get a clue !

Just stumbled upon this on youtube. It's a few interviews on gene regulation that focus on the implication of RNA: a peep into my doctorate project from my supervisor himself (and others).

So, when am I leaving ?

The last and final step before I fly off to Brisbane is my medical examination and chest X-ray. All visitors to Australia must undergo such tests when staying more than a year or so. Makes sense, since Australia is one of the few countries in the world with 0 cases of tuberculosis year-round.

My appointment is this thursday, and next tuesday for the X-rays. My visa application is submitted and now awaits the medical results. I expect to have the visa anywhere between Sept 7th and Sept 19th, with higher confidence towards the earlier dates. I will most likely be in Montreal after Sept 6th (SUPER PARTY!) as I await my departure.

So there is only one doctor affiliated with the australian imigration office in Quebec City. Their website has it in Outremont (but with a Quebec City address ??), and they only accept cash ! Talk about sketchy... I just hope he only makes me cough once!

Last Thursday was my going away party at the Lab. It really made my departure sink-in. We had a blast (especially me!). Everyone chipped-in and they gave me a wicked sick custom Habs jersey. BIG THANKS!! Will wear it proudly in Brisbane next April when they win....

They also gave me a nice picture book with personnal messages and some Oz bucks! Merci beaucoup tout le monde!

Departure imminent

The university just sent me an acceptance letter and a confirmation of enrolment. This was the limiting step for my visa application, which should take 5 to 10 business days.

Expect a goodbye party towards the beginning of September!

What lies above us

Just starting watching this unbelievable documentary on UFOs. Most of us associate the acronym to crazy people, flying saucers, and aliens. Very few people actually investigate particular sightings and phenomena. Even if your a sceptic, watch this relatively short film. Either download the torrent of watch it on youtube in multiple parts:
UFOS: The Greatest Story ever Denied

State of OZ-fairs, Prt 3

I am pleased to inform you that my departure now only depends on my student visa. My advisors finally sent off their recommendations for the IPRS scolarship and tuition fee waiver.
My (future) principal advisor and the IMB have decided to cover my tuition fees if my application is not retained (and I am not granted a tuition fee waiver). The University of Queensland will thus send a confirmation to the department of immigration, hence completing my visa requirements !!
Wooohooou ! They mentioned October 1st as an official starting date, so that means I will have a good 3-4 weeks to visit and get installed :D

State of OZ-fairs, Prt 2

Got an email early morning yesterday concerning my move to Brisbane. It appears the federal international research scholarship (IPRS) is in the process of becoming a continuous year-round award. My tuition fee waiver will be processed at the same time as my IPRS application. I have been advised from the postgraduate coordinator at the IMB that there may be delays concerning my tuition fee waiver application as a consequence.
I was also told that if I planned on commencing soon (YES!), the institute thinks they can work around this shortcoming by August 15th. I have no idea as to how they will request permission from the University for my enrollment/visa approval. Perhaps the IMB will 'hire' me in the meanwhile, all I know is that they don't just hand out merit-based scholarships to overseas applicants like candy on Halloween.

Apple's capitalistic derision

I respect Apple for their contribution to developing mainframe personal computers and their subsequent impact on society (also for their promotion of open source programs). If you're a die-hard Microsoft/PC fan, heck even an Apple enthusiast, check out this movie. As you may agree, the iPod, MacBook Air, and iPhone are practical, sleek, and stylish, which makes them indisputably popular consumer commodities. However, the corporation's mistreatment of consumers through rampant publicity and suave propaganda, not to mention their environmental exploitation, has soured their image.

This article is an epic example of Apple's avaricious contribution to the stultification of modern economy and perhaps even a good slap in the face for capitalism. How many people in developing countries do you think 1000$ can feed? Promoting such blatant misuse of occidental wealth is one reason why this guy won't be buying anything with an Apple, besides the fruit.

State of OZ-fairs, pt.1

For those who aren't aware, I plan on pressing the snooze button of life by pursuing my studies at the doctoral level. The research projects I undertook got me stoked on bioinformatics, in particular on RNA. After scoping out the coolest labs, 3 or 4 really withheld my attention. This one group in Brisbane, Australia seemed like the best initial choice based on location, research interests and scientific environment. Call it fate or what have you, as the principle investigator, Prof John Mattick, was flying to Montreal for a meeting with Genome Canada last December. I met him for an interview after which he accepted to supervise my Ph.D. (following consultation with my previous research advisors).

So off I go! We planned on starting towards late March. How naïve of a young graduate student to suppose commencing a Ph.D. overseas can be done so quickly! Long story short, I finally got an unconditional letter of offer for Ph.D. at the University of Queensland late June. I also received an institutional scholarship from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB).
For those of you who aren't already dozing off, the title of my preliminary research proposal is "the sequence-based portrayal of non-coding RNA regulatory networks". Right now, all that remains before I take an Air Canada B767 jet to Oztralia is a student visa. What's the hick you ask? Well in order to get the visa, I need the University to send the Department of Immigration an electronic confirmation of enrolment. And to be enrolled, I need either $15000 Australian bucks, or a tuition fee waiver. The latter is in process, as I have been granted a merit-based award that should speed things up considerably.

I'm expecting a response any day now, and will most definitely let you know as soon as possible ! Thanks for reading.

Welcome !

I decided to create one of them there "BLOG" thingers on the inter-web. This way, everyone can be informed of what's going on in Mart-land. I guess it's also a pretty good way for you to keep in touch (and procrastinate on the net).