After discussing the main aims of the new proposal with my supervisors, I started working on....busy days....

Bad news

We have received the response from the REA. I have to re-write the proposal indicating all changes. It will be a huge task since our project significantly differs from the original one. Certainly, we can cope with it but anyway it's quite a time-consuming procedure so busy times are coming...

Aquarium

My first salary was transferred this week so we decided to visit the SEA LIFE London Aquarium. Tickets were a little bit pricey but it's quite a spectacular show so I can suggest visiting it. For me the penguins were the most lovely animals jumping in and out the water all the time. Hanga (my daughter) enthusiastically run from one aquarium to the other and stroking a starfish completely fulfilled her desire.

Work

As I have experienced, all researchers who spent their postdoctoral training at an institute with high reputation remember and regularly mention the date when they eagerly walked through the door for the first time.

My first workday was on 1st August but the following day became even more memorable since an American group from the Mayo Clinic published two papers in Blood journal covering all the aimes/objectives we outlined in the Marie Curie proposal. Moreover, I had to acknowledge at least one of them as a very good and informative publication with an impressive conclusion and a complex methodology applied.

This is an example for you how science actually works in the real life. It's a hard competition and if you design a study with productive and influencing output it's sure that the idea will be come to the mind of others as well. The longer you wait the more chance of being passed. My field, cancer research, is a hot topic nowadays which is a double-edged weapon. You can acquire funding quite easily since the death is the most fearful aspect of Western people's life. On the other, this is the reason why the progress is extremely fast. You have to be farseeing and design a very competitive project proposal. However, in most cases, the deadline for funding applications is a year before the earliest possible starting date of the project implementation and you can't reduce this time period. 

In summary, we have to come up with a good alternative plan now since my position is unchangable. If we insisted on working on the original project, publication of results in well-ranked journal would be impossible. Scientists can absolutely understand and accept this situation so we don't panic but only hope that decision-making people in Brussels think in a similar way. Anyway, a request for allowing the modification has been sent to the REA.........fingers crossed.

Natural History Museum

Last weekend, we visitied the Natural History Museum which was a memorable experience for all of us, especially for my three-year-old daughter. Since then she lists the most spectacular animals including the dinosaur skeleton each day before falls asleep. Travelling with public transport is the other thing enchanted her since she hasn't tried it ever before. Now, she throws herself into the exciting World of tube, trains, buses and trams.