Hey there, I'm Julia


I'm a scientist, software engineer, computational biologist, and mentor. And I started this gig to help you succeed in graduate school









Answers to your burning questions to Julia

Who are you? And what makes you different?

I'm a scientist, software engineer, and biomolecular modeler. I have a Masters in Physics and got a PhD in Chemical and Physical Biology. I did my Postdoc in Chemical Engineering while doing software engineering and actually turned down faculty position offers (I'll do a Youtube video about that sometime soon). I am now a Research Scientist and Project leader at a non-profit institution in New York.


I've lived in 3 countries (Germany, UK, US), moved 17 times in my life, and been around the block a few times. By the time I was 20, I've lived through 3 different currencies in Germany. Growing up in East Germany, partly before the Fall of the Berlin Wall, shaped my worldview such that I never believed there was something I couldn't do.

My scientific career is very interdisciplinary, crossing subject areas from physics, math, chemistry, biology, computer science, to software engineering. I now call myself a software engineer - developing complex methods in one of the largest biomolecular modeling software suites - even though I never took a single computer science or programming class!


I've been a senior developer in this software community for 10+ years now, and I've taught and mentored a good number of bootcamps and workshops, co-organized conferences, and been very involved in this amazing community. This community is incredibly diverse (from high-school students to professors) and interdisciplinary, which was another catalyst for me becoming interested in communicating science to a diverse audience at different career stages.

What is GradskillsPro?

I started Gradskills.Pro in 2022 after realizing that I was teaching the same scientific communication skills to all of my trainees. If you enroll in the Zero-To-Published Program, you'll get the same strategies that I've been using myself for 17+ years and that I've been teaching my trainees for 15+ years. I also LOVE mentoring grad students, find it incredibly rewarding to see them succeed and I want to do the same for you!

How do I know you're good at this?

Great question! Before becoming an established scientist with a track-record of publications and trainees, I started out like everyone else. My first paper took me 1.5 years to write and I hated the process. But I must have learned something because my second paper took me 2 WEEKS to write, only went through minor edits, and I got a Best Paper Award for it!!! I couldn't believe it! This was in 2007 and since then, I've optimized this process even more. It's not rocket science, it's a strategy anyone can follow, including you.

Why should I care?

I've been in your shoes and I have done what you are trying to achieve. The problem is that you likely assume that you'll learn everything you need to know, in grad school. WRONG! Especially after I finished my PhD and started working with grad students and trainees, I realized how lucky I actually was! My PhD advisor had taken the time to give me a lot of feedback, so I could reverse engineer how my paper / poster / presentation was supposed to look like, even though he never actually sat down and taught me HOW to do these things.


With my PhD in hand, I then realized that the vast majority of grad students have never been taught any of these skills, which limits their productivity, career chances, success and most of all, happiness, as a postdoc or employee, and beyond. Let's make sure this doesn't happen to you, shall we?

Why are you doing this?

There are a few reasons why I started Gradskills.Pro:


First, I believe that there are a lot of things about the academic system that are broken. For instance, almost every graduate student or postdoc I ask about who taught them how to write a paper, said "nobody". Now that's just wrong! Especially because we're talking about some of the most important skills in any academic (or non-academic) career, for that matter.


Second, we also know that folks who get faculty positions are 25x more likely to have a parent with a PhD. I am a first-generation PhD in my family and most of my life and career, even my family couldn't help me out - I had to figure it out on my own. I wish someone would have pointed me in the right direction, it would have saved me a lot of time, money, stress, and anxiety, and it would have made me a much better scientist. I believe that everyone should have the same opportunities - and while I can't solve any social, economic, racial or any other inequities - I want to use my skills to point you, as a grad student or academic trainee, in the right direction so that you can be successful and don't have to miss out on opportunities because of circumstances outside of your control.


And third, I truly believe the future of science lies in the continuing integration of the disciplines. If you're a biologist and have zero programming knowledge, then you'll substantially limit yourself and the quality of your science! The problem is that you, as a biologist, have never learned how to communicate with a computer scientist. Or vice versa, which is why it's so difficult to learn computer science, programming, or understand technical documentation. I know that one, believe me!

What should I expect when working with you?

I'm a problem solver! I'm empathetic, I listen, and will ask a lot of questions. I'm down to earth, can be a bit blunt sometimes, but will never tell you that you can't do something. And my German traits follow me wherever I am: I value organization, planning, productivity, and hard work.

How can I work with you?

Check out the Zero-To-Published course, and I'll see you at our weekly Friday FAQ Zoom calls. If you want to dip your toes into the water first, check out the Zero-To-Published masterclass or come to our Monday Mentoring.

Questions?

Email us at hello@gradskills.pro

Send us an Instagram DM @gradskills.pro