Excellence Everywhere - National University of Ireland, Galway

A R e s o u r c e f o r S c i e n t i s t s L a u n c h i n gResearch Careers in Emerging Science Centers

© 2009 by the Burroughs Wellcome FundAll rights reserved.Permission to use, copy, and distribute this manual orexcerpts from this manual is granted provided that (1)the copyright notice above appears in all reproductions;(2) use is for noncommercial educational purposesonly; (3) the manual or excerpts are not modified in anyway; and (4) no figures or graphic images are used,copied, or distributed separate from accompanyingtext. Requests beyond that scope should be directedto news@bwfund.org.Some parts of Excellence Everywhere are taken directlyfrom Making the Right Moves.The views expressed in this publication are those of itscontributors and do not necessarily reflect the views ofthe Burroughs Wellcome Fund.This manual is also available online atwww.excellenceeverywhere.org.Project Developer: Victoria McGovern, Ph.D.Editor: Russ CampbellDesigner: Liaison Design GroupCopyeditor: Ernie HoodBurroughs Wellcome Fund21 T.W. Alexander DriveP.O. Box 13901Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3901www.bwfund.orgAcknowledgmentsThe course on which this manual is based wasconceived and driven by Maryrose Franko (HowardHughes Medical Institute) and the late and muchmissedMartin Ionescu-Pioggia (BWF), and this bookowes much to—and draws from—the manual producedfrom that course, Making the Right Moves: A PracticalGuide to Scientific Management for Postdocs andNew Faculty. We are grateful to the team which builtthe earlier manual and to HHMI for making it easy forus to move ahead with Excellence Everywhere.Thank you to the scientists who are quoted throughoutthis book. They have provided personal insightsand frank comments without which this book wouldbe much diminished. Many, many other researchersfrom around the world—too many to list- providedinformal input and critical reading of drafts, and wethank them all for their time and for helping us makethis manual a resource worth sharing.Thanks especially to patient colleagues Jill Conleyand Maryrose Franko at the Howard Hughes MedicalInstitute and Barbara Sina at the Fogarty InternationalCenter of the U.S. National Institutes of Health fortheir long term encouragement, support, and helpover the course of this project, and to HHMI editorPat Davenport for helpful comments throughout theprocess. Thanks to HHMI and to the Wellcome Trustfor access to their international awardee networks,and to Jimmy Whitworth and Pat Goodwin at theWellcome Trust for helpful discussions. Thanks toscience writers Heather B. McDonald and ChristopherThomas Scott, who provided some additional writing.Appreciation to Queta Bond, president emeritus nowof BWF, who has been a great supporter of this work.Finally, deep gratitude to Dan Colley, StephanieJames, and Michael Gottlieb, who on seeing theU.S.-focused Making the Right Moves in 2005 told us“You need to make one of these for the rest of theworld.” Who can resist such good advice from suchwise people?

Table of ContentsVII119PrefaceChapter 1Getting Started:F i n d i n g a n d M o v i n ginto a Job2 The Job Search6 The Job Application8 The Job Interview14 Negotiating Your Position18 ResourcesChapter 2e n t r y a n d r e - e n t r y :e s t a b l i s h i n g y o u r s e l f a sa scientist in a new job20 People You Should Get to Know21 Support Facilities and Services24 Working with Human Subjects26 Responsibilities Beyond the Laboratory27 Scientists and the Outside World28 Understanding Your Institutionand How to Progress Within It32 Resources33 Chapter 3Getting Started:E q u i p p i n g Y o u r L a band Hiring People4533 Designing and EquippingYour New Lab33 Putting the People You NeedIn Place38 Interviewing Applicants40 Evaluating Applicants41 Making the Offer42 Asking Staff to Leave44 ResourcesChapter 4M a n a g i n g Y o u rMany Roles46 Your Role as a Laboratory Leader47 Developing Leadership Skills48 How to Improve YourLeadership Skills50 Creating Your Vision as a Leader51 Developing Your Leadership Styletable of contentsIII

53 Building and Sustaining anEffective Team97Chapter 7Getting Funded54 Good Practice for LaboratoryNotebooks61 Making Decisions62 Setting and Communicating Rulesof Behavior for Members ofYour Laboratory65 Keeping Lab Members Motivated10797 Understanding the Review Process100 Preparing a Strong Grant Application106 ResourcesChapter 8T e a c h i n g a n dCourse Design67 Managing Conflict in the Lab107 Why Teach Well?70 Resources109 Becoming an Effective Teacher71Chapter 5Managing Your Time110 The Principles of Active Learning114 Developing Examination Questions72 Strategies for Planning Your Activities115 Course Design74 Making Choices117 Teaching Others to Teach74 Managing Your Time Day-to-Day76 Making the Most of the Time You Have77 Managing Non-Research Tasks79 Family Matters118 Time Management WhenBalancing Teaching and Research119 The Teaching Portfolio120 Resources8180 ResourcesChapter 6Project Management121Chapter 9I n c r e a s i n g Y o u r I m p a c t :Getting Published121 Understanding Publishing82 Deciding on a Project127 Writing Your Paper84 Getting Started129 Submitting Your Paper87 Tools for Developing Schedules132 Publishing Honestly90 Controlling the Project133 Promoting Your Work91 Resources134 ResourcesIVexcellence everywhere

135 Chapter 10E x p a n d i n g Y o u rI n f l u e n c e : T r a i n i n gt h e N e x t G e n e r a t i o nof Scientists135 Training Others139 Strategies for Effective Training140 Different Needs at Different Stages157Chapter 12intellectual property157 Understanding IntellectualProperty Rights160 Intellectual Property in a GlobalEnvironment163 Case Studies166 Resources145143 How to Get the Career Help andAdvice That You Need144 Resources144 When Mentoring, Advisory, orSupervisory Relationships are notworking outChapter 11Collaboration145 The Collaborative Effort148 Setting up a Collaboration151 The Ingredients of a SuccessfulCollaboration152 Dealing with Authorship andIntellectual Property Issues167Chapter 13M o v i n g M a t e r i a l sand Equipment168 Regulations and RelevantOrganizations169 Appropriate Packaging170 Important Issues and Practical Advice172 Service and Maintenance174 Responsibility for Materials174 Animals and Plants174 Physical Challenges to ShippingMaterials Long Distances176 Resources154 Special Challenges for theBeginning Investigator177appendix155 When a Collaboration is Not Working156 Resourcestable of contentsV

chapter 1GETTING STARTED:Finding and Moving into a Job“ L a ciencia no tiene patria pero el hombre de ciencia sí la tiene.”Bernardo HoussayAs you complete your scientific training andprepare to move forward into a position of greaterscientific and often managerial responsibility, youare probably starting to think about the next stepin your research career. For some of you, thismay mean a position as the head of a laboratoryat a university or as a researcher in an industry orgovernment laboratory. For others, it may meanworking more independently than during yourtraining, but still under another scientist or official’sauthority. You may have lined up a job even beforestarting your training or you may have to embarkon a job search, perhaps with little idea of how tobegin. You may have completed your training inthe same country where you hope to find permanentemployment, or you may be returning to yourhome country after having trained elsewhere.This book focuses on scientists with doctoraldegrees, but there are several levels of trainingfor professional scientists, and in many countriesthere are jobs at each of these levels that canlead to positions of power and responsibility. Forexample, in many places people who hold theMPhil or MSc degree and have relevant experiencewill become program coordinators or managers ofcomplex partnerships, while experienced peoplewith PhDs will more commonly lead one or agroup of research programs. It is a good idea tobe familiar with what kinds of jobs and responsibilitiesgenerally go with the degree you have inthe place where you will work.The process of obtaining a research appointmentvaries greatly from country to country and fromsituation to situation. This chapter will providesome general advice and strategies to help youfind the type of job that suits your ambitions andgoals. If you will be moving to a new position inthe same institution or department or into a jobthat has been held for you, you may not need tocarry out a job search. Still, this chapter mayprovide some insight into how to make sure youand your institution—whether it is a university,research institute, clinic, or government—have thesame expectations as you begin a new phase ofyour career. That insight will help even if you findyourself in a totally different country, neither yourown nor the one where you trained, but whereyou may have secured a job or hope to find a job.The quote above: Houssay, referring to a famous quote by Pasteur, reflects that while science itself has no country, scientists do.GETTING STARTED: Finding and Moving into a Job 1

Q u e s t i o nq&aWhat Is a “Tenure-Track” Job?answerIn Nature, Science, and frequently in career discussions you will encounter the term “tenure-track.” Insome countries, a faculty member hired in a tenure-track position will work for several years before a formaldecision is made on whether tenure—something approximating lifetime job security—will be granted. Iftenure is not granted, the investigator is typically asked to leave so that someone else can fill the tenuretrackspot. In most institutions that use this system, a tenured professor cannot be fired, except for certainlimited causes such as gross misconduct or neglect of duty. However, gaining tenure is not an easy way toconvert one’s job into a sinecure. At many tenure-granting institutions, chronically unproductive faculty willlose their research space and much of their salary support until not much more than the professorial titleremains.Some career opportunities and funding programs require that an investigator have a “tenure-track” orequivalent position. That is because such a position is expected to include dedicated research space,intellectual independence (meaning that you are the driver of your own research program), and—perhapsmost importantly—your institution’s clear statement that it is committed to your long-term career successand that you are part of the institution’s plans for its own future. The important thing about a tenure-trackposition is not that someone has offered you a job for life, but rather that your position and your institution’scommitment to you are stable enough for you to be a researcher not only today but also far into the future.Letters of nomination or recommendation from your institution should highlight this long-term commitmentto your research, in addition to commenting on your science and the personal qualities that make you anexcellent scientist, if your position has a similar level of stability.In some places, a model much like that of the French system INSERM prevails—investigators who becomepart of the government-sponsored research system are very secure. Some government institutions will hireresearchers for a short probationary period during which they must show they will do well in the job, andthen will move them into a permanent and very secure position.to find several job offerings that fit well and shouldbe considered. Once you have a list of possibleI know of no positions (with one exception)job opportunities, compare the advantages andin Argentina that have been advertised. Indisadvantages of the various jobs against your listArgentina it is mostly the other way around,of priorities. Find out about:with some minor exceptions—it is not theinstitutions that go looking for applicants, butn The parameters and expectations of the position.former students that want to come back andn The department’s reputation, mission, researchknock at the door of every institution lookingactivities, curriculum, and collegial atmosphere.for some lab space.”n The institution’s quality, mission, values, andpolitical and social climate.Belen Elgoyhen,ArgentinaThere is no easy way to determine how manypositions you should apply for. If you work in aplace where there are many jobs open at theGETTING STARTED: Finding and Moving into a Job5

same time, or are considering jobs in more thanone country or region, you may put in several jobapplications at once. That may seem unnecessary,but remember that job hunting has valuablespin-offs. For example, if more than one place isinterested in you, you may get more chances tomake presentations about your work. Your ideasare sharpened by organizing your thoughts andmaking presentations, and your research itself willbenefit from this outwardly directed thinking.Whenyou pull together your work for presentation, youare practicing skills you will use throughout yourcareer. You also get better at all parts of the processas you go along. Your self-confidence builds,and your sense of what you want develops as youare introduced to various research environments.However, unless jobs are extremely scarce in theplace where you most want to work, do not applyfor a scientific job for which you are clearly notqualified, whether it is beyond your current experiencelevel or far below it. Nor should you pursueemployment that really does not interest you. Youdo not want to waste people’s time and perhapsdamage your own credibility.The Job ApplicationHow you go about applying for a job varies fromplace to place and from institution to institution.Talk to those who trained you and to colleaguesto find out about the culture at the institutions youwould like to approach and what you will need todo to put in a successful application. This sectionprovides some general guidelines, with specificexamples from various individuals.Making a Good First ImpressionRegardless of the type of application process,follow the application instructions or expectedprotocol carefully. Make sure your materials arefree of factual, grammatical, and spelling errors.You do not want to be eliminated at the outset—a sloppily-prepared document makes a badimpression.If there is a deadline, be sure to get your applicationin on time. But if you learn about the positionafter the application deadline has passed, goahead and send in your application with anexplanation that you were unaware of the positionbefore the deadline. Many institutions are willingto consider late applications, and most will bedelighted to see your application if you areparticularly well-suited for the position available.Putting Together Your CV. Most job applicationsrequire you to submit a CV along with your application.Typically, this career summary should contain:n Your name, address, and telephone number.n All higher education, with degrees obtainedand dates.n All professional positions held, with dates andbrief descriptions of the work performed.n Awards and honors, including pre- andpostdoctoral fellowships.n Membership in national, regional, andinternational scientific and professional societies.n Major sources of independent funding.n Publications, including major reviews.n Teaching experience, awards, and interests.n References, including names, titles, addresses,and other contact information.n Invited keynote speeches and presentations.n Major research projects undertaken.n Main responsibilities held in work-relatedcommittees.In some countries, it is accepted that you willprovide personal details such as your maritalstatus, number of children, or general health, butin others this practice will seem peculiar and maycause your application to be viewed less seriouslythan those that conform to a less personalstandard. Ask friends and colleagues who havepositions like the job you hope to get if they willlook at your CV and tell you if there is anythingmore that should be included or anything thatshould be removed.Highlight your name in bold type in your publicationslist so that it will be easy to see where youfell among the authors. List manuscripts inpreparation as a separate category. Do not listevery paper you can conceive of writing in the nextyear. Include only papers that you are seriously6 excellence everywhere

preparing for immediate submission, or you maybe seen as dishonestly padding your CV rather thanas someone who has many irons in the fire. Beprepared for requests for copies of manuscripts thatyou have described as in preparation or submitted.The Research Proposal. Some applications willrequire you to provide a description of yourresearch plans. This research proposal may bereviewed by a committee composed of peoplefrom scientific areas outside your subspecialty.For this reason, make sure that your proposalis clearly written and that it provides sufficientbackground for non-specialists to understand theimportance of the work.Follow any guidelines given when writing yourresearch proposals. Here are some suggesteditems you might include:n A title that succinctly describes the nature ofyour proposal.n A statement about the problem you intend to workon, indicating the key unanswered questions youwill tackle. State how this research is expected tocontribute to other research in your general areaof scientific interest, and if appropriate to theproposal, how it may contribute to policy formulationor informed decision-making.n A description of your research plans. This sectionshould comprise 50-70% of the proposal. Putforward three or four specific aims that addressa range of fundamental questions within yourdiscipline. Demonstrate that you have the necessarybackground to achieve what you propose.Be both creative and realistic.n A few comprehensive figures. These can helpmake your proposal more interesting to read.Remember, figures are most useful when theyare included in the text, as they would be in apublished paper, and not tacked on at the end, asthey usually are when you are submitting a paperfor publication.n A detailed description of the research you conductedas part of your training, with an emphasis onwhat is novel, useful, and important and how it isthe basis for your research proposal. You maywant to make clear that the work you are takingwith you will not be in direct competition with yourformer supervisor, especially if you work in thesame country.n A short bibliography backing your research plan.It should include your publications and manuscriptssubmitted or in press, as well as pertinentpublications by others.Your research proposal should accomplish onegoal: to spell out what you realistically hope toaccomplish in the next few years as an employeeof the organization to which you are applying. Ifyour plans are too grandiose, you may undermineyour case by showing that you are not a realist.(Worse, you might land the job and then beexpected to live up to your unrealistic plans!)If your plans are not big enough, however, youmay appear to misunderstand the position or lackambition. This, then, is another document whereinsight from others who have landed similar jobs inthe same or similar institutions will be extremelyvaluable.Reprints. Follow instructions given for eachapplication. Send along any important papers thatare not yet published.Statement of Teaching. If the job has a teachingcomponent, you may be asked to include aseparate section describing how you look atteaching, your instructional style, and any teachingexperience you may have already had. This topicwill be discussed further in chapter 8.Letters of Recommendation. Depending on theapplication instructions, letters of recommendationcan be included by you in the application package orsubmitted later without passing through yourhands. Typically, these letters are written by yourformer supervisors. It also may be acceptableto submit one or two more references than thenumber asked for in the application. If possible,you should check in with the organization to whichyou are applying about this. Again, it is usually notappropriate to go overboard. Sending 12 referenceswhen three are requested would be viewed bymany employers as a sign that you are insecure orgrandiose, but some might view it as a sign that youare well-connected. It is in your best interest to findout which is more likely to be true at the institutionyou are interested in joining. Checking in directlywith the office of the person who is hiring is oneway to make sure that you do not send the wrongmessage.GETTING STARTED: Finding and Moving into a Job7

During an interview, in some cultures it issuggested to be very polite, never makeeye contact with interviewers, and to avoidspeaking about oneself (e.g. describing yourstrengths in overt terms). Specifically, femalesare encouraged to avoid eye contact with maleinterviewers. When interviewing with a personwith a foreign/international background, theseprinciples may be viewed as major weaknesses,and thus reduce your chances ofgetting hired. It is important to find out thebackground of the interviewer and adjust one’sbehavior accordingly.”Abdoulaye Djimdé, MaliA few back-up slides of new work or additionalexperiments may occasionally add value to anydiscussion arising from your presentation.View your slides projected in a lighted room, ifpossible. Many images look fine on a computerscreen but work poorly when projected. In particular,avoid using light-colored text on light-coloredbackgrounds or dark text on dark backgrounds.Finally, practice your talk in front of a mirror. Doingso allows you to time your presentation whilegetting used to the sound of your own voice. Keeprepeating the talk until you can deliver it easily,using your slides as your only memory aid. Ifnecessary, edit the talk down until you can deliverit comfortably within the time allowed. Rememberthat a talk that is slightly too short is much betterthan one that is too long. It may be better to focuson only one aspect of your research, so that youcan give sufficient detail within the time you have,saving the rest for the question-and-answer session.When you feel comfortable giving your talk, enlistyour supervisor, your colleagues, scientificallytrained friends and any students you work withas an audience for a “dress rehearsal” practicetalk. If you will be using a laser pointer when yougive your interview talk, practice with one, as thejumpiness of the laser spot can be a distraction forthe audience if the speaker is not used to handlingthe pointer. Encourage the group to ask questionsand offer frank criticism of your work, your mannerof speaking, your gestures and any annoyingspeech or gesture habits that distract from yourtalk, and your professional appearance. (Especiallyif you are a very sensitive person, it is good to startby reminding your helpful crowd you are looking forinsights that will let you quickly improve the talk,not for thorough dissection of your work, personality,and appearance.) This is a useful exercise asit may help prepare you to respond to comments,including difficult and unanticipated questions.Ask the group for suggestions for improving yourPowerPoint slides. Make sure that you start preparingyour talk well before the day you will have toleave and that you ask for comments early enoughto leave time for editing your slides and your talk toincorporate with any good advice you receive.Interviewing in a Global ContextWhen NGOs and multinational organizations recruit, they will frequently meet with researchers inthe South, but bring with them assumptions and expectations that come from institutional culturesin Geneva, New York, Paris, London, or elsewhere. The dress code, how to interact with the organization’sstaff during the process, how forward or aggressive to be during the interview, and even howmuch to pursue eye contact may be different from what is right for institutions in your country.Eye contact, in particular, is difficult to gauge. In many (but not all) Northern cultures, briefly droppingand then re-establishing eye contact on encountering a person in a position of power is a respectfulsign, but keeping them dropped is viewed as unconfident or dishonest. In most places, whether Northor South, gaining, pursuing, and holding eye contact too much is interpreted as aggressive. Findingopportunities to talk informally with people from the countries frequently represented will give you achance to experiment with different levels of eye contact.GETTING STARTED: Finding and Moving into a Job11

Practicing the Talkn Practice your first few sentences until you candeliver them without much thought—this will helpyou dive into your speech even if you are nervous.Do not memorize your whole talk and give it as arecitation, though—know what you plan to say, butrelax and talk with your audience rather than tryingto say exactly the same words that you practicedin the weeks before the talk.n On your own, go through your talk over and overagain, paying attention to the words you will useto go through your slides. If there is a slide whereyou find yourself saying too much or going off ontangents, work particularly hard on moving crisplythrough the data.n Feeling balanced is important to your selfconfidence.Plant your feet firmly on the floor.Break habits such as rocking from foot to footor pacing.n Make sure you speak clearly and loud enough forall in the room to hear.n Practice what you will do with your hands so thatyou can break fidgeting habits or the urge to putthem in your pockets. A computer mouse and apointer may be enough to keep you from fidgeting—butbe careful not to play with either of them.n Even though you may have done all the workpresented, it is important to sound modest in yourpresentation. Begin by saying, “The work I will tellyou about today was carried out while I was inthe lab of X at institution Y.” Then, describe eachresearch slide in terms of “we.” Be aware thatsomeone may interrupt and ask, “Yes, but what ofthis work did you yourself do?”n Practice how you will answer questions. It is okayto answer “I do not know” if you then offer tofind out about any matters of fact later and followup with the questioner. It is a great opportunity tomake contact with faculty after the interview.n If you feel you will be very close to your time limit,practice deferring questions to the end of thesession so that you are not derailed by questionsthat come up during the talk.Delivering the Talkn If you can, arrive early, so that you can becomecomfortable with the room and can be sure thatyour slides are set up and ready to go. You mayhave to ask your host to get you to the room withenough time to prepare.n The most nerve-wracking moments are just beforeyou begin your lecture. Focus on your breathing.Make every inhale and exhale deliberate to controla rapid heart rate. During the talk, pause and takea breath between transitions, just as you would ifyou were telling a friend an exciting story.n Greet your audience and tell them you are gladto be with them. Make eye contact with a fewaudience members who seem eager to hear whatyou have to say. Then plunge in.n Let it show that you are excited about your workand the chance of perhaps landing a job workingwith the people in front of you.n Do not worry if some people close their eyes orseem uninterested. Continue to give your talkas you practiced it, making eye contact with thosewho are listening closely, even if those whoremain engaged are the students, not the leaders.Answering Questionsn Repeat the question for the audience, as it is oftendifficult for other audience members to hear aquestion asked without benefit of a microphone.Then take your time answering. If you need to, buysome more time by asking for a restatement ofthe question. In a pinch, give an interpretation ofwhat you think the questioner wants to know. Takea moment to think through what you want to sayand then speak, formulating a beginning, middle,and end for your answer. Give your best answerand stop. Rambling on only conveys uncertainty.n If questions are slow in coming, take the initiativeby pointing out some aspect of your work that youpassed over quickly but that you believe warrantsthe audience’s attention. This gives you a chanceto use some of the material you edited out of yourtalk. You may generate a whole new line of questioning.In case you need to go back through yourslides to a particular one in order to clarify a point,arrange to have your slides accessible during thediscussion period.12 excellence everywhere

n If challenged, listen to the criticism and give ajudicious response. Do not become defensive.Questions are more often asked because thequestioner does not understand something thanbecause he or she is trying to make a fool of thespeaker. Give the other person the benefit of thedoubt. If the criticism seems unfair or there isa disagreement about a matter of fact, standyour ground politely. You might suggest a followupdiscussion later. Even if the person is beingquite aggressive, you can still try to end the backand-forthby suggesting that you agree to disagreeuntil you can talk later and find out where you aremisunderstanding one another.Giving an Informal TalkWhen you visit a potential employer, you mayalso have an opportunity to give a less formalpresentation during which you can offer detailedinformation about the direction of your futureresearch. Ask before the interview how long youshould talk and make sure that in fact the moreformal seminar is not expected.For an informal talk, give a brief overview of yourresearch agenda (which you may have includedin your job application as a research proposal).Include in this talk both your short- and long-termobjectives—both the purpose of the work you aretalking about and what you would like to accomplishduring your career. For example, you may beworking on a very detailed signaling pathway, butthis work is a small part in your greater interest inhow one microbe causes disease. Understandinga tiny phosphorylation event may seem esoteric;putting it in the context of your long-term interestin Dengue fever helps even the least trained personin the room understand why you are doing the work.Once you have established a sense of perspective,state several specific problems you want to workon in the next few years, and explain in detail howyou plan to proceed. Be prepared to write on awhite board and bring along an overhead projectorsheet or two of preliminary data that will demonstratethe feasibility of your plan. Show that youare familiar with the details of any new techniquesyou may need to master. Be sure to convey to youraudience why the work is important and how yourwork can make a difference to your field.Expect to be interrupted. This kind of talk is achance to show that you can think on your feet,that you respect others, and that you will be aninteractive research colleague. Even if you feelpressured, do your best to keep things friendlyand to keep any disagreements light. Saying “Youmay be right, I may be right—what is the bestexperiment for settling the matter?” is a goodway to turn a disagreement back to the questionerand to the audience.Meeting Potential Colleagues. If part of theinterview process will include one-on-one conversationswith other researchers who will be at ornear your level, it is important to show interest intheir work and ask lots of questions. Rememberthat these potential colleagues are looking forsomeone who will benefit their own work, as wellas someone who is a good scientist, and often assomeone who will be pleasant to have as a neighbordown the hall. You may be taken out to dinnerby some of the faculty. This is a chance for themto evaluate you as a future colleague and for youto determine whether you would enjoy workingwith them. Be yourself during these events, butalso be appropriately respectful and deferential toyour would-be colleagues.Depending on where you are applying, you mayalso have a chance to meet students or othertrainees working there.Concluding Your VisitTypically, your visit will conclude with a conversationwith the head of the institute or departmentto which you are applying or with the committeein charge of hiring. Once the visit is over, it maybe time to wait patiently, because the institutionmay be interviewing other candidates. In themeantime, it is customary in many places thatas soon as you return home you write a formalletter addressed to the individuals you met duringyour visit, thanking everyone for their hospitalityand reiterating your interest in the position. Evenif that is not the expected protocol in the placeyou are looking for a job, few individuals aremortified to receive a formal note of thanks andyou have little to lose by sending one. If duringGETTING STARTED: Finding and Moving into a Job13

your one-on-one interviews you have promised toshare data or more information, be sure to followup on your commitment quickly. If being “Johnnyon-the-spot”—veryquick and eager to serve anyrequest—is out of place in the culture in whichyou will work, still follow up quickly but perhapsnote that the fast follow-up is a sign of yourenthusiasm for the question, not a rush to movethings along more quickly.Be sure to inform those who have interviewed youif you decide to take another job or if for some otherreason you decide to withdraw your candidacy.They may remember you negatively if you givethem an unpleasant surprise by not revealing yourplans until after they have made an offer to you.Negotiating Your PositionOnce the head of the institute or of the departmentwhere you applied has given you a tentative offer,or at least let you know that you are the topcandidate, you are in a position of maximumstrength for asking for what you need to do yourjob well, both in terms of your salary and technicalresources. In some places it is expected that youmay be able to negotiate some aspects of the job,while in other places it is expected that you willtake what is offered. Find out ahead of time whatthe custom is for the position for which you areapplying. The best way is to ask people in similarpositions in the same area about their own experienceswith starting a new position.In some places, there will be very little room fornegotiation in salary, and there may be no moneyavailable for start-up support. You may be given theonly space that is available, or there may be someroom for negotiating about where your lab will be.You should gather information beforehand to betterunderstand what is likely to be negotiable. Evenwhen all of the practical details are pre-determined,you may be able to negotiate for more independence,or to cluster your responsibilities in waysthat leave you more time for research. No matterwhere you go, talking with senior scientists whoare familiar with the institution may help you learnwhere flexibility is available and how to ask for it.Evaluating the OfferIf you are offered a position, you will need to findout as much as possible about the job and theresources that will be made available to you ifyou accept it. If you are not satisfied with someaspects of the offer, try to negotiate better terms,if you can (this is not possible at all institutions).You will have to do the following:n Learn the details of the offer.n Re-read the list of priorities you made at the outsetof your search to evaluate how the job stacks upagainst that list. Is this the job that will work foryou and for your family?n Calculate precisely what you need in salary andother benefits to determine whether the offermeasures up. For example, can you afford to livein the community on the salary offered? Thinkabout your family’s expenses and other financialfactors that will be important to you in the long run.n Does the institution provide help in finding orpaying for housing, fees for children, and, ifnecessary, transportation expenses related to thejob? Benefits such as these can be negotiatedin some institutions, but not others. In somecountries, the idea of asking your institution forhelp with any of these things would be absurd,while in others several of them are typically partof what is available.n Enumerate in detail the other resources—especially equipment not currently on site oropportunities to travel to places where the properequipment is available—that you believe youneed to succeed in the scientific work you haveplanned. Decide what is absolutely necessary andwhat you can live without. In some cases, it maybe satisfactory for the department to guaranteeyou access to shared equipment, rather thanbuying you your own.n Make your wishes known to the institution’srepresentatives, and engage them in the processof negotiating with you. Even in situations wheresalary and other personal factors are not negotiable,it is important to clearly indicate anyresources without which you will not be able todo your work, and discuss what will be done tomake sure you have access to them.14 excellence everywhere

Q u e s t i o nq&aHow do I distinguish myself from the lab that I trained in if I want to continue inthe same research area?answerGet a letter from your mentor explaining that he or she is pleased to know that you will be continuing towork on project X, which he or she will not pursue. Have this discussion with your mentor before you startto write the grant application.n As much as possible, get everything spelled outin writing—it helps both you and your employer tobe clear on what is promised and expected fromboth sides. This is true even if you are getting“the standard package” and no negotiations willtake place.n For physicians in clinical departments, job discussionsshould indicate the extent of clinical dutiesand clinical support, time to be spent at outlyingclinics, and so on.n Ask for a copy of a manual that spells out theinstitution’s or department’s policies for its staff, ifsuch a document exists. If it does not, make sureyou know who you will need to see, what formsyou will need to fill out, etc., to get yourself situatedat the institution. Often finding someonewho is willing to act as a “big brother” or “bigsister” as you settle in is the most useful way togo about learning the written and unwritten rulesof your new institution, as well as importantsecrets like where to find the good coffee or whoto call when the power goes out.n It may be that your job is very large. For example,you may be hired to be the person for an importantdisease in your country. Even in cases like that,you will need resources well beyond your job titleto get your work done. It may be easier to discussthose resources before you agree to take the jobthan it will ever be after you have done so.You may need to do some homework to rule outproblems that may not have been revealed duringyour discussions with people at the institutionwhere you have received an offer. For example, itwould be helpful to know if the working group hasexperienced internal personal conflicts recently, ifthe organization has financial problems, if the headis retiring or stepping down soon, whether keyleadership or staff members are about to leaveor retire, and the rate of staff turnover, includingwhat levels of staff leave most frequently andwhy. You also want to know whether people whohave worked in the institution and departmenthave been happy, well-supported, and successful.Use the grapevine—talk to people you met duringyour interview visit, and talk with others recentlyaffiliated with your potential department andinstitution. Be discreet, but be straightforward.You do not want to be surprised, especially if thereare issues that are not “deal breakers” but wouldbe better dealt with before you arrive.When you are contacted with an offer, you mightbe asked for a second interview. This time, youwill be able to ask more detailed questions aboutthe position. Talk with key people in your prospectivedepartment, and have a preliminary look atavailable housing. A second interview visit is anexcellent time to start the discussion aboutwhat you will need in terms of laboratory space,materials and equipment, and staff.GETTING STARTED: Finding and Moving into a Job15

If talking directly about money is notsocially acceptable in a given place, whatkind of conversation could yield somegeneral numbers without showing yourhand or asking someone else to?You can engage in a conversation with humanresource personnel in a relaxed environment(away from the work environment) whereyou can talk about your vision of the researchgroup that you will be leading. This group willbe in various grades and will also have differentcareer advancement requirements as wellas salary scales. On the pretext of this lineof discussion try to find out (how advancementworks) and where you want to be in thenext five years.Also try to get the associatedadvancement grades and some salary scales.In so doing you may be able to estimate thesalaries of those that are above you and thuscompare with your own salary. It is mucheasier to find out what salaries those yousupervise earn than those who supervise you.”Susan Mutambu, ZimbabweWhat You Need to Find OutHere are some of the details you will need toask about.The Appointment. You need to know the following:n What your job title implies about your independenceand authority, length of your expected relationshipwith the place where you are working, and expectationsabout your role(s) within the organization.n The length of your initial term of employment.n The terms under which the organization’s commitmentto you will be renewed or not renewed.The Salary. You need to pin down the following:n Is the salary guaranteed, and if so, for how long?In other words, you need to know whether partof your salary and other support must eventuallybe obtained from other sources.n Are you responsible for obtaining money for yoursalary through grants, or will your institutionprovide it?n If your institution provides it, what is the amountof your base pay (this may determine future raises)and is that base pay tied to a particular grant orother funding source that may expire?n Can the salary be negotiated or is it a set amountfor the type of position you are being offered?n What benefits come with the position?n Can you supplement your salary from othersources, for example by consulting or teaching orworking in an unrelated job?n What are your institution’s policies on outsideconsulting, including how much consulting ispermitted, what approvals are required, and whatlimitations apply? Are there outside opportunitiesthat are explicitly not allowed?Salary. If your salary is negotiable, you shouldseek out sources of information you can use toevaluate your initial offer. Salaries differ not onlyfrom country to country, but even within thesame country they can vary widely depending ondegree, geographical location, type of institution(public vs. private, research institute vs. universityvs. hospital), and scientific discipline. To evaluatethe salary offered, you need comparative informationon starting faculty salaries at the institutionoffering you the job and in your field elsewhere,as well as on costs of living.Salary numbers are confidential in many institutions,but it can be useful to draw on friends andcolleagues to at least get an idea of the appropriaterange.Research Money and Facilities. In somecountries, an institution is expected to provide aninvestigator who is just starting his or her ownlab with some money for hiring workers and forbuying supplies and other resources such as officeand lab space, equipment, computers and software,a technician and other support staff, helpin obtaining grants, and support for travel to conferencesand meetings. This kind of institutionalsupport may be ongoing, or it may be availableonly for a pre-determined period of time, afterwhich the head of the lab is expected to obtainfunds through other sources, such as grants.16 excellence everywhere

If you are to set up a new laboratory yourself, it isuseful to inquire about how to get such resourcesat the institution. You may inherit them or beexpected to share them with others in the researchgroup. However, if it works at your organization,it is good to ask up front about the resources youneed so that you can plan appropriately. You donot want to later find out that your assumptions donot match those of the person or people who havehired you.Service within the Institution. Ask whether youwill be expected to serve on committees withinthe institution and about other projects you willbe expected to become involved with, in additionto doing your research. Early on, try to establish anunderstanding and agreement with your superiorsabout how your time will be divided between yourresearch project and other tasks.Teaching Responsibilities. If your job will beattached to a university, you should know thatalthough it is rewarding, teaching can be the mosttime-consuming activity for new faculty. You willwant a clear statement about the following:n Your teaching load (the number of subjects andclasses each term, typical enrollments, and levelsand types of students).n Expectations about teaching-related tasks suchas running student laboratories and administeringand grading student examinations, students’accessibility to you during non-lecture times, andadvising students on their university curriculum andtheir careers.n Whether you are expected to draw students intoyour research work and direct their thesis projects.Protecting Research Time. If you are a physicianwho is seeing patients and doing research, or if youare a government scientist or public health officialwho has administrative tasks and is doing research,you will need to clarify as much as possible howmuch time you will spend in each of your roles.You need to know what is expected when yourother responsibilities call you away from yourresearch. If you do not get a clear understandingof these issues before you start your new job, youmay become overwhelmed when opportunities orcrises put your various roles into conflict.The pool of jobs is limited in our clinicalsetting, which does compromise one’s abilityto negotiate. Secondly, for active clinicians,posts are mainly clinical. Research is seen asa secondary activity which does limit timeallocated to research and the ability to negotiatefor protected research time. Fortunately,the status quo is changing. Government hasbegun to increase research funding throughthe National Research Foundation and theMedical Research Council.”Brian Eley, South AfricaJobs are far too scarce! One has to findsomething, anything, and then negotiate astime goes by and you climb the ladder.”Abdoulaye Djimdé, MaliNegotiation is not so common with governmentpositions, but this can be done in cases ofconsultancies. One can negotiate their salaryand the rest of the package (transport, housingallowances, work terms) in some parastatals(state-run companies) and the private sector.”Susan Mutambu, ZimbabweGetting What You Need and WantHow to Negotiate. If in your institution you cannegotiate some of the aspects of your job (suchas the salary, money for research, or other dutiesyou will need to perform), present your requestsclearly. Take some time to make a list of what youreally need, and think about how to explain thoseneeds to the person in charge of hiring you.Be reasonable with your requests, but do be surethat you maximize your opportunities to do theresearch you hope to do.GETTING STARTED: Finding and Moving into a Job17

When the institution responds and you begin todiscuss the terms of your employment, be preparedto make trade-offs. For example, if you are askingfor a piece of equipment, indicate that you wouldbe willing to share it with other faculty and how itwould benefit the rest of the department. Knowingwhat is essential to you is crucial at this time.The Offer Letter. At some institutions, the fruitsof your negotiations should be reflected in anofficial letter from the institution offering you a job.Work with the institution to craft as comprehensivea letter as possible. The letter is usually yourcontract, so take it seriously. In addition to thebasics (e.g., title, salary, and research support), theletter should detail the timing, schedule, process,and requirements for your job.Even if offer letters are not usual in the institutionwhere you are accepting a job, it can be usefulto write a letter to the person who is hiring yousoon after you have talked about your needs. In it,you can restate what he or she has said regardingthe particulars of the job. If presenting a list ofthe particulars seems arrogant or offensive, oneway to accomplish the same thing is to write adetailed thank you letter expressing your pleasureat accepting the job and noting the features thatmake it especially attractive.Handling Multiple OffersIf you are offered more than one job, congratulations!Multiple offers are gratifying, but they alsomake life complicated. The important thing is todeal honorably with all of your suitors.n Be as straightforward as custom allows.n Be prompt to decline the offers you are notinterested in so that other candidates may beconsidered for the job you do not want. Keepin mind, however, that it can be risky to declineall your other offers before you have acceptedyour first choice in writing. There have beencases when firm verbal offers have been withdrawnbecause of a university-wide hiring freeze.n Whether you should play the institutions againstone another to obtain a better offer varies fromplace to place. Talk confidentially to some verytrusted advisors to gauge the situation where youwant to work.n If you need to delay making a decision, ask for anextension of the deadline if you need to. It is muchbetter to try to move a deadline than to miss onecompletely.RESOURCESDavis, Martha, and Gloria Fry. Scientific Papers andPresentations. New York: Academic Press, 1996.Heiberger, Mary M., and Julie M. Vick. The AcademicJob Search Handbook. Philadelphia: University ofPennsylvania Press, 1996.Rehrig, Norita H. Six Steps to Successful Interviewing:How to Build Your Reputation by Picking the Winners.Bethlehem, PA: College Placement Council, 1990.OnlineAustin, Jim. “You’ve Worked Hard to Get This Far.”ScienceCareers.org (November 22, 2002),http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2002_11_22/noDOI.15726094919902624321.Federation of American Societies for ExperimentalBiology. Career pages, http://www.faseb.org/careers/careerresources.htm.Golde, Chris, M. “After the Offer, Before the Deal:Negotiating a First Academic Job,” Academe: Bulletinof the American Association of University Professors,January/February 1999, 44–49, http://www.aaup.org/publications/academe/1999/99jf/GOL_JF99.htm.Golde, Chris, M. “Be Honorable and Strategic,”ScienceCareers.org (August 24, 2001), http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2001_08_24/noDOI.5231522495243752553.18 excellence everywhere

chapter 2ENTRY AND RE-ENTRY:establishing yourself asa scientist in a new job“ Le présent serait plein de tous les avenirs, si le passé n’y projetaitdéjà une histoire.”André GideMany scientists decide to train abroad and thenreturn to their home countries to obtain a permanentposition. The advantage of training abroadis that you get exposure to the latest approachesand ideas from the broader community. Youwill meet people with whom you will be able tocollaborate for years to come. If you trained in acountry with many resources, you probably hadaccess to state-of-the-art facilities, major scientificpublications, and conferences, and so you mayhave many advantages in moving your scientificambitions forward.But at the same time, training abroad can posespecial challenges to a job search. For example,you may not have maintained the necessary connectionsto help you find a job in your homecountry.You may also not be as familiar with the currentsystem in your home country, particularly if youleft your country very early in your professionaltraining, before you had gained a true understandingof how and why things work in your owncountry’s scientific system. It may be difficult toadjust after working in a different system for somany years. When you return, at first you may bevery frustrated with how slowly things get done,especially when stocking your laboratory with suppliesand equipment for the first time. In addition,the ways of judging scientific accomplishmentsdiffer between countries, so that the fact that youpublished in top-tier journals while training abroadmay not hold as much weight as having the rightconnections in your home country. Also, rememberthat science does not proceed at the samepace in all countries. And even if you maintain ahigh rate of work, your basic research may beslowed as you respond to your country’s or region’sneeds for practical solutions to immediate healthproblems. Even if you are doing well, it can befrustrating to see those you trained with “raceahead” with their careers in a richer country whenyou return to a place where doing science is moredifficult from a practical standpoint.Challenges you may face include limited researchsupport and its attendant need for more timespent on preparing and revising budgets, readingand modifying contracts, and handling your ownadministrative tasks, including human resourcesmanagement and procurement of materials,The quote above: Gide says that the present would be full of possible futures if the past hadn’t already chosen the story.ENTRY AND RE-ENTRY: establishing yourself as a scientist in a new job19

equipment and supplies. Maintenance and calibrationof equipment may be sub-optimal and youmay find yourself handling those tasks yourself.Exchange rate fluctuations may eat away at grantsfrom international funders. Your network of nearbycolleagues may be smaller than you have grownused to, and you may have less access to theinformal transfer of knowledge that happens whenthere are more scientists working closer together.What happens if I outrank my advisor whenI come back?You must always bear in mind that outrankingyour advisor will be a sore point for him orher in most cases, and you should handle thissituation carefully. Communication (includingin writing) in all aspects of your work copied tohis supervisor is very important. Your advisormay feel outranked in terms of:n qualificationsn grants sourcedn technical expertisen publicationsOne way to overcome this would be to tactfullyget your advisor involved in grant proposalwriting (if he or she is a good scientist) thatwill boost the overall profile of the researchsection where both of you are. This shouldbe done in such a way that he feels that he istruly part of the process. The advisor shouldalso be a part of the planning and implementingprocess of your research programme. You canalso use your technical expertise to bring intothe section some funds that can be used bythe section as agreed upon by you and yoursupervisor. However, one should be carefulnot to be taken advantage of.”Susan Mutambu, ZimbabweBe humble and respectful: work hard on yourrelationship with him or her. No matter howwell trained you’ve come back, he or she isbetter connected and will know many morethings that can help you readjust. It is in yourinterest to be humble and open minded.”Abdoulaye Djimdé, MaliPeople You ShouldGet to KnowAs a beginning investigator, you will want to learnquickly which individuals can affect your careerprogress. They may include:n Heads of departments and divisionsn Senior scientists within your own department ordivisionn Senior scientists in other divisions who share yourresearch interestsn Senior physicians (if you are a physician-scientist)It is a good idea to get acquainted with faculty inyour own department and in other departmentswhose research interests are complementary toyour own. You may find, for example, colleagueswith whom research collaboration is possible,and/or colleagues with a good understanding ofany health and safety risks associated with yourresearch, who can advise you about the policies ofthe university and safe procedures for controllingresearch risks.You should get to know administrators in yourdepartment or division who can help you withmatters such as requesting maintenance, purchasing,tracking expenditures, hiring staff, and a hostof other issues you will not have time to deal within detail. These individuals will also be valuablein preserving stability when inevitable changescome, such as when the head of your departmentor division retires or moves on to another position.20 excellence everywhere

Support Facilitiesand ServicesSome universities provide considerable supportto aid faculty in their activities. Support servicesinclude libraries and media centers, scientific ortechnical services commonly referred to as “corefacilities,” and administrative offices establishedto help faculty complete grant applications andcomply with regulatory requirements. To save yourtime and to be compliant with your institution’srules and customs, you must know what centralizedfacilities exist to support you.If you are remaining at or returning to the placewhere you trained, you are probably alreadyfamiliar with the traditional campus-wide resourcesand some core facilities at your institution, butmay never have dealt with administrative supportservices. Listed below are some issues for whichyou may find some administrative support at aninstitution that has a large research operation.If you are not at an institution that is primarilyfocused on research, you may find that you needto handle these important concerns yourself.Regulatory ComplianceThere may be an office or committee at yourinstitution to help keep track of the licenses andapprovals you will need to comply with governmentregulations for research. You may need tofind out about:n Requirements for radiation safety, if you intend touse radioactive materials.n Requirements for the possession and use of bloodbornepathogens and other infectious materialsand for recombinant DNA research.In many developing countries it is possiblethat government policy and infrastructure toregulate safety, scientific integrity and theethical conduct of research are weak, orperhaps even non-existent. Institutionalizationof regulatory guidelines and policy on scientificintegrity and the ethical conduct of researchwill often require proactivity by the scientificcommunity.”Nancy Gore Saravia, Colombian Approvals for human subjects research.n Requirements for carrying out studies on animals.n Requirements for using lasers or acutely toxicchemicals, and for disposing of hazardous chemicalor biomedical waste.Health and SafetyIt is important that you become familiar with thehealth and safety guidelines that apply to yourresearch. Universities often have rules for safety,but even if you are at an institution that doesnot, you should make sure the members of yourresearch group know the hazards that may bepresent in your laboratory, are trained in safe workhabits, and know how to deal with any emergencythat may arise. Your institution may have an officeto help you with this responsibility by providingsafety training programs, technical assistance,regulatory compliance assistance, risk assessments,and services to test the integrity of safetyequipment, or you may have to develop thesecapabilities yourself.n Licenses needed for the use of proprietaryreagents and materials, drugs and approvals forresearch that is specifically regulated in yourcountry—for example, work with certain dangerouspathogens, recombinant technologies in organismsthat accidentally or purposely could be releasedinto nature, or stem cell research.ENTRY AND RE-ENTRY: establishing yourself as a scientist in a new job21

Q u e s t i o nq&aIs your institution ready to apply for international funding?answerIt takes some preparation to get ready for managing grants from most major funding organizations. If yourinstitution has not already been pursuing grants from major funders, you yourself may have to see to it thatthe clerical work to get ready for funding gets done. This preparatory work is not especially difficult, but itcan be bureaucratic and time-consuming.Most large funding organizations now or will soon require electronic submission of grant proposals.Funders supported by governments, such as the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., may requireyour institution to be registered and given an identification number, which will be used on all grant-relatedcommunications with the agency, before you can put in a grant application.Uploading grant applications to electronic submission systems can also be a time-consuming task. Eachpiece of the grant, from the proposal itself to the budget forms, may require a separate document to beuploaded to the funder’s online form, and others may be asked to submit electronic letters of recommendationand collaboration agreements before your proposal is complete. If your internet connection is slowor frequently interrupted, even though you begin to upload a document, it may not be properly transferredto the funder’s computer. Incomplete grant application forms will generally be rejected by the funder’scomputer system, sometimes leaving one mystified about which of the many parts of the application hastriggered the rejection.If your institution plans to become more involved in seeking grants, it can be very useful to have clericalstaff who can take care of background work such as registering your institution for ID numbers with variousfunders and phoning or emailing funders to straighten out computer glitches. Whether you have clericalstaff to help or will be doing the submission on your own, be aware that until you have conquered thesesystems’ learning curves, the process can be very slow. Begin the process as soon as you know you willbe submitting a grant to a particular agency, and begin submitting the grant several days—perhaps twoweeks—before the agency’s deadline to allow time for straightening out any problems that may arise.Grants and ContractsYour institution may have individuals who can tellyou about available university financial support andhelp you apply for it, and can provide informationabout outside funding opportunities. Someinstitutions have complex procedures in placefor submitting grants—many signatures may beneeded. You should find out what the procedureis at your institution before you write your firstgrant so that you will not run into administrativeobstacles as you race to meet a grant deadline.Technology TransferSome institutions have an office to manage thepatenting and licensing of any discoveries madeat the university. (See chapter 12 for a detaileddiscussion of technology transfer and intellectualproperty.)22 excellence everywhere

Purchasing SuppliesYou may be required to go through a specificcommittee or office at your institution to buyequipment and supplies. Its staff may be familiarwith the full range of vendors and products andmay be able to help you negotiate prices. Staffmembers may also be knowledgeable about regulatoryand shipping requirements related to theproducts they buy. They may also keep track ofpayments and receipt of goods, thereby providinga valuable accounting function for your lab. If thereis not such an office, you might consider finding agood accounting software program to use to keeptrack of spending and resources.Hiring StaffLarge institutions may have administrative“human resources” staff people who can help youhire research staff to work in your laboratory, oryou may be responsible for advertising the job andattracting candidates yourself.Recruiting StudentsIf you are at a well-known training institution,excellent students may be drawn to you by thechance to work at the institution. At smaller orless well-known institutions, attracting studentsmay be more difficult, and forming alliances with(including, perhaps, getting faculty appointmentsat) other institutions may be very useful if traininga new generation is important to you.Public Relationsor Communications OfficeThe public relations or communications officeat a research institute keeps the outside worldinformed about the achievements of the institutionand its scholars. Its staff maintains contact withthe news media and can help you prepare for aninterview, translate your findings into “sound bites,”and learn how to field questions comfortably.If such an office exists in your institution, individualsin it may have a personal interest in reading andediting your grants and scientific papers, but thismay or may not be part of their official job.One of the lessons I have learned as a studentin a foreign university and as part of a universityin Costa Rica is the importance of keeping goodrelations with and learning from administrativestaff—executive secretaries, administrativeassistants, financial officers, etc. Even if oneis a good researcher, one may not have goodadministrative skills. Besides, large organizationslike universities develop a large set ofregulations, and it is difficult to keep trackof all of them.”Gilbert Brenes Comacho, Costa RicaQ u e s t i o nq&aIs your institution ready to administergrant- funded work?answerYour institution will be responsible for avariety of tasks, ranging from assuring goodaccounting for financial support you mayreceive to accounting for how much of yourworking day is spent on a project. If yourresearch touches on human subjects, usesanimals, or requires application of “GoodPractice” guidelines discussed on page 25,there is administrative tracking that mustbe done. Hiring institutional clerical staff willmake life easier, but if hiring staff for this workis impossible, remember to budget your owntime for the required administrative tasks.Without timely and proper accounting andreporting procedures for grants management,the flow of money from funded grants willlikely stop and agencies may be reluctant tosupport you in the future. Failing to keep upwith administration of human, animal, andgood practice requirements could result inyour work being stopped by regulatoryagencies until you can prove that properprocedures are in place.ENTRY AND RE-ENTRY: establishing yourself as a scientist in a new job23

