Hi! My Name is Nour Al-muhtasib. I am currently a postdoc at Yale. My PhD story has been an interesting one.
I defended my thesis in the Spring of 2013 and started my postdoc that summer.
The next year was filled with verbal and emotional abuse from my mentor until one day I went to do the Dean and said he needed to take me out and protect me.
He did just that. I sought help from several professors during this time and found a new postdoc with a wonderful mentor.
I am still battling a lot of imposter syndrome because as I was getting perfecting the new surgical technique I learned, COVID-19 happened and the labs shut down. I am just returning to the lab and there is that fear that the experience in my last lab was my fault.
This has been a long and difficult journey, but I have learned a lot.
I have been pushed to my limits and my response has been to stand up for myself and it has been liberating. Each time I do stand up, it gets easier.
Standing up for yourself is not just telling someone to treat you better. It can be asking for time off or more time from your PI.
Make sure to tune into Nour's Grad Chat with us on Saturday, June 27th - 3pm EDT on YouTube live. Missed the live? No worries! The videos will stay up so you can always go back and watch!
Learn more about Nour on Instagram and Twitter!
You can also now listen to all our Grad Chat episodes as a podcast, which is hosted on Anchor FM and available on all major streaming services!