Archives

Biomedical science is no longer primarily conducted by brilliant individuals running their own labs and writing paper after paper using the same methodology that they have perfected over the course of their training and career. Even the seemingly simplest of projects likely requires use of another lab’s equipment or model, or utilizes multiple Core facilities and services. Some may see this approach as diluting the importance of each contributing author, but in fact it enables a far greater influence and benefit of any one individual’s work.

There are many reasons why successful scientists collaborate:

– It’s a chance to learn new scientific approaches and access new techniques, models and equipment.

– You can greatly expand your publication record. Although a series of middle author manuscripts won’t make or break a tenure package, it certainly demonstrates a collaborative scientist who fits well within the local research community. Tasks that seem routine to one lab may represent a critical control for a manuscript from another group and earn a spot on the authorship list. Likewise, engaging other people and their specialty area will allow you to level-up your own work and submit more compelling stories to stronger journals.

– Reading and editing the work of other people is a great way to learn better writing skills for manuscripts, grants and posters. Many useful style tips and tricks can also be gleaned from the way other people edit our own work. Once we leave the trainee state the opportunity to have someone thoroughly red-line our work diminishes and it is a gift when it happens. In academia, editing is how we show that we care!

– You can share the highs and lows. An academic career entails a lot of rejection and it can be hard not to internalize a rejected paper or a triaged grant. Writing and submitting with other colleagues that you know to be brilliant can help to convince you that a poor score really may be due to the vagaries of the review process rather than a personal attack or judgement. Two (or three) heads are better than one in planning a new line of attack and the celebratory champagne also tastes better when shared.

There are several ways to increase your collaborative reach:

–  First, do your research. Find local experts and contact them directly. Invite them (or a trainee from their lab) to present data at your lab meeting, or offer to present something to their group. Be clear about what you need and what you will offer in return such as authorship, funding, or future joint grant applications – particularly if what you are asking for might be costly in time or research funds.

– Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows are a great way to expand your reach. Serving on committees will introduce you to work that is going on in other labs and you may be able to offer your own expertise to enrich their projects.

– Internal seminars are a great place to meet new colleagues. Ask questions of the speaker afterwards, introduce yourself, and find your shared interests.

Some collaborations may only last as long as it takes to get a manuscript published, whereas others may last for years. But remember, if the grant application is successful you will be stuck with that person for years so a functional working relationship is just as important as the science itself. And sometimes, just sometimes, a simple scientific question results in manuscripts, funding, and friendship.

More Resources

Connecting Through Poster Sessions

Navigating Academic Relationships

Paper-Writing Checklists To Prevent Headaches Down the Road

I recently attended the Edge for Scholars Retreat: Building Collaborations, Creating Connections and learned so much about connecting with others throughout an academic career. Meeting new people at a similar career stage and getting advice from those who have gone before us made for an invigorating and inspiring day.

A piece of advice that was shared during a roundtable discussion really stuck with me: Learn where your B+ work is okay. *Skrrrt* Wait, what? I am an A+ student. A high achiever. A…perfectionist. How could I possibly produce less than THE BEST?

While I am of course exaggerating (kind of), this advice got me thinking about how often my colleagues and I do struggle with perfectionism. Scientists are generally high achievers and producing anything less than our best might feel like failing. However, perfectionism is often a barrier to progress. So, how can we be okay with our B+ work sometimes? Some things to keep in mind:

1. Perfection is impossible. I know, I know. Everyone knows this. But do you truly believe and accept it? Even if perfection was theoretically possible, would you ever actually believe you reached it? I suspect if your expectations were reached, you would probably just raise your expectations further. Besides, everyone’s definition of perfection is different anyway.
2. Perfection makes us less relatable. Showing others your flaws takes pressure off of them to feel like they have to be perfect. Especially in mentoring, we owe it to our mentees to show them that we make mistakes, too. This also makes us more approachable and takes away the fear of backlash when our trainees make mistakes. Furthermore, we each have a desire to be loved for who we are. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to constantly wonder if people like the real me or just the “perfect” version of myself I allow others to see.
3. Perfection blocks growth. Progress and process are just as important as the outcome. Taking risks and trying new things and failing at them is how we learn. Of course, we should strive to do good work, but waiting for it to be perfect before we share it with others can be a huge waste of time. The best example I can think of for this is scientific writing. Don’t wait for your draft to be perfect before you share it with a colleague or mentor for feedback! Involving others early and often can help you develop your skills more quickly and expend less mental and emotional energy you can use toward other things. I promise they won’t think you’re dumb.
4. Perfection blocks opportunities. Perfectionism often grows out of a desire for control. By trying to control everything, you might take away opportunities from others, blind yourself to alternative ideas and perspectives, or have unrealistic expectations for yourself and those around you. Scientific advancement requires diverse backgrounds, ideas, and skillsets. Letting go of our original “perfect” plan makes way for better plans to arise that we hadn’t yet thought of.

We probably shouldn’t have needed a global pandemic to teach us that disruptions and interruptions are a part of life and that we just can’t control everything, but some of us are slow learners when it comes to perfectionist tendencies (hi there!). It is a process to learn how and when to let things go, but a necessary one. As we begin to learn where our B+ work is okay, we will improve our well-being, time management, and yes, our productivity.