Thread by @ehaswell

Ready for some personal news? Here goes. . . after a great deal of thought (and therapy), I’ve decided to close my lab down and leave academia. I know this type of thread is now verging on the predictable, so just a few details. 1/5

This is not in response to specific issues with our research program (#mechanobiology forever!), past or current lab members (they are ALL AWESOME), with my department, Wash U, or with my harasser. There are truly too many inter-related reasons to summarize them easily. 2/5

I can only say that, while I've been fairly happy and fairly successful as an academic, this job no longer gives me the joy that it used to--and I have less energy and enthusiasm to give in return. I'm ready to break this feed-forward loop! 3/5

I am not sure what is next. I do know that I will keep promoting curiosity-driven research, advocating for a better understanding of plant biology, and trying to dismantle structural inequities within the scientific enterprise. 4/5

I don’t have a timeline, but expect to be be wrapping things up over the next 6 months or so.

I’m genuinely happy to talk about this decision, and the next steps as I discover them, with anyone (whether we know each other IRL or not!). Just drop me a line. 5/5