Working With Human SubjectsWhether you will be using invasive techniquesor simple surveys, before you work with humansubjects you must obtain the approval of yourinstitution’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) orIndependent Ethics Committee (IEC). The IRBor equivalent committee at your institution isresponsible for ensuring that all research donewith the institution’s participation is in line withinternational standards for what experiments canand cannot be done with human beings. Researchinvolving non-human animals and some ethicallycontentious work on plants is also regulated, butfalls under different sets of standards.Why do IRBs exist?n To protect the rights and welfare of human subjects.n To ensure compliance with existing regulations.n To prevent conflicts of interest.n To ensure that all research conducted at a facilityis reviewed according to a uniform standard.Why does an ethical person need IRB reviewand approval?n No one can be completely objective about theirown work.n People underestimate the risks involved in thingsthey are very familiar with.n People overestimate the benefit of things that areimportant to them.Historical BackgroundAfter World War II, several Nazi physicians wereput on trial for their participation in horrendouslyabusive medical experiments done on concentrationcamp prisoners. The first codification ofethical principles surrounding the use of humansubjects in scientific research, the NurembergCode, emerged from the trial verdicts. Amongseveral important statements, the Code firmlyestablished the concept of informed consent.The Nuremberg Code stated:The voluntary consent of the human subject isabsolutely essential. This means that the personinvolved should have legal capacity to give consent;should be so situated as to be able to exercisefree power of choice, without the interventionof any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress,over-reaching, or other ulterior form of constraintor coercion; and should have sufficient knowledgeand comprehension of the elements of the subjectmatter involved as to enable him to make anunderstanding and enlightened decision. This latterelement requires that before the acceptance of anaffirmative decision by the experimental subjectthere should be made known to him the nature,duration, and purpose of the experiment; themethod and means by which it is to be conducted;all inconveniences and hazards reasonable to beexpected; and the effects upon his health or personwhich may possibly come from his participation inthe experiment.The duty and responsibility for ascertaining thequality of the consent rests upon each individualwho initiates, directs or engages in the experiment.It is a personal duty and responsibility which maynot be delegated to another with impunity.In 1964, the Nuremberg Code was adapted by theWorld Medical Association into a standard fortherapeutic research done in humans, the Declarationof Helsinki. The Declaration has been amendedseveral times since then, and continues to beone of the international standards used for theconduct of clinical research. A 1975 revision of theDeclaration established the idea of review by anindependent institutional committee. Revisions tothe Declaration of Helsinki continue, but there are24 excellence everywhere

now competing standards. Council for InternationalOrganizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) is themost dominant of them.The CIOMS International Ethical Guidelines forBiomedical Research Involving Human Subjectscover topics that include ethical review (the reviewcommittee process); informed consent, includingwhether subjects are inappropriately lured toparticipate; choices of appropriate experimentalcontrols; rules for research in especially vulnerablegroups such as children or the mentally ill; rulesfor research on women, especially while pregnant;confidentiality; rights of anyone injured by theresearch to get treatment and compensation;and more.Although there is considerable overlap betweenthe competing standards, the differences betweenthem are very important, especially in lowerresource countries. The Declaration of Helsinkiholds that in therapeutic trials, participants areentitled to the worldwide best standard of care.This standard makes it difficult to test improvedtherapies that may yield better clinical outcomesbut will not come up to the benchmark of theworldwide best standard of care.Many national ethics bodies have pulled away fromuse of the Declaration of Helsinki so that theycan continue to allow research that will improvehuman lives even if it is not up to the standard ofcare available to the world’s richest people. Effortsare being made to align the standards better, butuntil unified standards can be established, rulesfor ethics review around the world may remaincontradictory and confusing.The GxPsIn 1990, the International Conference on Harmonizationof Technical Requirements for Registrationof Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (usually calledthe “Conference on Harmonization” or ICH) wasformed. It now brings together European, American,Japanese, and other countries’ national interestsrelated to development of pharmaceuticals. TheICH has developed a separate standard, GoodClinical Practice, to focus on both ethical andtechnical issues in developing new therapeutics.It provides a framework for design, conduct,performance, monitoring, auditing, recording,analyses, and reporting of clinical trials. It ismeant to assure that not only are human subjectsprotected, but also that data from human trialsmeets the highest quality standards.Other harmonization efforts have produced othersets of standards. As a group, they are called the“GxPs” (with the ‘x’ acting like a mathematicalvariable, not as an initial for anything). The Organizationfor Economic Co-ordination and Developmenthas produced Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)standards, which are meant to improve rigor inplanning, performance, monitoring, reporting, andarchiving the results of experiments, especially inthe fields of pharmacology and toxicology, whichare very involved in pharmaceutical development.Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), which is notyet as well-harmonized as GCP and GLP, focuseson documenting the flow of products throughmanufacturing and on quality control in manufacturingof foods and drugs. Good RegulatoryPractice (GRP); Good Distribution Practice (GDP);Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and others nowexist in science and science-related manufacturing.The buzzword has escaped, however—thereis also Good Feng Shui Practice (GFSP), GoodTourism and Hospitality Practice (GTHP) and more.Countries and corporations that are using GxPoften insist that work done with their supportmust be carried out according to certified GxPstandards. Workshops for learning the rules andprocedures are becoming widely available.GETTING STARTED: Finding and Moving into a Job25

RESPONSIBILITIES BEYONDTHE LABORATORYAs a scientist at a research-oriented university ora research institute, you may focus principally onresearch. But you may also be required to teachclasses and to train the people who work in yourlaboratory. In addition, you may have to performvarious administrative functions at your institution,and if you are a physician, you may also have tolook after patients.TeachingYou may find juggling your teaching and researchresponsibilities to be a bit overwhelming at first.No matter when your teaching duties begin, takethe time to prepare for them. If there are any“how to teach” courses offered on campus, takethem, and if you can, ask permission to sit in on afew of your colleagues’ lectures to see how theyhandle their classes.Bear in mind that teaching gives you an opportunityto meet students who may be interested in doingresearch in your laboratory. There is much moredetailed discussion about teaching in Chapter 8,“Teaching and Course Design.”Launching a research career in biomedicalsciences in low-resource environments indisease-endemic countries is a huge challenge.Success may depend more on creativity andluck than the extent of knowledge about thesubject. In these environments a genius isbest defined by Thomas Edison’s adage—90%perspiration and 10% inspiration.”Moses Bockarie, Papua New GuineaCommittee WorkYou may be expected to participate in one or morecommittees or groups at a university. Althoughyou should take this responsibility seriously, youalso need to be judicious in your choice of assignments.Some committees are very labor-intensive.Others may deal with politically sensitive mattersthat may be difficult for a new researcher. Othercommittees may deal with matters irrelevantto your concerns as a scientist. So, before youaccept a committee assignment, ask for a detaileddescription of what will be expected of you interms of time commitment and the nature of thedecisions to be made. It may help to talk withyour colleagues about which committees areimportant to your success and which are potentialtime-wasters.Your university may have a number of committeesthat take care of issues such as promotion offaculty, hiring new faculty, ethics, human subjectsresearch, laboratory safety, teaching, awards, andlong-term planning for the university. If you areasked to serve, try to find out about the meetingschedules and workloads of these committees.Generally, committees that are responsible forcase-by-case review of individual applications orprojects are the most labor-intensive. However,the workload of a policy committee that initiallysounded light may suddenly expand when it findsitself dealing with a “hot” issue.Many committees, however, do give you a goodreturn on your time investment. Serving on asearch committee for hiring new staff may giveyou a voice in deciding who a new colleague willbe. You might also want to be on a committeethat puts together a seminar program or scientificmeeting. This will give you a chance to inviteleaders in your field to visit your institution, aswell as being a good way to bring in scientistswith whom you may want to collaborate. Work onan admissions committee for graduate studentsmight be worthwhile because it will introduce youto students who could work in your lab. A goodstrategy is to try to get on a committee whereyour expertise will be useful but you will not beoverburdened. Ask the head of your departmentand senior faculty for advice on balancing committeework with your other obligations in the earlyyears of your career.26 excellence everywhere

SCIENTISTS ANDTHE OUTSIDE WORLDIf you are based at a university or research institute,you may owe allegiance to several constituencies—to the university or research institute that supportsyou, to your profession, and to the generalpublic that stands to benefit from your research.To keep your outside activities appropriate, youneed to be aware of the university’s or institute’srules and expectations with regard to:n Service in professional associations.n Conflict of interest and conflict of commitment,including limits on consulting activities.n Relationships with the news media and withgovernment and political agencies.n Participating in industrial labor actions (strikes).ConsultingAs your career develops, you may find opportunitiesto consult with commercial entities such asbiotechnology or pharmaceutical companies inyour own country and abroad. Both you and yourhome institution stand to benefit from relationshipsthat extend your reputation, add to yourknowledge and skills, and may result in practicalapplications of your discoveries. In addition, youmay welcome the added income. But remember—the institution that employs you may have primaryclaim to your labor and your allegiance.Many universities with faculty involved in this kindof work have developed explicit guidelines limitingthe extent of a staff member’s work with otherparties. It is critical that you know your institution’spolicies regarding your work outside the scope ofuniversity or research institute employment andyour relationships with outside parties. If you areat an institution where such guidelines are notin place, it is still prudent to check in with thoseabove you before you take on a significant outsidecommitment.Public ServiceAs your career progresses, you may be calledupon to serve on boards of directors or commissions,or testify before government bodies on themeaning of your work or its ethical or public policyimplications.Treat these invitations as a serious responsibility.Again, letting those above you know that you havebeen invited to participate is important. If you areworried that your superiors will take these opportunitiesfor themselves or resent you for havingbeen offered such opportunities, talk to a trustedadvisor about how to proceed. It may help to havea letter of invitation that clearly specifies that yourexpertise is the reason for the invitation.Remember, anything you say in public will reflecton your institution. It is easy to be misunderstoodor quoted out of context. Practicing what youwant to say before the event will help you deliveryour message clearly.You may also have opportunities to participatein educating the public about science and how itaffects them, at schools or at community events.These opportunities can be both enjoyable andrewarding.The people you should get to know locallyshould also include politicians and publicservants in the appropriate governmentdepartments. You will need their support ifyou require funding from UN organizationslike the World Health Organization and aidagencies like USAID.”Moses Bockarie, Papua New GuineaENTRY AND RE-ENTRY: establishing yourself as a scientist in a new job27

UNDERSTANDING YOURINSTITUTION AND HOWTO PROGRESS WITHIN ITYou have no doubt spent many years in academicinstitutions and are familiar with their overall structure.But now, as fully trained scientist, you areentering into a new set of relationships with yourprofessional colleagues. Perhaps for the first time,you may have to deal with many of your institution’sadministrative offices. If you have done partof your training abroad, you will need to reacquaintyourself with the structure of institutions in yourown country.If your role includes being the head of a laboratoryor major project, you will need to:n Get to know people who will support your researchefforts, including the head of your department orinstitution and any more established researchersnearby who can serve as advisors throughout thenext phase of your career.n Understand how your organization is run and whoreports to whom; in particular who will be makingdecisions about how you advance in your career.n Watch carefully to understand hidden powerstructures that may be important to your success.Sometimes there are people who are not technically“in charge” but are key to your getting resources(or in some cases have the ability to thwart yourefforts). These individuals could be anyone fromsenior researchers to clerks. Early on, it is importantto keep your eyes open and not to overlook orunderestimate those around you.n Know about the organization’s research infrastructure,including who administers the funds to runyour laboratory, what support services are availableto you, and any policies about laboratory safetyand ethical issues that apply to your work. It maybe that if you are at a quite new institution or thefirst researcher doing your kind of work, you willhave to help your organization get up to speed onthings like safety standards, proper accounting andhandling of paperwork for granting agencies, andinternational standards for work involving humansubjects or collecting samples from the field.n Find out what the expectations are for independentresearchers with regard to how much they shouldpublish, whether they should seek outside fundingand if so how much of it, and what other activitiesthey need to perform.This chapter provides you with a starting point forobtaining this type of knowledge. It also discussessome of the professional responsibilities you mayhave to fulfill outside the laboratory, includingteaching and service and, in the case of physicianscientists,patient care. Finally, it will give yousome insights into how decisions about promotionsare made and how you can maximize yourchances of being promoted.Organization ofa “Typical” UniversityAlthough the major goal of most universities isthe advancement and dissemination of knowledge,universities also need funding to support theiractivities. A university must seek revenue froma variety of sources, including, in some cases,researchers. If you are going to work in a universitysetting, it can be useful to learn the paths throughwhich decisions are made, as well as the channelsthrough which money flows. Universities acrossthe world vary in organizational and reportingstructures, but many will have the followingpeople in charge:n A board of directors or governors, which may becomposed of academic, business, and communityleaders who hold appointed or elected positionswith specific terms. A board meets regularly toreview all major policy, financial, and managementdecisions, and may have a say in decisions aboutfaculty appointments and promotions. A typicalresearch institution may be composed of a director,one or more deputy directors, section or unitheads and support services that include technicaland administration sections/units. Usually a topmanagement team that includes the director,deputy directors, and heads of the technical unitsand the administration will make decisions onfinances, appointments, promotion of personnel,and institutional advancement.28 excellence everywhere

Consult the Faculty HandbookIf you take a job in a large, complex university, you will primarily report to your department or divisionhead, or in some places to a group leader—that is, a more senior scientist who organizes the activitiesof a group of researchers working on related aspects of a problem. If you have an appointment inmore than one department, or in a department and in one of the university’s separate research centersor institutes, you may have to report to more than one individual. If you will report to more than oneperson, you should try as much as possible to get these lines of command and responsibility in writingas described in the previous section.n A president or chancellor who has general oversightof the university’s academic programs andfinancial health. He or she is also the university’spublic spokesperson, dealing with “big picture”issues such as relationships with the governmentand with other funding bodies, as well as relationshipswith alumni, and fundraising.n A number of individuals with high-level titles—vice presidents, pro vice chancellors, rectors, vicerectors, provosts, deans, chairs of departments,directors of graduate schools, and similar positionsmay look after different areas of academic life,such as budgets, appointment of new faculty,maintenance of facilities, research funding,information technology, regulations for researchinvolving human subjects, patenting and licensingissues, student affairs, and so on.n Many universities are organized into smallerschools, divisions, departments of study, anddepartments of research, or faculties—for example,a large university may contain a School ofEngineering, or a Faculty of Medicine, or a Divisionof Public Health and Sanitation, each headed bydifferent individuals. These individuals may havesignificant input on your appointment and careerdevelopment. Within these units, there may besmaller ones, or departments, which are also oftenheaded by powerful individuals.The structure of one large university(drawn from a South American institution)executive team:BoardPresidentBoard and Office ManagerExecutive SecretaryCommittee SecretaryLegal SecretaryExec Manager Corporate AffairsVice President ResearchExec Dir FinanceExec Dir Tech & InnovExec Dir OperationsExec ManCap DevExec ManRes Admin& MgmtExec ManStrategic ResInitiativesExec ManKnowledgeMgmtExec ManHRManITManOperationsStrategic Research Committee 18 Intramural Unit Directors 22 Division ManagersENTRY AND RE-ENTRY: establishing yourself as a scientist in a new job29

Criteria for PromotionStructure of the South AfricanMedical Research CouncilPresident’s Officen Corporate and Public Affairs Directoraten Legal ServicesResearch Directoraten Research Units, Groups, Centres,and Lead Programmesn Research Capacity Developmentn Research Admin and Managementn Strategic Research InitiativesTechnology & Innovation DirectorateFinance DirectorateOperations DirectoratePlanning for PromotionYou are more likely to advance in your career ifyou understand from the start how decisionsregarding promotion are made at the institutionyou are joining. Ask the head of your departmentor division for advice; you can then start planningyour strategy accordingly. It may be that promotiondepends on factors outside of the departmentstructure. For instance, in Argentina a researcherin a public university depends on evaluation fromConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicasy Técnicas (CONICET), the national researchagency, for promotion.Listed below are some of the important factorsthat university administrators take into considerationwhen promoting a scientist. Determinethe weight that each of these factors, and otheraspects of your job, carries. You can find this outthrough discussions with your department head orother immediate superior.Research. Your research must be of a qualityand quantity that contributes substantially to yourscientific discipline. Publication in peer-reviewedjournals in your specialty and statements fromindividuals in your field who can testify to thequality of your research may be required. Ongoingresearch grant support may also be expected.Additional evidence of competence includes prizesand other recognitions of your work, as well asinvitations to present your work at conferences.Teaching. You may have to provide evidence thatyou are a competent teacher and that you fulfillyour responsibilities to your students in a conscientiousmanner. Teaching is notoriously difficult toevaluate, but your department may have mechanismsto do so. You should ask early in your teachinghow your efforts are evaluated so that you canbe sure to perform well in the expected areas.Service. You may have to demonstrate that you arewilling to work for the betterment of the university,your profession, and the public at large. Serviceon departmental and other campus committees,on research ethics boards, on editorial boards ofjournals, and on grant review panels demonstratesyour willingness to assume your share of responsibility.Invitations to serve on editorial boards andother outside committees also demonstrate scientificrecognition beyond your institution. Work forprofessional associations and work as a consultantto government and industry also may be viewedpositively when considering your service to theinstitution.30 excellence everywhere

RESOURCESBarker, Kathy. At the Bench: A Laboratory Navigator. ColdSpring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press,1998.Barker, Kathy. At the Helm: A Laboratory Navigator. ColdSpring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press,2002.Boice, Robert. Advice for New Faculty Members:Nihil Nimus. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2000.Deneef, A. Leigh, and Craufurd D. Goodwin, eds.The Academic’s Handbook. 2nd ed. Durham, NC: DukeUniversity Press, 1995.Goldsmith, John A., John Komlos, and Penny Schine Gold.The Chicago Guide to Your Academic Career: A PortableMentor for Scholars from Graduate School Through Tenure.Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001.Harmening, Denise M. Laboratory Management: Principlesand Processes. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.Kennedy, Donald. Academic Duty. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press, 1997.Menges, Robert J., and associates. Faculty in New Jobs:A Guide to Settling In, Becoming Established, and BuildingInstitutional Support. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999.National Academy of Sciences, National Academy ofEngineering, and Institute of Medicine. Committee onScience, Engineering, and Public Policy. On Being aScientist: Responsible Conduct in Research. 2nd ed.Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1995.Reis, Richard M. Tomorrow’s Professor: Preparing forAcademic Careers in Science and Engineering.Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 1997.Schoenfeld, A. Clay, and Robert Magnan. Mentor in aManual: Climbing the Academic Ladder to Tenure.Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing, 1994.Varnadoe, Lionel A. Medical Laboratory Managementand Supervision: Operations, Review, and Study Guide.Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company, 1996.OnlineCollaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) offersa range of tutorials related to ethics, research reviewprocesses, informed consent, good practice, and othertopics in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese andChinese at its Web site www.citiprogram.org. Thereis both free material and material only available byinstitutional subscription at this site.Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research, aguidebook on research ethics from the Office of ResearchIntegrity of the U.S. Public Health Service, is availableonline at http://ori.dhhs.gov/documents/rcrintro.pdfQuality practices in basic biomedical research, aguidebook on Good Practices from the World HealthOrganization, is available online at http://www.who.int/tdr/svc/publications/training-guideline-publications/handbookquality-practices-biomedical-research.The Good Indicators Guide: Understanding how to useand choose indicators, a guidebook from the Associationof Public Health Observatories on how to monitor andimprove performance, systems or outcomes, is availableonline at http://www.apho.org.uk/resource/item.aspx?RID=44584.32 excellence everywhere

Q u e s t i o nWhat’s in a Name?q&ayour Web site, if you have one, inviting people tocontact you if they are interested in working withyou. If you teach, you may find some studentswho are interested in learning more about yourwork and carrying out a research project in yourlaboratory.answerThe title “technician” means different thingsin different places. In some regions, alaboratory technician may be a manager orunit director. Throughout this book, however,a “technician” refers to a professionalscientist who has a steady job focused onadvancing the work in your laboratory.Write the Job DescriptionIf you will hire staff from outside your institution,the first step is to develop a job description for theopen position. First, identify and prioritize the initialand ongoing lab tasks for which you need support.Then determine the qualifications needed to bestcomplete these tasks and develop a general planfor allocating the person’s time. Bear in mindthat the position will have to fit within your abilityto pay and that the position’s level may also besomething that is already set in stone. The processmay be more complicated if unions representidentified groups of employees at your institution.For example, you may only be able to considerhiring union workers for certain positions.Get the Word OutOnce you have a job description, the next step is tomake sure that the people you would like to recruitwill see it. There are several ways to do this.Informal Methods. Try to recruit by word ofmouth. Ideally, you want people to seek you out.If you work in a country with a fairly large scientificcommunity, meetings and seminars where youpresent your work are good venues to reachstudents and scientists, as well as lab technicianswho are not employed by your institution.Another strategy is to include a statement onFormal Advertisements. Ask those workingaround you how and where the kinds of jobs youwould like to fill are advertised. If you are hiring ascientist to train in your lab, it may make sense toplace an ad in a science journal published in yourown country. But placing formal advertisementsin print publications can be expensive and maynot yield good candidates, depending on whoreads the journal or newspaper. It is a good ideato discuss advertising with senior colleagues whohave had experience recruiting people into theirlabs.Advertising on your institution’s Web site is usuallya free service, and in some places has a highrate of success. Other resources for advertisingfor scientists with advanced degrees are Websites and list serves maintained by professionalassociations. For any advertisements you place,make sure you follow your institution’s policies.What Do You Have to Offer?As someone who has just started his or her lab,you may find it a challenge to recruit the peopleyou want, especially trained scientists and experiencedlab technicians. Here are some things youcan do to increase your chances:n Promote your vision. When you talk to others,make sure you mention that you are hiring andtake time to convey your vision of what your labwill be “about” (see next chapter). Your excitementabout your work and your lab will excite andinterest potential staff.n Communicate your lab culture. Think abouthow to create a lab environment that allows youand your staff to work efficiently and harmoniously.If good communication, collaboration, and cooperationare valued concepts in your lab, they canbe selling points that will make people want towork with you.GETTING STARTED: Equipping Your Lab and Hiring People35

n Convey your commitment to training.Let potential staff know if they will be workingdirectly with you and that you have an interest inhelping them in their careers.n Offer flexibility where you can. Flexibility,especially about assignments or researchdirections, is attractive to most job applicants.n Provide a realistic level of reassuranceregarding the stability of your funding.Potential staff members are likely to be aware thatthe money to pay their salaries may be comingfrom your research grants, or other sources thatmay increase or decline over time.In Sierra Leone and more so in Papua NewGuinea, members of your extended familybelieve they are entitled to large parts ofyour time and attention. This is an enormouschallenge for every working person in SierraLeone. You are likely to face requests foremployment. My advice is that you avoidseeing extended family members at your workplaceand ensure hiring is a very transparentprocess that is handled only by the appropriatestaff in the administration section.”Moses Bockarie, Papua New GuineaWhat They Are Looking ForLab Technicians. Technicians may be attractedto a beginning laboratory because they are eagerfor the opportunity to work closely with the headof the lab and are interested in learning newtechniques and being included on papers. Goodsalaries and status (related to publishing papers)may be of prime importance to more experiencedlab technicians. Inexperienced technicians mayplace more value on the opportunity to gain experience,especially experience that will help themdecide whether to continue with their studies.Students. Students may want to work in your labbecause they want to pursue a career in science,or perhaps they are curious about research andwant to find out whether they should considera career in this area. On the other hand, theymay be looking for academic credit, funding,or recommendations for further training. Try toselect students who are motivated to contributeto the productivity of your lab. Students areoften attracted to new labs because, like labtechnicians, they are eager for the opportunityto work directly with the person who is directingthe research. Educating these students in how towork in the lab can be time-consuming, especiallyfor the first few months. Therefore, you maywant to sign up your first student when your labis running well and you have time to work witheach student properly. At a university, thoughtfullyworking with students early in your career willhelp you develop a positive reputation and willincrease your ability to attract other students. Onthe other hand, if your first students have negativeexperiences in your lab, they will quickly share thiswith their peers, and your ability to recruit goodstudents will suffer greatly.Scientists Training in your Lab. It may taketwo to three years for you to recruit a scientist,for example a postdoctoral fellow, who wantsto train in your lab before establishing his or herown lab. Most scientists in training are attractedto more established labs because they are usuallybetter launching pads for their careers—the bossis more famous and the publications may comefaster. Nevertheless, some might be attracted byyour research area, your concern for furtheringtheir careers, or your institution’s reputation andgeographical location. If you have a good reputationfrom your own work, you may be able torecruit highly qualified individuals right away.I would encourage policies to hire realpostdocs, i.e. people who really want to doa postdoc in your lab and not people who forfamily reasons or else could not go abroadand seek your lab as a second option.”Alberto Kornblihtt, Argentina36 excellence everywhere

Screening ApplicantsWhen you review résumés, check skills againstqualifications and look for transferable skills.Always review résumés carefully—some applicantsmay inflate their experience. Gaps in employmentor job-hopping may be signs of problems, or maysimply reflect the job situation in your region. Ifthe degree of job-changing seems unusual, besure to ask careful questions and check references,if you are able to.For an applicant to a degreed scientific position,consider publication quality—not just quantity—and the applicant’s contribution. Although it maynot be realistic for someone who has just startedrunning his or her lab, try to find a scientist witha record of accomplishment—usually at least twofirst-author papers—that indicates he or she willbe able to see a project through and perhaps will becompetitive for obtaining his or her own funding.If a technician has contributed to publications,you should evaluate the candidate to determinewhether he or she has the ability to contributeintellectually as well as technically to the lab.Q u e s t i o nWhat’s in a Name?answerq&aThroughout this book, a “postdoc” refers toa researcher with a relatively recent doctoraldegree and intentions to move on from yourlaboratory to a more independent positionafter working with and learning from you. A“student” refers to a trainee who is enrolledfor an undergraduate or graduate degreeand is working with increasing autonomy inyour lab. A “trainee” refers to a student orpostdoc—someone who is both working foryou and being educated by you so that he orshe may advance into another position.The résumés of less-experienced lab techniciansmay not show a record of contributions to publishedpapers or other indicators of productivity.Carefully check references to find out about theircapabilities.For a student, speak informally with other peoplewho have worked with the student, including thosewho may know how the student has performed ina laboratory course. Talk to the student at lengthto see how articulate, bright, and energized he orshe is. Remember, a smart but shy person maybe tongue-tied in a conversation with you—youare an important person, after all! Try to talk longenough to draw them out and put them at easeso that you can really get a sense of their capacity.When selecting students, remember that highgrades are no guarantee of success in your lab.Check References DirectlyFor a variety of reasons, people rarely write negativeletters of recommendation. Therefore, if possible,you should directly contact the applicants’references, preferably by telephone, or by email.Checking references is an important part of theselection process. It will help to verify impressionsgained during the interview and expose potentialproblems that may not have been evident in eitherthe interview or CV.What to Ask a Reference. When discussingan applicant with someone who has provided areference:n Describe the job and the work atmosphere youwant to create.n Ask short, open-ended questions, and avoid askingquestions to which the desired response is obvious.n You might want to ask: Why is this person leaving?Is he or she reliable? What are this person’sstrengths and weaknesses? What are you mostdisappointed in with respect to this person?Also, “Would you rehire this person?” is a veryimportant question to ask.n Probe for further information, and ask for examples.Do not settle for yes or no answers.GETTING STARTED: Equipping Your Lab and Hiring People37

types of interview questionsOpen-ended questions cannot be answered yes or no; for example, “Tell me about yourself.”The applicant determines the direction of the answer.Directive questions solicit information about a specific point; for example, “What skills do you havefor this position?” The interviewer determines the focus of the answer.Reflective questions solicit information about a past experience that might serve to predict theapplicant’s future performance; for example, “Describe a time when you demonstrated initiative.”n Try to determine whether your lab values aresimilar to those of the reference, perhaps by askingabout the reference’s lab and philosophy. This informationshould help you decide how much weightto give to the reference.If Possible, Contact All References. You aretrying to make a decision about someone withwhom you may be spending many of your wakinghours. Make sure you get the information youneed. To correct for bias in the responses of anyone reference, if you can afford it, make sureyou call all of an applicant’s references, eventhose overseas. If possible, it is best to obtaininformation in person or by phone, rather than byemail, though sometimes email may be the onlyoption available to you (for example, if the referenceis difficult to reach or lives in a place that isextremely expensive for you to call). You may betempted to do less when hiring for a smaller job,but think about the damage hiring a poorly-trained,dishonest, or threatening person could do to yourwork, especially in jobs where firing is difficult.Sometimes, applicants will not give the nameof a current supervisor as a reference. If thatis the case, you must respect their request forconfidentiality—the most common reason is thatthey do not want to risk losing their current job.However, you should ask why the applicant doesnot want you to call. You can also ask for additionalreferences who can provide you with informationabout the person’s work habits, accomplishments,and history.Further Screen Applicantsby TelephoneIf you live in a place where phones are reliable,easy, and everywhere, you may want to screenpromising applicants by telephone before invitingany of them for a formal interview. As withinterviewing references, focus on asking openendedquestions. The appendix (page 44) showsa sample outline that can help you in your phoneinterviews with applicants. (Consider developing asimilar form for talking to applicants’ references.)Interviewing ApplicantsInvite Applicants to Visit Your LabAfter you have completed the initial screening,narrow your list of potential applicants to a reasonablenumber of good prospects. If possible, inviteeach person to visit your lab for a formal interview.Remember, talking to someone by phone is nosubstitute for looking them in the eye. If possible,you might also arrange for the applicant to spendsome time with other lab members so that theothers in your lab can get a sense of this person.If you are a department head yourself and you areto hire trained scientists who will work relativelyindependently underneath you, you might requirethat each applicant deliver a seminar to membersof your lab or department.38 excellence everywhere

Interpersonal Skillsn How important is it to you to be liked by yourcolleagues, and why?n If you heard through the grapevine that someonedid not care for you, what would you do, if anything?n Tell me about a situation in which your work wascriticized. How did you rectify the situation?n Describe a scientist whom you like and respect.What do you like about that person?Cultural Differences. You may find yourselfconsidering applicants from different cultureswhose beliefs, such as those about self-promotion,collaboration, and deference, may differ from yourown. Take this into account when conducting yourinterview, especially if the applicant seems to beunder-selling his or her achievements.Tips for Conducting an Interviewn Before you begin, try to make the applicant feelcomfortable. Make appropriate small talk, offer abeverage, and compliment the applicant on makingit thus far in the selection process. Remember thatthe applicant is also deciding whether he or shewants to work for you.n Develop professional rapport and be friendly, butavoid a social atmosphere.n Explain how the interview will be structured.n Briefly describe the selection process.n Outline the responsibilities for the open position.n Convey your expectations about the job. Includevalues that may seem obvious to you, such as yourcommitment to lab safety and scientific rigor.n Know your own local laws and customs pertainingto what questions can and cannot be asked at jobinterviews, and keep in mind which (if any) topicsmust be avoided.n Take brief notes. Record actual answers toquestions, not evaluative or conclusive comments.Later, when thinking through whether to offer theapplicant a job, you may find that these answersgive you more insights into the applicant’s characterand thinking than you were aware of when youwere sitting and talking with the person.n Listen carefully. Let the applicant do most of thetalking.n Develop a high tolerance for silence. Give theapplicant a chance to think and develop thoughtfulanswers to your questions.n Give the applicant many chances to ask questions.This will give you some insight into what isimportant to him or her.n Never make promises or give commitments, evenones that may seem innocent to you.n Ask the applicant about his or her timetable forleaving the current job, even if you asked it duringthe telephone interview.Before ending the interview, do the following:nnnGive the applicant a chance to add anything elsehe or she thinks may be important for you to knowin making your decision.Make the applicant aware of the next steps, such asadditional interviews and the time frame for hiring.Thank the applicant for his or her time.Evaluating ApplicantsBefore you begin evaluating an applicant, makesure you have all of the necessary information.Conduct any reference interviews you wereunable to complete before the interview. Gatheropinions from others who have met with theapplicant. As needed, seek guidance from yourdepartment and other relevant departments atyour university.Maintaining ObjectivityAs in any situation that involves interpreting interpersonalbehavior, objectivity in evaluation may bedifficult. Nevertheless, try to avoid the following:n Relying too heavily on first impressions.n Making a decision too early in the interview, beforeasking all questions.n Downgrading an applicant because of a negativecharacteristic that is not relevant to the job itself,such as a particular regional accent, or having cometo the interview wearing clothes that have clearlybeen used by generations of the family’s job seekers.40 excellence everywhere

n Allowing a positive characteristic to overshadowyour perception of all other traits—an applicant’sposh accent, polished presentation, or tangentialassociation with someone famous might makethem seem impressive on meeting, but have littlesubstance in the workplace.n Judging the applicant in comparison with yourself.n Comparing applicants with each other, rather thanaccording to the selection criteria (e.g., if you havebeen interviewing poorly qualified applicants, youmay rate merely average applicants highly).n Allowing factors not directly related to the interviewto influence your estimation of the applicant (e.g.,interviewing during times of the day when youmay be tired).What to Look ForIn addition to determining whether the applicanthas the qualifications required to perform well inyour lab, you should also keep the following pointsin mind:n Consider the “chemistry.” Pay attention to yourintuitive reaction to the person. Look for a personwho is interested in and able to get along withothers.n Ascertain whether the applicant is a good fit. Keepin mind that you are building your team and needpeople with the skills and personalities to getthings done. Look for people who have a trackrecord of productivity and have demonstrated anability to learn new skills.n Seek someone who has a passion for science anda strong work ethic. Enthusiasm, a can-do attitude,and the willingness to go the extra mile are criticalattributes.n Check the applicant’s career plans. Knowing whatthe applicant wants to be doing in five or tenyears can give you insight into his or her scientificmaturity and creativity, as well as his or hercommitment to a specific research area.n Be certain the applicant is committed to goodresearch practices. Recordkeeping and reportingresults are even more important now than in thepast because of patent and other legal issues.Insist on the highest level of scientific integrityfrom anyone you are considering.Red FlagsWarning signs during an interview that shouldalert you to potential problems include:n Unwillingness to take responsibility for somethingthat has gone wrong.n Complaining about an advisor and coworkers.n Demanding privileges not given to others.n Delaying answering questions, challenging yourquestions, or avoiding answering them altogether.Humor and sarcasm can be tools to avoid answeringquestions.n Unless you have been rude, responding to aninterview question with anger is never appropriate.n Incongruence between what you hear and whatyou see (e.g., grudging replies and slouching arenot signs of an eager, assertive candidate even ifhe or she is saying all the right things).n Trying to control the interview and otherwisebehaving inappropriately.Making the OfferBefore you make an offer, check with theappropriate people in your department or yourinstitution to learn which, if any, items relatedto the job are negotiable and whether you areresponsible for negotiating them. In some institutions,the initial salary that you can offer will beset for you. In others, you may be given someleeway within a predetermined range appropriatefor the job description.Once you have identified the person you wish tohire, contact him or her to extend the offer anddiscuss start date, salary, and other conditions ofemployment. Be sure to check with the appropriateoffice in your institution first to determine whetheryou or they will make this contact and cover theseissues.Inform All of the ApplicantsFirst, inform the person you have selected. If heor she turns down the offer, you can move on toyour second choice.GETTING STARTED: Equipping Your Lab and Hiring People41

Multinational Organizations are hiring ourpeople away!Brain drain continues to be a major problemin the developing world, where NGOs and theprivate sector pay better salaries than governmentresearch institutes. Dealing with braindrain can be quite frustrating; however, oneshould continue to recruit appropriate personnelto fill in vacancies. Those recruited shouldbe given an opportunity to train in short- andlong-term courses that are relevant to theirwork areas. Once settled in the researchprogramme, they should also be encouragedto be a part of the ownership of the researchprogramme, and to make presentations onsome of the research aspects of the workthat is being done. Presentation of researchfindings at national and international fora isusually a big motivator, because it promotescollaborative linkages between personnel inyour lab and other labs, and these linkagesmay generate a lot of research ideas betweengroups. Delegation with responsibility to juniorresearchers also builds confidence and givesthem a sense of ownership of the researchprogramme. In countries where salariesare low, personnel should be allowed to dopart-time jobs that are related to research,e.g. teaching at the local university to supplementtheir salaries. All research ideas thatare brought forward by research personnel,especially junior members, should be takeninto consideration and explored for substance,no matter how silly they may sound.”Susan Mutambu, ZimbabweYes, it is a problem, but not a major one fornow. The solution is creating an attractiveenvironment, clear career paths, stable socialenvironment, etc. High salary is not always themost important incentive in keeping staff.”Abdoulaye Djimdé, MaliOnce you have filled the position, try to let theother applicants know of the outcome of the interview.You do not need to give a specific reason foryour decision not to hire an applicant. However,you may state that the selected candidate hadbetter qualifications or more relevant experienceor that it is your policy not to disclose this information.Check with the appropriate people at yourinstitution about their own personal policy or theinstitution’s personnel policy in this area.The Offer LetterAfter you and the selected candidate have confirmedthe job details, you or your institution mightsend a formal offer letter that confirms the offerterms, including start date and salary. Coordinatewith the appropriate administrative staff at yourinstitution to determine what information to include.If hiring does not involve an administrative office,make the offer and clearly establish the start date,salary, and allowances and pensions where theseare applicable. It is a good idea to put the detailson paper in case disagreements arise later.ASKING STAFF TO LEAVEDespite your best efforts, you may at some pointneed to ask someone to leave your lab. Beforeconsidering dismissal, be sure that you have triedvarious avenues to help the person be successful inyour lab. This may include assistance with scientifictechniques or counseling for behavioral issues. Also,be certain that your dissatisfaction is based onobjective observations, not your personal biases.Try to determine whether you think the personwould be better off in another lab or should consideranother career. For students and scientists,this usually means talking with that person and hisor her advisors, if any. It may be best to suggestto someone that research is not for them if youtruly believe the profession is not suited to his orher talents or personality. You can provide thatperson with encouragement and suggest othercareer options, especially ones of similar stature.There are no hard and fast rules about how amanager should address performance or behaviorproblems in the lab. However, keep in mind thefollowing, especially if you are thinking about lettingsomeone go:42 excellence everywhere

n Be fair.n No surprises.Fairness dictates that lab members receive sometype of notice about unsatisfactory performance.Make sure the person knows your concerns and isgiven a reasonable opportunity to respond and turnthings around.When it Begins to Look likeFiring May Be NecessaryIn many places, an institution’s disciplinary anddismissal procedures are based on the country’slabor laws, and in some places workers are quiteaware of their labor rights. Termination proceduresmust be correctly carried out according to the law,and so should be directed by someone who hasexperience with them—usually someone in a HumanResources or other administrative office. When youbelieve that someone should be let go, consult withcolleagues to determine whether there are legalprocedures to keep in mind, and if available, seekhelp from whatever institutional office deals withpersonnel issues early on in the process, at least toadvise you on how to move forward legally. Manyacademic institutions publish their procedures ontheir Web sites.Keep in mind that delivering a warning or giving anemployee a chance to “straighten up” may helpyou turn a bad situation into a good one withoutresorting to dismissing a worker.Keep a RecordIt is a good idea to outline and set expectations forthe performance and conduct of everyone in yourlab. Do not expect your employees to read yourmind about what you want them to accomplish andhow you want them to accomplish it.Deliver a WarningWarnings should be delivered by you, calmly andin private. Listen to the employee’s point of viewand explanation. Develop a plan for addressingthe problem with benchmarks and timelines. Youmay want to commit your action plan to writing. Ifyou provide advance notice, employees will not besurprised when you take forceful action concerningunsatisfactory performance or behavior.If You Decide to TerminateAn employee with serious work-related problemsis a disruptive force and, especially in a smalllab, can significantly retard research progress.Although it is not easy to decide to terminatesomeone, those investigators who have had torelease staff say that in retrospect their biggestmistake was not doing it sooner.Questions to ask yourself before letting someonego. If circumstances permit, you should askyourself the following questions and documenteach of the actions before proceeding:n Have you given the person at least some type ofnotice or warning?n Have you made it clear to the person what he orshe is doing wrong?n Has the person received counseling or assistancein learning new or difficult tasks? If so, how much?n Are you treating (or have you treated) the persondifferently from other staff in your lab?n Are you following written procedures and institutionalpolicies?n Does the documentation in the personnel filesupport the reason for discharge?How to Terminate. Ask the appropriate individualsat your institution or department how to terminatestaff. Often, a termination will involve a meetingbetween you and the individual you are terminating.During the meeting, remember to:n Be polite.n Stay focused on the issue at hand. Get to the pointquickly. Explain the decision briefly and clearly. Donot apologize or argue with the employee in aneffort to justify your decision.n Avoid laying blame.n Arrange to have scientific materials and equipmentand supplies returned to you, including lab notebooks,protocol books (unless it is a personal copy),lists of laboratory resources and information onany experiments still in progress, and keys.n Let the employee have an opportunity to have his orher say, and pay close attention to what is being said.GETTING STARTED: Equipping Your Lab and Hiring People43

n If there is an office that handles employee benefits,refer the employee to them for a discussion ofeligibility for any benefits the institution may haveprovided.n Take notes that document this meeting and convertthem into an informal or formal memo to file.n Try to part on cordial terms. Science can be a smallworld, and your paths may cross again.Termination Letters and References. As part offinal documentation, a termination letter may berequired by your institution or by law. In addition,you may be asked for, or may wish to offer, areference. Check with the appropriate staff at yourinstitution about proper procedures.Immediate Dismissal. Sometimes the reasons fordismissal are more acute: dishonesty, endangeringothers, or other unusual behaviors may make itnecessary to immediately remove someone fromthe lab. You should get advice from your colleagueson how such a firing is normally done. How will youget any keys they may have or prevent them fromre-entering the premises? It may be that you shouldhave the person removed from the premises bylocal or campus authorities, for example, and thattheir personal effects will be sent to them later.RESOURCESBarker, Kathy. At the Helm: A Laboratory Navigator. ColdSpring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2002.OnlineAustin, Robert D. “Managing Knowledge Workers.” Science’sScience.Careers.org (April 26, 2002), http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/1470/managing_knowledge_workers/.HRhero.com. Extensive resources on firing: http://www.hrhero.com/topics/firing.html.Seeding Labs’ website is www.seedinglabs.org.Siering, Marlene. “Hire the Best.” Denver Business Journal(November 17, 1997), http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/1997/11/17/smallb2.html.University of Michigan Employment and Executive Services.“Conducting a Successful Employee Selection Process,” http://www.hr.umich.edu/empserv/department/empsel/index.html.appendixTelephone Interview OutlineDate:Candidate:Investigator’s Questions (Use openendedquestions, and ask for examples.)To see if we might fit, give me an idea ofwhat you are looking for.What are your goals for this position?(short-term expectations, long-term plans)Tell me about yourself as a scientist:n What are your strengths?n What are your weaknesses?n What do you want to learn?n What are you looking for in a supervisor?What is your preferred interaction style?(with me, with others, on joint projects)Timing, current jobVisa statusInvestigator’s CommentsBackground, interests, goalsThe projects we are working onWhat I am looking forWhat I expect (enthusiastic, interested,communicative, a hard worker,responsible)What I will offer (be there, help,communicate, support career withcommunication about goals, funding for[e.g., length of time])The university, department, townTiming, constraintsThis interview form is adapted from one developed byTamara L. Doering, Washington University School of Medicine.University of Michigan Employment and Executive Services.“Electronic Recruitment Resources,” http://www.hr.umich.edu/empserv/department/empsel/electronic.html.44 excellence everywhere

chapter 4managing your many roles“ I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremittingdevotion to the things you want to see happen.”frank lloyd wrightThe day has finally come when you take up yournew position. At least in the space of your ownbench (and in some readers’ cases, maybe across awhole institution), you are the boss! What got youhere is your creativity and scientific expertise. Butyou will quickly realize that the day-to-day operationof the laboratory—the projects that get done,how time is spent, which needs get priority—alsorequires strong leadership and management skills.This chapter describes the skills involved in leadingand managing a group of people, but many of theprinciples here can be applied if you only manageyourself and your day-to-day work, even if you arestill under the authority of a more senior scientistwho directs the project of which your work is apart. It also offers some suggestions on how tobuild these skills.Whether or not you are in charge of your own groupof workers and thinkers, the basic ideas may helpyou as you think about how to get the most out ofyour resources. As you get ready to start your job,you should work through how you will manage thingsas your own research operation grows.The chapter is organized in four sections. The firstprovides a definition of leadership in the contextof directing a scientific laboratory. The seconddescribes a process for developing a vision foryour laboratory. Your main role as a leader will beto organize and motivate the people in your labto enact this vision. The third section is about differentleadership approaches and how you mightproceed as you develop your individual leadershippersonality and style. The fourth discussesthe role of the laboratory leader in building andsustaining an effective team—that is, how tocommunicate with the people with whom youwork, how to motivate them, how to make decisionsand resolve conflicts, and how to set andenforce expectations and rules of behavior.This chapter draws from material developed byEdward O’Neil, director of the Center for theHealth Professions at the University of California–San Francisco, as well as from interviews withscientists with years of experience runninglaboratory research programs.managing your many roles45

n Seek funding and publish papers (see chapter 7,“Getting Funded,” and chapter 9, “IncreasingYour Impact: Getting Published”).n In some cases, teach courses(see chapter 8, “Teaching and Course Design”).n Juggle many different demands at once(see chapter 5, “Managing Your Time”).It is not necessary to be a technical expert ateverything. But a leader has to understand howand why various scientific approaches to a problemwork and how to choose between possible strategiesfor solving the problems using the resourcesavailable.Leaders and Managers:What’s the Difference?Although the words leadership and managementare often used interchangeably, they do not meanthe same thing. A leader influences the opinionsand attitudes of others to accomplish a sharedgoal. A manager, on the other hand, is primarilyan administrator who makes sure that peopleand processes are in place to achieve the desiredgoal. Managers need to be able to plan, budget,organize, and solve problems, in order to keepa complicated system of people and technologyrunning smoothly. As head of a scientific effort,you will need to be both a leader and a manager.DevelopingLeadership SkillsSome of the leadership skills mentioned above,such as articulating your goals clearly enough todevelop a vision statement, may come easily toyou. Others, such as motivating people in yourlab or delegating responsibility, may prove moredifficult. “Leadership development” is the processof improving your leadership skills. Just as you setyourself a course for acquiring and improving yourscientific skills, you can set yourself one or severalgoals for becoming a better leader, and make aplan for achieving them. Here are some tips onhow to go about it.Choose a behavioryou want to modifySay a conflict arises between two people workingin your laboratory—their projects have convergedand now they are competing against each otherover who should take charge. You realize that youshould be keeping closer tabs on the experimentsbeing done by everyone in your lab, and on theinteractions among people. How could you trainyourself to stay better informed on the progressof their work? What could you do that would helpyou stay more generally aware of the tensionsbetween the people around you?Choose a specific goalfor changing your behaviorYou should choose a goal that is as specific aspossible, and state it in clear, measurable terms.For example, a goal that states “I will becomebetter at communicating with people in the lab”is not very useful, because it is neither clear howyou will go about reaching that goal nor easy toassess whether you have succeeded. You will bemore likely to achieve a goal that states “I willmeet weekly with the person who is workingon project x to discuss in a direct and open wayprogress on the project and any issues that mightbe affecting the work.” This way you will be ableto tell if you have or have not followed through.Determine a timelinefor completionYou should set realistic deadlines for assessingyour progress. For example, “In one month, I willknow what everyone in the lab is working on andwill have set up regular scheduled meetings witheach person so that it will become routine to talkabout the progress of the work.”managing your many roles47

Assess your progressFrom the beginning you should have clearly statedthe expected outcomes of your goal, so thatyou will know whether you have achieved them.The questions you want to be able to answer are:n How do I know I have been successful?n Who are the other people who will notice andbe affected?n What difference will they notice?You can gauge whether your leadership skills aretruly improving. First, are you accomplishing moreand moving more effectively toward achievingyour goals? It may be useful to open channelsfor feedback. This involves asking people in yourlab and your colleagues for feedback on howyou measure up against your desired model(see “Giving and Receiving Feedback,” page 59).In some places, “the boss is the boss,” and it mayseem paradoxical to suggest opening yourself upto feedback from those who work under you. Butyou can ask for helpful input about your own managementstyle without undermining your authority.For example, you can say explicitly, “I set upthese regular meetings with you because I wantto be sure that you and I are communicating wellabout your day-to-day progress. Now that we’vedone a few, what is your impression of how theseconversations are changing things in the lab?”You might see evidence of success when youlearn that the lab is having a problem with anexperimental protocol before it becomes a crisis,rather than after. It does not make you a weakerleader to ask questions that let you check whetheryou are communicating as clearly as you think youare. As your communications improve, peopleworking with you might notice that overall, theyare better informed about how research in the labis proceeding, or they may notice that meetingregularly with you keeps their own project oncourse. If there are people supervising your work,they may notice that your lab has become moreproductive or that the people reporting to you aremore engaged in their work.How to Improve YourLeadership SkillsImproving leadership skills is often a process oftrial and error, but there are some more systematicways of going about it.Learn by observingTo help you define and achieve a specific goal,identify someone who does what you would liketo do. For example, if one of your limitations isthat those who work with you frequently seem tobelieve that you do not appreciate their work, youmay want to observe how another leader recognizesand rewards the people in his or her group,and then try using the same kind of action in yourown lab. Though everyone likes to be rewarded,you may be surprised to find that simply sayingout loud things you think should be obvious—“I am proud of your consistently excellent work”or “you set a good example for everyone whenyou do your work so carefully”—can go a longway toward solving the problem. Seeing a colleaguemake this kind of comment may remindyou to do it more often yourself.You will need to practice and probably cannotcopy your colleague directly, because to be naturalany approach you try will have to suit your ownpersonality and situation. Similarly, you probablyhave colleagues and friends who are good publicspeakers, cool under pressure, effective at managingtime, or skilled at running meetings. You canobserve these people and identify factors thatmake them good at these things, and then try toadopt these behaviors yourself. You may also askthese colleagues for feedback on the skills you aredeveloping and seek advice on your own behaviorand progress. They will likely be flattered (seechapter 10, “Expanding Your Influence: Trainingthe Next Generation of Scientists”).It is always a good idea to stay in contact with theteachers who have shaped your life and work. Butthis is especially important if you are starting yourcareer at an institution that is just beginning to buildup its research training. The role models for you atyour institution may be few and far between.48 excellence everywhere

In fact, even though you yourself have just finishedyour training, you may be the senior scientist atyour institution and thus the one that others lookto for clues about how to manage their projects.Those who trained you will be valuable collaboratorsand may also give you useful suggestionson how to run your laboratory, especially if youare building up a working group that will both doresearch and train students who themselves willneed to learn to become successful professionalscientists.If your training was done almost entirely abroad,it is essential that you also follow the examples oflaboratory heads in your own country, rather thancoming to the institution and saying, for example,“At the Pasteur we always did it this way, and sothat is how I will run my own group.” Local seniorscientists know how the system in the presentcountry and in the present institution works. Theirexample will help you avoid making serious misstepsas you develop your career. It is importantto pay attention to them, learn from them, and notlet your enthusiasm for other approaches cometo be seen as signs of disrespect or feelings ofsuperiority to them.Read books and attend coursesGood leadership and good management arepriorities for organizations of all kinds. You can aidyour leadership development by reading booksand taking university courses on the subject.You could also take a World Health Organizationworkshop on management, or take advantageof similar career development activities offeredat meetings sponsored by large professionalsocieties, non-governmental organizations, orpublic-private partnerships. Many large scientificsocieties offer workshops on management aswell as on scientific issues in the days just beforetheir annual meeting. Tuition is often charged, butscholarships may be available—it never hurts toask. Many academic institutions provide leadership/managerialcourses through their businessschools/economics faculties. Often such coursesare offered at convenient times for busy professionals,such as one night per week.Get to know yourstrengths and weaknessesIn most cases, you cannot change your personalqualities, but becoming aware of them can helpyou lead more effectively. You can learn to makethe most of your assets and work around orimprove upon your liabilities. Also, thinking aboutyour personality and preferences in a formal waycan make you more aware of how your personalitymay shape the behavior of people around you, andhelp you direct and support them more effectively.One useful framework for understanding personalitiesis the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test orsimilar tools. This is not a test that hands outlabels like “this person is neurotic” or “that personis paranoid.” It is a questionnaire that sorts outhow one person compares to others with respectto four factors related to temperament.The factors let you gauge quickly whether one isoriented toward looking inward or toward lookingoutward when surrounded by other individuals;whether one is more of an abstract or concretethinker; whether one prefers logic or is moreinclined toward trusting feelings; and whether theperson is more comfortable with orderliness andstructure or likes things that are “free form.” Ineach of these four areas, neither extreme is goodor bad—everyone uses both logic and feelings,abstract thoughts and hard data—but knowingyour preferences and those of the people aroundyou will help you understand how people act ingiven situations, and understanding the preferencesof the people around you can give youinsight into what drives their habits of mind.For example, someone who loves big ideas mayfrequently argue with another person who loveslooking after page after page of data. One maythink the other is “too obsessed with detail,”while the other may think, “it is all ‘what if’ to you—what about the real situation on the ground?”Once these people realize that the issue is notone another’s vision but rather that they look at theworld in different and complementary ways, theymay be able to take advantage of one another’snatural strengths rather than becoming boggeddown in frustration about each other’s differences.managing your many roles49

