How to succeed in science

1. How to succeed in science David Eisner

2. not a self-help book

3. Definition of “succeed” • To achieve the desired aim • Proverb: • “Nothing succeeds like success”

4. success is • important research • published and read in papers • changes the way we think

5. What success is not • metrics • Impact Factors • H-factor • etc

6. Nobel Prize in Chemistry (NMR imaging)) And as an ultimate plea, the personal wish of the author remains to send all bibliometrics and its diligent servants to the darkest omnivoric black hole that is known in the entire universe, in order to liberate academia forever from this pestilence. – And there is indeed an alternative: Very simply, start reading papers instead of merely rating them by counting citations!

7. What success is not • metrics • Impact Factors • H-factor • etc helps to have a few papers in classy journals…….

8. Peter Medawar Nobel Prize in Physiology: graft rejection and immune tolerance • 1915-1987

9. Am I Brainy Enough to Be a Scientist? An anxiety that may trouble some novices, ……..is whether they have brains enough to do well in science. It is an anxiety they could well spare themselves, for one does not need to be terrifically brainy to be a good scientist. Common sense one cannot do without, and one would be the better for owning some of those old-fashioned virtues that seem unaccountably to have fallen into disrepute. I mean application, diligence, a sense of purpose, the power to concentrate, to persevere and not be cast down by adversity…

10. persevere and not be cast down by adversity • Experiments don’t work • papers rejected • grants or fellowships rejected

11. Be self-critical • important for science • but don’t take to extremes • value your own work • self-doubt

12. self-doubt (Shakespeare vs the Joker) It's kind of a rule of thumb for me to self-doubt going into any kind of project. I always think that I shouldn't be doing it and I don't know how to do it and I'm going to fail and that I fooled them. I always try to find a way out. “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” 

13. What should you work on? • Medawar – “the art of the soluble” project needs to matter but: must also be doable • (must also be fundable)

14. Why are you doing science? • to help cure disease? • To advance knowledge? Delusional

15. What would have happened if you had not done your research? • Someone else would have done it: • tomorrow • next month • next year

16. Why are you doing science? • You need to enjoy it (and advance knowledge etc as a happy byproduct) • “Happy is he who gets to know the reason for things” Virgil (70-19 BC)

17. Personal life? Become a hermit: plenty of time for science

18. My escape from hermitry

19. What do you want? • Work-life balance

20. Move towards independence Develop your own projects (while still taking advantage of support from your previous supervisors)

21. Get credit for your work • Are you first author? • Are you senior author? • Do you get to give seminars? • Talks at meetings?

22. building your own lab (1) •  stimulating & career building •  responsibilities (students, postdocs) •  satisfying (students, postdocs)

23. building your own lab (2) • How fast? • Will you continue “hands on”?

24. get a mentor • someone you trust • not your boss

25. and finally….. • ….enjoy