So when are you done?

I don't know if this question is like nails on a chalkboard to all PhD students, but it sure is to me. It seems I am hearing it and its variations (e.g. Did you graduate already? Are you finished with school now?) more and more now that I'm about HALF way through my program. I know that the questions are well-intentioned, but when I hear them I want to reply "No, I'm not done. I have no idea when I'll be done. Now leave me alone." To anyone who is afraid of being left out of the loop when I finally graduate, rest assured I will not let that event happen quietly. When I put on that cap and gown for the 6th (yes, 6th) and final time in my life, everyone will know it. There will be phone calls, texts, e-mails, facebook posts, tweets, and of course a blog post to inform everyone I know that they may now start calling me Dr. Doughty.

In the meantime, I will provide an update for anyone genuinely curious about my progress. Not much has changed since my last post. I did complete an online class over the summer and I now have 2 required courses remaining. One, Nutrition and Chronic Disease, I will take this fall. The other, intermediate biostatistics (shoot me), I will have to take in the spring. If I have a dissertation project to work on by then, I may be able to start doing some research while finishing that final class. After my coursework is done I have to take, and pass, comprehensive exams. Then, I will submit defend my dissertation proposal, complete the dissertation research and writing, and finally defend the full dissertation. I do not know for sure how long this sequence of events will take, but I am hoping to be finished by May 2013.

For this fall semester, which begins in 2 weeks, I am taking 2 elective courses in addition to the required courses so that I can maintain my full-time status and eligibility for an assistantship. I have chosen Statistical Methods for Clinical Trials and Advanced Methods in Epidemiology. They may not be the most enthralling of subjects, but they fit into my schedule nicely. And I believe they will be valuable and maybe even a little interesting.

One major thing that is changing for me this semester is my role as a TA. I will still be a TA for the same introductory nutrition course, but I will not actually be teaching discussions. Instead, I will be responsible for setting up and managing the course website and supporting the other TAs, among other activities outside the classroom. Part of me is a little sad about this change, because I did enjoy interacting with students and playing a larger role in helping them learn. However, I think the shift will be a good thing overall. It will mean easier work and less stress. The snowstorms of last semester, which seemed to always occur on the morning I had to be in Massachussetts to teach an 8am discussion, helped to convince me that giving up the classroom teaching was a worthwhile trade for not having to worry about how I was going to get to campus alive and on time.

There you have it. Now, I'm going to attempt to enjoy my last 2 weeks of summer vacation before yet another school year begins.

Spring 2011 already

I am happy to report that things are going better now than they were when I wrote my last post.... 5 months ago. This week, the first scientific manuscript that I wrote from start to finish (with some editing by my co-authors), was published in Public Health Nutrition. I have another review article on the health effects of cocoa on its third or fourth (I've lost track) round of revisions now. That thing has been such a thorn in my side for nearly 2 years. If it actually gets published, I may throw a party. A chocolate party would be very apropos. On second thought, who needs an excuse to hold such a party?? Hmm.. food for thought.

Now in my 4th semester, I have a new set of challenges. Primarily, I need to figure out just what the heck I'm doing my dissertation on and which faculty member will be the chair of my committee. Plus the minor detail of finding funding for the project.

What I would really love to do is a randomized, controlled trial testing the effects of a Mediterranean diet on metabolic (e.g. glucose, insulin, cholesterol levels, etc.) and endocrine (hormonal) parameters in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Because the only apparent funding organizations for such a study are government agencies that receive a large volume of high-quality proposals and also have a long turnaround time, I have opted to seek funding from a private organization. I am currently in the process of recruiting a reproductive endocrinologist (Ob/Gyn) to help me refine my study protocol and make decisions about who will participate in the study and what the outcome measures will be. The next step will be to submit a proposal to the organization and hope that they think my study is worth funding. If they don't.. it's back to the drawing board.
I do have at least one "back-up" plan in the works, but that is not guaranteed either, so there are a lot of unkowns at the moment. The uncertainty is unsettling to say the least.

On the plus side, after this semester I will have only 3 more courses to take. One I will take over the summer online. This is great because it means I don't have to commute, but it's not so great because it also means I have to pay for the class out of pocket. The 2nd class I will take in the fall, hopefully while also working on my dissertation study (whatever it will be). However, the 3rd class I need to take is posing quite a challenge. I need to take this course prior to the Spring 2012 semester, but it won't be offered at UMass again until that time. I could have taken it this semester, but I was a brat and didn't want to (long story). So... now I'm trying to find a comparable course I can take online at another university. Turns out this isn't so easy, and I haven't a clue how I'm going to fulfill this requirement. Lovely.

Also on the plus side, my classes this semester are amazing.  I am doing an independent study that will involve analyzing data from a large cohort study to evaluate the relationship between diabetes and breast cancer risk. In addition, I'm taking Nutrition & Reproductive Health, Nutrition Problems in the US, and Minerals. The first two cover all of my favorite topics: endocrinology, pregnancy nutrition, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. The final course is surprisingly fascinating and is opening up a whole new world of insights for me. It is challenging, and I think I may have actually failed the first exam, but I love that it's pushing me to learn more than I think I can. The expectations are refreshingly high. I am used to being able to get away with studying for an hour for an exam and getting an A. I learned the hard way that that won't work for this class. And that's fine with me.