There is a great deal of commentary online aboutwhat these factors mean in terms of how youinteract with other people or ideas. There are manyquestionnaires available online that will provide aMyers-Briggs score. Searching for the phrase “freeMyers-Briggs” should find a few. Much of thedevelopment around these personality types hasbeen done in North America and Western Europe,so some of what you read in these descriptions(especially in the areas of introversion andextroversion—one’s openness to other people orpreference for spending time alone), will be writtenwith cultural assumptions that may be differentfrom those in your own region.A popular way to understand your on-the-jobstrengths and weaknesses is to seek feedbackfrom those around you, including those above youin rank, your peers, and people you admire. Youmay be surprised to find that areas you consideryour special strengths are viewed by others asyour areas of weakness and vice versa. Feedbackfrom others can help you recognize and see pastyour blind spots.Creating YourVision as a LeaderMost people understand that the president of auniversity or the head of a large institute musthave a vision for what he or she wants to accomplish.But what about someone running a lab, orsomeone working on one project within a largerlaboratory? Even in a very small working group—one researcher and a technician—if there is noclear vision of what drives the work and what itsgoal is, someone may head off in his or her owndirection, wasting time and potentially generatingill will.Without a clear shared goal, small disagreementsand normal human differences may becomemagnified as individuals’ own preferences maycome to overshadow what is really important fordriving the work forward. Developing a vision foreveryone in the lab to share does not limit innovation.Instead, it provides a foundation for creativityfrom which new directions may be taken. If youhave many people working under you, a sharedvision may help them better understand how youset priorities.How to Create a Mission StatementWriting a formal mission statement can provideyou with a cornerstone for building the vision foryour lab. This statement describes the kind ofresearch you want to do, the motivation for yourresearch, and the kind of atmosphere in whichyou want to work. It should take into considerationthe history and current challenges of your lab andwhat you want to accomplish in the short and longterm, with an eye to your future work.If your position is one of higher responsibility, yourvision and mission will be oriented toward theachievements of a department and institution as awhole. The exercise of writing down a mission anda vision may seem artificial, but it can be usefulto capture “the big picture” and to refer to it nowand then to see if you are spending your time andeffort in ways consistent with movingyou closer to your long-term intentions.As you develop your mission statement, keep inmind the following points:n Decide what values you want for your lab (e.g.,scientific excellence, discipline, teamwork,competition). You might think, “These are all goodthings, so why not just aspire to greatness?” Butthe values and strengths you see as leading togreat science may be different from those someoneelse would pick. Someone who enjoys beingfocused might thrive by picking a single scientificproblem and focusing great efforts to solving it.A different person might thrive on devoting greatefforts at many different problems connected by acommon thread. Some people want to have a labwhere everyone collaborates on projects; othersmay prefer to have each lab member work on distinctaspects of a scientific question without muchinteraction. Knowing yourself—your strengths andweaknesses—will help you determine what youwant to accomplish and how to get it done.n Consider your social, financial, and family goals, inaddition to your scientific ones. They will not beelements of your mission statement, but theyshould help you understand what efforts andresources you can put into your research. This, inturn, will help determine the scope of what youhope to achieve.50 excellence everywhere

n Craft a statement that you feel comfortablecommunicating to your peers, superiors, and labmembers. It does not need to be flowery language;it should be ambitious but not a grandiose overstatementof importance.Here are two sample mission statements:n The goal of our laboratory is to be among the mostsuccessful and respected researchers in the areaof cancer genetics. The ultimate goal is to helpdevelop better therapies and cures for cancer. Ouraccess to patients with a unique type of cancergives us an unusual opportunity to do excellentmolecular and population work. We will publishour work internationally and seek out excellentcollaborators. We will be recognized for being fairand collegial colleagues in the broad cancer fieldand as the world’s experts in the cancer that is ourspecialty.n Our lab aims to understand the mechanisms bywhich cells transport proteins. In particular, we willfocus on technical challenges that others have notbeen able to overcome. A main focus of the lab isto train the next generation of scientists. We willcreate an environment that is conducive to learningand testing new skills.Keep in mind that mission statements are notoperating plans or strategic maps for the lab, butdo serve to shape those essential elements. Inaddition, they are not static—they evolve andchange with time. One could read them cynically.But why do that? You are setting out in words yourhopes for your career and maybe for your country’srole in advancing science. Think realistically,but think boldly about what you can do, and thinkproudly about doing it where you are.If you have written a mission statement you arepleased with, try saying it over and over to thepeople in your lab. State it at lab meetings, whenpeople first join the lab, and when you sit downto write a paper. Every decision you make fromnow on, from hiring staff to choosing scientificprojects for the people in the lab to establishinghow communication flows, can be made with thisstatement in mind. It will help remind you to askyourself whether an action being considered is inkeeping with what you want to achieve and howyou want to achieve it.Developing YourLeadership StyleYour mission statement is what sets the course foryour lab, but how do you go about directing andmotivating people to accomplish this vision? Theway you carry out your role as a leader is calledyour “leadership style.” It will depend largely uponyour own personality and the types of experiencesyou have had up to now. For example, you mayfind you feel more comfortable making decisionson your own, without seeking the input of othersin the lab or colleagues. Or you may find it difficultto give unsolicited feedback to your students andpostdocs. After a few months, you will most likelydevelop a style that you feel comfortable with. Butmanagement experts tell us that different stylesare required for different situations and differentindividuals, and that you should practice using avariety of such styles to help you navigate throughdifferent problems and challenges.American management gurus Ken Blanchard andPaul Hershey have written about leadership stylesin terms of a continuing spectrum of directive andsupportive behavior. Directive behavior involvesclearly telling people what to do, how to do it, andwhen to do it, and then closely monitoring behavior.Supportive behavior involves listening to people,providing assistance and encouragement, and thenfacilitating their involvement in problem-solvingand decision-making. According to this model, thedegree to which you direct and support peoplewho work for you is influenced by their level ofcompetence and their commitment to completinga given task.Supportive BehaviorBlanchard and Hershey Model of Leadership StylesLow HighLowSupportingdelegatingDirective BehaviorcoachingdirectingHigh(Adapted from a concept developed by the Center for Leadership Studies, Inc.)managing your many roles51

In their model, the four styles of situationalleadership are:n Directing. This style puts a high focus on gettingtasks done and a lower focus on relationship. Whenthe person you are supervising is not yet qualifiedor is not sufficiently motivated to carry out a taskindependently, then you need to tell him or herprecisely what to do at each step. For example,you may take this approach with a technician whohas just started working in your lab and needs tolearn an important technique that he or she will bedoing routinely.n Coaching. This style puts a high focus on bothtask and relationship. You would continue to directthe actions of the person you are supervising,but would also take the time to explain decisions,solicit suggestions, and support the individual’sprofessional development. This leadership style isthe most demanding. It requires a lot of time andemotional investment on the part of the leader.For example, soon after a graduate student joinsthe lab, you may have to show him or her differenttechniques and help the student decide whichexperiments to do, but you would explain why andhow they fit in with the lab’s mission, so that overtime the student will be able to work creatively,confidently, and independently.n Supporting. This style puts a low focus on taskand a higher one on relationship. In a lab, the supervisoris likely to adopt this leadership style withmost trained scientists and experienced graduatestudents. For example, you would give a trainedscientist working in your lab the responsibility tochoose what experiments to do, but continue todiscuss what they are. You would also facilitateprogress by, for example, helping this person findsomeone to collaborate with so that he or she canget the next step of a project accomplished.n Delegating. This style puts a low focus on bothtask and relationship. You would turn over responsibilityfor decision-making and problem-solvingto an individual who has become more independent.For example, you might allow a fully trainedscientist who is doing very well in your lab totake responsibility for the day-to-day progress ofone of the lab’s projects, and to function withinthe context of that project as a fully independentresearcher.Delegating Tasks and AuthorityMany heads of laboratories are reluctant to delegatebecause they fear losing control or power.Delegation is important, because it will relieve youof some of the lab’s day-to-day responsibilities.Assigning responsibility does not lessen yourrole in the lab. It merely gives you time to handlemore tasks that suit your position than you couldif you had not passed along some of the work thatcan be done by another person. Also, delegationserves to empower and motivate the people whowork for you, and helps prepare them for theresponsibilities that will someday fall to them.In deciding whether there is something you coulddelegate, ask yourself the following questions:What am I doing now that I would like to seesomeone else do? Is there a person in the labwho is capable of handling some of what I do andwilling to take on a new responsibility? What couldI do if I had more free time? One of the tasksyou may want to consider delegating is orderingsupplies. Although you may want to continue toinvolve yourself in approving purchases, someoneelse can look up catalog numbers and fill in orderforms. If you make all of the reagents in thelab, you may be able to delegate that work to atrusted, careful worker. Other activities, such aswashing dishes or feeding research animals, couldbe passed along to less-trained individuals if youare doing these tasks yourself.Once you have decided to delegate theresponsibility for a given task, you need to:n Be sure you delegate the necessary authority withthe responsibility. You may have to explicitly tellothers, “This person is acting in my stead and mustbe given the priority and access to resources thatyou would give me if I was carrying out this workmyself.”n Give clear directions and make sure they areunderstood; keep two-way communication channelsopen.n Clearly define the responsibilities assigned to eachlab member, and make this information known toeveryone in the lab.n Once you have delegated, follow up to make surethe job is being done, without interfering with it.52 excellence everywhere

n When you delegate authority to someone, be sureto back that person up when his or her authority iscalled into question.n Distribute responsibilities fairly among members ofthe lab.Keep in mind that the people to whom youdelegate may view problems that arise as personalfailures or as letting you down. They may thereforeput off telling you about problems. Taking thetime beforehand to communicate what shouldhappen, and anticipating any potential problems,may save you headaches later. You do not want toadd to your own burden by having to micromanageyour delegations, but sometimes putting sometime into seeing to it that the work starts off wellis all it takes to ensure a successful transition toyour delegates’ ability to work independently.Building and Sustainingan Effective TeamToday, more than at any other time in history,science is a team sport—and the teams keepgetting bigger. Your job as a leader includesmaintaining good working conditions so that yourgroup can be productive. Recognizing and dealingwith low morale or bad feeling arising among yourworkers (or between your workers and yourself)requires most people to pay more attention tohuman relationships than they did before takingon a leadership role. For many kinds of work, youneed to integrate people who have different kindsof technical expertise and backgrounds. Regardlessof the size of your lab or your group, thereare some general guidelines for keeping the teammembers motivated and working effectively, fromcommunicating and giving feedback to settingspecific rules of behavior. They are discussed inthe sections below.Communicating Within the LabYou should communicate with laboratory memberson a daily basis if possible. If you are still doingexperiments at the bench yourself, you will beaccessible to your lab members. But if you spendmost of your time in your office writing papersand grants or handling other responsibilities, it willmake a big difference to your group’s researchproductivity if you make an effort to walk aroundthe lab frequently (on the scale of at least once aday, if you can) and informally chat with people.Keeping your office door open when you do notneed privacy or quiet sends the message that youare approachable and available for scientific andpractical questions about the work in the lab. Ifyou would like to be approachable but your manyobligations prevent you from having an “opendoor policy,” try establishing a regular scheduleof hours during which people from your lab groupcan reliably get a moment of your time withoutthe formality of setting up an official meeting.In addition to these informal interactions, formalmeetings are an organized way to ensure thateveryone is kept informed of the group’s activitiesand results and for you to reiterate your expectationsand values. If you have time, it can bevaluable to hold regular goal-setting and evaluationsessions—an annual lab retreat for discussingbig picture issues, regular lab meetings involvingthe full staff, and scheduled one-on-one advisorymeetings and performance evaluations for yourtrainees and employees. Group activities such aslab dinners or outings, held periodically, can also beimportant for building morale and encouraging labmembers to think of themselves as part of a team.I would add that it is important that the boss,except when out of the lab for meetings orother academic commitments, spend most ofhis time in the lab, arriving early in the morningand staying late. Not to give the impressionthat being the boss one has the privilege towork less, no matter the nature of your work(desk or bench).”Alberto Kornblihtt, Argentinamanaging your many roles53

good practice for laboratory notebooksScientists everywhere are expected to keep dailyrecords of their work. These records allow workto be reproduced by others and serve as a recordof your progress and the evolution of your ideas.A well-kept lab notebook documents failures justas thoroughly as it documents successes, not onlybecause it is meant to be a fair record but alsobecause sometimes what seems to be a failureturns out to be an important insight and the beginningof a new success. Even routine proceduresshould be documented each time they are carriedout. This not only reinforces the habit of keepingnotes but also preserves a record of how shortcuts,“tweaking”, or individual’s way of carryingout the work changes with experience.Why are notebooks so important?n Spotting problems quickly. Having a look ateveryone’s notebook a few times a month, andreviewing your own periodically, will help youensure that the work in the lab is being done upto your standards, and will let you find out quicklywhen things are not working or when a worker isstruggling to achieve an expected result.n Avoiding technical drift. When working in thelab, one often comes up with “tweaks” and“work-arounds” that make work go faster. Whenthese changes evolve, they should be noted,especially if they improve the work process andshould replace the original method. Keeping aneye on the lab’s notebooks will also help you spotwhen an attempt at efficiency or conveniencecauses an established procedure to become lessaccurate or reliable.n Avoiding fraud. You will be responsible for theintegrity of all of the work that comes out of yourlaboratory. Checking notebooks and setting a goodexample by keeping exemplary records yourselfwill help prevent fraud.n Defending patents. In many countries, whoeverpatents an invention first has rights to it. But insome places, including the U.S., if you can proveyou thought of an idea first, you own it, even ifsome-one else tries to patent it before you. Carefulrecord-keeping can help prove your claims of priority.New electronic tools for laboratory record–keepingare increasingly coming into use. So far, they havenot been exposed to much legal scrutiny or beenpart of many controversies. For this reason, manylabs continue to use paper records even if theyare also using electronic systems.Ensure that daily records arekept of all of the work in your labThe precise way in which to document scientificresearch varies from field to field and from placeto place, but some general rules apply:n Use a permanently bound book, with consecutivedated entries. Never remove pages. Sometimes,especially when you have written down a boldnew insight or done a profoundly important experimentfor the first time, entries should be signedby you. Periodically, they should be witnessed bya scientifically competent reader in case you laterneed to prove that your work came before anotherscientist’s.

n Use only pens, preferably with waterproof, solventproof,and fade-resistant ink that does not smear,to write in the notebook.n Make sure that your handwriting is clear and thatothers can read it.n Each entry, even for a routine task, should standon its own, to permit others to replicate the work.Entries in the notebook should be written in orderof the time the work was done, not groupedtogether with related work done on various dates.n Loose items like photographs, drawings, ormachine printouts should be permanently attachedto the notebook pages using glue or staples.n Lab notebooks should not leave the laboratory area(including the researcher’s office, if it is close tothe lab). They should not go to anyone’s home. Ifsafety and security of the notebook is a concern,a locked, fireproof box in the lab is a good place tostore notebooks overnight.n Laboratory notebooks usually stay with the lab inwhich the work was done. For this reason, it canbe useful for researchers to keep a personalnotebook full of procedures, methods, recipes, andother useful information using a second, sturdybook which they have purchased themselves. Thispersonal book, which will leave the lab, shouldnever function as a separate lab notebook.Keeping a well-organized recordn Organize material with sections and headings.n Identify and describe reagents and specimensused.n Identify sources of those materials (e.g., reagentmanufacturer, lot number, purity, expiration date).n Enter analytical instrument serial numbers andcalibration dates.n Use proper names for items and real verbs todescribe how you used them.n Write all entries in the first person, and be specificabout who did the work.n Explain nonstandard abbreviations.n Use ink and never obliterate original writing; neverremove pages or portions of a page. If you writeout an experiment and do not carry it out, make anote that it was not done, including a brief explanation.n Write down some analysis of your results andoutline new experiments, including their objectivesand rationale, suggested by your observations.

Research group meetingsMany research groups hold weekly or monthlymeetings. People in the lab take turns presentingwhat they have done since they gave their lastpresentation. They give an introduction to the purposeof their individual project or activity, providesome background to get others “up to speed,”share their results and their interpretation, andthen discuss what they plan to do next. Commentsand suggestions from the research team usuallyfollow.In some labs, a group meeting is a semiformalpresentation; in other labs these meetings maybe more informal. For example, each persondiscussing what he or she did that week. Informalmeetings tend to be much more interactive, butit can still be useful to schedule occasional formalpresentations so that the individuals training inyour lab can perfect their ability to speak abouttheir research and learn to look and act like aprofessional scientist. Another idea is to havejoint research meetings with other labs. It is goodexperience for your lab members to give presentationsto scientists outside your lab. It can help toclarify presentations and may bring out new ideasfrom those who are not so closely involved withthe projects. It extends your network and that ofyour students, which is especially useful when theyare looking for jobs or letters of reference.One-on-one meetingsRegardless of the frequency of research groupmeetings, it is useful to meet often with eachof the people working or training under yoursupervision so that you can keep current withtheir progress and any problems they may beencountering in getting their experiments to work.Invite them to come into your office with their labnotebooks and show you what they have beenworking on. Many heads of labs meet with labmembers for an hour each week. They may meetwith them more frequently immediately after labmembers have finished a series of experiments orwhen they notice that a lab member is struggling.Depending on your circumstances, you may nothave the time to meet with your lab membersthat often, but it is important that you make aneffort to communicate with them as often aspossible. If you run a very large group working onseveral projects, teach individuals who are leadingthese projects to meet regularly with studentsor technicians working under them; you will helpthem learn how to supervise and at the same timemake your workload more manageable.It is valuable to carry out formal reviews of a person’sprogress during these one-on-one meetingsonce or twice a year. These reviews, sometimescalled “performance reviews,” spell out in writingthe progress the individual has made since thelast review and set future goals. See the Appendixat the end of this chapter (page 72) for a samplesix-month performance review. The review cangive you an opportunity to acknowledge and commenton the person’s hard work, make note ofnew skills acquired, and restate your expectationsfor the trainee or employee’s work in the lab.Small group meetingsSome large labs also have meetings of subgroupsworking on specific projects or working withspecific techniques. This gives everyone whois working hands-on with the project a chanceto consider and choose different experimentalstrategies to generate the best results, andtogether consider logistics and technical matters.Small group meetings give everyone an informalopportunity to share tips and tricks, and can helpkeep morale up when members of the group runup against technical challenges. The benefit ofsmall groups like this for getting new technologiesand techniques working is so large that it maybe worthwhile to put together “user groups” ofpersonnel working on the same approaches inother nearby labs.56 excellence everywhere

Strategy sessionsShould you decide that your research needs totake a new direction, you may want to call anofficial strategy session. A strategy sessionhelps the group identify the next most importantquestions and what experiments will answerthese questions. Such a meeting also helps thegroup develop a shared understanding of thelab’s direction and clarifies what needs to bedone and who within the group is interested inwhat aspects of the new research area. Thesemeetings also help you determine how potentialconflicts and competing interests can be avoided.Developing a Data Management Systemto track your laboratory’s workHaving an orderly system for maintaining lab procedures and information can be very useful, especiallyas the personnel in your working group change over time. Think about what kinds of things, from ideasto pictures of laboratory results, you would like to be able to find quickly. Then develop a system forlabeling these things so that you can find them again. Once you have developed a systematic way oflabeling everything you’d like to be able to find, you can use the search capacity of a personal computerto make your life much easier.A good system might name things in a way that indicated the date the item or information wasgenerated, who generated it, what kind of resource is stored, and where more information can befound, as well as other information that may suit a given laboratory.One might index a new plasmid named pJD03, made and purified by Jane Doe on May 22, and describedand recorded in the third volume of her notebook on page 79 asn 20092009-05-22 /jd /plasmid prep/ pJD03/III:79Even with this simple system, if 20 years from now you would like to remember something about aplasmid you vaguely remember a student making sometime after the Olympics in China but before theWorld Cup in Johannesburg, you will have a quick, simple way to find it.n Integrate research and clinical activities and use departmental academic meetings to promote theclinical relevance of your research program.What to StoreLab protocolsPrimary data in a form that will survive into the futuren CDs/DVDs n Handwritten data in pen in laboratory notebooks or other high quality papern Laser-printed computer documents on high quality paperLists of specimens and reagentsInformation about instrumentsmanaging your many roles57

Journal club meetingsThese meetings are an integral part of trainingnew scientists, and can vary in frequency fromweekly to monthly, or as desired. The discussionof a scientific report serves to illustrate how to(and how not to) construct and test a hypothesis,what constitutes effective analysis, and how toreport scientific findings. A journal club meetingalso reinforces the idea that reading currentpapers is essential to keeping up with the field. Inaddition, these meetings provide an opportunityfor you to communicate your values about sciencewhen discussing other people’s work.Finding Good Papers for Journal ClubsOur journal club, which focuses on infectiousdiseases, has identified 10 leading journalsfrom which presenters are encouraged to selectarticles for presentation. Presenters do havethe freedom to occasionally select interestingor relevant articles from non-preferentialjournals.”Brian Eley, South AfricaHow to run a Journal CLubIn many research institutes, members of different labs will get together to discuss published articlesin a particular field or subject. The subject can be very specialized, such as “chromatin,” or broadin scope, such as “molecular biology.” Reading and discussing articles with others who share yourinterests and background will really help you and the people in your lab stay abreast of currentdevelopments. It will also help more junior scientists stay motivated about their own work and learnabout the elements of a sound scientific paper and study.There are many ways to hold a journal club, but in general, these meetings work best when:n The group meets regularly in the same location at the same time.n Responsibility for leading the discussion of articles is rotated among all of the regular participants.n Articles selected for reading and discussion are of interest to the majority of the group.n Everyone participates actively in the discussion of the articles.In some groups, everyone in the group reads the paper ahead of the meetings. In other journal clubsonly the person leading the discussion reads the paper ahead of time and the others learn about itthrough his or her presentation. Most journal clubs last about an hour, with a portion of the timeallotted to a presentation, followed by a question-and-answer or discussion period. Some journal clubstake place over lunch; others at other times of the day. Regardless, these meetings are more popularif some food and drinks are provided.Typically, the person leading the discussion of a particular article will review the background of thestudy, the rationale for doing it, the data presented, and will evaluate both the results and theirinterpretation. In the process, the discussion leader should address the following questions:n Is the paper clearly written?n What is the quality of the work described?n What is the quality of the materials, methods, and instrumentation used?n Is the analysis and interpretation of the data valid?n What are the strengths and weaknesses of the chosen experimental design?n Are there any errors that the authors may have missed?n What is the impact of these errors on the authors’ data, interpretations, and/or conclusions?n What is the overall significance of this work to a particular field of study?n Do the conclusions follow from the data?n Are there other, perhaps better interpretations of the data than those presented in the paper?58 excellence everywhere

Finding Good Papers for Journal Clubsn Search on Medline for your field/subjectof interest.n Look through relevant journals that theresearch institute/university departmentsubscribes to.n Look at papers that your collaboratorshave published.n Discuss papers of interest that have justbeen presented at a recent conference,especially if full papers are available.”Susan Mutambu, ZimbabweInformal group activitiesOrganizing social occasions to celebrate a majoraccomplishment—publication of a paper, a teammember getting a new job, the group getting anew grant, and so on—is important for promotingyour shared vision of the lab and building morale.In some groups, a souvenir like a copy of thenewly successful grant or celebratory champagnebottle signed by the whole team, a group photo,or some other lasting sign of the day is kept andproudly displayed for continued inspiration. Also,most heads of laboratories agree that it is importantthat lab members occasionally socialize in arelaxed, non-work environment. Such get-togetherscan help promote a team feeling and enhancecommunication among lab members. As you areestablishing your lab, you might have to arrangethese outings. After a while, they will occur morespontaneously. Do not feel that you always haveto participate, and do not feel offended if you arenot invited to all after-hours occasions, especiallyif your role in your organization puts you at a muchhigher level of seniority and responsibility thanthose on your team.Giving and Receiving FeedbackGiving and receiving feedback is a critical leadershipskill. Receiving feedback from individuals inyour lab will help you improve as a leader, and willhelp you steer people toward your vision. In turn,giving them feedback will help them develop asscientists and will ensure that your expectationsare met. Even if you have a very formal mannerwith your lab, feedback should be given informallyon a daily basis, as well as during formal meetings.You do not have to be everyone’s friend in the labto do this—providing small comments will do.Remember that although one often notices criticismand correction more, positive feedback, forexample “Thanks for making sure this got doneon time,” or “Keep trying, this is a tough technicalproblem that we need to get through, and you areusing a good, systematic approach to do that,” isalso important.When you give feedback to people in the lab, try to:n Time it well. Feedback delivered during stressfultimes (e.g., when a grant deadline is looming) israrely helpful, especially when either party isangry or elated, or when someone walked into adiscussion not expecting to hear critique, good orbad, about the work.guidelines for effective meetingsn Solicit agenda items and distribute an agenda before the meeting.n Have clear assigned roles for the meeting—that is, who will speak, who will take notes, who willlead the discussion.n For each action item on the agenda, go over discussion points, make a decision, and determinepost-meeting actions.n Discuss what should be on the next meeting’s agenda.n Follow up the meeting with a meeting summary and a to-do-by-what-date list.managing your many roles59

Components of anEspecially Useful Agendan Meeting title, group title,where it will be held, date, timen Meeting purposen Desired outcomen Expected preperationn Attendees and known absencesn Minutes from the last meetingn New businessn Other businessn Date and content of next meetingn Be specific and objective. Focus your commentson first-hand data, actions, and behavior and not onthe person or speculation about his or her intentions.For example, instead of saying “You are notfocused enough on your work,” or “You do notseem to care about your experiments,” think of aspecific instance that you thought was a problem.“We decided at our meeting that you would dothese three experiments, but you only did one.”n Reinforce expectations. Provide feedback interms of previously outlined goals and decisions(“We decided at the last meeting...”).n Avoid subjective statements. An example ofsuch a statement is “I do not like the fact that youshow up in the lab whenever you feel like it.” Tryinstead to stick to objective arguments. “If youarrive at unpredictable times, it is difficult for otherpeople in the lab to know when they can talk toyou. Many people depend on your expertise andneed to know when you are available.”n Be very clear about what you want yourdiscussion to achieve. Sometimes when peoplereceive negative feedback, they feel defeated.But that outcome may not help you achieve yourintended goal. If you have an excellent worker whois failing to meet your expectations for workingregular hours in the lab, for example, you mayneed to say explicitly “In the long run, this is thekind of problem people get fired for. But we arenot at that stage yet and we will not be as long aswe can work together and solve the problem. Youand I both know that you are a good worker andthat you struggle with family responsibilities. Whatcan you do today that will help you get here ontime for the next five days in a row?” Workingtoward small goals can sometimes help goodworkers meet your standards.n Present it in a constructive way. Feedbackshould be seen as a method for improvementrather than as a punitive step. To this end, ensurethat the student or other trainee in the lab has aplan for dealing with any problems you haveidentified, and arrange a way to monitor progress.Why does a person come to the lab late in the dayand have an erratic work schedule? Does she havea problem with getting transportation to and fromthe lab? Has he taken an additional job? Suggestways to overcome these problems and agree on adeadline for re-evaluating the problem. You cannotorganize a person’s life for them, but you can pointout solutions, saying, for example, “Maybe stayingcloser to the lab during the week or catching a ridewith someone in another part of the institutionwould help?”n Make sure it registers. Feedback is oftensubject to distortion or misinterpretation. You maywant to ask the student or postdoc to rephrasewhat you have said and talk about his or herassessment of the issues you raised.n Avoid too much. Select the highest priorityissues to start with, and remember that time andspace are needed for integrating feedback. Evenpositive, well-motivated people sometimes haveto think a few days to assimilate your message.Receiving Feedback. In some cultures it is notacceptable for someone working or training inyour laboratory to give you feedback on anyaspects of your own performance. In suchsystems, you are The Boss, and that is the endof the story. So how can you get feedback if youwant it?60 excellence everywhere

If possible, invite people in your lab to providefeedback on specific issues by asking questionsduring lab meetings or scheduled one-on-onemeetings. This feedback will make you a bettermanager. Make it a point to meet with yourown supervisor, if you have one, on a regularbasis, and have lunch with senior colleagues to geta sense of how they think your work is progressingand whether you are on track for achievingyour scientific and career goals. If you are a verysenior scientist at your institution despite havingonly recently finished your own training and havelittle hope of getting honest feedback from yourcolleagues, it may be that old friends or trustedrelatives can help you work through your growingpains. Past advisors may also be able to help withsome issues. If you have entirely trained abroad,however, you also need to find someone in yourcurrent social and scientific culture who can helpyou maintain your perspective and sense of humor.Regardless of where you get your advice, rememberthat to get honest comments and suggestions,you must be receptive. If you respond angrily ordefensively, those in your lab and other colleagueswill be reluctant to give you their true opinions. Asyou are listening to a comment, try to understandwhat the other person is saying. If something isnot clear, ask for clarification. If the feedback isnegative, take time to think about what you heard,even if you do not agree. What behaviors mighthave caused these perceptions? What changes, ifany, do you need to make?Making DecisionsAs the head of a new laboratory you will be makingtens if not hundreds of decisions a day, fromdetermining which emails to open and how toanswer each one, to deciding what experiments todo, to choosing to hire a new researcher to workin your lab. In each case, the first step in making adecision involves understanding the demands ofthe situation by answering the following questions:n How important is the decision I have to make?For example, the decision involved in hiring anew technician is a serious one. You will have tointerview the candidate and carefully research hisor her background before you make a decision.Whether or not you give a talk at the departmentalseminar next August may be a decision that willnot carry very serious consequences.n When do I need to make the decision?n Do I have enough information to make the decision?n How critical are the consequences of this decision?n Who needs to know or cares about the decision Iam about to make?n Will I need assistance or approval from others?n If I made the same kind of decision before, can Iuse the same approach?Answers to these questions will help you choosethe most appropriate decision style, that is, thedegree to which you go at it alone or include others.Making a decisionin complete isolationThis decision style works best when you areunder severe time constraints, when there is noneed for buy-in from other people, when you alonehave the best insight, or when you are dealingwith highly confidential information. For example,if another scientist approaches you to collaborateon some experiments for a paper he is in a rushto publish, you may quickly decide whether it isworthwhile for you to get involved. You can makethis decision without consulting anyone else ifthe work can be done by yourself or a technician.Another example would be to decide whether toreferee a paper or write a letter of reference forsomeone working in your laboratory.Making a decision afterconsulting with other individualsYou would use this decision style when you needinput from others and have sufficient time to gatherinformation. In general, this approach improvesthe quality of the decision, but you run the risk ofinvolving people who are not really participating inthe decision-making process, which may lead toresentment or misunderstanding. For example, ifapproached by another researcher to collaborateon a project, you may ask your colleagues whethermanaging your many roles61

they know this person and what his or her reputationis. The head of a laboratory considering takingon a new research direction may consult with thehead of the research institute or other colleagues.But the decision ultimately rests on the shouldersof the laboratory head. Do not let those you consultbelieve that they have control of your decision.Making a decision with the groupThis decision style is helpful when you have fewtime constraints, need the buy-in or technicalexperience of the group, or need a creativeresponse. It is more time-consuming than the twodiscussed above, but in some cases it improvesthe quality of the decision. For example, whendeciding whether or not to invite an individual tojoin your lab, you may decide jointly with existinglab members. Another example is if you haveto decide whether or not to buy a new piece ofequipment you have little experience with. Theremay be other scientists working in your lab whoare more knowledgeable and can make a betterdecision on which particular model to buy. It doesnot diminish your authority to say to a trustedsubordinate, “Since you are the one who will bethe most involved in running this machine, get theone that suits you best.”Passing the decision on to othersThis happens in cases when the decision is moreimportant to other people in the lab, or when youhave little competence in the area or other morepressing priorities. The most important thing toconsider in this case is that you will have to livewith the decision, whether you like it or not. Thelast thing you want to do is overturn a decisiononce it has been made. For example, you might leta senior scientist training in your laboratory decideon his or her own whether to collaborate withanother scientist or where to submit a paper, ifyou believe that the trainee has good judgmentand enough experience to make a mature,informed decision.Setting andCommunicating Rulesof Behavior for Membersof Your LaboratoryA key element of your role as a lab leader is toeffectively convey expectations that reflect yourvision for the lab. Some expectations may apply toa particular group of lab members (e.g., postdocs);others may be unique to each individual. You mightbe formal about stating your expectations, or youmay want to work with your lab members to setthese expectations. This can increase the likelihoodof buy-in and help increase motivation. Thebest way to communicate expectations is to conveythem continually—at the first interview, on the firstday on the job, at lunchtime if you eat with yourgroup, during lab meetings, and, most importantly,by setting a good example yourself day by day.It is also a good idea to communicate in writingyour expectations about everything from expectedwork hours to dress code to how one gains accessto training opportunities and advancement. Havingthese standards written down is especially goodfor new lab members and will be useful when youare conducting periodic performance reviews. Asa general rule, you should live by the expectationsyou set for your lab members. Show your workersthat you enjoy what you are doing. Especially inthe early years, be present in the lab, working sideby side with them if your position still includesbench work, or showing interest in their work ifyour role is more administrative. They will be ableto see how you work and what is important to you.Below are some general areas you will want toconsider when setting expectations for people inyour lab.Work hoursSome heads of laboratories feel they should stipulatea specific number of hours per week that theyexpect people in their lab, especially trainees, towork. But that strategy does not necessarily workwell and can generate resentment if the hours62 excellence everywhere

Q u e s t i o nq&aHow do I avoid potential misunderstandings among lab members regarding work hoursand time off?answerThe best way to handle this is to convey your expectations about work hours and time off to applicantsduring the employment interview or their first day on the job. For example, the amount of vacation leavevaries from country to country, and the degree to which civil and religious events affect work also varies.You should let applicants know about your institution’s and your lab’s policies.demanded are far beyond normal expectations.Focusing on productivity will prove more successfulthan focusing on the number of hours or on thespecific hours an individual works. Nevertheless,you will probably want the members of your laboratoryto be present during certain hours, to makesure they can interact with you and the other labmembers. Generally, your own work hours set thepace for your group. In some places, laboratoriesmay be capable of running around the clock. Whilein others, work is confined to the normal businessday. If you want people to have access to the labat unusual hours, you will need to think throughissues of key control and your workers’ securityas well as that of your laboratory and the suppliesand equipment in it.Prolonged absencesCommunicate your expectation that lab membersshould give you several weeks notice about anupcoming vacation or their intention to spenda holiday or harvest period away from the area.Inform them of any vacation and personal leavelimits set by your institution. Your institution mayalso have guidelines about sick leave, study leave,maternity and paternity leave, funeral leave, andother adjustments for family needs. It is best tofollow these guidelines rigorously to avoidperceptions of favoritism.Authorship of papersThe inclusion and order of authors on a paperare often sources of discord in the lab. In decidingwho should be an author on a paper, thePrincipal Investigator (PI) must consider who hascontributed to particular aspects of the work. Alllab members who are involved in a project shouldexpress their expectations concerning authorshipand credits on the resulting paper, and providetheir rationale for being considered as an author.This topic is discussed at greater length in chapter 9.Here are some guidelines to consider:n The first author is normally the individual who isprimarily responsible for the project.n Occasionally, two individuals may share thatresponsibility. Most journals permit a statementthat indicates that the first two or three authorslisted have each contributed equally to the publication.This can be helpful, but remember that theauthor lists when cited in publications or on one’sCV will not have this statement attached.n It is unwise to make upfront promises aboutauthorship. You may choose to make it a policy inyour lab to wait until you know how much eachperson has actually contributed to any given paperbefore authorship is assigned.managing your many roles63

when the “big boss” expects to be an authorDepending on the protocol of your country or your particular institution, you may have little choice decidingwhether your boss should be on the paper. At some research institutes, the head is on every paper,period. This may be the reality at some institutions, but around the world it is regarded as scientificallydishonest and quite unethical. There may be no other topic in this book where the gap between theright thing to do and the pragmatic thing to do is so large.Of course, if the “big boss” provided ideas or suggestions that were crucial to the development orcompletion of the study, he or she should be listed as an author. However, in many cases your boss willhave had little input into your work. And listing this person as an author may communicate to readersthat you are not an independent scientist. So how do you decide whether or not to list him or her as anauthor? Here are some things to consider:If this person is a recognized authority in the field of work of your study, listing him or her as an authormay actually help you get the paper published. Would an accompanying letter to the journal editor fromthe authority, rather than the authority’s name on your paper, help as much? It is hard to know. Findingways to truly involve the authority as a collaborator in your work may give you a strategy for maintainingyour integrity.If listing your boss as an author will win you his or her favor and will help you advance in your career,it may be to your advantage to do so. If leaving the boss off your papers will ruin your position at yourinstitution, what can you do? This is a difficult problem, though, and in some places a politically dangerousissue to confront directly. But setting aside your integrity is never the right thing to do.n In deciding whether to include someone as anauthor, ask: “Could this project have been donewithout this person’s conceptual or technicalcontribution?”If you are running a lab and overseeing all of thework conducted in the lab, you may always be anappropriate author on any paper the lab publishes.However, if you have a more senior position andare in charge of several labs, you should considercarefully about when it is appropriate to be anauthor. The importance of your name being on thepaper will vary from place to place and situation tosituation.Scientific ethicsThe best way to communicate responsibleresearch conduct to your lab members is to liveby those values yourself. As a leader, you shouldtalk about important ethical issues (e.g., scientificrigor and reproducible and discrepant results)in a lab meeting or in a more informal setting.Some institutions offer lectures or seminars inscientific ethics, and you should encourage yourstaff to attend. This material is also sometimesdelivered at large scientific meetings or in workshopsoffered by the World Health Organizationand other agencies.64 excellence everywhere

The International Committee of Medical JournalEditors criteria for authorship of scientific workAuthorship credit should be based on 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, oracquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or revising itcritically for important intellectual content; and 3) final approval of the version to be published.Authors should meet conditions 1, 2, and 3.When a large, multi-center group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individualswho accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria forauthorship/contributorship defined above and editors will ask these individuals to complete journalspecificauthor and conflict of interest disclosure forms. When submitting a group author manuscript,the corresponding author should clearly indicate the preferred citation and should clearly identify allindividual authors as well as the group name. Journals will generally list other members of the group inthe acknowledgements. The National Library of Medicine indexes the group name and the names ofindividuals the group has identified as being directly responsible for the manuscript.Project ownershipThe head of the laboratory, with input fromindividual members, usually decides what projectspeople in the lab work on. Some labs have strategydiscussions every three to four months, duringwhich everyone talks about what projects theywould like to continue or initiate. Work in the labis most effective and productive when membershave clearly defined projects that are sufficientlydistinct for each person to carry out some independentwork, but at the same time the projects areinterrelated so that no one is working in a vacuum.This way, everyone in the lab can consult with andmotivate his or her lab mates.Keeping Lab MembersMotivatedOne of your key roles is to motivate people towork hard toward achieving your shared visionand your shared interests. While different peoplerespond to different types of internal and externalmotivation, most people are motivated when theircontributions to the laboratory are recognized andappreciated. According to Edward O’Neil, to feelmotivated, most people require:n Choice. People want to make some decisions.As the leader of your group, large or small, makesure you give people appropriate responsibilities,involve them in discussions about general scientificstrategy, and listen to their ideas.n Competence. People need the skills to do thework that is expected of them. Check competenciesby asking someone to do an experiment withyou, or ask appropriate questions that will help youjudge the individual’s development.n Purpose. People need to understand the importanceof their role in the lab and in the scientificenterprise. It is important for you to set goals thatdefine success for those working under you andmake sure they match with what the person isdoing. This matters for everyone. The scientificneeds of your trainees are obvious, but remember,an excellent technician may be driven by goals inand outside science, and that even dishwashersand other less-skilled helpers are working with youfor reasons that are important to them. It is importantto listen to what each person wants to do andunderstand what his or her goals are. If a postdochas decided to pursue a career in government orin industry, trying to motivate him or her to followin your footsteps into academia will not work. As alab leader, you need to address your lab members’individual goals while you work together to realizeyour shared vision.managing your many roles65

Policy on letting projects leave the labYou should develop a clear policy concerning whether you will allow scientists who train in your lab, andthen leave to establish their own research programs, to take their projects with them. Communicatethis policy to all scientists who join your lab. Some heads of laboratories let scientists who trained intheir labs take whatever they had worked on during their stay, with no strings attached. Others will letthem take only portions of a project. When you develop your policy, think about how you would want tohandle a situation in which the research results are different from what you anticipated, or a situation inwhich the results lead to interesting new avenues of research. If you have a small research group and afocused area of research, you may not be able to allow departing researchers to take their projects withthem. In that case, you might need to develop some alternatives to benefit them.n Recognition. You need to provide continuousfeedback to those who work with you. Criticism,comments, and suggestions should be providedin the context of the given expectations. Specialaccomplishments, such as publishing a paper orgetting a difficult technique to work, require specialrecognition, such as a lab outing.n Feeling Comfortable. To be able to focus ontheir work, people must feel comfortable in theirenvironment. One example is that some lab memberslike to play music in the lab, while others aredistracted by it. The working environment needsto be safe and, if possible, comfortable, so thatyour lab members look forward to coming to workevery day and enjoy conducting research in yourlab with their colleagues.n Progress. Satisfaction from achieving goals shouldnot be in the distant future. It is a good idea toschedule individual meetings as often as once aweek to set deadlines, solve problems, and planfuture experiments. A paper is a big goal but maybe several years into the future. But getting anenzyme to work correctly or processing a givennumber of samples can be goals that are attainablemuch sooner, and are encouraging.n Enthusiasm. You undoubtedly love science forthe thrill of discovery, of finding the answer to animportant scientific question that has never beenanswered before, or helping find solutions to anintractable health problem. Share your enthusiasmand passion and soon others in the lab will followyour lead.Unless also wrestling with personal problems,poor health, or family problems, when thesefactors are in place, people should feel motivatedto work. A lack of motivation may manifest itself asa decrease in productivity. For example, someonewho was productive will stop producing resultsconsistently week after week. You will first needto determine the cause for this decrease. Is it aninterpersonal problem in the lab, an experimentalobstacle, or a personal crisis? Discuss the problemwith the lab member and see whether you canjointly develop a strategy to address the issue orminimize the impact of the lab member’s actionsor distress on others.66 excellence everywhere

Managing Conflictin the LabConflict is any situation where one person’sconcerns or desires differ from those of anotherperson. In the lab, conflicts often arise over “turfwars,” when two individuals are interested inthe same project. By staying on top of what eachmember of your lab is doing, you can often spotpotential problems and deal with them before theybecome too serious.Many people tend to avoid conflict. But we shouldthink of conflict as a creative part of our lives.Conflict has the potential to produce both positiveand negative effects. Depending on how it is managed,conflict can be constructive or destructive,stimulating or unnerving. It can produce higherquality results or stifle a project; it can lead to originalthinking or cause destructive power struggles.STYLES OF HANDLING CONFLICTDr. Kenneth W. Thomas and Dr. Ralph H. Kilmannprovide a useful model for evaluating an individual’sbehavior in conflict situations. The Thomas-KilmannConflict MODE Instrument describes a person’sbehavior in a conflict situation along two basicdimensions: assertiveness, that is, the extent towhich an individual attempts to satisfy his or herown concerns, and cooperativeness, that is, theextent to which an individual attempts to satisfythe concerns of the other person.These two basic dimensions of behavior can beused to define five specific modes of dealing withconflict that everyone is capable of using.Competing. This conflict-handling mode isassertive and uncooperative. A person whohandles conflict in this manner pursues his or herown concerns at the other person’s expense.They use whatever powers seem appropriate towin their position, including their ability to argue ortheir rank. This conflict mode works when you aredealing with a vital issue, an unpopular decision,or a decision that needs quick action. Althoughit sometimes seems justified, the mistake manyscientists make is to stay in an individualistic,competitive mode all the time. For example, if thehead of another lab asks you for a reagent that youhave not yet cited in a publication and that one ofthe people in your lab is using for a project, youmay decline to share the reagent until your labhas published a paper referring to it. The decisionwill probably make you unpopular with the otherscientist, but you are safeguarding the interests ofyour lab.Accommodating. This mode is unassertive andcooperative. In other words, it is the opposite ofcompeting. Accommodators often neglect theirown concerns in order to satisfy the concerns ofothers. The accommodating mode may be appropriatewhen you want to build political capital orcreate good will, and for issues of low importance.However, keep in mind that the accommodatingmode can be a problem if you keep a tally andexpect that the other person will be accommodatingnext time. For example, you and your collaboratorare sharing a piece of equipment that just brokedown. He is insistent that you pay for the repairssince your lab uses it more. You do not agree, butyou give in on this one because you know that hislab uses all the other shared equipment more—soit will be his turn next time a piece of equipmentneeds repair.Avoiding. Avoidant behavior is both unassertiveand uncooperative. Those who avoid conflict donot immediately pursue their own concerns orthose of others. The conflict is never addressed byavoiders. Many times people will avoid conflictsout of fear of engaging in a conflict or becausethey do not have confidence in their conflictmanagement skills. However, avoiding can be agood strategy in cases where the person withwhom you are in conflict has much more powerthan you do or when issues are not that important.It is also a good strategy when you need tobuy time. An example of how to do this is to say“These are serious changes. I will need sometime to think about them.”managing your many roles67

Collaborating.This conflict-handling mode isboth assertive and cooperative. It is the oppositeof avoiding. Collaborators attempt to work withthe other person to find some solution that fullysatisfies the concerns of both persons. They diginto an issue to identify the underlying concernsof the two conflicting individuals and try to find analternative that meets both sets of concerns. Withsuch a positive outcome, some people will professthat the collaboration mode is always the bestconflict mode to use. But collaboration takes agreat deal of time and energy, so it should be usedonly when the conflict warrants that investmentof time and energy. For example, if two studentsin your laboratory are arguing over who should doa particular experiment, you might want to spendthe necessary time to carefully carve out differentprojects in a way that will satisfy both students.On the other hand, if your students are in conflictabout which day to hold a lab meeting, it is probablynot worth the time and energy necessary tocollaboratively resolve the conflict.Compromising. On the negotiating continuum,this mode lies somewhere between assertivenessand cooperativeness. The goal of thecompromiser is to find an expedient, mutuallyacceptable solution that partially satisfies bothparties. The compromiser gives up more than thecompetitor, but less than the accommodator. Heor she addresses an issue more directly than theavoider, but does not explore it in as much depthor detail as the collaborator. This mode of conflictresolution is useful for decisions of moderateimportance, when you have equal power status,or when you are faced with an issue that needs tobe resolved quickly. In general, academics tend tounderutilize this mode of handling conflict.For example, say you are invited by a collaboratorto give a talk at his university in a different country,but you do not want to add more days of travel toyour busy schedule. You may agree to do it, buttime it so that it coincides with a meeting or otherevent in that country. Another example is if thehead of your department or university goes backon her agreement to give you a semester free ofteaching responsibilities. She tells you that sheis desperate and needs you to teach a coursefor 200 students, including labs, during your firstsemester. You point out that it is stipulated inyour contract that your first semester would befree of teaching responsibilities; however, you arewilling to teach a smaller, graduate-level course.You of course would rather not teach anything andare not contractually bound to teach in your firstsemester, but you also know that it is in your bestinterest to accommodate your chair’s wishes asmuch as possible.Each of these conflict-handling modes has value;none is intended to be good, bad, or preferablein all situations. A worthwhile goal for you as thehead of a laboratory or project is to increase yourrepertoire of responses to conflict, with the flexibilityto use various modes in different situationsand in appropriate ways.The people who work for you in your lab will alsotend to adopt one style of handling a conflictover another. You will have a mix of competitors,accommodators, and avoiders. Show them byexample that there are different ways of handlingconflict, depending on the situation.Resolving a conflict between lab members. Whenconflict occurs between two or more members ofthe lab, determine whether it is necessary for you(or someone you delegate) to step in and facilitatea resolution. Usually, people will be able to resolvetheir own conflicts, but make sure a conflict doesnot fester to the point that it affects morale andthe atmosphere in the lab. Here are a few tips forhow to help resolve conflict in the lab:n Try to create an environment that accepts conflict,as long as the difficulties are faced openly andhonestly by the people involved. Although differentcultures differ in how they deal with conflict, opendisagreement and its positive resolution is a keypart of science. When it comes to matters oftechnical work issues and data, it is good to havean environment where people feel free to expressdifferences, even if those differences are betweenindividuals who are at different levels of power,68 excellence everywhere

steps for dealing with conflictWhen faced with conflict:n Access the problem.n Identify your interests.n Assess the other person’s interests.n Select a strategy that balances the importance of the problem, time constraints, power differences,and the relationship of the people involved.status, or seniority. The head of the laboratorycan actively reinforce openness by lab members,especially the participants in a conflict episode. Itis up to you to make sure that people’s pride anddignity do not become too wrapped up in mattersof nature. In the end, the data are the data, nomatter which person harvested it.n Help the individuals involved get together to discussand settle the disagreement. The head of the labmay, for example, invite the people involved in aconflict to the office at a designated time todiscuss the problems openly and honestly, andcome to a resolution.n Make sure each person understands the other’spoint of view. The head of the lab can do this bysummarizing, clarifying, focusing questions, andencouraging listening by each person.Resolving conflicts betweenyou and others in the labConflicts between the head of the laboratory andthe lab members also occur. Such conflicts areimportant and influential in developing the futurecourse of the lab, particularly during the earlystages. The leader can demonstrate interest inreceiving and understanding negative feedbackand show a willingness to learn from it, whenappropriate. The leader must avoid the trap ofdropping his or her leadership responsibilities andresponding to the challenge by becoming “justanother lab member.” In other words, as thehead of your laboratory, you never have just yourinterests at hand but always those of the lab asa whole.managing your many roles69

