It's Phienbelle

PhD! Yes, a research-based degree  that delves and cultivates understanding of a subject in a field, with the aim to contribute to a new knowledge. I think that's how we describe the bigger picture of it. It is the highest degree that you can pursue by focusing on a problem, issue, or situation in a subject and solving them or proposing a better solution through research. That is why it takes 3-4 years which seems like an adequate time to master the knowledge of a subject inside out, identify the problem, test your idea and argue them at the end of your research in order to qualify that Doctorate degree. GETTING INTO RESEARCH My PhD journey started in early 2020. I was so excited when I got awarded the UNSW Scientia PhD Scholarship. It was the greatest achievement that I have made in my entire academic journey. Also, I have always known that I want to do a PhD because of that big picture it presents. But hey, as excelling as it sounds, the research world nowadays is perceived as to...

I love Tempe. At home in Bali, I ate Tempe almost everyday. Most of the time I ate them fried with salt and pepper, or with turmeric, coriander powder, or coated with crispy flour or breadcrumbs. The best one was when my mom fried the small tempe stripes and coated them in lemongrass, galangal, palm sugar sauce - Tempe Manis! Sometimes these days when I get creative, I also make a burger patty, katsu, schnitzel, and possibly any other way you want to have your meat cooked, but only using Tempe without losing the amount of protein! Tempe is a nutritious, soybean cake, originally from Indonesia. Unlike its sister tofu that's softer in texture, Tempe is more nutty and has a unique, funky, fermented taste. That's because it is made from the culture of Rhizopus sp. , a type of fungi.  The cost of 250 gram Tempe in Sydney is about $3.50. In Bali, this block of Tempe costs only 5000 IDR , which is about $0.50! So, you can imagine that I have to live in this irony for the last 4 years ...

Hello guys! It has been 3 months since COVID-19 has put all of us to working from home. I myself have been inseparable from my laptop and desk, and I know this is actually bad for my back, ahha! Most importantly, this makes me miss my lab so much. As a person who is used to working in the lab, now all I can do is dream about those days when I can freely access lab again, checking on my cells, without shifts, or being questioned by lab manager about my presence. So, I want to share a story about my job as a research assistant (RA); a job that I had for 2 years (2018-2019), before I decided to enter a PhD program in early 2020!  I was an RA in the Gene Dysregulation group at the Children's Cancer Institute Australia (CCIA). I really loved my role there. The institute is located within UNSW and is  still an affiliated institute. I can say that I get to work with mix of people that are new and have long history with UNSW. I hope this post will be useful to you who are keen in gett...