Let's face facts: my master's thesis data wasn't all that exciting. In the end we didn't write it up for publication and that was alright with me. In my mind there wasn't a coherent story to be told there.
I'm happy to say that things are already different, regarding publications, as I'm one year into my PhD program. At the end of last year a colleague, Alana, and I ran an extended experiment that finished the day after Christmas. Of course, right? We love science and repeated testing! :)
Our results were very exciting and Alana, our advisor, Bart, and I spent the last couple months sending drafts back and forth to get it ready for publication. After being rejected from Nature and Science (yes, we were aiming high but if you never try then you won't ever be published in such prestigious scientific journals). A tad disheartened we decided to submit our manuscript to Molecular Psychiatry which still has a decent impact factor.
A couple mornings ago Tim and I were just rolling out of bed when I saw that my phone's 'notification' light was flashing blue. Absentmindedly, I picked it up to see that I had a new email. It took me a few seconds to realize what was happening as I read the good news. Our manuscript was going to published!! I was going to be an author, officially, for the first time!! As reality sunk in I shrieked with surprise and this sudden exclamation scared Tim half to death. I apologized (I really didn't mean to scare him) and within a few minutes his heart rate returned to normal. :)
Soon you'll be able to read "A genetic deletion in the serotonin transporter greatly enhances the reinforcing properties of MDMA in rats" with yours truly as second author. The best part about this is that this article will just be the beginning. Hello, authorship. There were times I never thought I'd see the day. And here it is. :)
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