RESOURCESBarker, Kathy. At the Bench: A Laboratory Navigator. ColdSpring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press,1998.Baron, Renee. What Type Am I? Penguin, New York, NY,1998.Boice, Robert. The New Faculty Member: Supportingand Fostering Professional Development. San Francisco:Jossey-Bass, 1992.Committee on Assessing Integrity in ResearchEnvironments, Institute of Medicine. Integrity inScientific Research: Creating an Environment thatPromotes Responsible Conduct. Washington, DC:National Academies Press, 2002.Drucker, Peter F., The Essential Drucker: The Best ofSixty Years of Peter Drucker’s Essential Writings onManagement. New York, NY: Collins Business, 2001.Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence. Bantam Books,New York, NY, 1995.Harmening, Denise M. Laboratory Management:Principles and Processes. Upper Saddle River, NJ:Prentice Hall, 2003.Kanare, Howard M. Writing the Laboratory Notebook.New York, NY: Oxford University Press 1998.O’Neil, John. Leadership Aikido: 6 Business PracticesThat Can Turn Your Life Around. Pittsburgh: Three RiversPress, New York, NY 1999.Reis, Richard M. Tomorrow’s Professor: Preparing forAcademic Careers in Science and Engineering. New York:IEEE Press, 1997.OnlineUniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted toBiomedical Journals by the International Committeeof Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) lays out a widelyacceptedset of criteria for authorship of scientific papers.http://www.icmje.org/index.html#author.The U.S. National Academy of Engineering has a rangeof materials relating to scientific ethics available online athttp://onlineethics.org/.appendixPerformance Review FormPlease complete part A in advance andbring it to our meeting or email it to me.We will discuss part B together at ourmeeting, but you might want to look overthe topics.Part A. Six-Month Review of GoalsDate:Candidate:I. AccomplishmentsII. Goals for the next six monthsIII. Long-term goalsPart B. Joint Feedback MeetingI. Feedback on trainingn Frequency of interactionsn Quality of interactionsn Level of involvementn Positive aspects of interactionsn Areas for effort/improvementII. Comments from advisorn Quality of workn Organization and efficiencyn Knowledge basen Communication skillsn Working relationshipsn Leadership/supervisory skillsn Areas for effort/improvementIII. Summary of discussionn Strengths/achievementsn Areas for effort/improvementn Scientific goalsn Long-term plansLab Director:Lab Member:Date:(This form was created by Tamara L. Doering, Washington UniversitySchool of Medicine.)70 excellence everywhere

chapter 5managing your time“ Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.if you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”Albert SchweitzerScience can move very fast and the demands itplaces on your time will sometimes become large.On top of the work itself, there will someday—maybe now—be invitations to present your work,serve on peer review and advisory committeesfor grant makers and publishers, provide adviceto government and international bodies, andmore. All of this spent time, from working hardon a problem that has finally begun to unravel togoing away to share your expertise, advances yourcareer. And much of it is exciting and pleasurableand helps make the world a better, safer, healthierplace. But there are only 525,600 minutes in ayear, and science is not the only part of your lifethat requires your time. How can you balancescience’s demands with those of the rest of yourlife—home, family, community, and self?Learning to manage your time will help you makethe most of every work day during this phase ofyour career. Life goes through phases—in the nextfew years you may be laying the foundation ofyour career, raising your children, and growing inresponsibility within your institution, your country,and your community. It is important to tend toyour work life and home life during these start-upyears. Try not to be overwhelmed, and at workand at home take life “one step at a time” withoutworrying too much about the distant future. Yourhard work during this start-up time will pay off,and the dividend will be a better and much lesshectic life.From a practical perspective, one of the mostdaunting challenges for beginning investigatorsis learning how to fit all the things that make upyour life into a 24-hour day and a 12-month year.You will need to deal with the practical aspects ofrunning your lab, such as hiring staff and writinggrants. There will also be the needs of yourpersonal life, such as maintaining a household andseeing to your children’s education and caring foryour extended family. You will also need to spendtime establishing relationships with colleaguesand competitors in your own country and beyond.Such demands may be even more pronouncedif you trained abroad, because you will havealready sacrificed months or years by going away,and may have also gotten used to not having toaccount for yourself to your institution or yourfamily quite so often.managing your time71

If you have left your own country to train, on yourre-entry you may go from being a trainee to beinga leading expert in your field, or you may comeback and find yourself relatively low in the peckingorder among the trained scientists at your institution.Before you even have a chance to set upyour own lab, you may be pulled away by travel,sitting on panels, or advising other colleagues.Similarly, if you have trained in your own countryand now have been promoted to new responsibilities,or moved to a new institution, you will facenew challenges.Many returning scientists come home to substantialdemands from extended families who havemade large sacrifices and have placed great hopein their success. The needs of parents, siblings,grandparents, aunts, uncles, and communitieswho have made such an investment in one’scareer are very important, but these needs canalso create large time demands. In the end, tryingto build a successful career at the expense of thethings that make life worthwhile does not work.Even though you will have to work very hard whenyou are an early career scientist, you also need topreserve time and energy for the other things thatare important to you.Finding ways to manage all of these demandscan be a challenge for a scientist starting out in acareer. This chapter discusses planning strategiesthat are critical for successful time management,such as defining long- and short-term goals andsetting priorities. Tips for day-to-day time managementare also presented. The chapter also offersguidance on managing institutional committeeservice commitments, balancing research andteaching, and juggling the demands of home andwork. In addition, it covers some issues specificto physician-scientists, who may also need to bespending considerable time in the clinic and maybe called on frequently to help family and friendsget appropriate health care.Strategies for PlanningYour ActivitiesDefining GoalsPlanning is a process that starts with a goal. Onceyou have set a goal, you can identify the stepsnecessary to move toward it. Goals come indescending sizes, each of which informs the next:long-term goals (years), intermediate-term goals(months), and short-term goals (weeks and days).Long-term goals are likely to be a combination oftangibles (e.g., promotions within your institute,service to the government, service at a high levelto an international organization such as the WorldHealth Organization or the Pan American HealthOrganization) and intangibles (e.g., a satisfyingpersonal life and the various milestones thatdefine such a thing for you) that may change overtime, making goal-setting an ongoing process thatyou should revisit periodically. In defining yourlong-term goals, you are also defining yourself—who you want to be, and how you want to beperceived.Intermediate-term goals, such as publishing apaper, are often composed of many short-termobjectives, such as preparing figures and writingtext. Short-term goals are the ones written onyour weekly and monthly calendars—the small,concrete, finite tasks that can swallow your time.Getting from Here to ThereTake the time to craft a formal plan, beginningwith your long-term goals. Then set interim goalsalong the way that are realistic indicators ofprogress. By setting achievable goals, you avoidhaving too much to do and not knowing where tobegin. Accomplishing just one goal can serve as apowerful motivator to tackle the next goal.Write down all of your goals, with each achievementtied to a specific time frame. Putting yourideas into words can help refine your thinking andprovide a concrete checklist to keep you on target.Every so often, take a look at your plans, reflecton them, and revise them as appropriate to changingcircumstances. Priorities shift; be prepared toreevaluate yours, but also to defend them.72 excellence everywhere

Check your work: the 90-year thought experimentImagine how old you will be at the end of your life, if you are lucky and healthy. Now think backward.In other words, what do you want to be able to see when you look back at your life at age 90? What willyou need to be doing in your life at age 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30 for that dream to come true? What needsto be true about your life and your career this year, or ten years from now, if you want to be on track tobe the person you picture yourself to be at 90? If what you are doing today does not get you there, howcan you change course a little (or a lot) to make sure you achieve what you want to achieve? If yourtrack clearly leads away from your vision, does this tell you that what you think you want to be doing at90 is not really what is right for you? Or does it tell you that what you are doing today might not be yourheart’s desire? How can you prepare yourself and those around you for a life that may lead you somewherequite different from the common assumptions? Or if you want a life much like those of yourparents and grandparents, how can you make science fit into that tradition?Lifetime goalsAt the end of your life, looking back, what do youwant to see? Accomplishments? Wealth? Happy,healthy great-great-grandchildren? It is importantto check in with yourself now and then to makesure that the things you are chasing are really theones you want to catch.Long-term goalsThese goals can be achieved in three to five years.Before jotting down your long-term plans, first askyourself where you want to be after this stage inyour career. For example, if you are training in aforeign lab, do you plan to return to your homecountry or remain abroad? If you wish to remainabroad, for how long? A lifetime? A career?Until you are well-established? At what type ofinstitution? At a research-intensive institution?At a university much more dedicated to teachingstudents than to doing research? At a governmentministry? An international organization? When youhave those answers, then ask yourself, “What willI need to accomplish to make myself competitivefor that job?” If you are an assistant professor, youprobably want to work toward promotion. “Whatwill I need to do for that—how many papers,invited seminars, professional meetings, and otheraccomplishments?”Intermediate-term goalsThese goals can be achieved in six months to ayear. For example, you might be thinking aboutthe experiments needed to complete your nextpaper or to put together a poster. Completingpublishable chunks is an essential intermediatetermgoal for faculty. Other goals of similar scopeinclude obtaining preliminary results for a grant,putting together a new course, or organizing ascientific meeting.Short-term goalsThese goals can be achieved in one week to onemonth. They include preparing figures for thepaper you are writing, completing an experiment,preparing reagents for the next set of experiments,or writing letters and making phone callsto secure a seminar invitation. If you find it hardto get organized, make a daily or weekly to-do listand check tasks off as you complete them.managing your time73

Making ChoicesSaying no, saying yesOne of the simplest things you can do to streamlineyour life is also one of the hardest for manypeople—learning to say no. Remember, you cannotdo everything, please everyone, be availableto everyone, and at the same time be a successfulscholar. There are certain tasks to which youmust say no, and others for which it is fine todeliver a less-than-stellar performance. Makingsuch choices will allow you to focus on doingan outstanding job in what is truly important toyou. Establishing these priorities depends on theintermediate- and long-term goals you have setfor yourself.Saying yes judiciously will make it easier for youto say no to things you do not want to do. Since inmost jobs you must accept some administrativeassignments, try to make them work for you.Explore the options, and sign up early for dutiesthat either interest you or will work to your advantageprofessionally. This may give you leverageto turn down administrative duties that have lessvalue to you.Maximizing returnsGiven the ever-increasing demands on your time,it is impossible to do everything perfectly. Decidewhich projects need to be completed to near perfection(e.g., your grant application) and which donot (e.g., a draft of a manuscript you are reviewingfor a collaborator).DisconnectingPart of saying no is also not being available ondemand. Today’s technological “conveniences”are often needless interruptions to concentration.Any sound strategy for time management involveslearning to disconnect and become the master ofthose tools rather than their servant.Managing YourTime Day-to-DayMany people find long-term goals easy to set—for example, “I want to be a professor by theage of X.” More difficult is the daily multitasking—managing the flood of small chores that canthreaten to drown even the most organizedprofessional. This section covers how to makethe most of the time you have.Finding Some Extra TimeTo be able to focus and think creatively, you needblocks of uninterrupted time. Here are some tipsto help you do this:n Get your email under control. If you are luckyenough to have administrative help, have an assistantscreen messages and flag time-sensitive onesfor you. You can also print email messages thatrequire a personal reply and hand write responsesduring short breaks in your day. Then have yourassistant type and send them later. If you do nothave an assistant, set aside specific times of theday for reading and responding to emails or takehard copies of your emails home and read them inthe evening.n Use a telephone answering machine or voice mailservice.n If one is available to you, invest in a family cellphone plan—one which provides a few familyphones and makes calls between them inexpensive—tomake sure you are available for familycommunication and emergencies when you havesilenced your office phone.n Close your office door or come in early. A signon your door that reads “knock if important” letsyour students and colleagues know you are in andworking but do not want to be disturbed. Workingduring the early hours of the day, whether at theoffice or lab or at home before the family is awake,might buy you precious focused time away fromclamoring students and colleagues.n Close your lab door if you are still working at thebench yourself. Securing uninterrupted time in thelab is important if your advancement depends onwhat you can get done with your own handsduring the day.74 excellence everywhere

n Make and keep appointments with yourself: Finda quiet hideaway for thinking, writing, and readingand use it on a scheduled basis. This practice trainspeople to expect that you will be inaccessible atpredictable times.You might select some milestone during the year—your birthday or name day, New Year’s Day,or some other day that normally provokes somereflection—and use that as a day to considerwhether your career and life are going in the rightdirection. Similarly, in addition to your regular dayto-dayconversations with them, it can be useful toestablish for yourself a time each year for assayingyour spouse and family to be sure that you understandwhether you are moving your life and theirsin ways that conform to what matters most to you.Rotating Your TasksIf you tend to find it difficult to focus on onetask for long periods, you can turn this potentialweakness into a strength through multitasking.Always have several things to work on (e.g., theintroduction to a grant, a paper to review, or arecommendation letter to write), perhaps threeor four, and cycle through them with increasinglengths of time. Make sure they are clearlyarranged on your desk so that you do not wastetime figuring out what you should do next.Setting PrioritiesOn the basis of your goals, decide what you needto do and when, and follow the ‘keep it simple”rule. A grid that allows you to rank short-termclaims on your attention according to urgencyand importance can be a useful tool (see TimeManagement Grid below). Try to control the noturgent/not important quadrant. You get relativelylittle value for the time spent doing tasks in thisquadrant. The urgent/important quadrant puts youin crisis mode, where few people operate best.For maximum efficiency, you should be spendingmost of your time in the upper right-hand quadrant,on tasks that are important but not urgent.If it is important but not urgent, remember yourpriorities and schedules:n Plan ahead and know your deadlines.n Set aside blocks of time for specific tasks.n Break large tasks into smaller tasks.n Delegate tasks.n Complete tasks on time.Time Management Grid not important importantnot urgenturgentMost EmailDiscussing weekend plans, the day’s weather,the latest gossip, etc. with lab membersWatching World Cup matches (though in somesituations clearly this is important and urgent!)A rumbling stomach 20 minutes before lunchRinging telephoneA salesman who wants a minute of your timeOngoing experimentsPreparing to speak at an upcoming meetingWorking on a grant that is due next monthMaintaining strong relationships with family,friends, and lab membersAn earthquakeA grant due tomorrowAccidental exposure to pathogenTime Management Grid – Adapted from Stephen R. Covey’s time management matrix in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: PowerfulLessons in Personal Change.managing your time75

Making the Mostof the Time You HaveIt is important to find ways to make efficientand productive use of your time. Be aware thatfor some activities, it may not be immediatelyapparent that your time spent is worthwhile. Forexample, attending seminars in your departmentcan actually be a productive and efficient use ofyour time. Not only will you learn new information,but if you ask questions, you will also boost yourvisibility.Efficiency. Successful people tend to be efficient.They have evolved practices to create blocks ofuninterrupted time for “brain work.” Here aresome tips to help you make the best use of thoseparts of the day you control:n Create an environment conducive to productivity.Make a place for everything, and put everythingin its place. Clutter is inefficient. Do not makeyourself look for the same piece of paper or pocketcalculator over and over again.n Find or make a quiet space (or time) to work.n Know your biological clock, and protect your mostproductive hours for your writing and designingexperiments and other critical tasks.n During your protected work hours, focus and donot allow interruptions.n Set time limits. Give yourself predeterminedamounts of time to complete tasks (e.g., twohours to review a paper).n Eliminate unnecessary tasks.n Avoid procrastination. Start tasks early—at least inoutline. If you have a grant due, write your goalsearly enough to let your lab staff start gatheringrelevant data without last-minute panic. If a criticalreagent requires a long lead time to produce, startit early enough to make sure it will be ready whenyou need it.n Structure and supervise meetings.n Delegate work.n If it is possible and inexpensive, make a quickphone call instead of having an often less efficientback-and-forth email conversation.Technology Changes EverythingBetter communications—from email andweb applications to wireless phone servicehave made it easier for laboratories inrelatively resource-poor regions to play alarger part in the international scientificcommunity. If you work in a place whereInternet access is slow, and you areinterested in computers and technology,it may be worthwhile for you to form acommittee with like-minded individuals tofind opportunities for upgrading to fastertechnologies. Foreign and domestic governments,non-government organizations,and technology companies from both thetelephone and computer sides might bewilling to develop the infrastructure to improveyour speed and connection quality.Fitting It All In. Successful people also learnto use small units of time, capitalizing on freeminutes here and there (in professions such aslaw, people sometimes bill their time in incrementsof 15 minutes or less). Returning phonecalls, drafting memos, and reviewing your weeklyschedule are just a few ways in which you can puta few minutes to work for you throughout the day.The trick is to be prepared when those momentsarise by having messages or email, students’homework, a notepad, and perhaps a cell phonewith you. Some tasks, such as reviewing papersand reading science magazines, adapt well tocommuting time if you do not drive.Improving Your Lab Staff’s TimeManagement SkillsHere are some tips for helping your staff workmore efficiently:n Establish clear goals and expectations early,starting with simple tasks your staff can handle.Make sure they understand the tasks. Rewardand correct them as appropriate, expand the tasks,then repeat the process.76 excellence everywhere

n Help them seek advice without taking up unnecessarytime. Teach them how to describe projects,issues, and problems accurately and efficiently.n Develop an agenda for every meeting, and stickto it. Start meetings with a clear description of thepurpose of the meeting and when it will end.n After lab meetings, send a follow-up emailcontaining a summary and to-do list. Use theseinformal minutes to start the next meeting andgauge progress. Meeting minutes are also usefulfor patent protections in establishing proof of anidea, attribution, and date.Once the members of your lab learn the importanceof time management, you can also delegate to akey staff person the task of summarizing meetingsand assigning follow-up actions.MANAGINGNON-RESEARCH TASKSIn some institutions, scientists are required to takepart in committees or groups that meet on a regularschedule. Such committee duties can connect youwith interesting people in your department, yourinstitution, and beyond. They can also help bringyour research to the attention of your colleagues—a genuine plus for a beginning faculty member. Onthe other hand, they can take valuable time awayfrom your research. If you have some influenceover which committees you will serve on, be proactiveand seek out committee service that suitsyour interests and schedule so you can turn downother requests with the legitimate excuse of previouscommittee commitments. As you begin tobuild an international reputation, you may find youare asked to sit on more committees (including inother countries), collaborate more, and perhaps becalled on for service to your government. Considersuch opportunities carefully. Though many may begood for your career and your reputation, they mayalso be exhausting because of the travel involved.As with opportunities close to home, you shouldpace yourself when accepting these obligations.The local government authorities should notexpect you to attend the opening of everyroad, school, or health center. Many publicservants take pleasure in performing suchfunctions, but you may not have time for it.”Moses Bockarie, Papua New GuineaTime management is a major challenge forclinician-scientists based in resource-limitedsettings. Clinical demands are high, which mayon occasion severely compromise protectedresearch time.”Brian Eley, South AfricaIn some institutions, you will be required to teachcourses to students. This can be a very rewardingexperience for many scientists, but can also takea large portion of your time at the expense ofeverything else.If research is of primary importance for yourpromotion and career goals, you will have to setlimits for non-research tasks and stick to them.When time is up for one task, move on to the nextitem in your daily planner. This way, you start eachday anew without carrying forward serious workdeficits that accumulate through the week.managing your time77

T h e T r i p l e L o a d o f t h e P h y s i c i a n - S c i e n t i s t :L a b , C l a s s , a n d C l i n i cPhysician-scientists may have some teaching duties, but the larger challenge for a physician who is runninga research lab is balancing lab and clinical time. An even split between the lab and clinic is increasinglyrare; it can be as much as 80% lab and 20% clinic, but this varies considerably from person toperson and by nature of the work. The following are some tips for working in both the lab and the clinic.In the lab:n If feasible, consider hiring a lab manager, or training a strong worker to assume that role—a welltrained,responsible, seasoned researcher who can help move things along when you cannot commityour time to being in the lab yourself. Such a person may be relatively expensive compared to otherkinds of workers you could hire, but what they can add to your productivity can be well worth themoney. A good lab manager can help keep the lab on track while you are on clinical duties.n Establish a system where you can review the lab members’ notebooks and data even if they are notthere (e.g., if clinical duties keep you from being in the lab until late in the evening).n Explain to your lab members that you will not be around much when you are on clinical duty. Try toschedule times when you can meet with your technicians, students, postdocs, medical residents, andother trainees to keep yourself apprised of their research and educational progress.n Focus your research program on what you are uniquely qualified to do. Avoid overextending yourselfwith work that you could delegate to a worker with less training than you yourself have.In the clinic:n If appropriate, tell patients and clinic staff how you want to be contacted during times when you arenot in the clinic, especially if messages from the clinic rarely reach you when you are involved in yourother duties.n If you have access to support staff (many junior faculty do not), use them effectively. Educate nursesor other staff to do as much of the preparation as possible before your appointments, as well as thefollow-up.n Learn to tell patients when you are running out of time to spend with them or must turn their careover to another clinical worker.n Make colleagues aware of your dual roles, and tell patients about your divided schedule when it isrelevant to them (for example, when research-related activities will call you away from the clinic forseveral days during their course of treatment).Remember, in the lab, in the clinic, and at home—the most important thing you need to learn is to beflexible with your time so that you can serve all of your priorities well.78 excellence everywhere

FAMILY MATTERSMany scientists face great demands from theirextended families and communities. Althoughthese demands matter and these relationshipsare centrally important, to be successful at anyprofession one may need to find ways to containand manage the time involved.The issues can be practical—how can you be intwo places at one time? But they can also be veryemotional. If it has always been a tradition thatyou will go home to family to help prepare for aholiday or a change of seasons or to help with aharvest, deciding to make another use of yourtime, or to come in only for the feast and leavethe work to others, is not easy. It is even harderwhen you consider that your parents, siblings,in-laws, cousins, aunts, uncles, and neighbors willall have an opinion and will likely express it! This isa matter that is very specific to your own life, butit is also universal. There are no perfect solutions.But you can try to separate the practical aspectsof the situation (for example, what work requiresone more set of hands, and can you provide somehelp without providing your own hands?) from theemotional ones such as the perception that youcare more about your career and what it gives youthan about the people who love you, or that youhave gotten “above yourself,” or that you lookdown on those who make your life possible.Home and Work:Can You Have It All?This question applies to many professionals inhigh-pressure careers, including both male andfemale scientists pursuing academic, government,institutional, and industrial career tracks.It helps to start with a supportive partner andfamily. Have clear discussions about career andpersonal goals—yours and those of your family—early on. To avoid the resentments of unspokenand unmet expectations, be as explicit as possibleabout your aspirations with those who are importantto you. Shared goals for work and family makecompromises easier. In some families, your careerwill be a primary driver of your family’s future.For others, both spouses may have professionalIn Sierra Leone and Papua New Guinea,where peer group discussions are the biggestpastime activities, rumors are rife. People donot believe in innocent relationships betweenmen and women and working at night isalways suspicious. Attending meetings/workshopsin hotels with staff members easilycreates stories. To ensure a happy home lifeand avoid confusion regarding after-hours labwork, meetings, and international travel, Itreat my lab staff and their families as one bigextended family. Spouses are encouraged toattend seminars. They are educated about theneed for working late at night and attendingmeetings. Selection criteria for internationalmeetings and other perceived privileges aremade clear to everybody, including familymembers. I have learnt that once your familytrusts your relationship with your workmatesand students, other family issues will be easyto manage.”Moses Bockarie, Papua New Guineaneeds to fulfill. Whatever your situation, it is probablytrue that if your family understands what youare doing, why it matters, and how it will improvethe family’s future, things at home will go betterthan if everyone is kept in the dark about things.In addition to sharing your long-term goals, keepyour family aware of your short-term plans andprojects. Letting them know in advance about animpending grant deadline can buy some understanding.Here are some ways to keep your familyinformed of your schedule, and keep you involvedwith your family:n Post a calendar at home with your travel datesand big deadlines.n Schedule activities with your family and keepthose commitmentsn Turn business travel into a vacation. Have yourpartner or family join you after a scientific meetingand take a few days together to unwind.managing your time79

n Having papers and grants that are free of typos,spelling mistakes, and grammatical errors is soimportant that having “more eyes” on a documentis very valuable. If your spouse is interested inyour work and familiar with your field’s jargon, heor she may be a helpful reader for you. As childrenadvance in their education, those interested inscience might also enjoy being given a chance toread your work.Balancing work and childrenUnquestionably, children complicate the equation,but they can also provide the sanity, personalsatisfaction, and motivation to make you a morefocused and efficient scientist. Here are some tipsfor balancing work and family life:n If they are available to you and affordable, considertaking advantage of options for assistance in cooking,cleaning, and other domestic chores that takeyour time and energy, especially if you are havingtrouble personally living up to your own standardsfor good meals and cleanliness.RESOURCESAllen, David. Getting Things Done: The Art ofStress-Free Productivity. E Rutherford, New Jersey:Penguin USA, 2003.Barker, Kathy. At the Helm: A Laboratory Navigator.Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor LaboratoryPress, 2002.Boss, Jeremy M., and Susan H. Eckert. AcademicScientists at Work: Navigating the BiomedicalResearch Career. New York: Kluwer Academic/PlenumPublishers, 2003.Blanchard, Kenneth H., and Spencer Johnson. The OneMinute Manager. 10th ed. New York NY: BerkeleyBooks, 1983.Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly EffectivePeople: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. New York:Fireside, Simon & Schuster, 1990.Drucker, Peter. Managing Oneself. Harvard BusinessReview, March-April 1999.Ridley, Matt. The Origin of Virtue. Penguin, New York,NY, 1996.n Seek out the help of family members if they arenearby.n Teach your children to take appropriate pride inbeing “self-starters” at their schoolwork and homechores.n If you and your spouse both work outside thehome, make the best child care arrangements youcan. If you are away from your family all day, it isespecially important to carve out and protect familytime on evenings or weekends.Is it possible for ambitious scientists to have it all?For those who learn to balance competing demands,the answer is a qualified yes. The key is to identifywhat matters most to you and then to apportionyour activities throughout the day and week toaddress your true priorities.80 excellence everywhere

chapter 6project management“ We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thingmust be attained.”Marie CurieTo increase the output of your laboratory, you caneither increase resources by somehow obtainingmore money, equipment, and supplies and findinga way to bring more people to work with you, ormake better use of what you already have. Oftenit is not easy or possible to get more resources.Project management is a formal approach tobetter managing the resources that you do have.“Project management” is a term that has come tomean something beyond simply being in chargeof a project. It means allocating, using, and trackingresources to achieve a goal in a desired timeframe. There is a set of terms and a group ofplanning tools strongly associated with the projectmanagement approach. The approach itself isheavily used in the pharmaceutical industry, aswell as in software, construction, and otherindustries because of its usefulness in helpingmanagers coordinate complex operations andbring scarce resources into place exactly whenthey are needed.It can be tempting to over-promise when you plan,even if you are only making promises to yourself.Project management’s tools help a managerkeep track of resources and worker effort, whichcan help ensure that even if multiple delaysand scheduling changes occur, your work willstill go forward smoothly. In a scientific setting,goals may include publishing a paper, obtaining aresearch grant, completing a set of experiments,or even getting promoted. While keeping creativityintact, project management can help reducewasted effort or inefficient use of reagents. It cantrack progress (or lack of it), and respond quicklyto necessary deviations from important aims.This chapter highlights some of the techniques ofproject management and how you can use them.Though one may think, “I live in an unpredictableplace!” project management can help overcomesome of life’s unpredictability, particularly by layingout which tasks can go forward when other taskshave stalled. If you need more detailed information,refer to the resources listed at the end of thischapter.project management81

What is Project Management?Project management is a series of flexible anditerative steps that gives you a system for layingout what you want to achieve and a reasonableway to achieve it, with specifics as to who will dowhat and when. Formal tools have been developedfor complicated time-sensitive efforts such asconstructing large buildings with all of the sitepreparation, building materials, carpenters,plumbers, electricians, painters and other kindsof workers moving through at the right times andin the proper order.The strategies used in project management can beuseful for anyone in any size project, and the tools(especially software) that have been developedto keep track of fluctuating resources and activeworkers can be useful for managing complicatedprojects in the laboratory. Project managementcapabilities are increasingly becoming requiredcomponents of clinical research projects and multisiteprojects. Formal training in project managementmay be available to you through your institution,government, or international NGOs.It should also be borne in mind that biomedicalresearch in the South, especially in diseaseendemiccommunities, relies heavily on fieldsurveys involving several people andcomplicated logistical issues. Personnel andtransport management and financial administrationare major components of projectactivities involving field surveys. However,many emerging science centers in low- andmiddle-resource regions do not have sufficienthuman resources with adequate skills inproject management.”Moses Bockarie, Papua New GuineaDECIDING ON A PROJECTYou may have an endless number of ideas forprojects, but your resources (i.e., research funds,number of students and other people working inyour lab, time, etc.) are limited. Deciding whichprojects to pursue within the limits of yourresources and considering your laboratory mission(see chapter 4) will help you get the best use outof what you have.Finding funding can itself be a complex project.Though finding money is seldom easy, you maydecide that to accomplish the research or publichealth goals you would like to achieve, you willneed to look for more funding. Imagine that youhave identified a grant program that seems to fitthe work you would like to do. The grant deadlineis in eleven months, but you see that it is a verycompetitive program. To have a chance of beingfunded, you will need to have at least one publicationthat connects the work you are proposing todo with the new grant money to work you havedone in the past.So you have two complicated but fairly welldefinedtasks in front of you: to get a new paperaccepted for publication and to submit a grantproposal by a given deadline. If you decide touse formal project management tools to organizeyour efforts as you work toward submitting theproposal, you should ask yourself the following:n What experiments do I need to conduct to write aresearch paper and submit it for publication beforethe grant deadline?n Do I have enough time to obtain the necessarydata?n Are there members of my group who could helpgenerate these data, or a student or trainee towhom I might delegate the work?Once you have defined your overall objectives,how to get there, and from whom you need buy-inand participation, you can start the process ofplanning your project, working backwards fromyour stated objective:82 excellence everywhere

My project is to get a grant funded within ayear-and-a-half.Thinking from the goal backwards, you can putdown what steps will make that dream a reality.You might say:I will need to:n Submit the grant with preliminary data(11 months).n Submit a paper for publication (6 months).n Integrate data and start writing a manuscript(5 months).n Complete the initial set of experiments(1-5 months).The sections below outline the tools that can helpyou plan each step of this multipart effort. One ofthe most important benefits of project managementis that it helps you accurately anticipate how muchtime a project will take and what resources youwill need. Even if some back-of-the-envelopethinking convinces you that a project is worthpursuing and that you can generate preliminarydata for your grant in five months, you will needto plan each step more carefully to answer thefollowing questions:n How long will the project really take?n Do we really have the people to do this?n Do we really have the funds to do it?n Can we get it done in time?Think of these questions as tools for your ownuse. You are not trying to convince a funder orimpress an influential scientist—you are realisticallyconsidering what you will be able to get done,given other demands on your time and resources,in the next week, month, year, and beyond.Q u e s t i o nq&aDo the strict definitions you impose when you set up a project management systemlimit scientific creativity?answerNot necessarily. All projects, including highly innovative ones, rely on defined resources. Projectmanagement helps you take stock of resources before you start working. If a creative idea comes along,you will have a better idea of how much money, materials, and “spare hands” you have to follow theidea through, or which sub-projects you might delay to free up the resources you need. Knowing what youhave available helps you bring your best ideas to completion, rather than leaving them foundering whenyou run out of some critical resource. Regardless of the scientific goals of a project, project managementhelps you determine whether your ideas can be implemented with the resources at hand and how bestto approach these ideas. If you realize ahead of time that you do not have the resources you need, you willknow you need to get them.project management83

Q u e s t i o nq&aDoes project management discourage us from trying high-risk projects?answerScientists must work within the limits of their resources. This does not mean high-risk projects should notbe attempted; it just means that one should know the risks involved before starting the project. Projectmanagement helps define what the risks will be. For example, you may use up all available funds beforeyou get an additional grant or you may produce one paper in three years rather than one a year. Once youknow the risks involved, you can plan for them. Project management can also help you conserve some ofyour resources to use for high-risk projects. The more information you have at the outset of a project, thebetter you will be at allocating resources. The better you are at allocating resources for the work that has toget done (e.g., the experiments proposed in your funded grant), the more likely it is that you will be able tosave some funds for more speculative projects.Q u e s t i o nGiven the uncertainties in science, is project management feasible?answerProject management is not meant to be rigid or blindly restrictive. By reexamining goals and circumstancesin a systematic way, project management encourages you to reconsider which path is best many timesduring the course of a given project. When resources are limited—and they almost always are, everywhere—thisapproach helps you achieve your goals by keeping track of factors that could lead you tospread a resource too thin.Getting StartedThe statement of work is a written documentthat clearly explains what the project is. It shouldinclude the following sections:Purposen Background: Why the project was initiated andby whom, what happens if it is not done, and whatelse relates to it.n Scope of work: What you will do. This is a briefstatement describing the major work to be performed.n Strategy: How you will perform the work, whowill do it, and what funds are available for the work.84 excellence everywhere

ObjectivesObjectives are the end results to be achieved bythe project. Each objective should include:n Statement: A description of the desired outcomewhen the project is completed.n Measures: Indicators to assess how well youhave achieved the desired outcome.n Specifications: Target values of the measuresthat define successful results.ConstraintsThese are the restrictions on the project, which fallinto two categories:n Limitations: Constraints set by others, suchas limited funds for your laboratory, or teachingresponsibilities that will limit your research time.n Needs: Constraints set by the project team, suchas wanting to complete a project three weeksearly because one of the key people will be leavingthe lab, or finishing a field project early enough toavoid problems with seasonal weather.AssumptionsThese are statements about uncertain informationyou will take as fact as you conceive, plan,and perform the project. For example, you mightassume that your clinical or teaching loads will notincrease in the next year, or that no one will leavethe project before a certain milestone is reached.Be aware that as your project progresses, yourgoals, constraints, needs, and assumptions maychange. Build into your planning periodic reviewsof results against objectives, and then revise theobjectives if necessary. If a reagent has beendelayed and a whole project has been stalled as aresult, you can re-visit the plan and think throughhow to move forward. Are there later scheduledsteps that you could do sooner while you wait forthe delayed material? Should you change the project’sfuture milestone dates, given the delay? Nomatter how much you have invested in a project, itis never too late to redirect or stop work altogetherif you discover, for example, that another route ismore promising than the main avenue of research,or a key premise was off-base, or that someoneelse has gotten very similar work published beforeyour project has come to a conclusion.See Appendix I, on page 92, to see a real-life example of a statementof work.Defining the AudienceProject management also uses the concept of an“audience.” Any of your audiences—the peopleand groups who have an interest in your project,who are affected by it, or who are needed tosupport it—can sink the entire enterprise if theirneeds are not considered. Early on, you shouldmake a list of the project’s audiences, both withinyour institution and outside it. Although you cando this in your head, a written list serves as areminder throughout the project to touch basewith these stakeholders as you proceed. If youmust maintain the good favor of your departmentchair, head of institute, minister of health, oranother high figure (or if you yourself are that highfigure and must maintain the trust of your audiences),it is useful to think about those who haveinterests in your project and how to keep themapprised of and supportive of your work.Divide your audience list into three categories:n Drivers: People who tell you what to do, definingto some degree what your project will produceand what constitutes success. You are the maindriver for your research. Additional drivers mayinclude competitors and collaborators in yourfield, the editors of scientific journals (if they areadvising you on what experiments should be donein order to get a manuscript published), and thescientists or administrators who will be reviewingyour application for funding (if their feedback isshaping the course of your research project).If possible, keep those people abreast of howthe project is going, or consult with them beforechanging direction or branching out in a differentarea. For example, if an editor at a scientific journalhas requested specific experiments in a revisedmanuscript but you decide to do different onesthat you think are more appropriate or easier to dogiven the expertise in your lab, contact the editorto make sure that the proposed experiments willsatisfy his or her requirements.project management85

Q u e s t i o nq&aIf I have experiments A, B, C, and D, is it reasonable to do detailed planning only for Afirst and deal with the others later?answerThat may be reasonable, but what if B is not entirely dependent on A, and you could have done some workfor B or any of the other experiments without waiting until A was done? Project management tools andsoftware can help you see where timelines may overlap, so that you can use your time most productively.Tracking the Workand the ResourcesComplex projects require a series of activities,some of which will need to be performed insequence and others that can, in theory, be doneat the same time. Project schedules outline theorder in which activities are to be performed,and include estimates of how long each activitywill take. For each step of the schedule, you willneed to assign the necessary resources, includingpeople, funds, equipment, supplies, facilities, andinformation. To effectively schedule your activitiesand resources, you will need to follow these steps:1. Identify activities and events (from the WBS).2. Identify constraints (from the statement of work).3. Determine the durations of different activities and,if more than one person will be involved, who willbe performing them.4. Decide on the order of performance.5. Develop an initial schedule.6. Revise your schedule as necessary.Tools for DevelopingSchedulesYou may have seen some of the schedules,timelines, flow charts, and other tools used inproject management before. Here are somepopular ones:n Key events schedule—a table showing eventsand target dates for reaching them. Remember,events are milestones signaling the completion ofone or more activities.n Activities plan—a table showing activities andtheir planned start and end dates (see Appendix III,on page 95).n Gantt chart—a graph consisting of horizontalbars that depict the start date and duration of eachactivity (see Appendix IV, on page 96).n Program (or Project) Evaluation and ReviewTechnique (PERT) chart—a diagram in whichactivities are represented by lines and events onthe nodes (typically depicted as circles or bubbles).The acronym PERT, rather than the full name, isuniversally used.project management87

The key events schedule and the activities plandisplay dates better; the Gantt chart and the combinedmilestone/Gantt chart give a better overviewof how long activities will take and where theycoincide. Regardless of which format you use, ifyou use these tools, take the time to develop aschedule you have a reasonable chance of meeting.Think realistically and estimate how long eachstep will take, how many uninterrupted hoursyou have available during the day, and how otherdemands on your time will affect what you or yourlab can get done. If your plan includes masteringa new subject by reading a vast literature, divideit up—how many papers do you normally read ina day like today? Just because you can read 15papers in a day does not mean that you will (orshould) bring yourself to read that much each dayfor a month, even if there are 500 papers in a pilein front of you.To determine how long a very complex processmay take, think about similar things you have donebefore. Flip through your notebook or calendarand try to remember—how many hours did itreally take you to write, edit, get feedback on,make figures for, revise, revise again, and submitthat last paper or grant? Try to be conservativeQ u e s t i o nq&aIt sometimes takes longer than I thinkit will to complete new experiments.How do I plan accordingly?answerThe work breakdown structure will help yousee where inherent difficulties in experimentsor bottlenecks in the procedures are; youcan then add time and resources to addressthose issues. For example, you might pairan experienced member of your lab with anew student who is responsible for a step inthe protocol, or give a technician who has toestablish a new technique in the lab time forseveral trials and revisions of the procedure.in your estimates. When it comes to planningbench work, an accurate assessment of the skills,experience, and limitations of your staff will helpyou match the right people to each task. Stretchingto accomplish more than before is good, butfailing because of overreaching is not. If your teamlacks the expertise required to complete a specificgoal, you may need to find a suitable and willingcollaborator. Collectively, these scheduling toolswill:n Provide ways of tracking the work.n Identify the order of experiments that will definehow long it will take to complete the project.n Show the relationship of experiments to eachother (e.g., do they need to be done sequentiallyor can they be done in parallel?)n Identify bottlenecks.As the work progresses, make adjustments toyour schedule or the resources needed. Forexample, time estimates can be replaced withactual times. In cases of delays in the schedule,additional resources, more money, or morehelpers may be needed to make up for the timethat has been lost. If you can get those resources,you may be able to finish within the time frameyou initially planned. But if you cannot get thoseresources, at least you can accurately revise yourestimate of how long it will take to finish the project.Do I Have the Resources?Once you have made an outline of the activitiesto be done in a given time frame and whowill perform the work, you may want to knowmore precisely how much of a given resourcethe project will use up. For example, how manyhours a scientist in your lab will have to workeach week to complete his or her activities (seeAppendix V, on page 96), or how much moneywill be spent. This will help you identify potentialbottlenecks that have been created by yourstarting assumptions. For example, even the best,hardest-working, most committed scientist cannotwork 37 hours a day!88 excellence everywhere

Q u e s t i o nq&aI have done some experiments so many times that I already know how long it will takeand the resources I need. Should I add these experiments to my plan?answerNot for your benefit, but you should consider whether others need to know what you are doing—thesequence of steps as well as the materials and time required. If they do, a written work plan can also bea useful part of the record. Project management is not just a planning tool, it can also be a training andcommunication tool.Q u e s t i o nDespite the best explanations, inexperienced students may focus only on their part of thework. Are there devices to help them get the big picture?answerIt is important that they do get the big picture, and project management may be part of the solution.Although it is true that project management encourages a focus on details, it also encourages you toconsider the big picture. Think of a project’s detailed plan as being like a metabolic map—if students cansee how their work connects to a greater whole, they may be more motivated to think about their ownsmall projects and to ask bigger questions about the lab’s work and the broader field. Young students maybe reluctant to admit what they do not know. By walking them through the field’s complicated issues andongoing controversies, you can convey to them that it is alright not to know everything, and customary toask others to explain things. Get them to talk about what they are doing, and paraphrase what they say,highlighting the places where their work intersects with other work in the lab. Or, you could ask them towrite a statement of work for their part of the project, which will require them to learn the background onthe project as a whole.Project Management SoftwareAs you can see from the figures, many of projectmanagement’s tools can be produced by handor with a spreadsheet program like MicrosoftExcel. If you are keeping track of a simple projectinvolving only one or two individuals, you canprobably use a network diagram drawn on a boardor in an electronic document. But as the numberof projects and responsibilities you juggle grows,you may want to make use of one of the manysoftware packages available. They can help youspot, for example, resource conflicts (such as oneperson assigned to three overlapping activities),and identify which activities can be delayed toaccommodate that problem without jeopardizingthe schedule. Good software helps you brainstormthe organization of activities on screen, create aWBS, link activities, develop a schedule, identifyresources, maintain information on progress,and generate reports. When you make a change,the software reflects the impact of that changethroughout the project.project management89

Microsoft Project, a program that seamlessly integrateswith Microsoft Office applications includingOutlook and its calendar, is a very popular choice.The software lets you enter any number of tasksand schedule them. You can then view the datausing multiple formats (e.g., Gantt charts orPERT diagrams). You can also enter cost for eachresource and the software will automaticallytrack the spending of the project. Other popularchoices are the packages Act! (Symantec Corp.)and Now Up-to-Date (Qualcomm, Inc.). Free OpenSource packages including Open Workbench andOpenProj are now available. For information aboutother products available, see http://www.projectmanagement-software.org.Like other software, project management programscome with bells and whistles you may never needor use. Remember that software is merely a tool tohelp you plan and organize your work. It should notbecome your work, bogging you down in complexmanipulations or fancy graphs and charts that lookimpressive but do not improve on simpler presentationsof the information.After some short training on these softwarepackages, it is straightforward to build new plans.Several fields, including construction and someareas of business management, make extensiveuse of this kind of software. If these programsare in common use in your area, you may beable to find undergraduate students, especially inengineering or business schools, who would beeager to polish their skills (and get a line for theirresume) by doing the work needed to transferalready established plans onto the computer.Controlling the ProjectEffective project management demands that thecomponents of a project be constantly monitoredand revised with new information. The head of alaboratory typically plays this role in addition to thefollowing tasks:n Championing the project for the project audience(e.g., through seminars and informal updates tosupporters) and maintaining their support for thework being done.n Clearing away obstacles for the project team, forexample by minimizing other responsibilities forthe team members and providing a supportiveand comfortable work environment.n Providing resources such as funds, access toessential equipment, and technical skills.n Communicating the project vision to keep theteam motivated and focused.n Communicating with the head of the institution,individuals from funding agencies, journal editors,and the external collaborators.Q u e s t i o nq&aHow do I finish projects when key people are recruited away before our work is finished?answerProject management can help you anticipate and plan for their departure. Identify who is most likely toleave and the places in the project when loss of key personnel would be especially damaging. When itdoes happen, stop and assess the impact on your project and determine steps you can take to minimizethe effects.90 excellence everywhere

The principles of project management can beapplied to many day-to-day tasks. I completeda course with the University’s Faculty of Engineeringin 2004 and since then have used theprinciples of project management to completemany small and large projects successfully.”Brian Eley, South AfricaKeeping your work on trackIt is hard to predict how the course of a projectwill run. Flexible planning is needed to help youdeal with the unexpected and still keep your manyprojects moving. Here is a list to help you stay ontrack:n Consider different scenarios to identify what maynot unfold as you anticipate, and identify the rangeof ramifications and how you would address them.n Select aspects of your project that are most likelyto slow things down, for example, a studentwho is not familiar with interpreting experimentalresults and thus may slow progress, or a technicianwho does not aggressively follow up onmaintaining equipment or placing orders withsupply and reagent companies. Monitor themclosely to avoid roadblocks.n Develop strategies to reduce the likelihood ofdeviations, as well as contingency plans for anythat occur.n Create indicators or defined results (such as acompleted Western blot or a clearly interpretableexperimental finding) that will help you evaluatethe project against your stated objectives. Theindicators should be clear and should directlyrelate to your objectives. Poorly chosen indicatorsare worse than none at all, and may cause you toabandon a project when in fact the objective maybe sound.n Monitor the project carefully and consistently topromptly identify detours from course.n Implement contingency plans and revise yourmaster plan as necessary.As a scientist, you want your work to be worthwhile,even if it does not proceed the way youplanned or produce the expected outcome. Toget the most out of your investment of projectresources, learn to work through the “what-ifs”by positing multiple possible outcomes and timelinesand planning ways to deal with each one.RESOURCESBarker, Kathy. At The Helm: A Laboratory Navigator.Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor LaboratoryPress, 2002.Burke, R. Project Management, Planning, and ControlTechniques, 4th Edition. Protomatec International, 2004.Harmening, Denise M. Laboratory Management:Principles and Processes. Upper Saddle River, NJ:Prentice Hall, 2002.Heldman, Kim. Project Management JumpStart. Alameda,CA: Sybex, 2003.Henry, John B. (Ed.). Clinical Diagnosis and Managementby Laboratory Methods. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders,2001.Hudson, Jane (Ed.). Principles of Clinical LaboratoryManagement: A Study Guide and Workbook. UpperSaddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.Kemp, Sid. Project Management Demystified. New York:McGraw-Hill, 2004.Lewis, James P. Fundamentals of Project Management:Developing Core Competencies to Help Outperform theCompetition. New York: American ManagementAssociation, 2002.Luecke, Richard. Managing Projects Large and Small:The Fundamental Skills to Deliver on Cost and on Time.Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2003.project management91

Martin, Vivien. Managing Projects in Health and SocialCare. London: Routledge, 2002.Portny, Stanley E. Project Management for Dummies.Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, 2000.Project Management Institute. Guide to the ProjectManagement Body of Knowledge. Newtown Square, PA:Project Management Institute, 2000.Sindermann, Carl J. Winning the Games Scientists Play.Cambridge, MA: Perseus Book Group, 2001.Usherwood, Tim. Introduction to Project Management inHealth Research: A Guide for New Researchers. Bristol,PA: Open University Press, 1996.OnlineAustin, Jim. “Management in the Lab.” ScienceCareers.org(September 13, 2003), http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/1890__1/management_in_the_lab.Austin, Rob. “Project Management and Discovery.”ScienceCareers.org (September 13, 2003), http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/1890__1/project_management_and_discovery.Billows, Dick. Work Breakdown Structure. 4PM ProjectManagement Certification and Training. http://www.4pm.com/articles/work_breakdown_structure.htm.Portny, Stanley E., and Jim Austin. “Project Managementfor Scientists.” ScienceCareers.org (July 12, 2002),http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/1750/project_management_for_scientists.Portny, Stanley E. “Project Management in an UncertainEnvironment.” ScienceCareers.org (August 23, 2002),http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/1820/project_management_in_an_uncertain_environment.NICEF/ UNDP/ World Bank/ WHO Special Programmefor Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR).Effective Project Planning and Evaluation in BiomedicalResearch (Training Manual). Geneva, Switzerland: WorldHealth Organization, 2005.Effective project planning and evaluation inbiomedical research, a training manual and step bystep guide to project management from WHO/TDRhttp://www.who.int/tdr/svc/publications/training-guidelinepublications/trainers-project-planning-course.appendix I: Statement of Work: A Real-Life ExampleSection 1: PurposeBackgroundTeresa, a scientist training in the laboratory, wants to examine the possible role for alterations in thegene Sumacan in prostate cancer. She noted that Sumacan, which encodes a growth factor receptor,maps to a genetic region involved in human prostate cancer. Current studies in the lab focus on therole of Sumacan in brain tumors. Robert, another scientist training in the laboratory, is screeningdrugs that block Sumacan function; Anna, a graduate student, is elucidating the functional pathwaysSumacan is involved in; and David, a graduate student, is performing a mutational analysis of theSumacan gene. These same studies can be applied to prostate cancer, thereby opening up newpotential avenues for funding through prostate cancer foundations.92 excellence everywhere

appendix I continuedScope of Workn Examine whether the functional pathway for Sumacan is present in human prostate cancer cells.n Compare the expression of Sumacan in normal human prostate tissues and prostate cancers, andcorrelate expression levels with clinical outcome in prostate cancer.n Identify mutations in Sumacan in patients with prostate cancer.StrategyEach person in the lab is already working on different aspects of Sumacan biology in brain tumors. Ineach case, the work will be applied to prostate cancer cell lines that we will obtain from Mike, a colleaguein our department. We have identified two additional potential collaborators—Rajiv, a pathologistwho studies human prostate tissues and cancers, and Kathy, a geneticist who studies human prostatecancer families. We will use funds from our current grant to obtain preliminary findings. We plan to usethese findings to obtain another grant to the laboratory.Section 2: ObjectiveStatementInvestigate the possible role of Sumacan in prostate cancer.MeasuresMeasure #1. Our experiments will provide preliminary evidence to either support or deny a role forSumacan in prostate cancer.Specificationsn We will receive several requests for information about the research.n We will publish at least two research articles in the scientific literature.n We will present the research results to at least two conferences in one year.Section 3: constraintsLimitationsn The grant proposal is due June 1 next year. This means that the first research manuscript must besubmitted for publication by approximately January 1, and accepted by mid-April.n Our lab has limited funds to cover the generation of preliminary data, which means that productivitymust be reviewed monthly.Needsn Our lab needs to be able to grow prostate cancer cells.n Our lab needs to be able to handle human prostate cancer specimens.Section 4: Assumptionsn The current research team will be willing and able to perform prostate cancer studies in additionto their brain tumor studies.n The collaborators we have identified will be willing and able to work with our group or will providethe name of another person who wants to collaborate.Based on a real-world example provided by Milton W. Datta, Medical College of Wisconsin.project management93

appendix II: Example of a Work Breakdown Structureactivity 1: determine whethersumacan is expressed in the prostate1. Determine where to obtain human prostate cells.2. Determine how to grow human prostate cells.n the type of medium and serum they require, andn the optimal conditions for growth3. Determine whether we can isolate RNA and protein from human prostate cells.n try the same technique we use to isolate RNA from brain cells, orn develop a different technique4. Determine whether we can perform quantitative RT-PCR for Sumacan expression.n primers and positive and negative controls5. Determine whether we can perform a Western blot for Sumacan expression.n test whether the antibody we use in the brain works in the prostate and determine what sizeprotein band(s) is identified, andn identify positive or negative controls for protein quality and Sumacan identificationNote: Steps 1 to 3 must be done sequentially, but once step 3 is completed, steps 4 and 5 can bedone at the same time.activity 2: determine whethersumacan is expressed in prostate cancer cells1. Determine where to obtain human prostate cancer cells.2. Determine how to grow human prostate cancer cells.n the type of medium and serum they require, andn the optimal conditions for growth3. Determine whether we can isolate RNA and protein from human prostate cancer cells.n try the same technique we use to isolate RNA from brain cells, orn develop a different technique4. Determine whether we can perform quantitative RT-PCR for Sumacan expression.n primers and positive and negative controls5. Determine whether we can perform a Western blot for Sumacan expression.n test whether the antibody we use in the brain works in prostate cancer cells and determine whatsize protein band(s) is identified, andn identify positive or negative controls for protein quality and Sumacan identificationNote: Steps 1 to 3 must be done sequentially, but once step 3 is completed, steps 4 and 5 can be doneat the same time. In addition, activities 1 and 2 can be done at the same time, although this may resultin higher resource costs if both tasks fail.94 excellence everywhere

appendix II continuedactivity 3: determine whether there is a differencein sumacan expression between normal and cancer cells1. Determine the difference in RNA expression.2. Determine the difference in protein expression.3. Determine the relationship between RNA and protein expression.Note: Activity 3 involves analysis of the data collected in activities 1 and 2, and thus cannot be performeduntil those two activities are completed.appendix III: Example of an Activities Planactivity/person(s) responsible/start date/End daten Identify sources of prostate cells/Teresa/August 1/August 5n Identify sources of prostate cancer cells/Robert/August 1/August 5n Grow prostate cells/Teresa/August 5/August 26n Grow prostate cancer cells/Robert/August 5/August 26n Isolate RNA and protein from prostate cells/Teresa/August 26/September 26n Isolate RNA and protein from prostate cancer cells/Robert/August 26/September 26n Perform RT-PCR from prostate cells/Teresa/September 26/October 26n Perform RT-PCR from prostate cancer cells/Teresa/September 26/October 26n Perform Western blots on prostate cells/Robert/September 26/October 26n Perform Western blots on prostate cancer cells/Robert/September 26/October 26n Compare the levels of Sumacan RNA in the prostate and prostate cancer cells/Teresa and Robert/October 26/November 5n Compare the levels of Sumacan protein in the prostate and prostate cancer cells/Teresa andRobert/October 26/November 5n Compare the levels of Sumacan RNA and protein to each other/Teresa and Robert/October 26/November 5Note: Each of these activities can be broken down further if more detail is needed. For example, ifthe activities are being performed by a new graduate student, you may want to explain the differentprotocols to use to perform RT-PCR from prostate cancer cells and what controls should be used, aswell as alternative protocols to use in case the first ones do not work.project management95

appendix iv: Example of a Gantt ChartProject: Role for Sumacan in Prostate CancerActivity august september october november person ResponsibleSumacan Expressionin Prostate CellsFind CellsGrow CellsIsolate RNA andProteinRT-PCR and WesternBlotsSumacan ExpressionProstate CancerFind CellsGrow CellsIsolate RNA andProteinRT-PCR and WesternBlotsCompare ResultsData AnalysisTeresaTeresaTeresaTeresa and RobertRobertRobertRobertTeresa and RobertTeresa and Robertappendix v: Example of a Loading ChartThis chart displays Teresa’s workload. She is responsible for the first three steps in determiningSumacan expression in prostate cells. Step 1 (looking for prostate cells) is done in week 1, step 2(trying to grow the cells) in weeks 2-4, step 3 (isolating RNA and protein) in weeks 5-8, and step 4(doing RT-PCR on normal and cancer cells) in weeks 9-13. In addition, during the time the project isbeing run, she will be teaching a microbiology lab course (5 hours/day with monthly exams).weeks1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13Researchhoursmicrobiologylab hours7 10 10 10 8 8 8 10 25 25 25 25 2525 25 25 35 25 25 25 35 25 25 25 35 25total time32 35 35 45 32 32 32 45 50 50 50 65 5096 excellence everywhere

chapter 7getting funded“ Diviser chacune des difficultés que j’examinerai en autant de parcellesqu’il sepourrait et qu’il serait requis pour les mieux les résoudre.”René DescartesOnce you have started your career as an independentscientist, have put your laboratory in order,and perhaps have hired some people, an importantnext step if you would like to have an internationalcareer is to find international funding for your work.It is beyond the scope of this book to addressfunding in all of the countries of the South, sincethe funding situation is different everywhere andin some places can change quite quickly. Instead,this chapter will concentrate on international fundingsources and how best to present your work sothat you may tap into these sources. This chapteralso uses the U.S. NIH funding process as anexample of a two-level peer review system. Notall international funders use the same system—infact, each major funding body has a system that isdistinctly its own. But the example used here willgive you a good idea of the how’s and why’s of peerreview, which we hope will give you insight into howto prepare the strongest grant application you can,no matter what funding body you are approaching.This chapter includes advice on how to turn yourconcept into a solid research plan, and discusseswhat to do if your application is not funded.UNDERSTANDINGTHE REVIEW PROCESSexample of peer review: funding aU.S. NIH R01 Research Project GrantThough the U.S. NIH is sometimes an internationalfunder, it is (as are your own country’s governmentagencies focused on health) an organization whosemission primarily focuses on the health of itscountry’s citizens. For this reason, its spending onmany problems of interest in other parts of theworld is relatively small.There is no grantsmanship that will turn a badidea into a good one, but there are many waysto disguise a good one.”William Raub, former deputy director, U.S. NIHThe quote above: Descartes, in the second rule of his Method, says to break each difficulty down into smaller resolvable component parts.getting funded97

e h i n d c l o s e d d o o r s :w h a t g o e s o n i n a p e e r r e v i e w m e e t i n gPeer review committees:n Are managed by a scientific review administrator (SRA), a professional NIH employee at the M.D. orPh.D. level with a scientific background close to the study section’s area of expertise.n Have 12-24 members recruited from active scientists, generally people who have (or have had) R01sthemselves. Most members are academics. Some have long-term appointments to the study sectionand others are temporary members.n Will review as many as 60-100 applications per meeting.n Usually assign three reviewers to very closely review each application, though the whole panel shouldread all of the applications.Study section meetings:n Are closed—the discussions are not made part of the public record and spectators are not allowed.n Include a discussion of general business, provisional approval of the list of applications which aredeclared uncompetitive and thus not scored, and discussion of the remaining applications. Reviewerswho have a conflict of interest with a given applicant are asked to leave the room when thatapplicant’s grant is discussed.Discussion of applications includes:n The three reviewers most closely linked to each grant providing discussion of that grant’s strengths,weaknesses, and their preliminary scores.n Other members discussing scientific and technical merit.n All members stating their scores, which are recorded.n Any recommendations for changes in the budgets of individual grants.After each meeting, the SRA documents the results in a summary statement, which is forwarded bothto the appropriate institute or center that would support the grant (if budget is available) and to the principalinvestigator. These summary statements, which are often called “pink sheets” because they wereonce given back to the applicant as the pink layer from a multi-sheet carbon-paper form, are the key tounderstanding what was said about your grant during the review.Summary statements may vary somewhat depending on the SRA, but all contain:n Overall résumé and summary of review discussion (for applications that were discussed and scored).n Essentially unedited critiques by the assigned reviewers.n Priority score and percentile ranking.n Budget recommendations.n Administrative notes (e.g., comments on human subjects or animal welfare).The major grant that funds most U.S. healthscientists’ work is called an “R01.” There is nospecial reason these grants are called R01—it isnot an abbreviation for any longer term. The letterR conveys that it is a Research Project Grant, butthere are other types of NIH research grants thatbegin with other letters.R01 grant applications are usually investigatorinitiated—thatis, the researcher proposes a topic tostudy rather than the agency indicating what kindsof topics it would like to see. Other approaches arealso common among large funders. Many funders(including NIH) use Requests for Proposals (RFPs),Requests for Applications (RFAs), or Program98 excellence everywhere

