last several years.  The technical topics are typically spanning my own research/interests – centered around wearable robotics, spanning fields such as human physiology, biomechanics, robotics, and artificial intelligence.  I’ve also thrown in some resources that I’ve found helpful in academia, communication, mentoring, and searching for jobs/opportunities in related fields. 

I’m planning to update these lists occasionally, this was last updated on October 15, 2023

Academia, Writing, and Communication

STAYING UP-TO-DATE

Biomch-L Literature Update – sign up to receive a weekly email or head to the forum for a weekly update on biomechanics literature
Robotics Worldwide – a robotics mailing list for announcements regarding jobs, meetings, software, journals, news, etc.
Google Scholar alerts – setting up Google Scholar Alerts is an great way to stay informed on current research.  Some examples that I have alerts for are “hip exoskeleton” and “locomotion stability” and I receive emails with new articles that are published with those keywords.
Feedly – this is a great aggregator application that I use to keep tabs on new journal articles.  After adding my favorite academic journals to my list, I get a feed of all new articles published in those journals each day.  I use this to start my week and catch up on any new articles I may have missed.

WRITING

Microsoft Read Aloud – ever proof your own words so many times that you know you’re reciting it rather than reading? For proofreading, try using MS Word’s Read Aloud feature to hear your text.
How to undertake a literature review – blog post by Raul Pacheco-Vega, PhD
Use of a visual abstract to disseminate scientific research – guide by Andrew M. Ibrahim, MD
All About Grants Podcast – from the NIH
Reasoned Writing/A Framework for Scientific Papers – by Devin Jindrich, a blog-style resource on various topics centered around scientific writing
Writing a scientific article: A step-by-step guide for beginners – tips and tricks for writing a paper using the IMRAD (Intro, Methods, Results, and Conclusion) format
Scientific Writing by Dr. Stuart McErlain Naylor – a fantastic slew of advice and resources for academic technical writing
The Science of Scientific Writing – article from the American Scientist
Thoughts on More Efficient Writing – Twitter thread from Dr. Betty Lai

MAKING FIGURES

Chromatic Vision Simulator (CVSimulator) – this app lets you view common types of colorblindness through your cell phone or tablet camera. This is a great tool for checking if your paper’s figures are colorblind-friendly!
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information – great textbook on effective data visualization
Servier Medical Art – an awesome website full of free medical diagrams/illustrations
Procreate – one of my favorite drawing apps that I use to make a lot of my figures, great for tablets
BASH: Biomechanical Animated Skinned Human – create realistic human animations from OpenSim musculoskeletal models
Science Visualization Trends of 2021 – blog post from Helena Jambor, great page for getting figure inspiration
Platforms to Find Free Visuals – post from Dr. Jessica Rodrigues with a compilation of resources to find free media
Scientific Visualization Using MatPlotLib – open access book going over the MatPlotLib library and example figures
Designing Scientific Figures – Twitter thread with tips for figure design from Dr. Szymek Drobniak

PRESENTING

Ten Simple Rules for Effective Presentation Slides – by Dr. Kristen Naegle
Designing Poster Presentations – Twitter thread with a list of tips and tricks from Dr. Matt Carter
BioRender Poster Builder – drag and drop poster designer with built-in templates and color schemes
Fonts/Typography in Presentations – Twitter thread on how to best use text in presentations from @iamscicomm

OPINIONS & PERSONAL INSIGHTS

The Awesomest 7-Year Postdoc – article in the Scientific American by Radhika Nagpal
Lena Ting on Creative Thinking and Bridging Disciplines to Study Movement Disorders – article in SfN Neuronline by Dr. Lena Ting
Tips for computer science faculty applications – blog post from Dr. Yisong Yue
7 Ways to Get Your Inbox Under Control and Regain Your Entrepreneurial Sanity – from Chris Ducker
Creating an academic twitter profile – by Dr. Caitlin Vander Weele
Grad school productivity tips – by Aviv Emanuel