Dr Ajantha Abey narrates his blog written for Dementia Researcher.

There are already about a thousand blogs telling you to pace yourself and embrace failure. This is not one of them. Ajantha has written up the unglamorous systems he either set up early in his PhD and still thanks his past self for, or wishes he had. Experiment numbering. File names that actually tell you something. One place for every note. A reference manager with tags that earn their keep. Figures made as you go rather than in a panic at the end. Plus a spreadsheet he cheerfully describes as a colour-coded monument to procrastination. None of it will save you from a failed experiment. All of it will save the version of you who is three years down the line, trying to work out what on earth happened in experiment 17.

https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-research-habits-i-wish-id-started-earlier-in-my-phd/

Dr Ajantha Abey is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Kavli Institute at University of Oxford. He is interested in the cellular mechanisms of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other diseases of the ageing brain. Previously, having previoulsy explored neuropathology in dogs with dementia and potential stem cell replacement therapies. He now uses induced pluripotent stem cell derived neurons to try and model selective neuronal vulnerability: the phenomenon where some cells die but others remain resilient to neurodegenerative diseases.

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This podcast is brought to you by University College London in association with the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support.