Q u e s t i o nq&aWhere do research funds come from?answernNational governments, including both that of the country where you will work and those of othernations that have taken an interest in supporting work in your area of science or your geographicalregion.nNon-governmental organizations—a very broad group of national and international organizations.nnnnMultinational organizations such as the United Nations and its agencies (for example, UNICEF), theWorld Health Organization, etc.Public-Private Partnerships such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, theInternational AIDS Vaccine Initiative, etc.Private foundations such as the Wellcome Trust, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the HowardHughes Medical Institute, etc.National and multinational corporations such as mining companies, oil companies, etc.Announcements (PAs) to alert researchers togrant opportunities that will fund research aroundparticular topics.Applications to NIH are submitted to the agencyand then immediately sent to a division thatspecializes in managing the review of applications—the Center for Scientific Review (CSR). Therethe grant is reviewed on two levels: one is a peerreview level meant to evaluate the proposal’sscientific and technical merit, the other is reviewby staff members from a few of the agency’smany institutes and centers to determine wherethe grant might best fit into the agency’s interests.For example, a grant that focuses on atherosclerosiswould face peer review by a panel of expertsin heart disease and, after review by the institutesand centers, would likely find its way to theinstitute that focuses on heart disease. Within theoverarching agency NIH, that is a section calledthe National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Agrant you might write with an American collaboratorto fund research on Chagas disease (a parasiticinfection with considerable impact on the heart)might make its way to that institute, or to the NIHinstitute that focuses on infectious diseases, or, ifit is a Fogarty International Research CollaborationAward (FIRCA), it might be funded by the FogartyInternational Center, which is also a section ofNIH. The Fogarty Center’s work focuses on globalhealth and international partnerships.At NIH, the level of review that focuses onscientific and technical merit is carried out byone of many “study sections,” each of which isorganized around a general scientific area. Eachstudy section has a specific scientific focus. Individualreviewers who are members of the studysection review a grant application for scientificmerit. Each rates it with a numerical score, andthen the whole committee comes to agreementon the proposal’s final score, a three-digit number.In this system, 100 is the best possible score,and 500 is the worst. After reviewing the proposalas individuals, proposals that the committeemembers agree are not of high enough quality tobe competitive are often not even discussed atthe peer review meeting, and will not receive anumerical score.getting funded99

Who might be interested in supportingyour work?n Disease control programs that requireevidence-based information in order toimplement appropriate control measuresin disease-burdened areas.n Policymakers who require quality researchresults for policy formulation, policy guidelinesand informed decisions in the controlof various diseases.n Chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturingcompanies wanting to know the efficacy oftheir products against target vectors anddiseases.n Construction companies may requireassessment of the impact of their projects,for example, the construction of an irrigationscheme in an arid area.n Communities themselves are interested inresearch results so that they can understandtheir population’s health status and the problemsassociated with it, as well as wherethey may need to improve it.n Waterworks and sewerage institutionsconstantly need to monitor the quality ofwater and sewage in order to keep harmfulorganisms at minimal levels, thus avertingepidemics of waterborne diseases.n Research funders who will want to know iftheir funds are being used in the manner inwhich they are intended and the outcome ofthe research conducted using these funds.n Investors also have an interest in some ofthe research results produced, because theywill guide them in what health care systemsto adopt if they do decide to invest in anarea. These health care systems should ofcourse be in sync with the health policies ofthat country.”Susan Mutambu, ZimbabweWhen poor scores are givenApplications may receive poor priority scores forany number of reasons, including:n Lack of original ideas.n Absence of an acceptable scientific rationale.n Lack of experience in the essential methodology.n Questionable reasoning in experimental approach.n A diffuse, superficial, or unfocused research plan.n Lack of sufficient experimental detail.n Lack of knowledge of published relevant work.n An unrealistically large amount of work for thegiven time frame or funding level.n Uncertainty about future directions.PREPARING A STRONGGRANT APPLICATIONGetting StartedSuccessful grant applications begin with a goodidea. See page 102 for the sequence of steps thatcan guide you from your good idea through thesubmission of an application to the final decisionabout funding. You can send the same applicationto multiple funding sources, but you must discloseyour multiple applications to each potential funder.If two or more funders agree to support the sameapplication, you must let them know that the workhas already found support. This may cause somefunders to withdraw their support, but others willonly ask you to propose some new work that willgo beyond the original proposal. Although it maybe tempting to keep both, you do not want yoursupporters to find out later to their surprise thatthey have “bought” the same work as anotherfunder.Once you have a good idea, you can get started intwo realms: your own institution and an appropriatefunder. Information about potential funders iscontained in the Resources section of this chapter.100 excellence everywhere

Seek input at your own institution. If no oneat your institution has been successful at gettingfunded, look for others as close to you as possiblewho have gotten international grants. In someplaces this may mean approaching people who areacross the country from you, or even in anothercountry in your region. Colleagues from fartheraway may be able to give you helpful insight onscientific issues and the overall logic of the workyou are proposing, but get as much input as youcan from people who face the same kinds of fundingchallenges that you will.Keith Yamamoto, a well-known cell biologist,recommends this to his younger colleagues: askthree colleagues who have written fundable grantsto serve as a “grant committee” to help you getyour own work funded. If you have found a groupof colleagues who are willing to help you this way,set a time to talk with them, as a group if possible,about your research goals, aims, and ideas.Prepare yourself beforehand—you should be ableto brief them on your specific goals, grant ideas,and potential funders in approximately two hours—not two days.After you have sharpened your thinking by preparingfor the conversation and talking with yourgrant committee, read the grant solicitations thatseem to fit you best and choose one on which tofocus. List three to five specific aims, and explainin writing for yourself why each aim is important.Then discuss this limited group of aims with thesame small group of experienced colleagues, andthen refine your aims according to their comments.Again, this conversation or group of conversationsshould be short—on the order of twohours—because you will have focused on what isimportant and will not be discussing other topics.Once you have finished, you are ready to write agrant. The specific aims are the hardest part andare the true heart of a grant, and at this point, youhave them well in hand.In general, a good grant application will answer fora reader:n What do you want to do?n Why is it important?n Why do you think you can do it?n Has this area been studied before? If so, whathas been done?n What approaches will you use, and why?n Why do you think it is feasible?n What will you do if your initial approach doesnot work as planned?n What resources and expertise are available toyou from your institution?Keep in mind that your reviewer may pick up yourproposal after reading tens of others. You needto do a very good job of writing and of arguing foryour ideas, because your reader may be distracted,disinterested, grumpy, hungry, or in a bad moodby the time he or she begins looking at yourgrant. Start working on the writing well ahead ofthe deadline so that your grant will put your workforward well. Prepare your application with care—use your computer’s spell check but also readyour work over many times and give it to othersto get “fresh eyes” looking for simple errors. Nomatter how strong the science, typographical andgrammatical errors leave a poor impression. Do nottry to evade the page limit by using small type ornarrow margins. Do not feel you must write up tothe full page limit; you get points for strength, notlength.In the specific aims, be specific about reagentsand quantify whenever possible. You may be tryingto leave your options open, but a reviewer maysee a lack of detail as a lack of knowledge on yourpart. At the same time, be brief—try to keep yourspecific aims to two or three sentences each.Use language and formatting to create signpostsfor overworked reviewers, for example:n The long-term objectives of this project are…n The general strategy of the proposed research is to…n The specific aims of the present study are to…n Four goals are envisioned:…n In these experiments, molecular genetic, biochemical,and structural approaches will be used to…Do not put anything that is critical for reviewersto read, such as key graphics, in an appendix,because reviewers are not required to readgetting funded101

Call your program officerProgram officers are generally PhD or MD staff members of funding organizations. Their job involvesconnecting researchers with grants. It is always appropriate to call or write to the program officer whomanages a funder’s grants in your area of research interest. A good program officer will tell you moreabout a grant program you are considering applying to, can recommend other funding opportunities thatmay also fit you or may fit you better, and can give you some sense of whether your planned applicationhas a good possibility of being supported by the agency.Before you call, be sure to have an abstract of your research project ready (see box “Tips on Writing anAbstract”). The program officer will probably ask for a copy. If not, you can offer to send one.The program officer will not evaluate the quality of the research idea or the science. That job is left toyour institutional colleagues and the study section. But the program officer can be your best advocateand advisor at a funding agency throughout the application process and beyond. This book wasconceived and helped along by program officers from different agencies, all of whom wanted to provideyou with a resource that will help you become an even more successful researcher.appendixes. Do include clear tables, figures, anddiagrams (along with legends). Put them in thebody of the text, not in pages following it as youmight when submitting a paper.The particular format of a given grant may vary,but just like scientific papers, scientific grants havepredictable structures. Draft an abstract, researchdesign section, and methods section. Then draftthe section on your current relevant work, andthe sections on the background and significanceof what you propose to do. Conduct a thoroughliterature search and cite all relevant literature(omissions here are often a source of criticism).Be sure to discuss your work in the context ofthese published results. Conclude each sectionin the research plan with a few sentences statingwhat you will learn and why that information isimportant—for example, “These experiments areimportant because nothing is known about X, andthey will enable us to distinguish between twocontroversial models that are widely discussed inthe field.”Reviewers will look for your record of gettingrelated work done, so if you do not yet havepublished work showing your success with therequired methods, do some preliminary work andpresent a short summary of the results in yourgrant application. Re-read the funder’s instructionsvery carefully, paying particularly close attention towhether you have done everything the applicationrequires and whether your work matches well withany criteria for selection listed.If you will be using human subjects, collectinghuman samples, or using animals, make sure togive yourself time to discuss the project with thepeople who will be responsible for approving theproject’s ethics and determining that your use ofanimals is in accordance with internationalstandards.If new data become available after you havesubmitted the application, contact the appropriateprogram officer to see whether you will be allowedto submit this additional information, and if so, howto do so.The Application: From Concept to Submissionn In the beginning: have a good idea.n Find a home for your research; investigate fundingagencies that may support the kind of work youpropose.n Seek input at your own institution.n Write an abstract describing your proposed work inclear language suitable for an educated layperson.n Contact program officers at the agencies youwould like to approach for support.n If the conversation is encouraging, send an abstractto the program officer.102 excellence everywhere

n If the conversation is discouraging, and if it is alarge agency, contact another program officerand have the same kind of conversation with adifferent person. If you are discouraged a secondtime, your idea is likely not a good fit for the agency.n Prepare your application; refer frequently to anyinstructions on what will determine which grantsare funded.n Draft a one-page cover letter in which you expresswhy you believe your application fits the agencyor the particular solicitation to which you areresponding. Suggest potential reviewers for yourwork, and mention your conversation with asupportive program officer.The Application: From Submission throughFunding Decisionn Submit your application on time; follow instructionscarefully.Components of a GenericGrant ApplicationAbstractResearch Plann Specific Aimsn Background (like a review article)n Significance or Relevancen Preliminary ResultsResearch Design and MethodsResources and FacilitiesIncluding description of your lab andthe equipment in it, as well as sharedequipment and equipment you haveaccess to at nearby facilitiesBudgetn Check by email to make sure the application wasreceived.n After peer review, carefully read any feedbackgiven by the review committee. At some agencies,this feedback may come before funding decisionsare made.n If revision and resubmission are recommended,consult colleagues at your institution and programofficer for guidance, address all critical commentsthoroughly, and resubmit your application. Learnfrom the summary statement and the programofficer: negative comments will contain informationthat could help you write a stronger proposalin the future.n If appropriate, consult the program officer aboutchallenging a review you think is flawed, especiallyif the reviewers’ comments seem to miss thepoint of your proposal.n If the application is funded, first, celebrate. Findout when and how the grant will be paid, andthen wait expectantly—soon, you can begin theproposed work!n If the application is not funded, consult yourprogram officer for guidance and either revise andresubmit the application, or apply what you havelearned to write a new application.Reviewers Focus on the Four CsClarity. Cross-reference current literaturein laying out your premises.Content. Organize your ideas aroundassociated aims linked to your centralhypothesis. (The mission statement ofeach funding institute or review committeesets forth its areas of emphasis.)Coherence of concepts. Present a coherentset of ideas predicated on previous work.Cutting edge. Be ready to take legitimaterisks, preferably based on preliminary data,to move the science forward.Tips on Writing an AbstractThe abstract should convey the big picture—the general hypothesis and aims, themethodological approach, and the significanceof the research. Try to avoid technicaljargon, and write the abstract in languagean educated layperson can understand.getting funded103

direct costs vs. indirect costsDirect costs comprise those expenses that are directly related to conducting a research project.They include salaries, employee benefits, equipment and scientific instruments, consumable suppliessuch as printer paper and pipettes, reagents, laboratory computers, and postage. Indirect costs(informally termed “overhead”) comprise the expenses that are paid to your institution by the fundingorganization to support your research but cannot easily be charged directly to a specific grant. Theseinclude administration, utilities, computer infrastructure, building maintenance, security, and custodialservices. These items can add significantly to the cost of doing research. Generally, an institution’sadministrators, on behalf of the investigator, will negotiate indirect costs with funding organizations thatallow these costs. The organization then provides funds for indirect costs to the institution, along withfunds to cover direct costs charged to the research grants.Some organizations, especially foundations, do not allow indirect costs, but often will allow many of theitems listed above to be included as direct costs of the grant.Criteria for Rating. Here are some questions thatreviewers will ask about your proposal:n Significance: Does it address an importantproblem? Will it advance scientific knowledge? Willit affect concepts or methods in this field?n Approach: Are the experimental design andmethods appropriate to the aims? Does itacknowledge problem areas and consideralternative tactics (in other words, is there athoughtful backup plan)?n Innovation: Does it employ novel concepts,approaches, or methods? Does it challenge existingparadigms or develop new methodologies?n Investigator: Is the investigator appropriatelytrained to carry out the proposed work? Is thework appropriate to the experience of the principalinvestigator and collaborators?n Environment: Does the institutional environmentcontribute to the probability of success? Is thereevidence of institutional support?Thinking about a grant’s budgetThe budget is a categorical description of theproposed costs. Generally, it explains staffing andsupply/service consumption patterns, the methodsused to estimate/calculate these items, and otherdetails such as lists of items that make up the totalcosts for a category. The budget should addresseach of the major cost categories, such as:n Personneln Number of positions and level of expertise foreach positionn Percent effort for each positionn What each member of the proposed researchteam will be doingn Equipmentn Why you need this piece of equipmentn What equipment you used to get preliminary datan Why the above equipment is not sufficient tosupport R01-level effort104 excellence everywhere

not chosen?Occasionally, mistakes are made during the review process. If you believe that the reviewers criticizedyou for information they overlooked in your application, or think the review was flawed for otherreasons, consult the program officer about the possibility of appealing the study section’s decision.Although this action is sometimes appropriate, it is usually better to address review comments andresubmit your application. Follow the program officer’s guidance on this matter.If the reviewers thought your starting hypothesis was seriously flawed, do not waste your time revisingand resubmitting the application. Instead, learn as much as you can from the summary statement anddiscussion with the program officer and your colleagues, reconsider your project and approach, andwrite a stronger application the next time.If the program officer thinks it is worthwhile for you to revise the application, keep these points in mind:n Reviewers of amended applications get to see the summary statement from the previous reviews.n Always treat review comments respectfully.n Respond to all suggestions and comments, even if you do not agree with them.n Be explicit about changes. Mark each section of the revised application where you have addressedreviewer critiques.n Provide any additional data that are now available, and update your publication list if necessary.n Resubmit the revised application by the due date. Your revised application now begins its journeythrough the review process all over again, along with the next batch of new submissions from otherapplicants.n Cost sharing for new equipment is advisablen Suppliesn Categorizen Explain large expensesn Traveln Describe proposed meetings, travelers, andestimated cost/tripn Justify any foreign traveln Othern Detailed description of animal per diem costsn Categorize other expensesThe most important challenge for a scientistin my country is that funding for research islimited. Although new private foundationsand business companies have started tooffer grants for scientific research, there arefewer sources of funding than in developedcountries. Additionally, salaries at universitiesare relatively low. The most important wayof facing this challenge is, first, to learn howto apply for grants as early in one’s career aspossible. It does not matter if the applicationsare not successful, but starting to learn theprocess is very valuable.”Gilbert Brenes Comacho, Costa Ricagetting funded105

RESOURCESAllen, Ernest M. “Why are research grant applicationsdisapproved?” Science 132:1532-1534, 1960.OnlineExample of a Funded RO1:Annotated RO1 Research Plan and Summary Statement(NIAID): http://www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/app/.GrantsNet (http://www.grantsnet.org), maintained by theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science,is a well-maintained database of funding opportunitiesworldwide.Other Sources of Funding Information:FedBizOpps, an evolving database of all U.S. federalgovernment granting programs of more than $25,000:http://www.fedbizopps.gov.Major Sources Of International Funding:The Fogarty International Center produces and updates itsDirectory of Grants and Fellowships in the Global HealthSciences, which lists international funding opportunitiesfrom all over the world. It can be found at www.fic.nih.gov.106 excellence everywhere

chapter 8TEACHING AND COURSE DESIGN“ A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”henry adamsIf you are associated with a university, college, ormedical school, teaching may be an important partof your work. You might have mixed feelings abouttaking your place in front of a class. You may findyourself staring out at a sea of faces and thinking,“What am I doing here? I am a scientist, not ateacher.” If you have done little or no teachingbefore, but now find yourself cast in the role of“The Professor,” you have no choice but to learnas you go.This chapter focuses on some strategies forbecoming a more effective teacher by using avariety of methods, including “active learning.”By experimenting with different teaching methods,continually assessing their effectiveness, andmodifying them based on feedback from studentsand other teachers, you can become a “scientificteacher” who is as rigorous at teaching as youare at research. This chapter focuses on teachingundergraduates at large research universities andstudents at medical schools, but the methodsdescribed can easily be adapted to other settings.The chapter suggests ways to improve yourcurrent teaching style by assessing your strengthsand weaknesses and learning from colleaguesand other professionals. It also offers advice forrevising and designing courses, helping graduatestudents and other trainees who may somedayfind themselves in charge of a classroom learnhow to teach, creating a “teaching portfolio”—a coherent presentation of your experiencewith teaching and your ideas about your work inthe classroom—and balancing your teaching andresearch responsibilities.WHY TEACH WELL?Science is about learning—both learning what isalready known and learning from the questionsyour experiments ask of the natural world. Gainingthe varied skills required to become a good teacherwill benefit you professionally by enhancing yourcommunication skills, adding a whole new rangeof activities to your resume, and making yourethink the most foundational ideas that underlieyour field. When you prepare your lectures andwhen students ask you naïve questions, you willlook in new ways at your assumptions about howthings work. Thus, teaching can bring new energyto your lab investigations. You will also contributeto the greater good of society by educatingteaching and course design107

the next generation of students (those whobecome scientists as well as those who go intoother fields), and you should take great personalsatisfaction from giving students the knowledge,insights, and enthusiasm they need to succeed aswell-educated members of society. These reasonsare explored in greater depth below.For me, the best thing of being a scientistis that one is capable of understanding informationthat might seem complex to others,and then one is also capable of translatingthis information to others to spread theknowledge.”Gilbert Brenes Comacho, Costa RicaReasons to TeachLove of Learning. Teaching completes thelearning cycle. It is a logical extension of your ownstudentship.A Strong Teaching Record Can Help YourResearch Career. If you are at a university thatvalues teaching, the fact that you are knowledgeableabout teaching will help you advance in yourenvironment. Taking on your fair share of theinstitution’s teaching load will help establish yourreputation as a valuable peer and colleague.Get to Know Potential Students for Your Lab.Teaching will likely give you access to students whomay want to join your lab. Teaching an importantclass extremely well will help spread your reputationamong the best and most serious students.Increase Science Literacy. Increasingly, scientistsare called upon to communicate effectively withthe public about complex and practical issuesranging from health policy to the philosophicaland real-world quandaries of crop engineering,embryonic stem cell research, or preservation ofscarce resources. Delivering class-room instructionwill improve your communication skills. Also,by teaching students who will choose manycareers beyond science, you may influence futurepolicymakers, business leaders, corporate decisionmakersand others. Thus you will increase scienceliteracy and the general perception of science amongthose who affect how things move forward.Science and other Technical Fields Need toRetain Excellent Students. By adopting a teachingstyle that engages students, helps them becomeexcited about the discovery process, and createsin their imaginations the possibility of a rewardinglife in science, you will excite many more studentsabout pursuing scientific careers.Intellectual Growth. Ongoing interactions with newstudents will prompt you to rethink “the basics” inways that give you a deeper understanding of yourwork. Their questions may push you to acquire newskills and improve on existing ones, so that youyourself can extend your experimental reach.Increased Job Satisfaction. Your scientificexperiments and other aspects of laboratory workare not always going to go according to plan, and attimes you may become frustrated with the pace ofresearch in your lab. Teaching can provide muchneededbalance that re-energizes you and can giveyou a sense of accomplishment. When you teach,you build the future, give individual students achance for better lives, and increase the community’sknowledge. It is often a much more sociableand direct experience than your progress throughlaboratory science.It is important to tell the history of certainexperiments and talk about the personalknowledge one has of some of the “actors”who made important contributions to, forinstance, molecular biology. Make the sciencewe teach alive. Foster enthusiasm. I usuallysay that I cannot teach any subject that doesnot interest or fascinate me. When I am fascinatedby the subject I am teaching, I manageto get fascination in the audience.”Alberto Kornblihtt, Argentina108 excellence everywhere

Giving Back. Teaching allows you to give somethingimportant back to your country, as well—youtransmit the knowledge that you have attained tonew generations of students who may, in turn, havea role in moving science and the country forward.BECOMING ANEFFECTIVE TEACHERTeaching the lecture component of a basic sciencecurriculum for medical school students or a coursefor undergraduates can be daunting. You want tobe well-prepared for this new responsibility. Howdo you become a capable and effective teacherwhose students really learn the material you arepresenting? There are several steps you shouldtake before you even set foot in the classroom.Assess Your Strengthsand WeaknessesResearch has shown that the best teachers arenot only knowledgeable about their subject matter,but also show a concern for students and knowhow to stimulate interest, encourage discussion,explain topics clearly, and show enthusiasm. Thinkback to any previous teaching experiences youmay have had. Even if they are only presenting atlab meetings, nervously giving talks in your ownstudent days, or sharing a new skill with a friend,they may give you some insights into what teachingskills you could improve.The type of course you are asked to teach maynot mesh with your scientific interests, but youshould take the time to assess your strengths andweaknesses and take those into account whenplanning your classes. Since good teaching is partart, part technique, and part personality, you willneed to find techniques that will both fit your ownpersonality and will address your students’ variedlearning styles.For example, if you are an outgoing person whotakes great joy in sharing what you know, conveyingyour enthusiasm for science to students shouldbe easy for you. But your enthusiasm may beoverwhelming. You might need to avoid presentingstudents with a tidal wave of complex ideas, andinstead give them more time to pose questionsand reflect upon solutions. If you are a lessgregarious person, you might find teaching in alarge lecture to be so intimidating that you retreatbehind your lecture notes and have difficultyinteracting with students. If you are given a choiceof how to organize your course, you can build yourconfidence by starting with a topic you know welland feel passionate about.Whether you are bold, shy, or somewhere inbetween, after you have established some rapportwith students, stimulating discussion around thesubject matter might become easier for you.Observe and Be ObservedJust as you learn to improve your scientificwork based on the critiques that editors give toyour submitted manuscripts or comments thatreviewers make about your grant applications, youcan also learn about teaching from peers, seniorcolleagues, and others at your institution as wellas from feedback provided by your students.Ask a Peer for Feedback. You might want toconsider a reciprocal arrangement with anotherjunior professor in which you visit each other’sclasses, staying in the back and just watching thelesson and how students respond to it. When youare being observed, ask your colleague to providea frank assessment of your teaching skills. He orshe can give you information and advice informallyor by completing a written checklist that containsspecific categories, such as structure and goalsof the class, teaching behaviors, rapport withstudents, and subject matter and instruction.Observe a Senior Colleague. Seek out seniorcolleagues who are reputed to be good teachers,and ask them if you can attend their classes tosee what they do that is effective. If you wouldlike a faculty member to observe your teaching,and possibly serve as a guide for you as youlearn this skill, choose someone who seemsenthusiastic and knowledgeable about teachingand who has a reputation among students as agood teacher (not just as a giver of high marks).Experienced colleagues can offer suggestionsfor dealing with particular topics and can give youadditional ways to clarify and enliven the material.teaching and course design109

Seek Feedback through a Formal Peer ReviewProject. As you become a more experiencedteacher, you might want to participate in moreformal peer review of teaching projects, whichaims to engage faculty in capturing the intellectualwork of teaching by helping instructors document,assess, and reflect upon ways to improve studentlearning and performance.Ask your Students for Feedback. Student evaluationsof teaching effectiveness can offer valuableclues as to what you are—and are not—doingwell. However, many standard assessments, whichcontain quantitative questions designed to beanalyzed by computer (e.g., “Overall, how wouldyou rate the quality of the instructor’s teaching?”),may not provide enough specific information.You might want to create an informal survey,with plenty of room for comments. The students’critiques can help you make any necessary coursecorrections. Bear in mind, though, that studentratings for your first course might be low. Theyshould quickly improve as you gain experienceand confidence as a teacher. Some students mayuse an anonymous evaluation as an opportunityto make cruel remarks, but if you emphasize thatthis is a practical evaluation meant to improvetheir classroom experience, there should be usefulfeedback on what you are doing wrong, fromspeaking too softly to asking unclear examinationquestions, as well as some encouraging acclaimfor the things you are doing right.THE PRINCIPLESOF ACTIVE LEARNINGWhether you teach at a large research university,a medical school, or a smaller school, you can aimto create a classroom that reflects the process ofscience and captures the rigor, iterative nature,and spirit of discovery of science at its best. Evenin courses where you expect to stand at the frontof the room and lecture, there are ways to getstudents thinking and asking questions. (See thebox “Active Learning in Small and Large Settings”)What Is Active Learning?Active learning uses a variety of problem-solvingtechniques to help students become activeparticipants in the learning process, giving themthe chance to clarify, question, apply their knowledgeand consolidate what they have learned.The concept was originated by John Dewey, aphilosopher of education who contended thatlearning must be built upon the experience of thelearner, who actively integrates new knowledgeinto an existing conceptual framework. A growingbody of research supports that supplementing (orreplacing) lectures with active-learning techniquesand engaging students in discovery and scientificprocess can improve their abilities to understandconcepts, think critically, and retain the knowledgethey have gained in the course.Active Learning in Small and Large SettingsActive learning presents opportunities and challenges for the teacher. If you have small classes andfrequent, relatively informal contact with the students both in and out of class, that will make someapproaches easier to employ. At a larger or more formal institution, some active learning approachesmay be very difficult to apply, but related ideas, such as students forming small study groups orfrequent quizzes to check student understanding, may be useful.Upper-level courses and other small-sized classes are excellent opportunities for departures fromstraight lectures. In the instances where you teach labs in connection with your science courses, youcan introduce inquiry-based experiments in your lectures from the start. Because undergraduates,graduate students, and technicians will contribute substantially to your research agenda, the time youspend training them and helping them organize their projects will present many opportunities forexperimenting with active learning approaches in the lab.110 excellence everywhere

In the classroom, the principal tools of activelearning are:n Cooperative learning, in which students work ingroups, helping each other understand the materialthey are grappling with.n Inquiry-based learning, in which students ask andanswer questions and engage in the process ofscience, by doing laboratory exercises, for example.n Assessment, in which the teacher very regularlyassesses what students are learning and whatparts have gone “over their heads.” The teacheruses the feedback to make revisions as the courseprogresses so that students spend adequate timeon ideas that are critical for their understanding ofthe material.Implementing Active Learning inthe ClassroomMost scientists will have experienced learning asundergraduates or even graduate students via the“sage on the stage” approach of lecture classes.Delivering a lecture may be the teaching stylethat will be most natural for you. Some activelearning approaches integrate well into lecturesand can make the material more engaging for yourstudents. You might lecture for 10-15 minutesand then carry out an activity. For example, askstudents to work in small groups on a problem orequation, and then resume the lecture by solvingthe problem at the board in the front of the room.You might present the results of a scientific studyand ask students to make a prediction, basedon their understanding of the material, of whatthe next step would be. Asking the students towrite on a note card the most important conceptthey learned in the day’s lecture and hand it inas they leave can let you quickly gauge whetherthe class is struggling with the material. Similarly,asking students to jot down questions, and thenanswering them at the beginning of the next classsession, can help ensure that most students arekeeping up with the material.If you use active learning in your classroom, keepthe following pointers in mind:Do Not Try to Cover Too Many Topics at Once.To make active learning work well, especiallywithin the large lecture format, pare down eachlecture to the core concepts you want or arerequired to introduce, and organize the conceptsin a meaningful sequence.Provide an Appealing Context for theConcepts you Highlight. While you might finda lecture on metabolic pathways exciting, yourstudents might learn even more if you present anabsorbing case problem to which an understandingof the metabolic pathway will hold a key.Start Gradually and Then Add More. If you arecomfortable with an informal style and it is acceptableat your institution, you might try introducingactive learning components slowly, experimentingwith different ways of teaching the material toengage students. For example, you could start bystopping your lecture for a few moments to askstudents questions (which you can formulate inadvance) about the content you are teaching:n Description: What do you see? What happened?n Common purpose: What is the purpose or functionof…?n Procedures: How was this done? What will haveto be done?n Possibilities: What else could…? How couldwe…?n Prediction: What will happen next?n Justification: How can you tell? What evidence ledyou to…?n Rationale: Why? What is the reason?n Generalization: What is the same about…and…?What could you generalize from these events?n Definition: What does…mean?teaching and course design111

Encouraging Student Questionsn Do not ask, “Any questions so far?” Rather,answer a question with a question to encouragestudents to define concepts in their own words.For example, if a student asks, “What is polymerasechain reaction (PCR)?” answer the question.but then ask a related question that will testthe student’s ability to apply the knowledge thatyou just gave them. “Can anyone think of why aresearcher would want to use PCR?”n Encourage students to question concepts, ideas,and theories by using examples from your ownresearch or research important in your scientificfield to explain how the scientific process is carriedout.n One of the problems with asking questions inclass is that it can become a private conversationwith just a few students who volunteer answers.Instead, you might try asking students to write theanswers individually, or to work on the answers ina group.n At the end of a class, ask students to write downtwo good questions or test problems related to thematerial you presented, and start your next lecturewith a reference to those questions. You can alsoask a question that can be answered by those whoread the material for the next class, and then askany student to present his or her answer at thebeginning of the next session.n If home internet use is common for your students,consider using web-based resources such as adiscussion board to encourage students to ask andanswer each other’s questions.Use Real-World Examplesn Use current newspaper and magazine articles toshow the relevance of the topics students arestudying. For example, if you are teaching aboutDNA sequencing, bring in articles about genomicsand post-genomics or ask students to bring inrelevant articles they may have seen.n Involve the class in assessing the biological implicationsof a real or planned community project,such as a plan to control communicable diseasesor an animal population. Assign student groups toinvestigate various aspects of the project, collectdata, and present evidence-based recommendationsto the class.Use Technology to Enhance Teaching. If youhave access to a computer or to the Internetduring your class, there are ways to use technologyto make classes more engaging.n Provide some historical background to keydiscoveries in biology by showing films or newsclips of early, groundbreaking experiments.Q u e s t i o nq&aHow do I get students to respond to my questions and not be met with silence?answerMake it clear that you expect participation, but develop the patience to deal with at least 10-15 secondsof silence when you ask a question. Even if you feel frustrated when no one speaks up, refrain fromanswering the question yourself, or you will set the wrong tone for the rest of the course. If studentsare very reticent to ask and answer questions, you might try framing an opening question in the form of“Choose one of these answers.” Call for a vote by show of hands, then ask one of the students whoknew the answer to explain to the others why that answer was correct.112 excellence everywhere

n Integrate new media technology such as animationsor virtual labs to make the subject more vivid.Slides, photos, and film clips will also get yourstudents’ attention and may open familiar materialto surprising new questions.n Use interactive demonstrations and simulations toillustrate concepts. Or show maps, photographs,or diagrams and ask students to make their ownobservations and interpretations.n If you decide to use PowerPoint slides in your class,learn to make your presentations visually dynamicand engaging to students. Reading a lecture aloudfrom a series of slides is painfully dull for both theteacher and the students.Set the Stage for Active Learningn Set the pattern for active participation from the veryfirst day. Remind students of the value of activelearning, ask questions that call for genuine discussion,and get students talking several times duringthe first session or in separate discussions later.n Learn the names of as many of your students asyou can. At the first class, tell students to choosetheir seats for the semester and then make a seatingchart, which you can study while students areworking on in-class exercises.Active Learning in the LabThe teaching laboratory associated with a courseis a perfect place for students to actually practicescience by designing experiments, gathering andanalyzing data, and presenting their findings.If you want your students to experience the thrillof science, consider taking a different approach byeither designing or adapting existing inquiry-basedexperiments. When they are properly designedas discovery-based learning activities, labs canprovide rich learning experiences for students andcan help them develop a variety of professionaland technical skills.Most inquiry-based labs begin with a question—either one generated by the teacher or by thestudents—that provides students with a specificissue or topic to explore. Students research thetopic, offer a hypothesis, design an experimentto test the hypothesis, collect and analyze thedata, and determine if their hypothesis wasconfirmed. The students then present and explaintheir findings to the class as a whole. This canbe useful even when facilities and resources fordoing experiments are not available. Students canbe given mock data from which they can do therelevant analysis and think through results, evenif it is impossible to give them a chance to collectthe data themselves.As students start to understand and apply thescientific method, they can begin to experiencethe rewarding pleasure of discovery. From inquirybasedlabs, students can also develop bettercommunication and critical thinking skills and learnto work together as part of a problem-solving team.Case-Based LearningCase-based learning allows students to learn sciencein a very practical way, by exploring the kindsof issues they might actually confront as scientistsor as physicians or engineers in practice. Studentsmeet in small groups with a faculty member or amore advanced student, who acts as a facilitator.They are then assigned roles, such as discussionleader, reader, scribe, or timekeeper. For eachcase, which they will have read and thought aboutahead of time, they receive a list of objectives; anarrative description of an issue, phenomenon, orscientific advance; and a list of questions to addressand problems posed by the narrative. The exercisesare designed to integrate previously learned classroommaterial, so students are expected to referto material they have studied before attemptingto answer the questions. In addition, students areencouraged to pose hypotheses, present any newinformation they may have, reach conclusions asa group, and evaluate the exercise. The wholeprocess can be done in an hour.In this kind of learning, your role is likely to bethat of a facilitator. Your goal should be to assistthe student groups to function smoothly so thatstudents can learn from one another. You shouldnot take over and begin lecturing the smallgroups, but you should correct any misinformationthat might arise during student discussions.teaching and course design113

Here are some ways you can help them learnwithout delivering the material yourself:n Encourage the group to recognize and formulateproblems by asking students to brainstorm andmake a list of possible causes of the problembeing discussed.n Give group members opportunities to demonstratetheir outside reading by asking them to describe newinformation they might consider from other sources.n Ensure that all group members have a chanceto contribute by preventing the “talkers” fromanswering too quickly, while encouraging quieterstudents to participate.n Encourage the groups to critically evaluate ideasby asking probing questions and suggesting otheravenues to explore.n Provide timely, constructive feedback to help thegroups analyze what went well and what wentastray in their discussions, and to make sure thatat the end the groups have not come to illogical orincorrect conclusions.n Model respectful and professional behavior byshowing respect and support to all students whilemaking the rules of small-group discussion very clear.(Adapted from Guide to Small Group CBL Exercises, BMS6204: MedicalBiochemistry and Genetics, Florida State University College of Medicine.)DevelopingExamination QuestionsRemember that writing exam questions takestime; do not try to “throw it together” at the lastminute. Before you start, make sure you ask ifyour institution has any established formats towhich your exam questions must conform. If youhave students or other trainees helping you teachthe class, involve them in writing the exam orin reviewing a draft of it to make sure that yourinstructions are clear and that the test can becompleted in the time allowed.Your school will have its own customs and requirementsfor testing students’ knowledge. In someplaces oral exams are common; in others writtenones are used nearly exclusively. Regardless ofthe type of exam, you should use a variety ofquestions to evaluate what the students havelearned.True/False Questions. These questions lendthemselves to written exams. They present astatement and ask the student to decide whetherthe statement is true or false. While the testsare among the easiest to write and score, theyare limited in the kinds of student mastery theyassess and have a relatively high probability ofstudents guessing the right answer. “True ormake true” questions, which ask the student torecognize and correct false statements, can alsobe useful.Short Answer Questions. These are “constructedresponse” or open-ended questions that askstudents to create a short answer (one sentenceor several sentences). In a written exam, studentsfill in a blank or complete a sentence. Althoughthe questions are relatively easy to write, theyare harder to score because students are free toanswer the question in any way they choose.Multiple Choice Questions. These questions areused primarily in written exams. These present aquestion and ask students to choose from a listof answers. Questions can be simple statementsor complex cases or scenarios that require carefulconsideration on the part of students. The questionscan be more challenging to answer (if theyrequire both one correct answer and several falseanswers that distract the student by being nearlytrue or by playing on a common misunderstandingof the concept), but are easy to score.Essay Questions. These questions can beused both in written and oral exams. They allowstudents to focus on broad issues, generalconcepts, and interrelationships, rather than onspecific facts or details. The advantage is that thetests allow you to see the quality and depth ofeach student’s thinking. However, they can bedifficult and very time-consuming to score,because the answers vary in length and variety,and you might tend to give students a bettergrade if they have strong writing skills.114 excellence everywhere

COURSE DESIGNYou may be asked to design a new course fromscratch, or you may want to redesign an existingcourse to better suit your teaching style andknowledge or advances in your field. Coursedesign is a complex and time-consuming undertaking,so before starting down this path, giveconsiderable thought to how you will find the timeto build the new course, how many times (if any)you will be able to substantially re-teach the samecourse, and whether your new course—especiallyif it is a significant departure from a well-lovedpredecessor’s course—will generate potentiallydamaging turbulence for you from your teachingand research colleagues.n Clarify your department’s expectations for thiscourse. If you are teaching a course for only oneyear and must hand it back to your colleague whenhe returns from a sabbatical, you might want toinvest minimal time and effort. If you can get acommitment to teach the course for several years,revising it will make more sense.n Review and evaluate the course syllabus, lecturenotes, textbooks and other assigned readings,assessment questions, and other materials thefaculty member who previously taught the coursewill make available to you.n Review students’ final exams to learn wherethe course was strong or weak in teaching keyconcepts. If they are available, skim a few years’worth of students’ course evaluations.n If possible, ask the faculty member who has beenteaching the course to describe his or her impressionsof what worked and what did not, or observethis person teaching a class and jot down yourthoughts about what you would keep or change.Determine what Changes to Make. If you dodecide to make changes to the course, figure outwhat and how much you want to change. Are yourpredecessor’s lecture notes written in a style thatis similar to your own way of presenting material?If not, spend some time editing the lectures tomake them your own. Is course content basicallygood, but is it presented primarily in lecture formwith few activities that press the students to think?If the content of the course seems satisfactoryoverall, you can focus more on your presentation.But if you think it is necessary to introduce asubstantial amount of new content or make majorstructural changes, then it may be useful to startfrom the beginning and design a completely newcourse.Designing a New CourseCreating a new course is more difficult andtime-consuming than revising an existing one.Before starting, ask yourself why you want todesign a new course. Has your department orschool requested that you fill a gap in the existingcurriculum? Will you earn good will and be viewedas a team player if you take it on? Do you havea special research interest that is not currentlyrepresented in the curriculum?You will face three critical decisions—what toteach, how to teach it, and how to ensure thatstudents are learning what is being taught. Ideally,you should begin planning your course severalmonths ahead of the term to give yourself timeto order textbooks and request other resourcesand to prepare your course handouts. But evenif you are asked to develop a new course at thelast minute, you can still use many of the planningguidelines described below.Decide what to Teach. Determine how thecourse relates to other courses in the department’scurriculum by asking these questions:n Will the course be required before students canregister for higher-level courses? If so, talk to theinstructors of the advanced courses to see whatkinds of knowledge and skills they expect fromstudents who will have taken your course, andmake sure you are covering that material well.n Is it an advanced course? If so, talk to the instructorswho are teaching the basic courses thatstudents will have taken before yours so that youcan better understand what skills and knowledgestudents will have when entering your course.teaching and course design115

n Are there curriculum changes underway that mightaffect your course? If, for example, your schoolis considering new approaches—such as doingaway with introductory biology and chemistry andreplacing them with a multidisciplinary life sciencescourse—you will want to keep that long-termplan in mind. Knowing how your course fits intothe entire structure of the students’ education isimportant, and will call for discussions with otherfaculty and perhaps a collaborative or interdisciplinaryapproach.Establish content goals. Identify three to fivegeneral goals (e.g., “understanding the conceptbasics of metabolism”) for the course that willexplain what you want your students to know andbe able to do when the course is over. If you includenon-content goals (such as “work conductedcollaboratively with other students”), keep in mindthat they are harder to assess.Identify major course themes. These principlesor fundamental postulates lend continuity to andprovide perspective on the entire course. Forexample, a year-long course in introductory biologymight involve three broad themes: informationand evolution in living systems, development andhomeostasis, and energy and resources.Identify core concepts within your major themes.Try to provide a balance of concrete informationand abstract concepts, and balance material thatemphasizes practical problem-solving with materialthat emphasizes fundamental understanding.Define the objectives of individual units or lessons.For example, one objective might be that studentswill be able to propose tests of evolutionaryhypotheses or critique arguments pertaining toevolutionary evidence. Such definitions will helpstructure the content of each lessonDetermine How to Teach It. Determine thegeneral structure of your course. Ask yourselfthese kinds of questions:n What combination of lecture and homeworkassignments, labs, seminars, and journal club doyou want to use?n What will be the balance of faculty lecture andother teaching methods, including studentpresentations, group projects, or laboratory work,in the course?n Do you want to, or are you required to includeother faculty presenters?n Will any class sessions be filled by field trips,movies, or other non-speaker events?Select resources. Choose textbooks and journalarticles. Use letterhead to contact publishers forreview copies (some publishers will send you afree sample of their textbook on request if you areteaching at an established institution). If you willbe able to use a computer in your presentationsto the class, investigate the use of technologyenhancements such as animations, videos, simulations,or virtual labs. Make sure the textbooksmatch your idea of the course’s goals and objectives,or be prepared to tell students how to makethe best use of the reading resources. Think aboutguest speakers or faculty members who might beappropriate and willing to teach several classes.Determine what other resources you need, suchas students or trainees to help you teach studentlabs or grade homework and examinations, teachinglaboratory space, supplies, library resources,and student textbooks if those are provided by theinstitution. Find out what you must to ensure thatall of the needed items, people, and resources arein place.If you plan to have a Web site for your course,familiarize yourself with your institution’s proceduresfor placing material online.Based on the goals of the course, determine howyou will assess student learning for each goal.You can use active assessments, as well as moretraditional quizzes, in-class or at-home examinations,papers, problem sets, in-class presentations, andprojects.Divide the course into manageable pieces, perhapspunctuated by examinations if having severalexaminations per course is customary at yourinstitution. Divide the larger units into individualclass sessions with objectives, methods, andevaluations for each. Choose activities for eachclass and create a table or grid for each classto plan those elements. Pay attention to majorholidays: if most students will go home for a fewdays, think about whether your planned schedulewill lead to poor performance by students who maybe rushing to go home or may return unprepared.116 excellence everywhere

Check your college or university’s calendar. Lookfor exam dates, holidays, and other events thatmight affect class schedules. Try to avoid havingsessions that cover related material span majorholidays.Look at existing syllabi (course agendas) to get anidea of the appropriate format at your school. Theymay typically include:n Name of the course, number of credits, classroommeeting place and time, and semester and yearthe course is to be given.n Name and contact information for you and anyother faculty involved.n Course Web site, if there is one.n A brief course description and statement of overallcourse goals.n A brief statement of objectives.n A description of course format.n A statement of assessment techniques.n A schedule of class dates and topics.n A schedule of due dates for papers, tests, andprojects.n Pertinent information about academic policies andprocedures such as class attendance, make-upassignments, late work, group projects, and grading.Determine if Students are Learning. Feedbackcan be obtained by reviewing student performance,from student evaluations, from informal consultationswith students, and from evaluations fromyour peers. You might also want to have an informalconsultation with a trusted senior teacher whoyou have recruited to help you as you start yourown teaching career. It might be useful to conductsuch evaluations periodically during the course,particularly if it is a new one.(Sources: Hingorani, Manju. “Course Planning and Teaching,” Davis,Barbara Gross. “Preparing or Revising a Course,” Tools for Teaching. SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.)Once you have taught your course, you willprobably want to revise it based on your sense ofwhether the objectives were met and on feedbackfrom students and colleagues. But resist theurge to change or correct everything all at once.Instead, make small adjustments over time.TEACHING OTHERS TO TEACHIf you are teaching a large course with assistantswho will handle laboratory instruction or grading,do not expect them to be comfortable usingteaching techniques they have never experiencedas students. If they will be presenting lectures orspeaking during laboratory sessions, demonstratethe teaching techniques you expect them to use,having your assistants standing in for the studentsfor the purpose of the demonstration. You mayspend only an hour running through a few examples,but it could make the difference betweenyour teaching assistants shying away from yourmethods and being willing to use them.n Help teaching assistants understand that teachingis an experimental situation, and emphasize thatthey do not have to be perfect teachers. Teacherscan continue to experiment and revise theircourses, even after years in the classroom.n Visit sections led by teaching assistants often, andoffer useful feedback in private soon after yourvisit.n Before allowing others to grade papers for you,circulate a sample of papers and have eachassistant grade them independently using a rubricdeveloped in advance. Meet with the graders, alltogether if possible, to discuss the answers andtalk about how to resolve differences in how thegraders may be viewing the questions.n Tell your assistants to come to you when seriousproblems arise, such as encountering studentswith obvious behavior or psychological problems.n Be sure to brief your teaching assistants onprofessional standards of behavior, which may varyfrom place to place. These often include standardsregarding fairness and confidentiality, as well aspolicies regarding acceptable levels of socializingbetween teachers (including assistants) andstudents. For example, is dating allowed betweenstudents and their graders? It may also be importantto give them some guidance on conductingmeetings with students. For example, in someplaces it is common for students and teachers tomeet only in offices with the doors open and otherpeople around, so that there can be no claims ofinappropriate behavior.teaching and course design117

a relaxed format for talking about scienceStart a monthly film club. Invite your laboratory group to watch and discuss a science-related movie.Though there are many wonderful educational films, this works even better with an entertainingcinematic movie. The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has run a “Science in the Cinema” activityfor those who live near its Bethesda, Maryland campus since 1994, and has a long list of movies—mostly box office hits—and resource materials that will add to a lively discussion. The list can befound at http://science.education.nih.gov/cinema.More advice on creating a culture of teaching in your lab can be found in chapter 10, “Expanding YourInfluence: Training the Next Generation of Scientists.”Creating a LearningEnvironment in Your LabIn a very real sense, your laboratory is also a classroom—onein which the scientific process oftenresults in something new, exciting, or unexpected.In the lab, as in the classroom, you will often wantto avoid lecturing and giving trainees answerstoo quickly, and will instead prefer to emphasizequestions and encourage reflection. You can createa culture of learning in your lab for all trainees byusing some of the teaching strategies describedabove, and by encouraging members of your labgroup to learn from each other.Start a Journal Club. Journal clubs are a greatway to examine current literature and to let thosejust starting in the lab know that there are manyquestions left to be answered. Ask a member ofthe lab to select an original peer-reviewed journalarticle, distribute it in advance to the group,prepare an introduction to the paper, and provideany relevant or background information. If youhave a large group, lab members can break up intosmaller groups to discuss research-related issues(How good is the data? Should more experimentshave been done?), then reconvene and sharetheir thoughts with the group as a whole. Whileyour students are learning about experimentaldesign and other research issues, they will alsobe learning to collaborate and communicate.Ideally, journal club should be held on a weeklybasis, but if that is not possible, one good way tokeep everyone up on current literature is to askeach member of the group to present briefly theabstract of at least one paper at the beginning ofweekly lab meetings. (See chapter 4, page 58.)Time ManagementWhen Balancing Teachingand ResearchThe amount of time you devote to developingor teaching a course will depend in part on thepriority your institution places on teaching. If yourinstitution considers research its top priority, keepin mind that although you will want to be the bestteacher you can in the time allowed, you shouldnot permit your teaching obligations to undercutyour commitment to research. Volunteer to teachthe courses your department or institute particularlyneeds but are not as difficult to teach—thatway you can legitimately say, “Sorry, I am alreadycommitted” when you are asked to teach acourse that would be more time-consuming todevelop or teach.Even if you cannot reduce the number of hours,perhaps you could stack your teaching load sothat you teach all of your classes in one semesterand arrange to have a term with no teaching. Youmight also ask to teach multiple sections of thesame course to reduce your preparation time, andrequest graduate assistants to help you gradeexams. At the very least, you should try to clarifyyour teaching load. How many classes will youhave each term? What are typical enrollments ineach class? How much time will you be expectedto spend advising students or supervising thesesor dissertations? Does supervising undergraduateresearch count as teaching? How much creditdo you receive for teaching the lab sections of acourse? Armed with such knowledge, you mightbe able to make trade-offs that help you manageyour teaching load more effectively.118 excellence everywhere

Borrow, Adapt and Recycle.n Teach the same course several times, so thatyou are just making adjustments to it rather thanstarting from scratch every year.n Teach a course previously taught by someone whois willing to lend you copies of his or her notes,exams, and homework assignments.n Borrow or adapt high-quality curricula that arealready available. Curricula and sometimes lecturesfrom courses from universities worldwide arecollected at the Open Courseware Consortium’sWeb site, http://www.ocwconsortium.org. Linksinclude the more than 1800 courses now onlinefrom the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,the courses of the UK’s Open University, materialsfrom several Spanish, Mexican and Colombianuniversities, a translation project renderingmaterials into Portuguese, and technical coursesfrom 11 universities in Paris.Know Yourself.n Consider your personal rhythms. If you have anyinfluence over scheduling, choose a class that doesnot completely disrupt your day. For example, youcould teach two back-to-back classes or scheduledays without classes to help you find time for yourresearch.n Set realistic limits on your own class preparationand do not be a perfectionist.The Teaching PortfolioYou want to make sure that your teaching successesare favorably considered as part of yourpromotion review. One way to do this is to developa teaching portfolio. This document is an importantasset—not only for your career, but also for yourown professional development. Compiling yourportfolio will force you to reflect on your teaching,so that you can continue to analyze and improve it.While there are many ways to compile a teachingportfolio and many items you might include, typicalportfolios include a personal statement about yourteaching philosophy, evidence of your teaching, andsupporting materials. Unlike your scientific CV, whichlists all publications you have ever written, theteaching portfolio is more selective and has beencompared to an artist’s portfolio—a sampling of thebreadth and depth of your work.Sample Teaching PortfolioA teaching portfolio includes these items:n Personal Material: A short statementof your teaching philosophy, a broaderstatement of your teaching responsibilities,representative course syllabi, andsteps you have taken to enhance yourteaching skills or background knowledge.n Materials from Others: Student andcourse evaluation data from presentand former classes, statements fromcolleagues who have observed yourclassroom teaching, statements fromteaching assistants (TAs) you havesupervised, and any honors or otherrecognition you received for teaching.n Products of Teaching: Student scoreson class, departmental, and nationalcertification exams, samples of studentwork, and testimonials from alumni oremployers of former students.While the list might seem overwhelmingat first and could take years to develop tothe fullest, it is manageable if you take itin steps. The most important thing is tostart collecting and organizing informationrelated to your teaching philosophy andaccomplishments and to start compilingthose materials in a box, a loose-leafnotebook,or another format that can easilybe updated and supplemented.Becoming a good teacher may seem like a lot ofwork with little reward, but remember that yourresearch and teaching careers can work hand inhand. Your research can inform your teaching,and your teaching can inform your research.Learning to be an effective teacher is worth thetime and effort. Not only will you be instrumentalin inspiring and educating a new generation ofscientists, but you will also enhance your ownskills, confidence, and creativity. Remember, too,that teaching can be a stabilizing force in your life,especially if your research becomes discouragingor you lose ground in the laboratory. The time youteaching and course design119

spend in preparing an effective course with activelearningactivities can give great personal rewards,as your students demonstrate their knowledgeon a test or tell you that for the first time theyreally understand DNA structure and function.Since teaching is one of the three pillars on whichdecisions about tenure and certain grants aremade, your success in teaching and course designwill only improve your chances of having a long,productive, and well-funded career in academia.Resources for Undergraduate BiologyGo to http://www.hhmi.org/research/professors/ for an array of courses, hightechtools, and other resources developedby accomplished research scientists (whoare also gifted teachers) through grantsfrom HHMI’s Professors Program.RESOURCESBrinkley, Alan, et al. The Chicago Handbook for Teachers:A Practical Guide to the College Classroom. Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 1999.Handelsman, Jo, Sarah Miller Lauffer, and Christine Pfund.Scientific Teaching: A Guide to Transforming UndergraduateBiology Education. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman, 2006.McKeachie, Wilbert J., et al. McKeachie’s Teaching Tips:Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and UniversityTeachers. 11th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.Reis, Richard M. Tomorrow’s Professor: Preparing forAcademic Careers in Science and Engineering. Piscataway,NJ: IEEE Press, 1997.Hingorani, Manju. “Course Planning and Teaching,”Davis, Barbara Gross. “Preparing or Revising a Course,”Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.OnlineBioQUEST Curriculum Consortium, http://bioquest.org.Center for Faculty Excellence, University of North Carolina,http://cfe.unc.edu/about/publications.htmlDavis, Barbara Gross. Tools for Teaching. San Francisco:Jossey-Bass, 1993. “Quizzes, Tests and Exams” chapter,http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/quizzes.html.Davis, Barbara Gross. Tools for Teaching. San Francisco:Jossey-Bass, 1993. “Preparing or Revising a Course”chapter, http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/prepare.html.Davis, Barbara Gross. Tools for Teaching. San Francisco:Jossey-Bass, 1993. “Preparing to Teach the Large LectureCourse,” chapter, http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/largelecture.html.Drummond, Tom. “A Brief Summary of the Best Practicesin Teaching,” http://webshare.northseattle.edu/eceprogram/bestprac.htm.Harvard Medical School Case Studies. http://brighamrad.harvard.edu/education/online/tcd/tcd.html.Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Biointeractive.Virtual labs, animations, and other resources.http://www.biointeractive.org.Kuther, Tara. “Teaching 101” Science.Careers.org,http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2240/teaching_101.National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science.http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/case.html.National Science Digital Library, a free online resourcefor education and research in science, technology,mathematics and engineering. http://nsdl.org/resources_for/university_faculty/index.php.Reis, Richard M. “How to Get All-Important Teaching Experience,”Chronicle of Higher Education’s Career Network.http://chronicle.com/jobs/2000/07/2000072102c.htm.Rodriguez-Farrar, Hannelore B. “The Teaching Portfolio,”Harriet W. Sheridan Center, Brown University. www.brown.edu/administration/sheridan_center/docs/teach_port.pdf.The Active Learning Site. A comprehensive bibliography ofarticles about active learning. http://www.active-learningsite.com/bib1.htm.University of Minnesota Center for Teaching and Learning.“Suggestions for Effective Lecture Preparation and Delivery”http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/resources/guides/effective/index.html.University of Texas at Austin Center for Teaching Effectiveness.Preparing a Teaching Portfolio, A Guidebook. http://www.utexas.edu/academic/cte/teachfolio.html.Curran-Everett, Douglas. “Learning How to Teach: How toDo It and Why You Want To,” ScienceCareers.org, http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/1999_11_12/noDOI.4933230686003237261.120 excellence everywhere

chapter 9increasing your impact:getting published“ A word after a word after a word is power.”margaret atwoodHaving an internationally recognized role inadvancing science requires that you make yourname familiar to people far from your own backyard.Science is not an exclusive club, but as inmost human activities, people will be more opento you and your work when they know you. Thepublished literature is the major route by whichother scientists will come to have that criticalsense of familiarity that will make you a “knownfactor” and a welcomed colleague to otherresearchers around the world.Your scientific success hinges on several factors.Your ability to produce a body of publications thatyour colleagues will notice and respect is thekey to your success. Granting agencies, otherjournals, and your peers around the world look atyour publication record as proof of your researchaccomplishments. The importance of publishingexcellent work in well-regarded internationaljournals cannot be overstated. No other way ofbecoming well known matters as much.For your career to really flow well, you mustalso develop into a recognized local, regional andnational authority. If your work is known inLondon, Washington, Paris and Geneva, but utterlyunfamiliar to those who make decisions about thecourse of science at your own institution or in yourown country, your career progress will likely stall. Atthe same time, the people you train, the work theydo with you, and the work they may someday doon their own extend your ideas and your influencein the scientific community at home and far away.UnderstandingPublishingOnce you have completed several years ofgraduate school or medical school and postdoctoralresearch, you should be familiar with writingscientific papers and the peer review process forscientific publishing. But you may not yet havebeen able to publish in the high-impact, mostlyinternational journals that will build your reputation.To call a journal “high impact” is a description notonly of its prestige and quality, but also of howfar into the consciousness of scientists aroundthe world ideas published in it go. This chapterprovides some tips on planning for publication,and some tricks of the trade to help you get yourwork out in front of other scientists.increasing your impact: getting published121

The Publishing ProcessTypes of Journals. Within the broad category ofpeer-reviewed journals, individual journals vary inthe audience they try to reach and the scope ofcoverage they provide. Local journals are often not“indexed”, which means that they are not enteredinto the searchable mainstream of the scientificliterature where other researchers can discoverthem. Publishing in un-indexed journals thus doeslittle to advance your career outside your owncountry. However, there are efforts underway tostrengthen the peer review infrastructure of thebest un-indexed journals—many of them in thesouthern hemisphere—so that they can becomeindexed.Within indexed journals, there is a range of types.Some journals—for example, the top-tier journalsScience and Nature—focus on a broad scientificaudience. Others are deliberately narrower inscope, publishing research within a scientificspecialty. Most journals are published in Englishand have a broader readership, but many arepublished in other languages and are primarily readwithin a single field or subfield of science. Withineach group of journals there is a hierarchy in termsof how highly regarded each journal is. One of thecrude measures of a journal’s value is its impactfactor—a measure of how frequently paperspublished in that journal are cited in other journals(see “A Word About Impact Factors,” page 124).The more prestigious and high-impact the journal,the more competitive its publication process is.Though there is great prestige in Science, Nature,or other top-tier journals, not every paper belongsthere. Science and Nature are both weeklymagazines that not only transmit science but alsocarry news each week. Their content is meant tobe science that is especially interesting to a broadaudience, and throughout the year they oftenhave thematic issues highlighting some particularscientific topic. Much of any scientist’s work is notbroadly interesting as a piece of news, but ratherrepresents advancement of an ongoing story, andis not appropriate for these publications. Evenexciting, unexpected results may be turned downThe most important advice I would like toshare with researchers just beginning theirindependent careers is that the phrase ‘publishor perish’ is not just an overused cliché. Theonly way that people will know about yourwork is to have it published. Publishingfirst-authored papers in high-impact medicaljournals like Lancet and New England Journalof Medicine contributed tremendously to myreputation as an established independentresearcher. In publishing, think more aboutquality than quantity of publications.”Moses Bockarie, Papua New Guineaif the magazines have recently run a paper on asimilar topic. Getting an excellent review but notan acceptance from one of these publications isgood news, not a cause for disappointment. Andgetting an acceptance is even better.Work that can be published in an indexed journalshould be, because that is the best way for it to beread by other scientists. But unindexed local andregional journals should not necessarily be ignored.Your work may be important for researchers andclinicians in your region to know about, and shouldFree Journals for Developing CountriesThe Health InterNetwork Access toResearch Initiative (HINARI), a partnershipbetween WHO and scientific publishers,makes free access to biomedical literatureavailable to low-income countries. Morethan 2000 journals from more than 70scientific publishers, including very highimpact groups like Elsevier, Springer-Verlag,and John Wiley, are available throughthis program.More information is available atwww.who.int/hinari122 excellence everywhere

e published in the journals that they read. If yourwork is published in an indexed journal, you shoulddiscuss with the editor the possibility of reportingthe results in local journals by re-publishing datafrom the papers.If you get permission to republish the data, youmust make clear to local journal editors and readersthat the data has already appeared in print, oryou may be viewed as unethical.Communication Formats. In scientific journals,primary research holds center stage, although significantspace is often allocated to news, reviews,and commentaries. Depending on how completethe study is and how big a story the work to bepublished tells, original research can be publishedin a variety of formats, including full-length articles,brief communications, technical comments, oreven letters to the editor.As a beginning investigator, you should concentrateon getting your research published aspeer-reviewed, full-length articles wheneverpossible. Technical comments and letters to theeditor count for very little in most fields.A well-written and useful review may be worth theinvestment of your time, particularly if you havealready collected all of the relevant literature thatshould be summarized. However, a review doesnot carry the weight of original research, and is notas valuable to you in the long run as a paper thatreports original research. Generally, a journal editorwill invite you to submit a review. The invitationsare based in large part on the potential author’sreputation in the relevant field. You may also contacteditors yourself and propose writing a reviewon the strength of your unique perspective on afield. Again, your reputation will be a major sellingpoint to the journal’s editor in considering yourproposal of a review. Good reviews tend to getcited frequently by other scientists, which wouldincrease your citation index (a measure of howmany researchers cite your work). It is a “whichcomes first, the chicken or the egg?” situation.How can you get known if becoming better knownrequires being known?If you have a colleague or collaborator who hasgotten a foot in the door and established himselfor herself in the literature, you might approachthat person with the idea of writing a reviewtogether should the opportunity arise. This couldbenefit both of you. Reviews are extremely laborintensive,so many authors who do get invitedto write them are happy to have a willing partnerwho wants to do some of the hard work.To write a good review, you need the breadth anddepth of knowledge that generally come only withlong experience and from knowing a lot of scientistsworking in a field who will share unpublisheddata with you. Partnering with a better-establishedscientist can help you gain connections to thoseother researchers and their unpublished data. Itcan be a great opportunity for becoming betterknown to a broad group of the people whosework is moving science forward. But be careful—a review that reveals your lack of expertise orshows that your collaborator was not careful in hisor own review of the field could be embarrassingand career-damaging. You should only take on atask like this when you know you have the timeand energy to do it well.As your career progresses, you may want toconsider other opportunities to express your views—in letters, comments, and discussions of scientifictrends. Many readers of the good journalsperuse this “front matter,” and contributing toit gives you quick and wide visibility. In the veryhighest of the top-tier journals, however, frontmatter tends to be commissioned by the editors,leaving the letters to the editor section the onlyplace where you have a chance to get yourname in print if you have not yet established areputation.The Editors. Some journal editors are professionaleditors who trained as scientists but no longerwork in a lab, or who trained as writers or editorsand have chosen to become specialists in scientificpublication. Others are scientists who have theirown research programs but also serve as editorsfor a period of time. Journals such as Cell, Science,Nature, and PLoS Biology are staffed by professionaleditors. When speaking to a professionalincreasing your impact: getting published123

A word about impact factorsThe impact factor, which is published in the “Journal Citation Report” issued by Thompson Reuters, isone of several types of data regarding the communications of scientists. Thompson Reuters publishesthe Science Citation Index, the thick, cross-referenced directories of all of the science published in agiven field in a given year, once commonly found in scientific and technical libraries. The ScienceCitation Index is still produced, but is now more likely to be found in electronic form (either as DVDsor as the online resource SciSearch) than as a row of thick books. The impact factor, which is updatedannually, is a calculated number that reflects how frequently the “average article” in a given journalgets cited. It is calculated by dividing the number of current year citations by the number of citableitems published in that journal during the previous two years.Although the impact factor is often used to provide a gross approximation of the prestige and intellectualreach of a journal, many other factors can influence a journal’s impact and ranking. For example,review articles are generally cited more frequently than research articles, because they often serveas surrogates for earlier literature, especially in journals that discourage extensive bibliographies.Therefore, the inclusion of review articles in a journal will increase its impact factor.There is a strong bias against publications—many of them outside the axis of strong science-producingcountries—that take several years to publish papers. This bias occurs because the window throughwhich the impact factor looks—a period of two years—can miss the slower evolution of citations injournals where papers are considerably delayed.Other methods of measuring citations are used by other indexing efforts, including Google Scholar andthe scholarly publishers group CrossRef. The United Kingdom Serials Group is promoting the “usagefactor” (http://www.uksg.org/usagefactors), and Google has developed its own calculation, the “Yfactor” (http://arxiv.org/abs/cs.DL/0601030), as a rubric for gauging the visibility and influence of apublished work. The “h-index,” which ranks researchers by a combination of number of papers andhow often the papers are cited, was developed by theoretical physicist Jorge Hirsch to rank researchersin that field and was published in the prestigious journal PNAS, where, perhaps predictably, it has beenhighly cited. Though the order of journals in these indexes may vary, they all illustrate that some journalswill show off your work better than others.editor about your work, be sure to take the timeto highlight the general interest of your paper andexplain the nuances of the science. An editor whois also an active researcher is more likely to alreadyknow these things, but short introductions to yourwork and why it matters are always helpful.Planning for PublicationBecause publishing original research papers iscritical to your career, this section focuses onsubmitting and publishing these types of papers.Knowing when to Publish your Research.Your institution may have some guidelines abouthow many papers you are expected to publishin a given number of years. Or publication maybe a rare event where you work. Make sure youunderstand what your institution expects your rateof publication to be, and also that you understandwhat the “goal line” is, and how much publishingmatters with regard to whether you are judgedto be successful by your own organization. At awell-established research institute, the standardmay be seeing some number of articles in print.At an ambitious new institute, submitting papersmay be the current benchmark—actually seeingthem in print at some given rate may be the rule124 excellence everywhere

in a few years, but for today, just sending moreof them out is what is expected. At an institutionthat is focused almost entirely on teaching, worktoward publishing may be valued, or it may beseen as a distraction that takes you away fromactivities that those who will judge your successvalue more.If you want to have an internationally respectedcareer, you must publish. However, if you are atan institution that does not value publishing ordoes not push researchers to publish, make surethat you are excelling at doing the things that theinstitution expects you to do, and then work onyour publishing on top of that.If you have scientists training in your lab whowant to pursue research careers, each of themis under similar pressure to publish. To obtainresearch positions of their own in the near future,they themselves will need to be working, as youare, to establish a strong publication record. If youencourage them and help them toward that goal,it will enhance your own publication record andmultiply your success.Research projects usually have natural pointswhen it makes sense to publish (see “Creating anIntegrated Research and Publication Plan,” page126). However, you may want to write up yourresults before you reach that point. If there is competitionin your field and you wait to publish, yourun the risk of being “scooped.” When you arescooped—when someone else publishes the storybefore you can—you will at best be able to placeyour work in a journal that is not as prestigious asthe one you had initially envisioned; at worst mayfind yourself unable to publish it at all. If you delaypublishing until you obtain the complete set ofresults needed to dissect an entire phenomenon,you may get scooped and/or you may publish at arate that will disappoint your institution. You wantto publish good, solid, complete stories, but if youwait to tell the whole story in a single publication,you risk the rest of science passing you by. Atopic that is very interesting to much of the worldthis year may be virtually unpublishable two yearsfrom now, simply because the topic has been“overdone.”In the top-tier journals, there are definite fashions,and even more modest journals may view a greatpaper on an out-of-date topic as being derivativeor a footnote to a story that has already passed by.You will need to balance several considerations indeciding when to publish, but if you have a choice,it is a good idea to resist the temptation to rush intoprint. Remember, the quality of your publicationsis what matters most in the long run. A paper thatis incomplete or carelessly put together is less likelyto be accepted for publication, and having writtenit will have been an inefficient use of your time.Even worse, publishing incorrect results or shoddyanalysis will damage your reputation among yourcolleagues, in your institution and elsewhere.Choosing a journalMost scientific papers published today havemultiple authors. All authors typically want topublish in the most prestigious journal that is likelyto accept their paper, but views on which journalis best will differ, especially if there are othergroups working on the problem and a rejectionfrom a high-profile journal would leave you behindin the race to get your results into print. You maywant to take into consideration the suggestionsof students and scientists training in your lab,but if you are the senior author, you are generallythe one who makes the final decision. Decisionsabout where to publish may become even morecomplex when two or more laboratories havecontributed to the work, or when one author ismore tolerant of the risk of being scooped thanthe others are.Here are some questions that can help guide yourdecision:n Are my results sufficiently groundbreaking, and dothey have enough general appeal, to be consideredby one of the top-tier scientific journals? Do I havea larger story that makes my results really exciting?n Even if my results are not earth-shattering, haveI taken an interdisciplinary approach, making thefindings interesting to scientists in several fieldsand therefore appropriate for a general journal?increasing your impact: getting published125

C r e a t i n g a n i n t e g r a t e dresearch and publication planThere is a balance to be struck between trying to produce a “dream paper” that may never get doneand sending out a set of fragmentary observations. One way to find this balance is to integrate yourplans for publication into your research plans. In her book At the Helm: A Laboratory Navigator, KathyBarker suggests strategies for doing this. As you decide on the long-term goals of your research andon the series of experiments or calculations you want to undertake, Barker suggests that you envisionthese experiments or calculations as components of a published manuscript or series of manuscripts.Think graphically; imagine how each set of results will be displayed in a figure, graph, or table. Put yourideas in writing at the outset, sketching out the hypotheses you want to pursue, the methods you intendto use, and the results you hope to get. By integrating research planning, the development of graphicimages of your data, and the work of interpretive writing, you force yourself to focus your energy in away that will move your project forward. The questions you generate as you analyze and write up theresults of each experiment should suggest additional clarifying experiments, the results of which youshould also express graphically. As you write, you will uncover gaps in information and shaky conclusionsand will be able to do experiments that make the work stronger. Eventually, you should be able todecide that you have a set of results that warrants publication.n If my results are primarily of interest to myparticular scientific specialty, which journals reachthe members of that specialty? Within this group,which journal or journals have included articles onmy particular subject area in the past couple ofyears?n Would any journal be particularly interested in mysubject because it fits into a theme it has beenpursuing? Some journals, and some editors,pursue their own special interests over time.The top-tier journals receive far more submissionsthan they can publish. For example, Nature rejectsabout 95% of the biomedical papers it receives.Be realistic about your chances. You will loseprecious time submitting your paper to the wrongjournal.It helps to ask trusted colleagues where they thinkyour paper should appear. If they are frequentreviewers for several journals in your field, theywill have a good idea of what the standards are foreach journal.Making Your Pitch. To make sure you writeyour paper for the right journal, you may wantto submit an initial query to your target journalto gauge its interest in your work. Most journalshave guidelines for submitting so-called presubmissioninquiries. This information can oftenbe found on the journal’s Web site. If the journaldoes not provide guidelines, send an email to oneof the editors, who are usually listed near the frontof the journal and frequently can be found in theelectronic version of English language journals bysearching for the word “masthead” (the namefor the box that contains such information) at thejournal’s Web site. Try to find out the name of theeditor who handles papers in your area of interest.A pre-submission inquiry usually includes:n An abstract stating the purpose of the project,methods, and main findings and conclusions. Thisabstract can be slightly longer than the abstract ofa typical research paper and may include citationsof relevant journal literature. Make sure that theabstract is clear to non-specialists and that theywill be able to understand what the scientificadvance is.126 excellence everywhere

n A cover letter briefly describing what questionsled you to your research project, what you did, whyyou think your findings or methodology are significant,how your findings advance the field, and whythey are of special interest to that journal’s readers.Limit the cover letter to no more than 500 words.If English is not your first language and you arepitching your manuscript to an English languagejournal, make sure the abstract and cover letterare clearly written and that there are no grammaticalerrors. There are many companies thatspecialize in editing English manuscripts writtenby authors who are strongest in other languages.Their services are expensive, but having the inputof people with good command of a language youmay not know perfectly can make the differencebetween a paper being read or not read by theeditors. If you have a colleague who is a goodwriter, has English as a first language, and iswilling to help you, take advantage of the offer.Remember to thank him or her in the acknowledgementssection of the paper.Pre-submission inquiries are typically consideredwithin a few days at the top-tier English languagejournals, but consideration times can vary widelyfrom journal to journal. When making yoursubmission, it is fine to email the journal’s editorto ask about the expected time frame for reviewingthe manuscript and accepting or declining thesubmission. When that time has elapsed, followup with a telephone call or email to the editor. Ifyou make this second contact by phone, use theopportunity to make your pitch a second timeusing the same kind of persuasive arguments youused in your cover letter. Be sure to allude to thelarger context of your research—the big picturethat makes your particular effort meaningful.You can expect a reply of either “we’re notinterested” or “send the full manuscript.” Apositive response to a pre-submission inquiry isnot a guarantee that the manuscript will be sentout for formal peer review. The editor will want tosee the actual paper before making that decision.writing your paperOnce you have decided where you want to submityour manuscript, review the journal’s editorialguidelines (available from the journal’s Web site ordirectly from the editor) and follow them carefully.Pick the type of paper that is most appropriate forthe story you want to tell. For example, a “note”might be described by a journal as a 1000-wordpaper with no more than three figures, while a“report” might be one of 5000 words and up totwelve figures. Which fits your data morecomfortably? You might think of each figure asa distinctive verse in a song. Are you singing aquick, light tune, or a lengthy historical ballad?Either size of paper is good, but you want tochoose the right size before you proceed.Once you have decided what kind of paper to write,print or make copies of a few different examplesof that kind of paper from the journal and analyzethem. How much room does each devote to theintroduction? Is the methods and materials sectionfinely detailed or nearly perfunctory? Is the discussionmixed in with the results or does it stand byitself? Summarize your analysis of the examplesand use the summary as a guide for outlining yourown paper.The main consideration when writing a paper is toclearly describe your most important findings andtheir impact in your field. Do not let your manuscriptlook like a compilation of lab data; makesure the reader can understand how you haveadvanced the field of research. But do not overdoit—claiming that your work is more important thanit really is earns little more than contempt fromreviewers.If you are the primary scientifically trained personinvolved in generating the data, write the paper’sfirst draft yourself. But if the data has been generatedby a student or scientist working under you,you might assign the task of writing the first draftof the paper to the student or scientist in yourlab who did the work. That person should be thefirst author and you should take the role of seniorauthor. In the life sciences, this is usually the lastname among the authors listed. If someone seniorto you at your institution will be senior author, youincreasing your impact: getting published127

may need to take the first author position yourself,especially if you are early in your career andbuilding your reputation. Generally, in multi-authorpapers the first and final names on the list are theones the reader will remember.This is a sticky problem, since often among themultiple authors there are more than two peoplewho have worked hard to generate the data andthe thinking necessary to tell the story, and whoneed the benefits that come from taking one ofthese positions. It will be important for the peopleyou train to get first authorships themselves.If someone above you at your institute alwaystakes one of the prestige spots and you needto take the other one, over time it will be veryhard for your students to advance. But as ayoung researcher, it may be dangerous for you toargue against this situation. As your own careeradvances and your reputation becomes solid, youmay be able to move yourself to second-to-lastauthorship, so that your trainees can shine. Overtime your international colleagues, funders, andjournal editors should come to view you as senior.Compliance with the authorship criteria of theInternational Committee of Medical JournalEditors and the implementation of a memorandumof initiation for each project, in which the rolesof participants and the principles for determiningorder of authorship are stated, can diminish theworry, hard feelings, and sense of inequality thatcan come when distributing authorship, which is afundamentally important and greatly coveted formof recognition. (See chapter 4, pages 63-65, formore discussion of authorship.)The author who has actually done the hands-onwork should be the person to prepare the figures,tables, and legends first, because a scientificpaper is best written with the final form of thedata in front of the writer. Then work with theauthor to get the paper into shape. Although thismay not be the most efficient way to write apaper—there will be times when you could do ityourself much faster—it is important for peopleyou have trained to gain experience and feedbackon writing papers.Once you have a good first draft, send it tocolleagues in your field and in your departmentfor review. Have it proofread by someone in yourlab with access to your data and the documentsyou have cited. The last thing you want to do isto appear careless; doing so will raise suspicionsabout the quality of all of your work. It is also agood idea to give the paper to someone outsideyour field to see whether they understand itsimportance. As mentioned in the section above, ifthe journal is not in your first language, it is a goodidea to ask a friend or colleague who is a nativeor near-native speaker of the language for help.If your speaking skills in that language are trulyexcellent but you struggle with the rules of itsgrammar, reading the paper aloud can make anywritten errors more obvious. This is true for nativespeakers as well.The “who writes the manuscript” problem isnot trivial. I personally like to write the draft ofevery graduate student’s first paper. For [thestudent’s] second paper, he or she writes thefirst draft. Postdocs always write their firstdrafts. Sometimes it is more difficult to edit orchange a draft written by someone else thanwriting the draft directly oneself.”Alberto Kornblihtt, ArgentinaIn terms of other principles I would commentthat because thesis research is by definitionthe original research of the student, thestudent should have the opportunity to be thefirst author of the publication of this work. Ifthe student is unable to draft the manuscriptwithin a reasonable and, ideally, pre-establishedperiod of time, then first authorship maycorrespond to the investigator who assumesthe writing of the paper.”Nancy Gore Saravia, Colombia128 excellence everywhere

Three particularly difficult parts of a paper to writeare the title, abstract, and cover letter.n Title and Abstract. Create these two elementsafter the manuscript is complete. The title shouldsummarize the take-home message of your paper.The abstract should briefly summarize the paperand should stand on its own. Describe the experimentalquestion, the methods, the main results,and the conclusion. Unless the main point of thepaper is description of a new technique, methodsin the abstract should be limited to a sentence or afew words. Keep in mind that the abstract willannounce the existence of your work to peoplewho may not have time to read your paper. If theabstract attracts their attention, they could beinduced to read your article rather than passing onto the next abstract. Also note that your title andabstract will be used as the basic tools for theretrieval of your paper from electronic and paperlibraries.n Cover Letter. The cover letter should explain whythe paper is significant and why you think it isappropriate for the journal to which you are submittingit. The letter should cite a major question inyour field and describe how your work helps answerit. You may want to cite other papers the journalhas published in this field, or provide other reasonswhy the journal’s readership would find your workof interest. The letter of introduction is the place tomention whether there is competition in the fieldthat could lead to your being “scooped.” You mayalso include a list of colleagues who have reviewedthe paper and any information necessary to ensurea fair review process. Most journals will give youan opportunity to suggest people who are qualifiedto comment on your work and to exclude one ortwo particular individuals who may be competitorsand should not be reading about your work beforeit is published.Many books and articles that explain how to writescientific papers are available in print and online.Some are listed in “Resources” at the end of thischapter.Submitting your paperMost major journals now require that manuscriptsbe submitted electronically through the journal’sWeb site. Each journal has its own requirements,such as preferred file formats for text and figuresand the procedures for uploading files. Consultthe journal’s Web site for specific instructions andbe sure to follow them. If you have poor internetconnectivity, it may be a good idea to burn thepaper to a CD or copy it onto a flash drive andtake it to a place where the connection is morereliable. If your available internet connections arevery unreliable, you should follow up with an emailto the editor enquiring whether the attachmentsarrived intact.Regardless of whether they receive a papermanuscript or an electronic version, most journaleditors will let you know that they have receivedyour manuscript and how long you can expect thereview process to be.Navigating the Review ProcessIf you submit your manuscript for publication ina peer-reviewed journal, the reviewers will bechosen by the journal’s editor, who will take intoaccount any names you have suggested, his orher own knowledge of the field, and a literaturesearch.Receiving the Reviewers’ Comments. A paperis rarely accepted after the first round of review.When you receive the editorial decision and thereviewers’ comments, you will have to decidehow to proceed. If the paper is rejected, printthe rejection notice and set it aside. Rejection isnever easy. A few hours later, after you have hada chance to adjust your thinking to the inevitableneed to clear a new hurdle, read the letter slowlyand carefully to see what it is saying. Ignore fora moment, if you can, the comments about thescience and look instead for the editor’s signalsabout what you should do next.increasing your impact: getting published129

submitting image filesToday, most images are obtained digitally and programs such as Adobe Photoshop make it very simpleto modify them. But sometimes by adjusting an image you can make inappropriate changes to yourdata, which could be classified as scientific misconduct. Since 2002, The Journal of Cell Biology hasbeen doing simple, routine checks of every image of all accepted manuscripts to look for signs ofmanipulation. In some cases, this step has caused editors to withdraw the acceptance of a paper, andin a few cases, to notify relevant institutions. Other prominent journals, including Science and Nature,may take similar steps.Here is what The Journal of Cell Biology says constitutes inappropriate manipulation of images:“No specific feature within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced.The grouping of images from different parts of the same gel, or from different gels, fields, or exposuresmust be made explicit by the arrangement of the figure (e.g., using dividing lines) and in the text of thefigure legend. Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable if they are applied tothe whole image and as long as they do not obscure or eliminate any information present in the original.Nonlinear adjustments (e.g., changes to gamma settings) must be disclosed in the figure legend.”For more information, see Rossner, M., and Yamada K. M. “What is in a Picture? The Temptation ofImage Manipulation.” J. Cell Biol. 166(1):11–15, 2004.Many times you will be clearly and absolutelyturned down. In other cases, the editors will saythat the work is potentially interesting but toopreliminary, or that it has significant flaws thatpreclude its publication. But other times—quiteoften—you will see that the editor is giving youa short to-do list of experiments based on thereviewers’ comments, and that the journal will beglad to consider the revised paper. And still othertimes—not frequently, but also not rarely—youwill see that the editor will accept the paper if youonly respond to a few quibbles over language.Sometimes the editors will indicate that they wouldlike to publish your work, provided you make a fewminor revisions or do a few additional experiments.Another possibility is that the reviewers will advisethe editors not to publish the work even if it isrevised, because it is either not sufficiently novelor it does not fit the scope of the journal. Mosteditors are happy to talk to you by telephone tohelp you assess whether you should revise andresubmit your paper or try another journal. Inany event, it is important to remain unemotionalduring such conversations.Responding to Reviews. Do not react defensively.Focus instead on the substance of eacheditorial comment. Value good advice whereveryou find it. Read the reviews carefully, and communicateyour responses in writing to the editor. Itis a good idea not to respond as soon as you hearfrom the editor. Let a couple of days go by. A hastilywritten and emotional response will hurt yourchances for resubmission. Do not be sarcastic anddo not speculate on who the reviewer might be orwhy he or she might be trying to thwart your work.If the reviews include a request for additionalinformation that will require a few more experiments,carry them out and send your responseto the editor. You can make the process easier byrepeating each comment, stating your response,and indicating explicitly where in your paper youare making a recommended change.130 excellence everywhere

If you think a requested additional experiment isunreasonable, write a rebuttal letter explainingwhy the experiment cannot be done or why itwill not help strengthen the conclusions of yourpaper. You may discuss your concerns with theeditor before working on a revised manuscript.For example, you should ask, “If I do revisionsA and B, but instead of doing experiment C, I doa different but related experiment, D, will youstill consider a revised manuscript?” Rememberthat you are the person best acquainted with thedetails of your work and the limitations of yourresearch tools. If you think a referee’s commentsare completely off the mark, write a rebuttal letterexplaining your concerns. If all three referees, oreven two out of three, had serious misgivings,it may be difficult to convince the editor that thereferees missed the point.If the main problem is that the manuscript doesnot convey the importance of the work, you maywant to rewrite it and add more data. You mightwant to check with the editor first to make surethis is an appropriate course of action.Regardless of how you proceed, keep youremotions in check. You should never demean thereviewers. The reality is that reviewers, especiallythose who manage their own laboratories,sometimes work under unrealistic time pressures.Occasionally, the reviewer selected may nothave the expertise to judge a paper competently.Whatever the case, do not question a reviewer’sexpertise. If you think a reviewer missed animportant point, politely tell your editor, who hasthe option of identifying additional reviewers foryour paper if doing so seems warranted.In the end, you will have to do a cost-benefitanalysis. If you believe that satisfying all thereviewers’ concerns would bog down yourresearch program in unnecessary experiments,you may have no choice but to take your paperelsewhere.if you are asked to review a paperAs your relationships with journal editors develop, you may be asked to review manuscripts submittedby other scientists. Take the task seriously. Do the reviews thoroughly and promptly. If you do not havetime or do not think you have the right expertise, let the editors know right away. If a paper arrives andupon reading it you see it is beyond your expertise, again, let the editor know quickly. They will not holdthis against you. A late or weak review, however, could hurt your reputation with the editors.Once you have accepted a paper to be reviewed, do your work on it quickly so as not to delay thereview process. This is good not only for moving the science forward but also for building a good relationshipwith the journal. Be a discerning reviewer, but review others as you would like to be reviewedyourself. Be polite, not demeaning. Be specific about the paper’s shortcomings, and be frank about howthe author might remedy them. Not every paper merits publication, but do not frame your comments soharshly that the investigator will see no way forward with his or her work.You will be asked not to reveal the contents of any article reviewed and will be reminded that youshould not use your knowledge of the pre-published results to further your own research. Take this admonitionseriously—it is essential that you respect the confidentiality of the review process. If you havea conflict of interest that precludes you from reviewing an article (e.g., you are directly competing withthe author of the article you are reviewing or the author is one of your former trainees), stop reading thepaper and let the editors know immediately. They will not be pleased if they find out about a conflict ofinterest after you have reviewed the paper.The benefits of serving as a reviewer are potentially great. Not only will you learn about others’ research,you will improve your own critical skills and confirm your standing as a knowledgeable scientist in theeyes of the editors. Your own future papers will be taken more seriously if you do good reviews.increasing your impact: getting published131

Submitting your Paper to Another Journal.If you are advised that your paper is not appropriatefor the journal to which you have initially submittedit (e.g., it is not sufficiently novel or does nothave the right focus), the best course is usuallyto select another journal. In some cases, you maynot want to inform editors of the second journalthat the manuscript was submitted elsewhereand rejected—it might prejudice the process. Forexample, if your paper was rejected by Nature andyou resubmit it to Science (or vice versa), do notlet the editors of the second journal know. Thesejournals compete for the best papers and do notwant to publish each other’s rejects. If, however,your paper was reviewed by Nature or Scienceand the reviews were generally positive but theeditor did not feel the paper had a sufficiently highimpact value for a top-tier journal, you may be ableto use the reviewers’ comments as leverage foryour next submission to a field-specific journal thatis not seen as a competitor to those two broaderpublications. Ask the first journal’s editor to supportthe resubmission, and tell the second editorthat your paper has already been reviewed. Thesecond review process may be expedited.Regardless of your course of action, never send arejected manuscript without changes to a secondjournal. If the same reviewers receive it from thesecond editor, which may well happen if they areespecially well-suited to consider the work, theywill be annoyed to see that you have completelyignored their comments.PUBLISHING HONESTLYThe number of publications is often used as a wayto keep score, with researchers who publish moreviewed as superior. But publishing papers thatare too similar, or that show your work movingonly a fraction of a step forward, may lead otherresearchers to view you as a weak scientist.Publishing the same data as more than one paperis not generally acceptable, except in studieswhere the older data is clearly built and expandedwith new work. Even in cases where new workmakes substantial use of old data, the norm inresearch papers is usually to cite an earlier paper,not to re-publish material from it. Review articles,which openly gather information from otherpapers, digest it, and present it as a digestedwhole, are different in this way from researchpublications.Substantially re-publishing an entire paper undera new title or in a different language is a form ofscientific misconduct. While the increasing numberof publications in the world makes it easierto cheat, increased use of electronic formats hasmade duplications easier to detect. While cheatingby republishing is a significant offense, claimingthe work of others as your own is a moral andprofessional disaster which can and should endone’s career.What if you make a mistake?Corrections are a normal and acceptable part ofscience. Errata—notes published to alert others tomistakes in the literature—-cover everything fromsmall printing errors such as an out-of-place tableto technical errors that skewed results but did notchange the overall message of the paper. Retractionsare more serious: they withdraw a paperfrom the literature because of a gross failure thatrenders the paper’s contents invalid or seriouslytainted. Retractions are embarrassing, but overtime, an honest, careful researcher can recoverfrom having had a paper retracted.132 excellence everywhere

PROMOTING YOUR WORKYour patience and persistence have paid off, andyour article has been accepted by a good journal.Now you can use your newly minted publicationas a tool in a legitimate effort at self-promotion.You want to become known to your scientificcolleagues nationwide. Here are some things youcan do to promote your work:n Announce the publication on your personal Website and in email correspondence with your friends.Consider making it available in PDF format on yourWeb site, if that is acceptable to the journal. Manyjournals now also allow you to distribute PDFcopies of papers to interested individual readers asyou once would have done with paper reprints.n Give a workshop at your own institution on theresearch described in your article and your futureresearch plans. Doing so is relatively easy and isgood practice.n Call your friends at universities around the countryor region and offer to give a talk on your researchat their institutions or at conferences they areorganizing. However, do not invite yourself to ameeting by writing to the organizers if you do notknow them. You might come across as arrogantand put people in the awkward position of having toturn you down.n Once you have an invitation, take it seriously.Prepare and rehearse your talk.n Consider going public. Contact your institution’spublic relations office, if there is one, for helpcontacting the media. It is in the university’sinterest to have the good work of its scientistspublicized.n If your research was supported by an outside funder,let the appropriate staff at the funding organizationknow about the publication as soon as possible.n If a reporter contacts you, make an effort to speakwith him or her. Your university’s public relationsoffice can help you prepare for the interview. Keepin mind that many reporters are not scientists andyou will need to give them sufficient backgroundto understand the importance of your work. If possible,ask reporters to give you a copy of the storybefore it is published so that you can check foraccuracy. While some feature writers will respondpositively, most news reporters will turn down thisrequest. It never hurts to ask, though.increasing your impact: getting published133

RESOURCESDavis, Martha. Scientific Papers and Presentations. SanDiego: Academic Press, 1997.Day, Robert A. How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper.5th ed. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1998.Day, Robert A. and Gastel, B. Cómo escribir y publicartrabajos cientificos. Organización Panamericana de la Salud,4ta. Ed. 2008.Matthews, Janice R., John M. Bowen, and Robert W.Matthews. Successful Scientific Writing: A Step-By-StepGuide for the Biological and Medical Sciences. 2nd ed.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.Wells, W. “Me Write Pretty One Day: How to Write a GoodScientific Paper.” J. Cell Biol. 165:757–758, 2004.OnlineCurran-Everett, Douglas. “The Thrill of the Paper, theAgony of the Review: Part One.” ScienceCareers.org(September 10, 1999), http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0210/the_thrill_of_the_paper_the_agony_of_the_review_part_one.Dee, Phil. “Your First ‘First-Author’ Paper: Part One -- TheWriting.” ScienceCareers.org (February 15, 2002), http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/1400/your_first_first_author_paper_part_one_the_writing.Dee, Phil. “Your First ‘First-Author’ Paper: Part Two -- TheAct of Submission and Peering at the Review Process.”ScienceCareers.org (March 15, 2002), http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/1470/your_first_first_author_paper_part_2_the_act_of_submission_and_peering_at_the_review_process.Hirsch, J. E. (2005). “An index to quantify an individual’sscientific research output.” PNAS 102 (46): 16569–16572,http://www.pnas.org/content/102/46/16569.full.The International Network for the Availability of ScientificPublications (http://www.inasp.info/) focuses on communicationsfor scientists in the developing world. Oneof their programs, AuthorAID (http://www.authoraid.info/),provides connections to resources and senior scientistswho will help researchers in developing countries publishand otherwise communicate their work.Curran-Everett, Douglas. “The Thrill of the Paper, theAgony of the Review: Part Two.” ScienceCareers.org(September 24, 1999), http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0210/the_thrill_of_the_paper_the_agony_of_the_review_part_two.134 excellence everywhere

chapter 10EXPANDING YOUR INFLUENCE: Trainingthe Next Generation of Scientists“ All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have beenconvinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.”AristotleTeaching someone how to perform a task, or eventeaching a student to understand the fundamentalsof a field, is one thing. Taking significant responsibilityfor seeing to that student’s growth, seasoning,and career advancement is another.The word “mentor” is often sloppily used in placeof verbs such as “teach” or “supervise” or nounssuch as “boss” or “professor.” However, whenused properly, it means more than to train or tobe in charge of. A mentor is someone who takesa singular and particular interest in a protégé andhelps in many different ways to advance the protégé’scareer. So a mentor, although sometimesalso a boss or supervisor, is most importantly likea good parent or doting uncle or aunt who takes aserious interest in a protégé’s career and advancementthrough life.Although the word is seemingly everywhere inconversations about educating scientists, truementorship is rare, and those who are trulymentored are lucky and advantaged over thosewho must go it alone in advancing their careers.One need not have just one mentor—there maybe several people who take a significant interestin developing, accelerating, or advancing aresearcher’s career. Likewise, everyone in whosetraining you take an interest will not become aprotégé; many will simply be your students.How can you look for relationships that will advanceyour own career? And why will taking on thisdemanding role to help others help you in both theshort and the long run? What is expected of youin relation to the students who do not becomeyour own protégés? And how can you help thosestudents find appropriate mentors of their own?Those are the subjects of this chapter.Training OthersIf you mentor a student or another scientist,whether it is someone training in your lab orsomeone who grew up in the place where youwere raised, you will be helping get their career offthe ground. Mentoring and training also helps youexpanding your influence: training the next generation of scientists135

increase your impact as a scientist. By helpingthose around you succeed, by ensuring that peoplein your laboratory and in your larger circle feelcompetent and included, by motivating them to beproductive, you are ensuring the success of yourown research program.As the people you are training and encouragingembark upon new projects of their own, you willnaturally be kept abreast of the latest scientificdevelopments in the areas that interest them. Andwhen people in your lab, or others with whom youhave this special relationship, establish independentcareers of their own, their achievements asindependent scientists will reflect positively onyou. Also, the people you train and encourage willbecome potential collaborators and colleagueswho may continue to confide in you and bring youinto their own growing spheres. That will comeabout both informally and formally as they inviteyou to give talks at their institutions and participatein the conferences they will someday organize.As the head of a laboratory, you will probably hiretechnicians, perhaps assume responsibility for thedirection of graduate students, and take on a fewscientists who want to train in your lab. If you areat a university where undergraduate students areexpected to do laboratory research, you may havea few of them in your lab as well. It is also possiblethat young scientists outside your lab maybegin knocking on your door, especially if you haveexpertise in an area most people are not familiarwith. Within your research community and yourgeographic region, you will increasingly be seen asthe expert in your area of interest.It is natural that people will come to you for insightand advice about their own scientific interests.At the same time, you will continue to be in needof guidance for your own continuing professionaldevelopment, and like those who seek your help,you will be looking to more experienced peoplefor insight and advice. This chapter describes theprocess of providing the very hands-on training ofan individual scientist, with a focus on preparingthe people working in your lab. It also suggestsdesirable personal qualities and plans of actionfor trainers, mentors and trainees. (Note: In thischapter, the people you train are referred to as“trainees,” although not everyone you encourageor educate may be receiving training in your lab,and not everyone you train will become a protégé.)What is Mentoring?Scientific training is most often a personal, oneon-onerelationship between a more experiencedscientist and a junior scientist or a scientist-inthe-making.But it can also be between peers,one of whom is entering a new field and anotherwho knows that field well. The trainer is exposedto the trainee’s energy, curiosity, and ideas, andthe trainee receives the guidance and encouragementnecessary for professional development.Mentoring and training relationships commonlyform across broad experience gaps—e.g.,professor to student, but also can be establishedbetween junior and senior students, or betweenpeers or near peers. For example, a graduatestudent whose background is in biology may takea mentoring role for a graduate student whosebackground is in mathematics, or a graduatestudent may become a mentor to an undergraduatewho shares his or her scientific interests.Mentors sometimes include those who are officiallyresponsible for the work of junior scientistsor students, such as the head of a laboratory or aformal advisor (in some places such formal headsare referred to as mentors no matter how deeptheir commitment to training a given individual).The depth of a senior scientist’s involvement andinterest in a trainee’s career and work may belimited, especially when there are many peoplebeing trained or in cultures where there are strictlimits on personal contact between professorsand those whom they teach.However, it is also important to have mentors,advisors, and trainers who are outside the directline of authority, or even outside the trainee’sprimary area of interest, because those who arefurther removed from the student’s interest mayask questions that will help the trainee movealong better than those who share most of thestudent’s assumptions. Mentors who have somedistance—and therefore good perspective—canbe especially helpful in providing guidance when136 excellence everywhere

formal advising relationships become strained,or when the personal or professional interests ofthe trainee differ from those of the formal mentor,or when a young person’s best interests are notthose of his or her advisor, supervisor, or boss.Perspective becomes even more importantas careers advance and ranges of conflictingopportunities come into play.Traits of a Good Mentor and a Good Teacher.As you establish yourself as a scientist, you mayfind that some of the following personal qualitiesare useful in forming bonds with someone who isjust learning the things you have already learned:n Accessibility: An open door and an approachableattitude.n Consistency: Acting on your stated principles ona regular basis.n Empathy: Personal insight into what the traineeis experiencing.n Honesty: Ability to communicate the hardtruths about the world “out there” and about thetrainee’s chances.n Open-mindedness: Respect for each trainee’sindividuality and for working styles and careergoals different from your own.n Patience: Awareness that people make mistakesand that each person matures at his or her own rate.n Savvy: Attention to the pragmatic aspects ofcareer development.Confidentiality in Advising. As a trainer, andespecially as a mentor, you may be privy to a lotof information about your trainees, from theirpast professional accomplishments and failuresto, sometimes, revelations about their personalrelationships and financial situations. Even inplaces where discussing family matters, emotions,or money is just not done, personal obligationsand financial realities are frequently major factorsin individuals’ progress through life and science—especially for those considering major upheavalssuch as going abroad for further training or jobopportunities. Your advice can be very helpful ifyou can bring yourself to discuss these taboo areaswith younger scientists who trust your judgment.You should treat all information as confidential.ResponsibilitiesMentoring entails commitments of time, energy,and good will that can sometimes be substantial.But that is also true for trainees you are notmentoring. A significant portion of your time mustbe allocated to each trainee, and you must be preparedto obtain the resources the trainee needs.Your “pull” will accomplish things that a lessestablishedtrainee’s own influence cannot. Youshould also use your experience and contacts tohelp the trainee establish a professional network,whether or not you are looking at the trainee interms of the special responsibility implicit in thementoring relationship.Choosing Whom to Mentor and to Teach. Youwill have to make case-by-case judgments aboutwhich training relationships you can afford toenter into and how intensive each one should be.There are some people for whom you are clearlyresponsible as a teacher and advisor, such as thepeople working in your lab. The students in yourcourses also have legitimate expectations of you.Others, outside your lab or courses, may cometo you for advice. But you will not go the extramile for every person who comes into your lab oreven for all of the students who take your courses.Some people are more promising than others, andyou will want to nurture their talents.At the same time, you want to be fair—whenyou agree to teach, you are taking on significantresponsibilities. Some students will have interestsclosely related to yours, and it is natural for you towant to work closely with them. Others will showpromise, but will be needy in some respect; forexample, their skills may not be fully developedor they may need help focusing their efforts. Donot pick a few favorites and let other trainees fendfor themselves. With the people in your lab, theimportant thing is to be fair and avoid anointingsome trainees with your favor while letting othersstruggle. With people outside your lab who ask foryour help, you need to avoid overextending yourselfor setting up expectations you cannot fulfill.expanding your influence: training the next generation of scientists137

Q u e s t i o nq&aHow do I communicate the level of my commitment, especially cases where thatcommitment is limited?answerIt is always a good idea to lay out for trainees a clear picture of what they can expect from you. Goodstudents should be able to expect training from you, support for their work, access to resources necessaryfor them to succeed at the work they are doing in your lab, and help with someday moving on to their nexttraining position or to a job. If you are only able to commit to some of those things, make it clear from theoutset. If you would like to do far more to help a trainee’s prospects in the long term, you do not need tosay so. Actions will speak louder than words.Q u e s t i o nHow do I say no to being someone’s advisor?answerBe kind. Imagine yourself in your requestor’s shoes. Listen intently and give reasons related to your ownlimitations. However, be clear and firm. Do not invite misunderstanding. Suggest alternative sources of help,but check first with other potential advisors before your enthusiastically recommend them as potential advisors.Defining your Role as an Advisor. Generally, aresearch advisor provides whatever is needed tofurther a trainee’s professional development, butis not necessarily a friend. You should offer to teachtechnical skills, give advice about the political aspectsof science, and suggest networking opportunities.You can help clarify what is possible, but youshould probably not offer advice on personal mattersexcept in major decisions about career choicesas described above. Often, emotional issues arerelevant to one’s capacity to do good work, and youcan offer moral support, but a good mentor, like agood friend, should tread carefully around familymatters and emotional conflicts.Mentor Versus Advisor. In theory, mentors havemultiple responsibilities. Being an advisor is oneof them. The Council of Graduate Schools, anAmerican body concerned with graduate education(http://www.cgsnet.org/), suggests that mentorscome from many roles, including:n Advisors: People with career experience willingto share their knowledge.n Supporters: People who give emotional andmoral encouragement.n Tutors: People who give specific feedback onone’s performance.n Masters: Employers to whom one is apprenticed.n Sponsors: Sources of information about opportunitiesand aid in obtaining them.n Models of identity: The kind of person oneshould be to be an academic or a professionalscientist.138 excellence everywhere

In reality, it is unlikely that any one individual canfulfill all possible mentoring roles. For this reason,many argue that the term mentor should be usedbroadly to mean an individual who helps anotherwith one or more aspects of his or her personaland/or professional development. In this sense,trainees are encouraged to seek out variousfaculty members who can provide some of thosecomponents.Strategies forEffective trainingMake Everything a Learning Opportunity. Ithelps to think of serving as a trainee’s advisoras a highly individualized mode of teaching (seechapter 8 for more information about teaching).Establishing a “culture of teaching” in your lab canhelp ensure that each individual feels empoweredto seek whatever information, education, or technicaladvice he or she needs to do good science.Set Specific Goals and Measures ofAccomplishment. Work with each individual—when you meet formally to discuss the person’sprogress, in the course of lab meetings, and onother occasions when his or her work is underreview—to set specific goals and measures ofaccomplishment. For example:n For a student, you might want to establish apublishing goal. It should include deadlines.n For a more experienced scientist training in yourlab, job-hunting goals might be important. Youmight say, “By next month, give me your list ofplaces you want to apply to. Then we can talkabout developing your job talk.”n Have technicians identify new skills they need(e.g., using new equipment or software). Givethem time to learn and the opportunity to takecourses or seek help from others. Then ask themto demonstrate what they have learned at a staffmeeting.In some cases, you may have to push people a bitto set their goals. In other cases, people’s goalsmay be well-defined, but may not exactly fit yourlab’s overall goals. If you can, give them room toexplore options, and offer whatever educationaland networking opportunities you can afford. Theywill be much happier and more productive whilethey are with you if they feel you are looking outfor them and their future well-being.Encourage Strategic Thinking and Creativity.Trainees in your lab, especially newcomers, maynot have the experience to judge how long tostruggle with an experiment or a project that isnot working. As the person steering the largerscope of the work, you must decide what projectsare most important, how long a given projectshould be pursued, and what resources can beallocated to any particular effort. As the boss, youshould communicate the basis and significanceof your decisions to your trainees. You may feelthat you need not explain yourself to anyone, andthat may be true. But when you have made yourdecision, informing people why can be educationaland helpful to morale. It gives your trainees abetter understanding that although the decisionsare yours, they are not whimsical or unfair. In thisway, you give concrete examples of strategicthinking and prepare your trainees for the daywhen they may be in charge of their own researchprograms and face similar decisions.It is also important to give people enough spaceto be creative. Do not rush in too quickly withinterpretations of data or solutions to problems.Let your staff take the first stab. Be thoughtfuland ask probing and guiding questions that helpthem learn to be thinkers. By doing this, youprepare your trainees to work through projectsindependently, while at the same time you willbenefit from their insights and creativity.Uphold Professional Standards. Those new toresearch are still forming their professional standardsand habits. They will be working with youfor months or years and will learn your lab’s wayof doing things. Set high standards for yourselfand your workers, and make sure your lab offersan encouraging and disciplined environment.Experienced lab leaders list these essentials:n Encourage good time management techniques.At the same time, respect individual patterns ofwork. (See chapter 5, “Managing Your Time.”)n Clearly state your expectations. Let people knowwhen they are not meeting them.expanding your influence: training the next generation of scientists139

n Offer criticism and correction in a way that conveysyour message but does not shame or discouragepeople.n Keep abreast of laboratory record-keeping. Thisis a key management responsibility and an aspectof mentoring. As the person responsible for thework being done, you are also responsible forseeing that your people keep meticulous recordsdocumenting their work and meeting regulatoryrequirements. This habit will serve them well lateron. By reviewing lab notebooks frequently, youalso guard against falsification of data.Impart Skills. Do these things to encourage yourlab workers to learn new skills:n Involve everyone in the scientific publishing andgrant-writing process. Part of your job is to teachyour trainees how to write publishable scientificpapers and successful grant proposals. For papers,have the first author write the first draft, and thensend the paper around the lab for review. Forproposals, have each person write a piece of theproposal, and then have everyone review successivedrafts of the whole package. By doing this,everyone will gain invaluable experience and get achance to see the big picture of the lab’s activities.n Impart technical skills. As a manager, you need toknow the skill sets of each member of your lab, andmake sure that each important skill is passed onto several people in the laboratory, for their benefitand yours. If only one person in the lab can performa particular technique, you are risking your futureon an assumption that this person will not leave.n Teach lab management explicitly. Give the peoplein your lab managerial responsibilities, at leastwithin the confines of the lab space. For example,have them coordinate among themselves thesharing of equipment in the lab, or ask them todraw up a list of routine lab jobs to be rotatedamong lab members.Provide Networking Opportunities. One ofthe most important benefits you confer uponthe people you train is entrée into the networkof scientists in your field. Your reputation opensdoors for those associated with you, and theconnections are not likely to be made withoutyour involvement. So take steps to facilitate theintroductions, including:n Allowing trainees to meet with seminar speakersinvited to your institution.n When possible, take trainees with you to meetingsand introduce them to your colleagues.n Encourage trainees to approach your colleaguesabout scientific matters, using your name, as byemailing “I am a student in Dr. ’s lab,and wonder if I might ask you some questionsabout your recent work on hemoglobin transport.”n Encourage trainees to make presentations atmeetings when they are ready.Provide Moral Support. You can help the peopleyou train and mentor estimate their own potentialand chart their life course. To do so, you must besupportive and honest. Try to convey to each ofyour trainees that you have a commitment to himor her and that when a problem surfaces, youhave an interest in helping to solve it and will doeverything you can to do so.Different Needsat different stagesEach type of individual who may ask you for advice—for example, a student, a more experiencedscientist training in your laboratory, a clinician, atechnician, or a cousin who hopes to go to medicalschool some day—is on a different professionaltrajectory. As you work with them, you need tokeep in mind their path and their location on thatpath.Educating Undergraduate Students. The seedsof a scientific career are planted in the undergraduateyears or even earlier. Undergraduate studentscan be invited to take part in research throughan academic program at your institution or at anearby university. They may be eager to find paidwork during the school year or during schoolbreaks. Take their interests and their work seriously,and set high standards for them. You might placethem under the day-to-day guidance of a welltrainedperson in your lab, but you should maintaina strong role in overseeing their training and theoverall flow of their work within the lab. Keep inmind that these beginning researchers may needextra encouragement when their experiments arenot going smoothly.140 excellence everywhere

One of the best ways of hiring good anddedicated researchers is to screen students inyour lab during rotations and thesis dissertationsand retain the best ones.”Abdoulaye Djimdé, MaliTraining Graduate Students. In science as inother fields, graduate education is vastly differentfrom the undergraduate experience. Perhaps themost important difference is that undergraduatesare expected to be primarily engaged in absorbingknowledge, whereas graduate students areexpected to begin to make their own contributions.An advisor helps new graduate students make thistransition. A graduate student may have severalmentors, but the most important person for astudent’s success is the head of the laboratorywhere the student is working.A typical graduate student follows this trajectory:n First year(s). As the head of the laboratory, yourmain task is to provide a coherent plan of study forthe student. The student faces a steep learningcurve. Basic techniques must be learned, and oftencomprehensive exams taken, and a thesis topicchosen. The principal investigator keeps tabs on thestudent’s progress. The student’s success dependson your effective communication of expectationsand help with clearing certain formal hurdles.n Middle year(s). At some time during these years,the student may be struggling with his or herexperimental work. Things often do not work asplanned, and the uncertainty and slow tempo mayfrustrate even very good students. You may helpthe student out of a slump by offering moralsupport and suggesting ways to tackle a scientificproblem. By the middle part of training, the studentwill have learned a lot and should be sharing informationand techniques with colleagues, youngerstudents, and postdocs. Teaching others is a goodway to learn.n Final year. The student is preparing to move on.The thesis should be near completion, and thesearch for a more advanced position should be underway. You may be asked for letters of referenceand perhaps more active job-hunting assistance.If the student wants to go abroad for further training,you may need to put some effort into helpinghim or her find opportunities, and at least shouldhelp the student by sending introductory emailsto colleagues abroad who know your work. Thiswill help keep the student’s inquiries to these labsfrom being overlooked or discarded.Working with Scientists who are FurtheringTheir Training in your Lab. You may have highlytrained professional scientists working in your labfor a limited time to conduct research within thegeneral parameters of your shared interests. Thistraining may be a stepping stone to an academicposition. Your task as an educator and potentialmentor of new scientists is complex.Keep in mind that the amount of time you canspend helping these scientists will be limited, souse that time efficiently. In addition, find ways tohave them help one another or obtain assistancefrom other sources.You must strike a delicate balance in directingtheir work. Although the scientist training inyour lab may be working on your projects, it isappropriate to treat him or her something like acollaborator, rather than just as an employee orstudent who requires close supervision. Encouragethese individuals and give them the help theyneed in setting research and career goals, but givethem sufficient independence for them to takeconsiderable responsibility for the progress oftheir projects.You do have a protective function when it comesto the politics of the larger academic world. Thescientists training in your laboratory are probablyyoung, politically inexperienced, and vulnerable.Be prepared to steer them away from projectsthat might result in conflict with researchers whoare already working on similar projects and whomight publish results before them.If a promising person has come into your lab but isnot achieving what you both had hoped, encouragehim or her to make a change, whether to anotherproject or to another lab entirely. You may be ableto help this individual find a more suitable projector position.expanding your influence: training the next generation of scientists141

It is important to discuss career goals with yourtrainees, especially those more advanced in theirresearch careers. Not all will be interested in along-term competitive career in science. For thosewho are, help them develop a project that willteach them many things and that produces ideas,at least—if not whole projects—that they can useas seeds when they leave your lab and begin toestablish their own labs. After they have gone,keep in touch with them. They will be an increasinglyimportant part of your professional network.You have a role to play facilitating your trainees’job hunts. Keep alert to job openings, counselthem about the process, coach them on theirinterview presentations, and give them the bestletters of recommendation you can. Sometimes,when the search does not go smoothly, you mayneed to keep them in your lab a little longer thanyou expected to, if you are able. Lack of continuedfunding for them may make this impossible, butsometimes their well-trained hands can be ofconsiderable use to you and it may be to yourbenefit for them to stay. Keep up the words ofencouragement during this difficult period.Advancing the Careers of Physician-Scientists.Physician-scientists have an especially complicatedbalancing act: caring for patients and carrying outexperiments at the bench. As a result, they maynot be able to spend as much uninterrupted timein the lab as their Ph.D. colleagues. However,the strength of physician-scientists is that theyhave a clinical base. As someone involved intheir training, you should understand the uniquechallenges physician-scientists face, and youshould value the insights their clinical perspectivecan bring into the lab. Help physician-scientistsin your lab to establish priorities and developeffective time management skills. If you are nota clinician yourself, you might put them in touchwith someone who can help them with thesecompetencies as they apply to the clinical sideof their responsibilities. In addition, encouragephysician-scientists in your lab to use their clinicalbase. For example, they might enroll patients fromtheir clinic or practice following a simple protocol.They might collect answers to a questionnairewith demographics, or obtain data on clinical presentation,progression and response to therapy, aswell as collect relevant serum or tissue samples.(Adequate ethical permission should be attainedfirst.) Clinical work sometimes allows physicianscientiststo see connections that someone witha basic science background training may miss. Asa researcher, you should take advantage of thisperspective by making sure that questions aboutmoving research results into the clinic, or bringingclinical observations back to the bench come up informal and informal discussions in the lab.Working with Technicians. A technician is anemployee who has been hired to get work done,not to advance his or her career. That being said,many technicians are a distinct type of professionalscientist. You should understand and encouragetheir aspirations. Make it clear to them that theyare valued contributors to your projects. If they areinterested, you may want to give them researchprojects of their own. If their aspirations are purelytechnical, encourage them to gain new skills.helping those Outside Your LabWhen you receive a request for significant careerhelp from a young scientist in another lab, oreven in another university, think carefully beforeyou agree. Do not enter into such a relationshipsecretly. Insist that the individual inform his or herdirect supervisor that you two are speaking. Onthe one hand, the request says something positiveabout your standing in the research community,and by taking on a new relationship you mightopen up the possibility of future collaborations andincrease the impact of your work. On the otherhand, there may be problems you are not awareof. Ask yourself the following questions:n Why is this person asking me for help? There maybe a negative reason. In the case of a postdoc,perhaps he or she is dissatisfied with relationshipsin the home lab. If this is the case, make sure youare not offending the individual’s supervisor. Youmay find, however, that the supervisor welcomesyour help as an extra resource.n What are the person’s expectations? You need tobe clear about whether you are being asked foroccasional advice or for long-term assistance. If itis the latter, determine whether your role as an advisorwill be formal, involving scheduled contactsand expectations of a particular amount of yourtime, or informal and confined to occasional conversationsas the trainee’s work moves forward.142 excellence everywhere

n Do I really have the time and energy to commit tothis relationship?n Is this someone who is smart, honest, and capable?n Is this someone I want to advise and work with?The people in your lab deserve priority. But if theperson fits, and you can extend yourself, do so.How to Get theCareer Help andAdvice That You NeedFinding people who will be your own advisors,teachers, and mentors is another way of makingyour achievements and contributions known atyour university and other institutions, thus increasingyour impact and helping you advance in yourcareer. Finding help requires knowing whom to askfor what, knowing how to accept the professionaladvice you receive, and maintaining long-termpersonal and professional relationships.These suggestions may be useful:n Do not let go of those who have taken an interestin your career. Stay in close touch with all of yourpast advisors, even those with whom you onlyworked for a short time or in a limited way.Although they may not be familiar with your newenvironment, their distance from it, combined withtheir general understanding of the world of science,can help you put your current environment inperspective. Also, you never know when you willneed to ask them for a reference or other professionalhelp. Even a quick email to let them knowthat you published a paper or received a researchgrant or an award will help them support your career.n Establish a relationship with a set of official advisors,especially if your institution assigns you to contactswith certain senior scientists who are meant tohelp you “learn the ropes.” These individuals mayalso evaluate your job performance, so cultivatethem carefully and treat them with respect.Generally, you do not want to vent your frustrationsor confide your uncertainties and weaknesses tosuch a group. Keep them apprised of your progress.Do not avoid them if things are going badly—address the problems directly and unemotionally,and enlist their help.n Seek out informal advisors, usually experiencedscientists within your department or elsewherewho can give you a broader perspective on scienceand scientific politics. It is especially important todo this if your institution has not officially givenyou any contacts to serve as guides during yourearly days.n Establish a set of work-based friends andconfidants. These are people with whom you canopenly share information about politically sensitiveissues. Choose them carefully. You may be morecomfortable limiting your confidants to one-on-onerelationships. Or you may find a group that putsyou in close touch with colleagues whose situationsare similar to yours.n Keep meetings professional. Respect others’ timeconstraints. Be prepared and specific about whatyou need from them and what you are askingthem to do for you.How to be Well-Advised. Here are some qualitiesto cultivate in yourself as you seek an informaleducation in how to move forward to whatevergoals you hope to achieve:n Foresight: Start early to think about your future.n Gratitude: Everyone likes to be thanked.n Humility: Be willing to accept critical feedback sothat you are open to learning new ways of thinkingabout and doing science.n Proactiveness: Do not expect to be taken care of.You could easily be overlooked in the competitiveworld of science.n Probing: Ask tough questions. Find out about theexperiences of others with this potential mentor.n Reciprocation: Repay your mentor indirectly byhelping others.n Respect: Be polite. Make and keep appointments.Stay focused. Do not overstay your welcome.expanding your influence: training the next generation of scientists143

When Mentoring,Advisory, or SupervisoryRelationships are NotWorking OutWhat you view as a problem may simply be amatter of personal style or a different understandingof the mentor’s role. Have a conversationabout getting the advice and help you need. Ifthat does not help solve the problem, you mayneed to think about finding others to help you asyou navigate your career. Within your institution,especially if there are formal advising relationshipsset up, consider finding an additional guide if yoursis clearly and consistently uninterested in you,undervalues your abilities, or displays any othersigns of undermining your work and your career.But think carefully—someone who helps you seeyour shortcomings is actually helping you. Toughcriticism or a discouraging word may be exactlywhat you need at a given moment. If your feelingsget hurt now and then, it is not necessarily a signthat your trusted advisor has turned against you.But find others to advise you if the people fromwhom you have been taking advice behaveinappropriately by violating workplace rules orfailing to fulfill essential responsibilities to you—for example, by not sending letters of referenceor by not reviewing your grants and papers.Finding additional trusted advisors can always behelpful. However, be very careful about severingold relationships—even ones that were “forcedmarriages.” Even if the relationship is not goingwell, you do not want to offend someone unnecessarily.If the relationship is official, ending itwill require explicit action and will most probablygenerate bad feelings. If the relationship is informal,and you can just allow it to fade away, do so. If,on the other hand, an un-productive advisor wantsto terminate the relationship, accept the decisionwith good grace. It will be better for both of you.RESOURCESAssociation for Women in Science. Mentoring MeansFuture Scientists: A Guide to Developing MentoringPrograms Based on the AWIS Mentoring Program.Washington, DC: Association for Women in Science, 1993.Barker, Kathy. At the Helm: A Laboratory Navigator.Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press,2002.Council of Graduate Schools, A Conversation AboutMentoring: Trends and Models. Washington, DC: Councilof Graduate Schools, 1995.Council of Graduate Schools, On the Right Track: A Manualfor Research Mentors, DC: Council of Graduate Schools,2003.Fort, Catherine C., Stephanie J. Bird, and Catherine J.Didion (Eds.). A Hand Up: Women Mentoring Women inScience. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: Association for Womenin Science, 2005.Nettles, M.T. and Millet, C.M. Three Magic Letters: Gettingto Ph.D. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press,2006.Nyquist, Jody D., and Donald H. Wulff. Working Effectivelywith Graduate Assistants. Thousand Oaks, CA: SagePublications, 1996.Reis, Richard M. Tomorrow’s Professor: Preparing forAcademic Careers in Science and Engineering. New York:IEEE Press, 1997.OnlineAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science.Science’s Science.Careers.org. Feature articles onmentoring, http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org.Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.Individual Development Plan for Postdoctoral Fellows.http://opa.faseb.org/pdf/idp.pdf.National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council.Reports from the Committee on Science, Engineering, andPublic Policy. http://www7.nationalacademies.org/cosepup.National Academy of Sciences, National Academy ofEngineering, and Institute of Medicine. Committee onScience, Engineering, and Public Policy. Adviser, Teacher,Role Model, Friend: On Being a Mentor to Studentsin Science and Engineering. Washington DC: NationalAcademy Press, 1997. http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=5789.National Institutes of Health, Office of the Director. AGuide to Training and Mentoring in the Intramural ResearchProgram at NIH. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes ofHealth, 2002. http://www1.od.nih.gov/oir/sourcebook/ethic-conduct/TrainingMentoringGuide_7.3.02.pdf.University of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School ofGraduate Studies. How to Mentor Graduate Students:A Guide for Faculty at a Diverse University. Ann Arbor, MI:University of Michigan, http://www.rackham.umich.edu/downloads/publications/Fmentoring.pdf.144 excellence everywhere

chapter 11collaboration“ La puissance ne consiste pas à frapper fort ou souvent,mais à frapper juste.”Honoré de BalzacOne of the best ways to move your science intoa higher league is to collaborate. Internationalcollaboration is important and will be the subjectof much of this chapter, but the basic benefits ofbeing a good collaborator become apparent assoon as you explore shared interests with thescientist at the next bench, down the hall, inanother department, at another institute, or in acity that is an easy drive away. When someone’sclever work delights you, or another’s curiousresult seems in line with yours (or utterly contradictsit in an interesting way), or even whensomeone working on a completely different kindof problem has a technique you would like to applyto your own, you have fertile ground for potentialcollaboration. The scientific world is a very socialone. Finding ways to be scientifically productivewith people you enjoy is one of its greatpleasures.the COLLABORATIve effortTwenty-first century science is often a collaborativeeffort. As a beginning investigator, you maywant or need to work with scientists in other labswho can offer resources or technical expertiseto complement your own. Because a scientificcollaboration is a complex exchange, you willneed to sharpen your managerial and politicalskills to be a successful collaborator. Whether youare working with friends or with people who arenearly (or completely) strangers, it is importantthat you and your collaborators share the sameunderstanding of what is to be done, who is to doit, how “things that come up” will be managed,how any unexpected benefits will be apportioned,and how, when, and where credit will be shared.This chapter summarizes some of the questionsyou should ask yourself before embarking on a collaborativeproject and provides some guidelines tohelp ensure that your work and your interactionswith valued colleagues proceed smoothly.The quote above: Balzac says that power is not in striking hard or often, but in striking well.collaboration145

For researchers in developing countries,collaboration is an important route to establishingan international track record, strengtheninglaboratory capacity, through technology transferand building human capacity.”Brian Eley, South AfricaTHE VARIETIES OF COLLABORATIONScientific collaborators are researchers who sharean interest in the outcome of a project, not serviceproviders or customers. Sharing reagents ormaterials that have been described in a publicationdoes not in itself constitute collaboration. Scientistsare expected to make published materials availableto others. Similarly, a service rendered by a scientistin a core service facility within his or her owninstitution—for example, the medical laboratoryscientist who regularly processes blood in thehospital, or the scientist in charge of running aninstitution’s shared DNA sequencing capacity—isusually not considered a collaboration. Such coreservice facilities exist to perform specific tasksfor other laboratories. Without added intellectualcontributions beyond what is normally required fortheir job, they will have done nothing special thatwould make it reasonable for them to demandcredit as a collaborator. Of course, scientists insuch facilities may interact with you in ways thatare truly collaborative, for example, working withyou to invent a new technique or bringing to yourattention an unusual phenomenon that you thengo on to investigate together.Collaborations can vary greatly in scope, duration,and degree of formality. A limited collaborationmight entail only a series of consultations abouta technique or the provision of samples to betested. At the other extreme, several scientistsor laboratories might join together to establish apermanent consortium or center for the pursuitof a particular line of research. Depending on itscomplexity, a collaboration can be launched by aninformal agreement sealed with a handshake or anemail, or may involve complex negotiations and alegally binding document.SHOULD YOU COLLABORATE?Collaboration is a major responsibility—one thatshould not be taken on lightly. It will take time,effort, and the nurturing of relationships. Beforeyou start a collaboration, you should know forsure that you can see it through.It may seem awkward at first, but if you wouldlike to set up a collaboration, it is important thatyou nail down some details in an early conversationto make clear on both sides that you are actuallyplanning to accomplish something together andnot exchanging optimistic social pleasantries.Think of how often good friends will say “We mustget together sometime!” Unless they pause toschedule a date or time, they often drift away untilchance again brings them together. It is betterto be a bit awkward and ask for some particularsthan to misunderstand and find yourself waitingfor your potential collaborator to follow through,or worse, to find out years later that the otherperson, after a long period of waiting for you tofollow through, has concluded that you cannot betaken at your word.The larger the collaboration, the more complicatedit may be to fulfill your obligations. Be sure youhave the time you will need to be a good collaborator,and that a given opportunity is right for you.Once you have signed on, you will be expectedto follow through on your commitments, and yourscientific reputation will be at stake.If someone simply wants your technical expertiseor the opportunity to run his or her experimentson your equipment, he or she may not consideryou a collaborator at all. The essential ingredientof collaboration is mutual interest in the researchoutcome. If you have this interest, but the otherparty assumes that you do not, you may not betreated as a collaborator, but rather as a serviceprovider. This may be acceptable, as long as youunderstand what you are getting into.146 excellence everywhere

Scientists working in resource-constrainedenvironments should not let the temptationof allocating large budgets for their laboratoryget them into committing to doing things thatare not doable. In collaborative grants, onlypropose activities that you can independentlycarry out as a senior investigator.”Moses Bockarie, Papua New GuineaAssessing a CollaborativeOpportunityWhether you are approached by another scientistto collaborate, or are thinking of approachingsomeone to collaborate with you, here are somequestions you should ask yourself before embarkingon the project:n What exactly is being asked of me?n Do I need this collaboration to move my own workforward? Is there a missing piece—a technique orresource—that I must have, and which this otherperson can provide?n Even if collaboration is not strictly necessary to mycurrent work, will interacting with the proposedcollaborators enable me to contribute somethingsignificant to science and perhaps generate newopportunities?n Do I really have the expertise or other resourcesbeing sought by the other collaborator? If not,are there funding sources available through thiscollaboration that will allow me to get those things?n Can I afford to be involved? Will my potentialpartner bring resources (including funding) thatwill make my group’s investment in the projectpossible?n Can this collaboration be conducted efficiently,given such factors as distance, restrictions imposedby my institution, and, in the case of internationalcollaborations, cultural differences or possible legaland political complications?n Is there funding for the work envisioned? If not,can it be obtained?n Can I afford the time? How much will it take awayfrom my other responsibilities? Is the project closeenough to my central interests to warrant thenecessary time expenditure?n Is this person someone with whom I want tocollaborate? What is his or her track record? Cansomeone I trust tell me whether this potentialcollaborator is honest and reliable?n Are our professional and scientific interestscompatible? Does what each of us has to lose ifthings go wrong seem comparable?n Will this person be accessible to me and consistentlyinterested in the project?n If I will collaborate with a larger group, will therebe a reliable “point person” on my collaborator’send who is responsible for handling day-to-dayissues and small matters?n Can I rule out potential conflicts, either personal orinstitutional? For example, it is often a bad idea tocollaborate with a rival of the person who signs yourpaycheck, and it may be a bad idea to collaboratewith someone who has a major collaboration withan institution that is openly hostile to your own.There can be other practical challenges tocollaborating with people who are not close by,and you should also take some time to considerthese very frankly. Whether you are consideringcollaborating with someone overseas, someonewho is relatively near you but beyond easy traveldistance, or someone in a place where bordercrossings are difficult, finding yourselves unableto get together or communicate can be a very bigproblem for healthy collaborations. A less famousperson who will give you his attention is a bettercollaborator than a more famous one who will not.Ask yourself these questions:n How much travel will be required? What will bethe costs of each trip in terms of transportationcosts, tariffs on materials that must be movedbetween sites, accommodations, and time awayfrom the lab? Are there sources of funding to supporttravel?n Is a visa required for travel? If so, how difficult isthe process of visa application and how long doesit usually take a visa to come through?collaboration147

n Is travel safe and convenient, or will each tripinvolve logistical headaches and considerableuncertainty?n How good are the channels of communication?Will you be able to talk by phone (or internet phone)easily? Is email between you quick and reliable?n Do I know the language of my potential collaborators?Do they know mine? Will we be able tocommunicate effectively both about science andabout the more subtle human factors that will beinvolved in a good collaboration—for example,knowing when to “push” and when to let theother person have some time to respond?n Will scientific papers be published in a languagein which I am not fluent? If so, how can I vouchfor the translation? How can I be sure my group isinvolved properly in the writing and in authorshipcredit? Do my collaborator and I start with thesame assumptions about credit, publishing, andauthorship?Although physical and technical factors areimportant, it is the human dimension that mostoften makes or breaks a collaboration. Beespecially sensitive to emotions that may be inplay under the surface, especially if there is animbalance of resources (e.g., money, reagents, oraccess to required sites or populations) broughtinto the collaboration by each partner. For example,if your collaborators depend on you for access toa population group, your partners may grow toresent you for how you control this “doorway,”and you may grow to resent them for regardingyou as a door! If you are in a large institute withgood access to reagents and equipment and yourcollaboration is with a very small, under-fundedfacility, you may grow to resent your partners fortaking liberties with your generosity and takingmore of your resources than they need. Beingaware of these imbalances and trying to maintainyour own sense of good will can be very useful inkeeping things running smoothly.Two key ingredients should be in place at theoutset of a long, stable collaboration: a sharedunderstanding of potential funding so that yourpartnership can survive the perhaps inevitable upsand downs in support, and at least one individualin the other lab who is as committed to theproject as you are and is willing to help push pastroadblocks that may arise.Before making a decision about a collaboration,consider all factors. A good collaboration cantake your research in a completely unexpecteddirection. A bad one can waste your energy anddemoralize you.SETTING UP ACOLLABORATIONSomeone may eventually ask you to collaborate,but if you are a beginning investigator, it is morelikely that you will need to approach a potentialcollaborator yourself. A collaboration, like manyQ u e s t i o nq&aIf a powerful person asks me to collaborate but the proposed partnership does not suit me,how do I politely decline?answerExplain that you do not have the resources at the moment to enter a collaborative project. Offer instead toprovide input and suggestions into the research and, if possible, suggest other people with similar expertisewho may be good collaborators.148 excellence everywhere

other types of interpersonal relationships, has nofixed rules. However, there are some guidelinesyou can follow to ensure that the collaborationstarts off on the right foot and proceeds smoothly(see “Personal Qualities of a Good Collaborator,”page 153).Approaching aPotential CollaboratorOnce you have identified a potential collaboratorand decided that you want to go forward, developan outline of your proposal for the joint project.Define in detail how you think you can complementeach other’s efforts.Send an Email. Make your initial contact with aninquiry designed to whet the other person’s appetite.Send a short email describing your researchin general terms and asking for the opportunityfor a conversation. Do not call on the telephonefirst—you do not want to put the person on thespot, and you do want to give him or her a chanceto find out more about you through personalcontacts or your scientific publications. It is a goodidea to use an informative email subject header,for example Understanding drug resistance invivax malaria, rather than an empty subject lineor one that could be mistaken for a scam, such asHelp a young professor.Many people have set up their spam filters todelete mail coming from hotmail.com and otherpopular free web mail services. These filters rarelygive you any notice that your message has notgone to the intended reader.In your email, focus on the big picture and conveyyour enthusiasm. You must convince your potentialcollaborator that:n You have the expertise you claim.n You believe that he or she is the best possiblecollaborator for the project at hand.n Both of you stand to benefit from the collaboration.n The whole is indeed greater than the sum of theparts.Sometimes people will not acknowledge unwantedemails, so you may not hear back from a researcherwith whom you want to work. If that happens,following up with a paper letter may encourageyour potential collaborator to respond. Rememberto include your email address in any paper lettersyou may send.Some countries have become so associatedwith dishonest money-raising scams that it maybe difficult to get people to read any email orpaper notes coming from them. If you are in oneof those places, you can enhance your note’schances of being read if you get to the pointquickly. A letter, printed on university letterhead,that begins…Dear Dr. Jones,Your recent papers on the evolution of virulencein African trypanosomes suggest an interestingparallel with a phenomenon I have observed in mylaboratory’s work on seasonal occurrences ofleishmaniasis.…is more likely to be read than one that beginswith elaborate flattery, or comes in a handwrittenenvelope, or is typed on lightweight airmail paper.Be Informed. To make your pitch effective, youneed to be familiar with your potential collaborator’swork. Be sure to read the lab’s published papers.You will also need to have a clear idea of what youwant to do and the respective role each of you willplay.Your email should lead to telephone conversations.After that, a trip to your collaborator’s lab for aface-to-face meeting is often worthwhile, and youshould both look for opportunities to get together.The Collaboration AgreementUsing an Informal Agreement. An exchange ofemails is usually sufficient to get a project underway. Before you actually start the work, however,it is best to develop and agree on a detailed writtensummary of your joint research plan. The planshould spell out:n The purpose of the collaboration.n The scope of work.n How, when, and in what format raw data willbe shared.collaboration149

n The expected contribution of each collaborator.n Financial responsibilities of each collaborator.n Milestones.n Reporting obligations to funders or otherstakeholders.n Expectations about authorship.n How and when papers will be written.An explicit plan offers several advantages. Itprevents misunderstandings and it helps keepthe project on track. Furthermore, if you expectto apply together for funding for the project, thisplan can be expanded into a grant proposal. In acollaboration between two academic labs, thecollaboration agreement can simply be emailedback and forth until both parties are satisfied.Obtaining signatures could seem overly formal,but it is very important that on both sides allkey participants explicitly signal that you haveconcluded these negotiations and have reacheda clear agreement.Using a Formal Agreement. A formal, legallybinding written agreement is probably necessaryif the collaboration involves a commercial entitysuch as a pharmaceutical company, or if you areworking toward a commercial application in whicha patent is an expected outcome (Chapter 12 willdiscuss patents). For collaborations that do notinvolve a commercial entity, a general Letter ofAgreement or Letter of Intent spelling out theinterest in collaboration between institutions canprovide a framework for a range of collaborativeactivities. Written and agreed-upon work plans forspecific activities or projects developed togethercan then provide the explicit terms of the collaboration.Even if it is not intended to be a legallybinding document, you and your collaboratorwill want to consult with appropriate offices atyour respective institutions to help you draft thisagreement. It can be very useful to have someonewho has not been part of your discussions readwhat you have written down, because you may beso accustomed to your own assumptions that youwill have neglected to write them down.Collaborations that involve provision of materialssuch as biological samples such as DNA, microbialisolates, genetically modified organisms or reagentsdeveloped by you or your research team mayinclude a “Materials Transfer Agreement.” Thisdocument is to be signed by the recipient, indicatingthe material provided, the purpose for whichthe material will be used, the conditions underwhich the material was provided and instructionsfor acknowledgement of the contribution andrestriction of distribution to others.If your institution does not have an office thathelps make this kind of agreement, you shouldmake sure you have the power to promise thethings you have promised, or have someoneat your institution who does have the power topromise get involved. In a large institution, thismay be a technology transfer office, and their staffmay also arrange for legal review by the institution’sattorneys. In an institution without such anoffice, you should find people with appropriateauthority to review and sign the proposed contract.Look for other researchers who have made suchagreements, and discuss the restrictions withlegally trained people in your own country. Itmay be that there are not yet laws within yourcountry related to this kind of agreement, butsomeone with legal training can at least help alertyou to language in the proposed documents thatseems to commit you to more than you wouldlike. Negotiations are expected in these kinds ofagreements—the most important thing is thatyou know what rights you may be signing away,and that you do not release more of your (or yourinstitution’s, or your country’s) rights than youmean to or have the authority to.Make sure that such documents spell out the timeperiod of the collaboration or provide a mechanismby which you can terminate your involvement.Be aware that if your collaborator has financialsupport from a company for his or her share ofthe work, that funding agreement may containrestrictions that apply to the collaborative project.For example, the company may have the right todelay publication and to license the results of thecollaboration. If the collaboration is an important150 excellence everywhere

Learn how to propose and organize collaborativeprojects with researchers from both developedand developing countries. Collaborative projectshave the advantage of:• Increasing the number of possible sourcesof funding,• Taking advantage of economies of scaleby spreading the fixed costs acrossparticipants, and• Becoming more interesting or appealing forfunding agencies, given that comparativeprojects generate more information thansingle-country projects.”Gilbert Brenes Comacho, Costa Ricaone for your laboratory, be sure to ask in advancewhether your collaborator will use company fundingfor his or her work on your joint project. If so,you can ask your institution’s technology transferoffice or a person knowledgeable in law andcontracts to help you determine whether there arerestrictions that apply to your share of the work.It may be possible to negotiate an agreementthat limits the effect your collaborator’s fundingarrangements have on you (see chapter 12 onintellectual property for more information aboutcompany-sponsored research).Someone above you at your institution may tryto abuse the potential collaboration by pressuringyour collaborator to provide resources or makepayments beyond what is needed to do the project,or may even try to block your collaboration in favorof pushing you to work with a different researcher.You do not want to undermine your position atyour institution, so proceed carefully. It may bevery useful to be open with trusted collaboratorsabout the source of the delay. “Office politics”and over-reaching administrators exist all over theworld, and understanding the situation may helpkeep your potential collaborator from giving up infrustration.THE INGREDIENTSOF A SUCCESSFULCOLLABORATIONOnce your agreement is in place and your expectationsare clear, you and your collaborator canfocus on keeping your lines of communication openand maintaining attitudes of mutual considerationand respect.Keeping the Linesof Communication OpenAn open, trusting relationship is essential if youwant to be able to discuss problems candidlyand give and receive critical feedback. In a goodcollaboration, participants stay in close touch andare accessible to one another. Make it a practiceto return your collaborator’s calls and emails asquickly as you can, even if only to set a moreconvenient time for a conversation. Make fulfillingyour promises to collaborators a significant priority.Having a student from one lab go spend time inthe other may help build connections between thetwo research groups and get the work flowing.When you are involved in a high-stakes collaboration,you may need to consider what you will dowith your time if your collaborative work andyour regular responsibilities make simultaneousdemands. If you put off your collaborators’ interests,you may be seen as unreliable, unserious,or not good at following through. If you put offlocal issues, though, you may be seen as selfabsorbed,untrue to your roots, or as a carelesspower-seeker. Whichever way you divide yourenergies, there are risks. Being direct and honestabout what is delaying you, why it must beattended to first, and how you plan to fulfill yourobligations is often the best way to negotiatethis difficult balance. If you are unable to offerexplanations, however, delegating some part ofthe work to a reliable helper may help you getthrough an immediate time crunch. But be sure tofollow up with personal attention, whether to yourlocal colleagues or those at other sites, as soon asyou get a chance.collaboration151

Meetings. Set up systems to ensure that regularcommunication takes place. A fixed schedule offace-to-face meetings or conference calls or timeswhen you will be available by email can be veryuseful for staying on track. Also consider settingup occasional videoconferences if your institutionand your collaborator’s have that capability andenough internet bandwidth. No matter what typeof interaction you choose, plan the matters tobe covered ahead of time. Send out agendas byemail, take notes during the discussions, andsend out email summaries of the meetings to allparticipants afterwards. Include in the summaries“action items” for each collaborator. It is not a lotof work to follow up in these small ways, and itwill help prevent misunderstandings later.Keeping Up. Once the project is underway, staywith it. Do not be the “rate-limiting step” thatholds things up. When unavoidable conflictsemerge and you cannot meet a deadline, let thatfact be known right away so that the deadline canbe reset. Remember that obstacles and interruptionscome up for everyone. Do not hide from yourcollaborators if your work goes off track, and donot be quick to abandon a partnership if circumstanceschange and you have trouble keeping upwith the originally intended pace of the work. Tryto negotiate a new strategy with your partners foraccomplishing the collaboration’s goals, and lookfor better ways to get the planned work done,even if the time frame or scope of the work mustbe changed.Dealing with Authorshipand IntellectualProperty IssuesExpectations for Authorship. Because credit foryour work, expressed as authorship of publications,is crucial to your scientific career, you need topay attention to how credit will be distributed ina collaboration. It is best to discuss expectationsfor authorship before a collaboration begins,including who will be first author and last author(or other author positions that may indicate relativeimportance in some fields) on major publicationsand how authorship and ownership of new workIn simple terms, the collaboration must helpyour scientific career and not be a burden. Itis better for starting scientist to publish threeJBC papers as last (corresponding) author thanten papers in Science, Nature or Cell, being inall of them the fifth of the ten authors.”Alberto Kornblihtt, Argentinadeveloped along the way will be shared. As youadvance your own career, it becomes more importantnot only to look out for your own authorshipinterests, but to also bear in mind the interests ofthe people you will train in your laboratory.Trainees—graduate students and postdocs—oftenfeel possessive of work they have been involvedin, and may not see their role in proper perspective.Part of your role in training them is to keep themfrom over-reaching or under-reaching when itcomes to getting credit for their work. Often theperson who writes the first draft of a paper willbecome firmly attached to the idea that the paperis “his.” This can create hard feelings and misunderstandings,especially in cases where a studentwith especially good writing skills helpfullybecomes involved in writing up another student’sdata. There are cases where a writer who synthesizesothers’ work deserves credit for a significantintellectual contribution, but it is generally out ofbounds to claim priority for the writer over theresearcher who drove the intellectual developmentof the data.You and other senior people involved in the collaborationshould openly discuss the practical needsof all of the trainees involved in the work, acrossall of the involved laboratories. Graduate studentsand postdocs need first author papers, and asgood trainers you and your colleagues should helpthem work toward publication, progress on theirdegrees, and scientific independence, not justtoward achieving the project’s goals.This is especially important for any trainees inyour laboratory whose career progress dependson producing work that gives them clearly high152 excellence everywhere

priority among a paper’s authors. However, agreeto revisit authorship as publication nears. Therelative contributions of different participants oftenchanges from what was originally envisioned.Once you have a sense of whether the data fromyour experiments can be published, discuss plansfor publication immediately; do not wait until amanuscript draft is prepared.Pursuing Patents. If patents are sought, applicationsshould be filed before the work is presentedpublicly or published; otherwise, rights will be lost.Do not jeopardize your own or the other party’sintellectual property rights by disclosing yourresults prematurely.If your collaboration produces patentable discoveries,you will undoubtedly need to deal with thelegal concept of “joint intellectual property.”Joint intellectual property is that created jointly bycollaborating researchers. Generally, you will haveto assign your ownership in intellectual propertyto your institution or employer, and your collaboratormust do the same at his or her institution.Each party in the collaboration will retain its own“background” intellectual property, that is, theintellectual property it owned before undertakingthe project. Each party will also retain the intellectualproperty rights to discoveries created solelyby its own researchers in the course of the project.The collaborators’ institutions may file a joint patentapplication that names inventors from bothinstitutions, and the institutions will hold thepatent jointly. Often, the institutions will need toreach an agreement on management and licensingof the intellectual property, so that any royaltiescan be shared according to an agreed-upon formula.If you think a joint patent application is a likelyoutcome of your collaboration, ask yourself thesequestions before you begin the collaboration:n What aspects of the proposed project are sointeractive that any potential discoveries will beowned jointly?n What aspects of shared work are the propertyof one laboratory?n When and how will you discuss patents andpublications with workers in your laboratories?n Who will take responsibility for and incur theexpense of filing joint patent applications?n Who will maintain the patents once received?See chapter 12 for more information about thepatent process, including the effect disclosurescan have on the ability to obtain patent rights.Personal Qualitiesof a Good CollaboratorFairnessn Be sure to give credit where it is due.Honestyn Disclose anything that might affectsomeone’s decision to collaborate.n Once the collaboration is underway, bewilling to “cut through the nonsense”and offer constructive criticism.n Be clear and open about other relationships,which may include some withpeople who are in conflict with oneanother.Effortn Put your full effort into the project.n Carry your fair share of the labor andfinancial outlays.Opennessn Stay in touch with your collaboratorthroughout the project, especiallywhen there are problems or delays.n Try to resolve problems with yourcollaborator directly.Reliabilityn Deliver what you have promised,on time.Respectn Appreciate your collaborator’scontributions.n Never assume that your contributionsare more important than those of yourcollaborator.collaboration153

SPECIAL CHALLENGESFOR THE BEGINNINGINVESTIGATORIn the early stages of your career, collaborationcan present particular challenges. You are underpressure to get your own research program upand running. You cannot afford to let your advancementbe impeded by collaborations that do notyield good results and appropriate credit. You needto keep the following facts of scientific life firmlyin mind as you decide about specific collaborations:n If you collaborate with established, well-knownscientists, researchers not familiar with your workmay undervalue your role in the effort and viewyou as being under the wing of your more famouscolleague, rather than as an emerging scientificforce in your own right. People may assume thatyou played a minor role, even if you are first authoron a paper. There are benefits and drawbacks tothis—if others see you as your colleague’s protégé,they may open doors for you. On the other hand,they may conclude you are subservient and neverthink to open doors for you! Understanding howthe two sides of the coin may be seen, especiallyby colleagues at your own institution, is important.Collaborating with someone close to your owncareer level avoids this problem, but your localcolleagues may not view your collaboration asimportant compared to a collaboration with someonemore famous.n If you do collaborate with established scientistsor with researchers involved in your own training,make sure you arrange the collaboration so thatthe relative contributions of each scientist aremade clear in publications and other communications.It will not always be the case that a collaboratorwill be interested in advancing your career,especially your career at home. If you collaboratewith a senior scientist and he does not proposethat you speak for the team at international meetingsor take the lead on some publications, forexample, you should not be shy about pressing forthese opportunities, which are important to movingyour career forward and gaining internationalvisibility for you.n The larger the collaborator’s lab and the morecomplex the collaboration, the harder it will be tonegotiate first or last authorship. Smaller projectsmay offer a better chance of getting credit.n If you have special technical expertise or access toa limited resource that is in demand, you may beinundated by requests to collaborate from nearbyresearchers and people around the world. Do notallow your time to become so fragmented thatyour central research projects are neglected. Learnto say no gracefully and, if necessary, ask thoseabove you to offer you some protection for yourtime. Even if you are the head of the institute, itcan be easier to turn things down by saying “I amsorry, the Minister of Health has asked me toreserve my time for another project” than by saying“I do not have time to work with you.”I would classify collaborations in two groups:those established with scientists in the North(well-known or not-so-well-known scientists)and those established with scientists in yourown country or region or other scientificallylagging regions. In the first case, one has to bevery careful in order to make clear to your localcolleagues and evaluators that it is a real collaboration.For example, if your name is dilutedin the middle of the author’s list of the publicationsresulting from the collaboration, the localevaluator will certainly realize that your role iscompletely secondary.I would tend to establish collaborations with“big shots” in the North only if I am really interestedin the subject, and if I can contribute withoriginal ideas and work that guarantee that I willbe the corresponding author of at least 50% ofthe papers resulting from the collaboration. Onthe other hand, I can establish collaborationswith people in the North on subjects that arenot my main subject, that will not end in theonly publications I will have in the period, whoseefforts and work do not put at risk the successof the main subject in my group. In that case Iwould not mind appearing in the middle of theauthor’s list. In simple terms, the collaborationmust help your scientific career and not to be aburden.”Alberto Kornblihtt, Argentina154 excellence everywhere

n If you engage in multiple collaborations, the probabilityincreases that you will find yourself with aconflict of interest at some point in your career.Especially in these early years, it is better to keepthings simple so that you know all of the actorsand can identify potential conflicts. Often peopleor institutions in conflict with one another mayapproach you to collaborate. Both are surely awarethat your work is of interest to the other. Again,proceed carefully and honestly. Keep in mind thatjust as you can have friends who do not get along,you can also have collaborators whose interestscollide. Just think carefully before getting betweenthem.When Your Trainees CollaborateYour graduate students and postdocs need tolearn to collaborate, as well. You can start themoff by assigning them joint projects within yourlab and by guiding them in establishing theirexpectations of each other and in monitoring thefulfillment of promises. However, you should beprepared to referee, especially when it is necessaryto contain the ambitions of inappropriatelyaggressive members of your group.It is quite another matter when your students andpostdocs approach scientists outside your lab orare themselves approached as potential collaborators.They may have no idea of the politics involvedor the extent of the commitments they are making.Encourage your trainees to look broadly for helpand resources, but insist on your prerogative toapprove all trainees’ outside commitments inadvance.Some strong collaborators may use a juniorscientist to involve your institute in a collaborationand get them to sign a Memorandum OfUnderstanding (MOU). It is thus important toimpress upon junior scientists that they needto make sure that this MOU benefits bothcollaborators in terms of capacity strengthening(human and institutional), funding, authorshipand other aspects of the collaboration.”Susan Mutambu, ZimbabweWHEN A COLLABORATIONIS NOT WORKINGCollaborations can fail for various reasons.Possible scenarios include:n One party loses interest or develops other priorities,and intentionally or inadvertently puts the projecton the back burner. There is no intent to renege,but deadlines are allowed to slip.n Illness or family problems hinder someone’sprogress.n Key personnel move on or become uninvolved.n Scientific results are not forthcoming, and theproject simply stalls.n Honest disagreements arise about the plan,finances, or authorship.n One or both parties behave badly (e.g., they do nothonor some aspect of the agreement, steal credit,or disparage the other collaborator to others).n Geopolitics throws up new roadblocks, or existingroadblocks prove more problematic than anticipated.When such situations arise, you will have todecide how to protect yourself. The worst thingyou can do is to allow a bad situation to fester. Ifyou decide that your colleague is failing to fulfillthe original agreements, get on the phone andhave a straightforward discussion. Phoning ormeeting face to face is better than emailing insuch cases, since it is very easy to misread thetone of an email, especially if one correspondentis expecting a fight and the other does not realizethat anything is wrong at all.It is worth your while to try to fix a situationthat looks like it could derail your collaboration,especially if you have invested significant timeand resources in the project. If, however, theother party has lost all interest or you really donot get along, the best thing might be to backout. Although you may be tempted to let yourcolleagues know about the failure, remember thatsuch a retaliation can harm your own reputationas much as that of your collaborator. Do not burnbridges, and especially if you are just beginningyour career. Do what you can to leave your formercollaborator thinking well of you—he or she maycollaboration155

e an important connection to future collaborators.It is better to leave a collaboration with all partiesthinking that it was the situation—not the peopleinvolved—that was “not right.”If a collaboration does not succeed, try not tobecome discouraged. Although collaborationscan be a lot of work and at times frustrating, youwill gain much from working with others. Yourresearch can take unexpected turns and expandinto new and exciting areas. You will form professionalrelationships with scientists outside yourdepartment who may be willing to write lettersof recommendation when it is time to apply fortenure. Your collaborators can help increase yourvisibility by inviting you to give seminars at theirinstitutes, and they might send graduate studentsor postdocs to work in your lab.RESOURCESOnlineAdams, Michael J. “Mutual Benefit: Building a SuccessfulCollaboration.” ScienceCareers.org (October 6, 2000),http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0630/mutual_benefit_building_a_successful_collaboration.Dee, Phil. “Yours Transferably: Going Global 2—MakingContact.” ScienceCareers.org (February 16, 2001),http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0840/yours_transferably_going_global_2_making_contact.De Pass, Anthony. “Underrepresented Minorities inScience: Collaborations -- Critical to Research Successat Minority Institutions.” ScienceCareers.org (March 2,2001), http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0840/underrepresented_minorities_in_science_collaborations_critical_to_research_success_at_minority_institutions.156 excellence everywhere

chapter 12intellectual property“ Las grandes ideas son aquellas de las que lo único que nos sorprendees que no se nos hayan ocurrido antes.”Noel Clarasó SerratunderstandingIntellectualProperty RightsIntellectual property rights protect the interests ofcreators by giving them property rights over theircreations, whether those creations are the resultof a Eureka! moment in the bath, the traditionalknowledge of a community, or the collectiveefforts of hundreds of scientists in a university,government or company.Intellectual property (IP) rights include patentsand copyrights (which protect authored works,including scientific papers, novels, music, art, andother things), trade secrets (things only the makerof a product knows—information not available tothe public), trademarks and brands (unique identifiersof products and services), industrial design(the visual designs of objects with aesthetic orcommercial value), and geographical indication(marking products with their place of origin, forexample, “Made in Brazil”).Because discovering and developing new thingsis more difficult and expensive than copyingothers’ work, profit and the right to determinehow inventions are used are major driving forcesbehind commercialization of ideas and productscreated by scientists. Without protection, imitatorscan quickly erode the profit available to the inventor,and investors will be discouraged from spendingthe money needed for more research anddevelopment.A patent is a right given to inventors of intellectualproperty, allowing them to protect their ownershipof an invention by excluding other people,companies, governments, etc., from commerciallyexploiting (making, using or selling) their innovationfor a set period of time, usually 20 years,within the country where the patent is granted.Inventions are, in essence, ideas. The protectionof an invention under patent law does not requirethat it be a physical thing. But it is customary todistinguish between inventions that are productsand those that are processes. The creation of anew cell line is an example of a product invention.The quote above: Serrat says that big ideas are the ones where the only thing that surprises us about them is that no one has thought of them before.intellectual property157

The invention of a new method or process ofmaking the cell line is a process invention.Patents are based on a trade-off between therights granted to inventors to exclude others frommaking, using or selling their invention and rulesthat require them to reveal the method behindthe invention so others may understand and learnfrom it. They must also explain why this particularinvention is different from others like it. That isnot so for trade secrets—for example, Coca-Colajealously guards the recipes for its soft drinks.In order to receive a patent, an inventor must gothrough a long application process, and patentprotection does not start until the patent is actuallyissued. Patent applications are prepared by patentlawyers, but require input from the inventor.Jurisdictions vary in the rules for an application,but in general the patent application document, orspecification, will include:1. Title and abstract. For ease in cataloguing andsearching in databases.2. A brief description of the area to which the inventionpertains, also called the field of the invention.3. A thorough disclosure and description of past workdone by others in the field, and what prompted theinvention. This description is commonly called priorart. Sources of prior art can include publications,conference abstracts, issued patents or otherprinted materials.4. A progression of steps leading to the invention,along with the shortcomings of the prior art. Thedifferences between prior art and the inventionhighlight its advantages. Required descriptions ofthe ways the invention is practiced or implemented,called embodiments, must be detailed enoughto allow someone skilled in the art to reconstructand use the invention.5. Clearly labeled graphs, tables, figures, pictures anddrawings to aid the descriptions.6. The claims draw the boundaries of the inventionusing legal terms. The claims describe the essenceof an invention, first as broadly as possible, andlater, more narrowly. Claims are essential forpatent protection—making or using the inventionor its equivalent under its claims and without theinventor’s permission is considered infringement.It is also extremely important to know thepolicies governing intellectual, biological and culturalproperty rights. Decisions about patentingmust be based on local laws and policies. Issuesrelating to informed consent and intellectualproperty rights can easily result in controversy.”Moses Bockarie, Papua New GuineaThe Patent ExaminationAt its core, a patent examination is an orderlyargument between an inventor and a country’spatent examiners, the officials who determinewhether the invention is truly something new anddeserving of protection. Patent examiners aresubject matter experts who rule on how broad ornarrow the inventor’s claims to property rights willbe. In order to be patentable, examiners put theapplication through a battery of tests.1. Novelty. The invention must be the inventor’sown work. Novelty also has much to do withtiming. If an invention was known before the datea patent application was filed or the priority dateclaimed on the patent application (see “Timingis Everything” on page 159), then it cannot beclaimed as new.2. Non-obviousness and Inventive Step. Theseterms reflect the “Aha!” of an invention and thesurprise of an unexpected result. A non-obviousinvention will identify a problem and provide asolution. If others tried and failed to develop theinvention, or if it is not apparent to someoneskilled in the art, then non-obviousness prevails.3. Utility and Industrial Application. In the US,the patent application must express some credibleusefulness or benefit. In contrast, European patentlaw asks if the invention shows an industrialapplication.The examination process, which is called prosecution,may take months or years to complete.Often some of the application’s claims, or individualwritten statements about the invention thatare presented one after another in the application,will be rejected. A patent application will usually158 excellence everywhere

timing is everythingIn some countries, once an idea or invention is made public, by being published in the scientificliterature for example, it cannot be patented. In others, including the US, there is a grace period duringwhich an inventor can file a patent application.In countries without this grace period, an inventor is out of luck if the invention was known publicly orpublished in a journal even one day before the filing date. To complicate matters, patent law definesthe word “publication” very broadly. Even an abstract, oral presentation or poster session can qualifyas publication, and advertising brochures, grant applications, catalogues and magazine articles are fairgame too. Each situation is different, and anyone planning to file a domestic or foreign patent must beaware of the kinds of information generated by their organization. Finally, be aware that publication ofthe application by the patent office for all to see will occur some months after the filing—irrespectiveof whether the patent is ever issued.Patent laws that grant rights to the first inventor to file a patent use a simple, objective measure todetermine priority, but critics say it favors big corporations who can pay for each filing. On the otherhand, laws that grant rights to the first to make an invention favor the individual with few resources.Once a patent has been awarded in one country, an international Patent Cooperation Treaty gives theinventor up to 18 months to file for patents in other individual countries beyond his or her own.begin by making very broad claims, and then willnarrow successive claims until it is extremelyspecific. So an application relating to, for example,a new bicycle gearing system, might have somevery broad claims related to the general functionof gears rejected, while other claims, such asthe narrower claim describing the new gearingsystem itself, may be accepted. The applicant mayrespond to the objections by arguing in support ofor making amendments to any rejected claims. Ifthe examiner’s objections cannot be overcome,the application may eventually be abandoned.Benefiting fromIntellectual PropertyIntellectual property, including patents, trade secretsor other “intangible assets,” can be convertedinto monetary value—hence the term “intellectualcapital.” Intellectual capital is quite worthlessunless there is someone, somewhere, willing tobuy it. Therefore, a patent is merely the startingpoint for a financial arrangement between parties.The trick becomes how to efficiently transfer thetechnology from the inventor to the marketplace.Who benefits from these arrangements? Aninvention that you make as part of your scientificwork may belong to your institution, or to thefunder of the work, or to the government, or toyou, depending on the policies and customs ofthe place where you are working. Whether yourthoughts and the work you do with your handsbelong to you or someone else varies considerablyfrom institution to institution, funder to funder,and country to country. Asking others at yourinstitution or in your area who have patented workwill help you understand what will become of anyintellectual property associated with your work.If you believe that you will generate patentableinventions, talk with your institution, your majorfunders, or your government early so that you canunderstand the ideas behind the process beforeany real invention is at stake.Once an invention is patented, you do not have tobe the one who uses your rights to it. A license,a legally binding contract that allows someoneelse to make, use and/or sell an invention, can besold or lent to someone else, often in return forfees and royalties, which are returns on futureprofits. An “exclusive license” is given to only oneintellectual property159

licensee, who can charge others for use of thelicensed technology, generating more fees andmore royalties. A non-exclusive license can begranted to more than one entity. When know-how—the idea of how to do something—is patentedby scientists, it is usually made non-exclusive sothat those in the know may freely talk about theidea with other scientists.A license also can be granted exclusively to onelicensee for a specific application, or “field ofuse,” maintaining the owner’s option to issuelicenses for other fields of use.INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INA GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTNations protect intellectual property (IP) throughtheir laws. IP law enables individuals and organizationsto harvest the rewards of inventiveness.Yet these assets are products of the communitieswho make them. There is a tension between theprotection of individual interests and the need toprovide broad access to the societies who needthem. As scientists in more and more countriesgenerate more IP and become more collaborative,their nations must sort out the best ways tohandle their new inventions. Because differentnations are in different stages of economicand scientific development, each has a uniqueapproach to IP law.The effort to speed the transfer of intellectualproperty across borders has led to a profusion oforganizations, treaties and laws through which tonavigate. Described below are the important ones,how they came to be, and how they figure in theglobal scheme of things.The World IntellectualProperty Organization (WIPO)Established in Stockholm and launched in 1970,WIPO is an agency of the United Nations. Itsmission is “To promote through internationalcooperation the creation, dissemination, useand protection of works of the human mind forthe economic, cultural and social progress of allmankind…to contribute to a balance between thestimulation of creativity worldwide, by sufficientlyprotecting the moral and material interests ofcreators on the one hand, and providing access tothe socio-economic and cultural benefits of suchcreativity worldwide on the other.”WIPO creates and manages multilateral treatiesamong nations, including:the lifecycle of an IdeaRoyalties Back toInventor and InstitutionIdeaGrant orContract ProposalSales$$ to ScientistProductScientific DiscoveryCommercialDevelopmentInvention Disclosure toTechnology Transfer OfficeLicense Agreementwith CompanyGrant ofPatentPatentApplicationPublication160 excellence everywhere

n The Paris Convention. Signed in 1883, everymember country must grant to nationals of othercountries the same IP protection it grants to its owncitizens. More practically, it allows inventors in onenation to use the patent filing date in that nation asthe effective date in another nation, provided thatthey apply within 12 months of the first filing.n Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Filing a patentin all countries would be extremely costly. ThePCT coordinates the filing of international patentapplications among nearly 140 countries. A PCTfiling contains the nuts and bolts for an examination,such as a search of prior art and a descriptionof claims. A preliminary examination rules on itspatentability. Finally, each contracting national orregional patent office (see the European PatentOffice (EPO), below) is free to carry out a formalexamination and decide whether to issue a patent.Aside from the unified procedure, the advantagesto filing a PCT are streamlining and buying timebefore the national examinations commence. Butlocal jurisdictions charge fees for filing, issuing andmaintaining the patent.The Big ThreeAmong the world’s patent offices, the biggest arethe European Patent Office (EPO), the United StatesPatent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the JapanPatent Office (JPO). Together, the USPTO and theEPO review the largest number of the world’spatent applications, but Japan’s patent officeactivities are growing fast.China is also fast becoming a world leader inintellectual property, and Western countries arescrambling to establish trade agreements toharmonize patent information (see “The World’sMost Active Patent Offices”). The differencesamong the big three are first-to-invent and first-tofile,and that the U.S. permits patents on softwareand business methods. While the EPO grants onlyone patent for any given inventive system, thesame invention in Japan could constitute up to 10different patents, with every aspect of the inventionfiled separately.Like WIPO, the EPO does not issue patents, butcarries out formal examinations on behalf of 37European countries, along with examining oppositionsto patents already granted.The World’s Most Active Patent OfficesCountry/Region # of Examiners # of ApplicationsUnited States(USPTO)Europe (EPO)Japan (JPO)China (SIPO)South Korea(KIPO)India3,4003,5001,3582,000728135400,000208,000400,000175,000160,00014,500Data assembled from national sources between 2004 and 2006.Building a more unified systemAt the end of the General Agreement on Tariffsand Trade (GATT) treaty, which created the WorldTrade Organization (WTO), the discussion turns tothe wide variation of protection and enforcementof intellectual property rights. As IP rights becamemore important in global trade, these differencesbecame a source of tension in internationalrelations. New trade rules were seen as a way tointroduce more order and predictability, and fordisputes to be settled more systematically. At theturn of the century, “harmonization” became thecatchword. In mid-2000, the big three signed thePatent Law Treaty, which charts a path towardsinternational normalization by 2010.The WTO oversees the Agreement on Trade-RelatedAspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), a1995 agreement that attempts to “narrow the gapsin the way that these [intellectual property] rightsare treated around the world, and to bring themunder common international rules.” The TRIPSAgreement is expected to do a number of things,including increasing royalty and license fees todeveloping nations and increasing foreign directinvestment in the developing world.Ratification of the TRIPS Agreement became amandatory requirement for membership in the WTO.The agreement attempts to gather and normalizeall aspects of IP rights and their enforcement,including protecting trade secrets, establishingtransparency, and clarifying copyrights. Theagreement attempts to crack down on reverseengineering of biotechnology products, and requirescompanies in developing countries to adhere toGood Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards.intellectual property161

Most profound for developing countries werechanges related to patents. They include:1. Broad definition of what can be patentable. Thisrequires many countries to extend protection toareas such as chemical and pharmaceuticalproducts and processes, food products, microorganisms,microbiological processes and newvarieties of plants.2. Harmonized patent length at 20 years from thedate of filing.3. Mandated that intellectual property laws not offerany benefits to local citizens that are not availableto citizens of other TRIPS states while they are inthat country (see Indigenous Knowledge, page 165).4. Flexibility for developing countries to allow someoneelse to produce a product without the consentof the patent owner. This “compulsory licensing”can be used in circumstances of extreme “nationalurgency” such as domestic health crises.HIV/AIDS and the TRIPS DebateThe GATT treaty had a rough start and remainscontroversial. The European Union, the UnitedStates and large pharmaceutical companies playeda major role in adopting the TRIPS Agreement.The fact that corporations with an interest in favorableinternational rules on intellectual propertywere themselves part of developing policy wasa focus of intense debate. Developing countriescomplained that they were left out of critical negotiations.The provision that requires poor countriesto extend patent rights on pharmaceutical productsmade in the developing world has also provokedcriticism.New patents promise benefits and incur coststhat differ by disease, and some diseases primarilyaffect poor countries. For those disorders, patentsare not attractive to private investment becausethe purchasing power of developing countries islow. Widely available patent rights could increasethe benefits derived from greater public financingof biomedical research for the underdevelopedworld.The high profile of public health emergencies suchas the sub-Saharan Africa AIDS crisis spotlightsthe tension between public health and global IPprotection. Developed nations want their inventionsprotected, but developing countries want widedistribution of the health benefits of drugs andagricultural advances at low or no cost to theircitizens. A sick or suffering working class does littleto put the country on a road to economic prosperity.In 1997, a South African law called the Medicinesand Related Substances Control Act was put inplace to reduce the price of drugs, especially thoseused against AIDS. The law encouraged use ofgeneric drugs and allowed the government topurchase brand-name drugs abroad if it could getthem at a lower price. A consortium of 39 pharmaceuticalcompanies sued to prevent the import ofcheap generic antiretrovirals into South Africa. Themove was a public relations fiasco for the industry,Open AccessAnother important issue regarding scientificresearch is the availability of software fordata analysis. Given that I work with populationhealth issues, part of my job is to analyzelarge data sets. Statistical software—like SAS,SPSS, JMP, etc.—might seem inexpensive forlarge research projects in industrialized countries,but they tend to be quite expensive forscientists in developing countries. Some softwaredevelopers charge for every statisticalmodule and yearly license renewal, and thesepractices make the software very expensive.However, there is a new “movement” ofOpen Access software developers. OpenAccess software is free software developedby a community of scientists, usually spreadall over the world. There is freeware for differenttasks. The package or language called R isthe most widely used Open Access statisticalsoftware in the world, and includes “cuttingedge”routines that very few statistical packageshave. Open Access software appears tobecome a very valuable tool for scientists indeveloping countries that have very limitedmoney resources for purchasing equipment.”Gilbert Brenes Comacho, Costa RicaThe statistical analysis software R, instructions for use, and informationabout working to improve it are available at www.r-project.org.162 excellence everywhere

and the consortium settled the suit in 2001. Shortlythereafter, Brazil and a group of African countries,working with the NGOs, brought the problem ofdrug access to the global stage at a meeting of theworld’s trade ministers in Doha, Qatar.The declarations of the Doha group affirmed members’right to protect public health and to promoteaccess to medicines for all. Most importantly, itclarified the right to use compulsory licensing tomeet public health concerns, stating that “publichealth crises, including those related to HIV/AIDS,tuberculosis, malaria and other epidemics, canrepresent a national emergency.”Though the TRIPS Agreement is designed to levelthe IP playing field and is necessary to spur developmentin developing countries, major challengesremain. They include the cost of providing therapybroadly across the world, the limited capacity ofmost developing countries to make generic drugs,the potential impact on countries such as Braziland India, which may be required to stop their ownmanufacture of inexpensive generic drugs, andthe impact of requiring companies to license theirexisting drugs on those companies’ future investmentsin drugs of benefit to low-income countries.CASE STUDIESEmbryonic stem cellsAn American scientist, James Thomson, wasawarded three patents by the USPTO for his pathbreakingwork with human embryonic stem cells.The patents, which cover cell lines, are unusual fortwo reasons. First, they were issued based onresearch using a morally controversial source ofmaterial—leftover but viable two-day-old humanembryos obtained through in vitro fertilization(IVF) clinics.The second unusual feature is the patent claimsthemselves. Not only do they assert a right tocharge anyone to use the cell lines Thomsoncreated, they also prevent anyone else from usingany human embryonic stem cell lines, made byany method, in any laboratory, anywhere in theUS. These patent claims are among the broadestever granted in the life sciences.Broad Claims:Embryonic Stem Cell Patents“We claim: 1. a purified preparation ofprimate embryonic stem cells which(i) is capable of proliferation in an in vitroculture for over one year,(ii) maintains a karyotype in which all thechromosomes characteristic of the primatespecies are present and not noticeablyaltered through prolonged culture,(iii) maintains the potential to differentiateinto derivatives of endoderm, mesoderm,and ectoderm tissues throughout culture,(iv) will not differentiate when cultured ona fibroblast feeder layer.”Since embryonic stem cells could eventuallylead to treatments or cures for maladies such asheart disease, diabetes, and cancer, the patentshave generated a debate with ethical, social andlegal implications. Because of broad claims andthe aggressive negotiating position the institutewho owns the patents has taken with thosewho want to use the lines, scholars fear that themonopolistic practices could squelch innovationand competition and result in treatments beingdistributed only to those who can afford them. Ifthe keys to use the inventions are given to justa few, there will be little incentive to developcheaper and better products.The controversies have meant a rocky road forboth the patent holder and its exclusive licensees.The European Patent Office (EPO) rejected thepatents on moral grounds. Because they involvethe use of “human embryos for industrial orcommercial purposes,” they consider them animmoral violation of public order. Though thedecision can be appealed, a confirmatory rulingwould mean that no such patents would be issuedby the EPO. Yet a grant of a patent does notautomatically confer rights in EU (European UnionCEU) member states. Each country is free tointerpret the morality clause in its own fashion anddecide whether to issue a patent.intellectual property163

Finally, the patents have been challenged ontechnical grounds. In 2007, the USPTO ruled thatthe patents failed the non-obviousness requirement.The challenge referenced multiple casesof prior art (the teachings of two patents and fourarticles published prior to the filing of Thomson’sfirst patent in 1996), assuming that a “personhaving ordinary skill in the art” would be able toaccomplish what Thomson and his laboratory did.Both the challengers and the research institutewill battle back and forth for years before the issueis finally resolved. During that time, the patentsremain fully in force.Everybody into the PoolThe development of new drugs, devices and toolscomes at an astonishing price. A Tufts Universitystudy estimates the 2006 cost of bringing a drugto market at $1.2 billion. Those costs are passedon to patients and health care systems. The higherthe development cost, the more difficult it is tobring new biomedical products to underservedmarkets.One of the problems associated with the increasedtime and cost are “patent thickets,” when companiesneed to license many bits and pieces of acomplex chain of technology in order to successfullyimplement their own intellectual property.Nowhere is this more apparent than in vaccinedevelopment, where separate licenses may berequired for specific genes, animal models, bioprocessing,and delivery systems. “Stacking” royaltypayments in this fashion becomes very expensive.One of the mechanisms put forward to deal withpatent thickets is patent pools. A “patent pool”is an agreement between two or more patentowners to license patents to one another or tooutsiders. Most are voluntary, devised when companiesor organizations find their ability to innovatestifled by key technical patents owned by others.Members of the pool share royalties paid by thirdparties. Proponents argue that such arrangementscan help stimulate innovation.In response to the SARS outbreak, the WHOfunded a network of laboratories to develop avaccine. Several of the researchers filed patentapplications on inventions related to the viralgenomic sequence. Further research by largegroup of public and private sector entities led toadditional patent applications. The agency proposeda patent pool strategy that would avoid potentialSARS-related intellectual property conflictsand speed the development of vaccines. If thenegotiations among the parties succeed, the firstpool will be set up in the U.S., followed by otherjurisdictions.Patent pools attempt to speed development bysharing risk and reward, but one intriguing modelabandons the concept of intellectual propertyaltogether. For example, a non-governmentalorganization, the Drugs for Neglected Diseasesinitiative (DNDi), and the French pharmaceuticalcompany Sanofi-Aventis have developed a newanti-malarial therapy—fixed-dose combination(FDC) of artesunate and amodiaquine (AS/AQ),which will be available in Sub-Saharan Africa andelsewhere for less than $1 per dose. Becausethere are no patents, other companies are free tomake cheaper versions of the therapy, also calledgenerics. The patent-free model could becomeone way to treat the world’s neglected diseases.shared resourcesAt the prompting of Icelandic corporation deCODEgenetics, Iceland’s parliament passed the HealthSector Database Act in 1998. It authorized a12-year, exclusive license to deCODE to createa database of the medical records of all Icelandiccitizens. Iceland’s advantage was its small, isolatedpopulation and its fastidious practice of medicalrecord-keeping. The country has kept medical andgenealogical data on all of its citizens for more thana century. The act stated that while the governmenthas access to the database, deCode could use itfor commercial purposes, such as diagnostics ordrug discovery.The Icelandic government has concluded thatgenetic information is a national resource, andthat citizens have no individual rights to it. Othersworried whether the government and deCODEcould be relied on to properly protect geneticinformation. Though confidentiality was promised,improper release of information could have devastatingconsequences, such as denial of healthinsurance or employment discrimination. Grantinga proprietary right to one’s own genetic information,164 excellence everywhere

some said, would help individuals control its use.Others responded that the information belongedto all Icelanders, and as such decisions about itsuse should have come from the community.Another worry concerned the delay of publications.Kari Stephansson, deCODE’s CEO, wrote in theNew England Journal of Medicine, “The primarygoal is to use medical discoveries to develop bettermethods to diagnose, prevent, and cure diseases.Today, this often requires that an intellectualproperty be secured, which may delay publicationof a discovery. The choice between early publicationand the development of a product for thebenefit of patients with a particular disease is, inour minds, an easy one.” The biotech industryargued that without exclusive rights there wouldbe no incentive to invest, and granting individualownership might cause hundreds or thousands ofpeople to demand royalties from companies usingthe data to develop products.The textbook example of genetic property rights isfound in the case of Moore v. Regents of California(the Regents of California is the governing bodyof the University of California at all of its multiplecampuses.) Moore claimed that his property rightshad been violated when inventors did not sharethe commercial gains made from the commercialuse of his cancerous spleen cells. The courtconcluded—as the Icelandic Government did withits citizens—that Moore did not have a validownership claim, and that giving him one wouldhinder biomedical research.What lies ahead for Iceland? Some call for betterbalance between financial incentives and greateraccess to the information, such as compulsorylicensing to certified genetic researchers. Privatesector advocates say that any future financial returnnegotiated on behalf of the country’s 280,000citizens will be vanishingly small. As the debatecontinues, scientists at deCODE have recentlydiscovered genes associated with cancer, sleepdisorders and heart disease.Indigenous KnowledgeA team of Western researchers learns of an herbalremedy used by a remote tribe of Amazon villagers.The group travels to Ecuador, where they workwith local shamans and elders to identify the rightplant cultivars. The herbs are brought back to thelaboratory, where the active ingredient is isolatedand purified. The company receives a patent onthe product and manufactures it to industrial scale,making a blockbuster drug with a billion dollar profit.Some critics say abuse of traditional systems ofIP rights devalues indigenous cultures, reducesbiodiversity and steals the “pharmacy fromthe poor.” Called biopiracy, the practice usesintellectual property to legitimize the ownershipand control of biological resources used bydeveloping countries. The 1992 Rio Convention onBiodiversity (CBD), ratified by 187 countries andthe European Union, recognized that indigenouscultures have long contributed to global wealthgenerated by the commercialization of their nativeplants and animals.Under the rules of the CBD and other internationalguidelines:1. New intellectual policies and laws must involvecommunity participation.2. Access to traditional knowledge and resources(especially genetic resources) may only beobtained by informed consent.3. Communities have the right to share the benefitsof commercialization, and use by others can onlyproceed on the basis of mutually agreeable terms.It hasn’t always worked that way. The textbookcase is neem, a common Indian tree whose seedshave been long used for medicines, cosmeticsand pesticides. Because agricultural products arenot patentable in India, a foreign company patenteda neem extract and began manufacturing a pesticidein India in the late 1980s. The company’s demandfor seeds drove the price beyond the reach ofordinary Indians, including farmers who enjoyedfree access to stocks. Thus there were social,economic and ethical factors driving an EPO actionin 2000, which revoked the patent based on lackof novelty, inventive step and theft of prior art.The neem case has been characterized as plunderby many, but others say nothing prevented Indiancompanies from manufacturing the pesticide andexporting it, and there was little evidence that thetransnational conglomerate had asserted its rightsin India to prevent local companies from competing.intellectual property165

And, India benefited as a supplier of seed and localtechnical talent.How best to protect traditional knowledge?Preventing others from patenting is one strategy.Recording and storing knowledge establishes it asprior art and makes it more difficult to appropriate.The downside of this “defensive” approach is thatit makes public community knowledge that maybe held by custom to be private and sacrosanct.Positive measures could use laws to enact specialunique-to-the-situation (sui generis) rights toprotect traditional knowledge. Under sui generis,indigenous peoples can argue that controlling useof their knowledge is a self-determining right,and that modern laws can never overrule ancientsystems of beliefs and traditions.RESOURCESAttaran, Amir. “How do patents and economic policies affectaccess to essential medicines in developing countries?”Human Affairs 23(3):155-168, 2004.Dasgupta P. & P. David. “Toward a New Economics ofScience” Research Policy 23: 487-521, 1994.Daza, German Sanchez. Los derechos de propiedadintelectual en el alca. Aportes 8:35-54, 2003.Drahos, Peter and Mayne, Ruth, eds. Global IntellectualProperty Rights: Knowledge, Access and Development.Palgrave McMillian, 2002.Eisenberg, Rebecca S., Heller, Michael A. Can PatentsDeter Innovation? The Anticommons in BiomedicalResearch Science 280 (5364), 698 (1 May 1998).Garabedian, Todd. “Nontraditional publications and theireffect on patentable inventions.” Nature Biotechnology,(20) April 2002, 401-402.Finger, M and Schuler, P. eds. Poor People’s Knowledge:Promoting Intellectual Property in Developing Countries.World Bank Trade and Development Series, 2004.Fink, Carsten and Maskus, Keith eds. Intellectual Propertyand Development: Lessons from Recent EconomicResearch. World Bank Trade and Development Series, 2005.Development Working Paper Number 5, April 2002.Lesser, W. “The effects of TRIPs-mandated intellectualproperty rights on economic activities in developingcountries.” 2001 monograph.Lee, Martha Isabel Gomez: Las patentes sobre biodiversidaden el TLC:negocio inconsulto. Oasis 11:103-133, 2005.Making the Right Moves: A practical guide to scientificmanagement for postdocs and new faculty. HHMI-Burroughs Wellcome guide, second edition, 2006.Maskus, Keith. Intellectual Property Rights in the GlobalEconomy. Washington DC, Institute for InternationalEconomics, 2000.Mayne, Ruth. “Regionalism, Bilateralism and ‘Trip-Plus’Agreements: The threat to developing countries.” UnitedNations Human Development Report 2005.McCalman, Phillip. “The Doha Agenda and intellectualproperty rights.” Working paper cite TBA 2002.Moschini, GianCarlo. “Intellectual property rights and theWorld Trade Organization: Retrospect and Prospect.” Workingpaper published by the Center for Agricultural and RuralDevelopment, Iowa State University, 2003.Shiva, Vandana. Protect or Plunder: UnderstandingIntellectual Property Rights. Zed Books, 2002.OnlineBiotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) IntellectualProperty Primer: http://www.bio.org/ip/primer/Dirección de Vinculación Tecnológica from CONICET laysout some of the principles for linking technologies toapplications http://www.conicet.gov.ar/VINCULACION/principal.phpEuropean Patent Office (EPO): http://www.epo.orgWIPO Intellectual Property Handbook: http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/iprm/index.htmlWIPO Guide to Intellectual Property Worldwide:http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/ipworldwide/World Trade Organization (WTO): http://www.wto.orgWIPO What Is Intellectual Property?: http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/Krattiger, Anatole. “Financing the bioindustry and facilitatingbiotechnology transfer.” IP Strategy Today, 8-2004.Lanjouw, Jean. “Intellectual property and the availabilityof pharmaceuticals in poor countries.” Center for Global166 excellence everywhere

chapter 13MOVING MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT“ Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before whichdifficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”John Quincy AdamsTransferring research-related materials internationallypresents challenges, particularly if the shipmentsare to or from the developing world. Dependingon your exact area of research, you may need toreceive (or send) materials including large, multi-useequipment; laboratory glassware and disposables;books; reagents; infectious agents and vectorsof infectious agents; human products; biologicalspecimens; and/or a variety of living organisms.Different rules and regulations come into playdepending on the type of material being shipped.Such regulations have been designed for a numberof important reasons, including the need to ensurethe safety of those handling the materials, toreduce biosecurity risks, to safeguard nationalsecurity and to protect the wellbeing of a country’scitizens, to protect commercial interests, and toprovide for the health and comfort of animals. Butthey can also, at times, result in long shippingdelays or be incorrectly interpreted, resulting inproblems at customs or elsewhere.Furthermore, in some countries the importregulations are not only complex, but intrinsicallyambiguous, to the extent that many of the officialswho deal directly with importing goods may notunderstand the rules themselves. There mayalso be corruption at certain stages of the importprocess, further complicating matters. Finally,purely practical problems such as the need to keepcertain temperature-sensitive materials cold, orliving material alive, can make shipping materialslong distances difficult. This chapter gives anoverview of the types of regulatory and practicalissues you might face when shipping materialsinternationally, and provides suggestions for howbest to navigate those challenges.The material in this chapter was derived from avariety of sources. Information came from referencebooks and governmental and regulatoryagency Web sites, as well as interviews withinternational shipping specialists (specifically,those who focus on shipping pharmaceuticals andbiological reagents), individuals at internationalmoving materials and equipment167

paperwork involved in purchasing1. Pro forma invoice/price quote: a quotation on the price (FOB, CIF, or in place) for a product or aseries of products. Normally it is valid for a limited time. This document does not certify any realtransaction, but for a time period it establishes the value of a trade.2. Invoice: the document that reflects that the real transaction has been formally arranged and willcertainly occur or has occurred.3. Receipt: the document certifying that the payment for the transaction stated in the invoice has beendone. A receipt has no value without the invoice. On the contrary, certain kinds of invoices have valuewithout the corresponding receipts. Granting agencies may require the original invoices of yourpurchases as proof that the transactions have taken place. In some cases, they might also requestthe receipts or other proofs of payment, such as credit card balances, copies of wire transfers, etc.4. Packing slip/remito: the document that is signed when the delivery is received at the purchaser’s lab.bioresource centers and at biotechnology companiesthat support science in the developing world,and scientists who work in developing countries.Perhaps the most important single piece of adviceis that there is no fixed set of rules to learn thatwill allow you to handle shipping yourself—instead,you should identify experts with local knowledgeand experience and enlist those people to handlesuch matters. That being said, it will be useful tohave some background knowledge about relevantregulations and organizations. Additional practicaladvice will be covered in later sections of the chapter.Regulations andRelevant OrganizationsThe regulations that govern international shippingare complicated and in flux, affected by politicsand world events. A complete description of allapplicable organizations and laws affecting thetransfer of materials is well beyond the scopeof this chapter. The material presented here isintended to be a general overview.Hazardous MaterialsUnited Nations (UN) Model Regulations on theTransport of Dangerous Goods. The UN ModelRegulations, although not legally binding, providea foundation for the development of globallyharmonious regulations on transporting hazardousmaterials. These regulations are developed bycommittees made up of representatives frommany countries. They address a wide variety ofhazards, including toxicity, radioactivity, infectioussubstance hazards, flammability, explosiveness,and corrosiveness.UN identification numbers are given to specificmaterials ranging from infectious substancesthat affect humans to genetically modifiedmicroorganisms to dry ice. The Model Regulationsprescribe standards for packaging, labeling, andmarking for each category of material in transit.They describe the documentation and emergencycontact information required for each shipment.The use of consistent regulations internationallyhas obvious benefits, among them obviating theneed to reclassify, re-label, or repackage materialsduring transport.International Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO). The ICAO (http://www.icao.int/), an agencyof the UN, publishes “Technical Instructions on theSafe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air” (ICAOTI) biannually. These instructions are in part basedon the UN Recommendations described above.International Air Transport Association (IATA)The IATA (http://www.iata.org) is a global tradeorganization that was formed over 60 yearsago and now represents 250 airlines. The IATA168 excellence everywhere

publishes the “Dangerous Goods RegulationsManual” (DGR Manual), which provides informationon classifying, marking, packing, labeling, anddocumenting shipments containing dangerousgoods. IATA regulations cover materials carriedon board by passengers or checked in luggage aswell as those shipped commercially. IATA DGRsare similar to the ICAO TI, but contain additionalrequirements and are more restrictive.International Maritime Organization (IMO).IMO (http://www.imo.org) has developed a uniforminternational dangerous goods (DG) code fortransporting materials by sea. The code coverspacking and stowage, and pays particular attentionto the separation of incompatible substances.appropriate packagingPackaging materials incorrectly can have severesafety and legal consequences. For example, dryice placed in an airtight container will cause anincrease in pressure in the container, potentiallyleading to an explosion. A lack of proper orientationmarkings on chemical packaging can lead toleaks and chemical mixing, possibly causing firesor explosions. Planes have crashed because safetyregulations on shipping dangerous goods were notfollowed. Fines for not following dangerous goodsshipping regulations can be severe, even if noharm results.Transportation of ResearchAnimals and PlantsConvention on International Trade inEndangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES). Because most countries have specificrules about importing animals, regulations in thisarea are very complicated. CITES (also known asthe Washington Convention; http://www.cites.org/), which represents an agreement amonggovernments to regulate the movement of endangeredplants and animals and their derivativesacross international borders, is currently enforcedin 172 countries. These regulations cover bothcommercial and noncommercial trade.Office International des Épizooties/WorldAnimal Health Organization. The goal of thisorganization, also known as the Office Internationaldes Épizooties (OIE; http://www.oie.int), isto prevent zoonoses, infectious diseases that canbe transmitted from animals to humans and viceversa. It has developed the “Terrestrial AnimalHealth Code” and the “Aquatic Animal HealthCode,” which provide recommendations for membercountries as they set up or revise regulationsabout importing animals and animal products.IATA Live Animal Regulations (LAR). The IATALAR is a global standard for transporting animalsby air. These regulations cover animal containersand methods to ensure the welfare of animalsbeing shipped by air, among other topics. BothCITES and OIE recognize these regulations.Labeling, Packaging, Paperwork,Licenses, and PermitsComplying with regulations governing theinternational transport of hazardous materials orliving organisms and their derivatives requiresthe use of proper labels. These include labelsdescribing the substance (for example, “InfectiousSubstance” or “Biological Substance, Category B”or “Dry Ice”), as well as those stating the propershipping name, the UN identification number, andthe correct orientation of the shipping container.Potentially hazardous biological substances,including infectious substances and geneticallymodified microorganisms, must be triplepackaged, with a leak-proof primary container,a secondary container that contains enoughabsorbent material to absorb all of the liquid in thesample, and an outer container large enough tocontain the required labels. The two outer packagesmust meet UN performance standards andare available from commercial suppliers. Packagingmust meet additional requirements if ice, dry ice,or liquid nitrogen is included in the shipment.Shipments must be accompanied by a Declarationfor Dangerous Goods form if hazardous materialsare being sent. Other documents that might berequired include export permits and/or licenses,moving materials and equipment169

labeling mattersA case in point: In Thailand, items labeled “plastic goods” can have an import tax of 40%, whereasplastic laboratory ware labeled “laboratory equipment” has a tax of 10%. So knowledge of this particularpiece of information could save a substantial sum of money. A good agent from a Thai forwardingcompany who is familiar with movement of scientific materials will be familiar with import taxes andwith proper labeling, and communicate such information to the original company if necessary. Suchan agent does not want a 40% tax if 10% is possible instead, because of the increased cost that willbe passed on to the scientist. As another example, anecdotal evidence suggests that in some regionsof the world, products labeled “research reagents” will be cleared through customs relatively easily,whereas those labeled “medical products” will not be cleared; the reverse is reported to be true inother regions of the world. Again, a good agent should be aware of these subtleties.import permits and/or licenses, a shipper’s exportdeclarations, a commercial invoice, a certificate oforigin, a bill of lading, an insurance certificate, anexport packing list, a consular invoice, an airwaybill, and inspection certificates.Important Issuesand Practical AdviceExpert AssistanceBecause of the complexities of international shipping,one of the most important pieces of advice isto identify experts who can handle the associatedissues for you. There are many advantages toworking with a trusted local distributor of reagentsand equipment (who represents one or morewell-known life sciences companies), a freightforwarder, and/or a customs broker.A forwarder is an agent who facilitates internationalshipments. These agents are familiar with bothimport and export regulations, as well as withpacking, labeling, insurance, documentation, andshipping options and requirements. A customsbroker will undertake transactions associated withcustoms on your behalf, such as classification andvaluation of products and payment of taxes andduties. Such individuals should also have familiaritywith local customs and a track record of experiencein the country or region.You might wonder if hiring a knowledgeablecustoms broker, for instance, is worth the cost.Customs regulations are extremely complex—they vary from country to country, and can beinfluenced by changing politics. Because the rulesare so complicated and often unclear, identifyingand appointing a local agent to handle tasks suchas clearing equipment or goods through customscan be far less expensive than attempting tomanage the task yourself. Because the particularrules change frequently, and are often flexibleor ambiguous, it is not generally possible forscientists to be aware of what rules are in placeat a given time. For example, proper labeling iscritically important for cost-effective and timelypassage through customs. Improper labeling,even if accurate, can have severe or expensiveconsequences.In addition, in some circumstances, the scientisthas to take some time to train a local agent inhandling research material. Although thisappears to be outside your role, in the long runit is time well invested. Otherwise, you will endup wasting much more time in sorting out allkinds of issues whenever you have to ship orreceive research materials.”Abdoulaye Djimdé, Mali170 excellence everywhere

Identifying Distributorsand AgentsHow does one go about identifying appropriatedistributors and agents? The aim is to single outthose with long track records, who have workedin the region for a lengthy period of time andhave been found to be trustworthy, and, in thecase of distributors, to recognize those with localagents that have legitimate connections withwell-known biotechnology companies. The bestway to discover which people and companiesmeet those criteria is to ask established scientistswho have worked in the region for substantialperiods of time. To find a specialist for a particulartransaction, you might first search for another localscientist who has previously hired a specialist forthat kind of transaction and had good results. Youmight also contact well-known companies and askthem if they have a local partner in your region,and if so, how experienced that partner is.CorruptionIn some places, corruption is common and haslarge effects on the importation of goods. Governmentofficials can interpret rules as they wish incertain countries, and several of the distributorsand exporters interviewed for this chapter saidthat they assumed that money changes hands“under the table” when goods move acrossborders, particularly large pieces of equipment, butalso reagents, kits, and other supplies. Though itis clearly illegal for the exporting company to beinvolved in such transactions, once the shipmentis within the borders of another country, it maybe impossible to control what happens. Exportersmentioned that they preferred not to know aboutthese operations, leaving them in the hands oflocal distributors, agents, and importers. Thegeneral advice for scientists is similar: Follow thelaws personally, and do not attempt to handletransactions yourself.The level of corruption varies by region. Whereasin some cases the import “fees” clearly serveonly to supplement the income of certain officials,many import fees in other countries are legitimate,even if the rules describing them are ambiguous.Furthermore, the line between corruption andlocal traditions is sometimes hard to distinguish.A good knowledge of local conventions andpractices can smooth the way for the efficientpassage of a shipment through customs. Ahigh-quality distributor or customs agent will knowthese routines; buying an official lunch or bringingsomeone a special snack might be all that isneeded to bring a $100,000 piece of equipmentthrough customs. Such practices appear lesslike bribery and more like politeness within thecontext of a given culture.Export ControlsFederal export control regulations in the countrywhere your materials originate can have largeeffects on how quickly you receive a givenshipment. These regulations prohibit the export ofcertain materials without an export license issuedby the government, and obtaining such a licensecan take considerable time. Such requirementswere put into place many years ago for reasonsthat included national security, but they have beenmore strictly interpreted and enforced since theterrorist attacks on the United States in 2001.License requirements and restrictions also varydepending on the destination of the goods. In theUnited States, for example, some items can beexported to Canada without a license, but requirea license for shipment elsewhere. Licensescannot be obtained in the United States for exportto embargoed countries (presently Cuba, Iran,Myanmar (Burma), North Korea, Sudan, and Syria).Penalties for breaking these regulations can besevere—in the United States, noncompliance canresult in fees of up to $1,000,000 (or up to five timesthe value of the export, whichever is greater) perviolation and imprisonment for up to 10 years.Thus, there is a strong impetus for companies tocomply with export licensing requirements.These regulations are meant to stop “dual-use”equipment or technologies—that is, items thatcould potentially be used for both basic researchand for military or terrorism purposes—fromgetting into the hands of terrorists or unfriendlygovernments. A large variety of equipment andtechnologies can be covered by these regulations,including computers and software, centrifuges,autoclaves, fermenters, cross flow filtrationmoving materials and equipment171

equipment, freeze-drying equipment, and radiationdetectors, as well as a variety of chemicals,radiochemicals, medical or biological reagents,and toxins. Equipment or components used inprocessing (such as large-scale purification) arepotentially problematic, because similar processingsteps can be used both in legitimate scientificexperiments and in the production of biological orchemical weapons. These items can include suchcommon equipment as pumps and valves.In some cases, obtaining an export license canadd substantially to the time required to receiveyour shipment. For example, filtration cartridges,which have a legitimate use in protein purification,can also be used in bioweapons manufacturing,and in one recent instance, obtaining an exportlicense for these items took about seven months.There is no way around the potentially long delaysin these instances; the best you can do is to try toplan your orders well in advance of when you willneed the equipment or supplies. Most companieswill provide information to you about exactly whattypes of equipment will require an export license.Despite these warnings, it is important to notethat most standard laboratory equipment andreagents do not require export licenses. Evenorders for radiochemicals, which could be imaginedto cause difficulties, generally do not result in longdelays. This is because research scale quantitiesare small, and the types of radiochemicals used inbiological experiments are not those used in themanufacture of weapons.An experienced company representative will knowthe difference between equipment and reagentsthat could legitimately be used in laboratoryexperiments and those that are not legitimate.A local representative also gains a sense of thetypes of work going on in individual laboratories.Particularly since 2001, big companies withoutlocal representatives have become less willingto provide a quote for dual-use equipment orreagents unless they know who the end user willbe. Instead, they will sometimes turn a request fora quote over to a company with a local representativewho does know the individuals in a particularregion. In this regard, scientists may come outahead in that they will receive a quote from acompany able to supply local support.Service and MaintenanceJust as there are upfront costs associated withusing a forwarding agent or customs broker thatcan in the end save money, there can be costsassociated with using an established local distributorassociated with well-known companies,rather than a foreign distributor or an unknowndistributor without a track record, that ultimatelyrepresent money well spent. Such a decision canhave consequences beyond simply having theequipment arrive safely.Both large and small pieces of equipment oftenrequire technical support in the initial setup phase,as well as ongoing service and maintenance. Anoverseas company without a local agent mightwell offer a given piece of equipment at a lowercost than a company with a local presence. Thissituation might arise because the quote from theoverseas company is based on the cost of supportin Europe or North America, for example, ratherthan in the country where you are. If you were toselect the company based on the cheapest quotein this situation, you would not have a local agentto rely on if the equipment requires servicing.In general, this is a problem in countries with alow volume of scientific equipment sold. On aper-unit basis, it is more expensive to support oneDNA sequencer or synthesizer in a country likeLaos than it is to support the far greater numberof these units in a country like France. In lowvolumecountries, education levels are generallylower, and local people must be sent overseas tobe trained or a service agent must be brought infrom another country, all contributing to the costof supplying service.This issue is further complicated by the factthat funding organizations sometimes requirescientists to obtain bids for large equipment andto accept the lowest bid. As just described, thatrequirement might well leave you withoutequipment support.What strategies could you use to avoid findingyourself in this situation? One approach is towork with a trusted local distributing agent froman early stage, during the grant-writing process.The agent can work with you to put the requiredspecifications for a piece of equipment and its172 excellence everywhere

associated service and maintenance contractinto your grant proposal, so that companies thatwill not ultimately provide support are eliminatedfrom consideration. Such specifications mightinclude conditions such as: “Company supplyingequipment must have a local engineer trained inproduct,” “Company must have onsite technicalsupport,” or “Company must have skilled technicalsupport in the local time zone.”Attention to this issue might also save you fromdealing with companies with no scientific credentialsat all, as the following example illustrates.A scientist working at the Pasteur Institute inCambodia received funding from the World HealthOrganization (WHO) office in Manila, Philippines.WHO required that the scientist obtain bids for therequested equipment, which he did. One of thebids came from an established local distributor.The agent for that distributor received an emailfrom another company asking for a quote for thepiece of equipment with the exact specificationsoriginally given to him by the scientist. Thiscompany was a local trading company and had noexperience with scientific equipment whatsoever.After the details of this situation were sorted out,it turned out that a person working in the WHOoffice in Manila gave unauthorized information toa cousin in Cambodia who worked for the localtrading company. That cousin then attempted toundermine the tender of the established distributorby underbidding slightly. The local trading companymight have supplied the equipment, but certainlycould do nothing further, and the scientist wouldhave been out of luck if any sort of local supportwas needed. However, because this scientist hadprovided very specific requirements about supportin the grant application, he was able to purchasethe equipment from the established distributor.Local ConditionsKnowledgeable local distributors and service personnelwill also be familiar with specific problemsin the local infrastructure that can affect equipmentperformance. For example, in some regions, voltagefluctuations can be extremely large, meaningthat equipment needs to be supplied with thecorrect grounding devices. Working with the rightlocal distributor can potentially prevent damage toyour equipment or experiments.Installing fancy equipment in labs in the Southshould be done with great caution, even in settingsthat appear suitable. Papua New Guineais a middle-income country with fewer energyproblems compared to many West Africancountries. My present laboratory in PNG iswell-equipped with air conditioning and facilitiesfor performing DNA-based assays. I recentlybought a $60,000 Bioplex instrument for performingmosquito diagnostic assays and put itin a lab with window air conditioning. A fewweeks later, this very expensive equipment malfunctionedbecause the window air conditionercaused vibrations in the walls that made thelaser readers alter the alignment. We had to flyin a technician from Australia to fix the problem.Luckily for us we had a good service agreement.Remember to budget for equipment service bytechnicians from more developed countries.”Moses Bockarie, Papua New GuineaEstablishing a Laboratoryafter training abroadIf you have done most of your training in a richcountry, the complications of materials transferfaced by any scientist in that region may bemagnified for you because of a lack of recentknowledge of local customs and specific conditions.In this situation, it can be very useful to spend amonth or two at your new job before starting toset up your laboratory. Ask your new colleaguesabout issues related to the infrastructure thatmight cause problems with your equipment orexperiments. For example, in some places, theair conditioning is turned off at 6:00 PM. A periodof re-familiarizing yourself may also allow you tore-adapt to differences in communications whichcan be quite striking between different countries.There are places, for example, where it is notuncommon for a person saying that he or she willdo a certain task to have no intention of actuallydoing that task. Learning or re-learning todistinguish when “yes” means “yes” wouldobviously be useful.moving materials and equipment173

Responsibilityfor materialsIf an order goes astray and never arrives, who isresponsible? Materials can be sent “FOB origin” or“FOB destination.” “FOB” means “Free on Board”or “Freight on Board” and is used to indicate whenresponsibility for the shipment transfers to therecipient. If an item is “FOB Miami,” the shipperis responsible for getting it to Miami and the recipientis responsible for getting it from there to his orher own country. When businesses send materials“FOB destination,” the supplier is responsible untilthe scientist receives and accepts the material bysigning off when a shipment arrives.Most materials are under warranty, and reputablecompanies will replace missing or broken items forfree if you can show that the damage happenedwhile the materials were the seller’s responsibilityor in the hands of the seller’s agent (for example,the seller’s shipping contractor). Some variationson this theme are possible, however, dependingon the terms agreed upon for shipping. If therecipient has made arrangements for clearingmaterials through customs, for example, he or shemight become responsible for the shipment whenit reaches customs. In this situation, materialsdamaged because of delays in customs would notbe replaced by the shipper. This type of circumstanceprovides another reason to rely on expertsfor handling passage through customs.Animals and PlantsImporting animals or plants can present particularchallenges, because the regulations can vary agreat deal depending on the country. Informationabout which treaties the country enforces andthe local laws can be obtained from the country’sconsulate or its Web site. Professional assistancemight be required if there are incompatibilitiesbetween the laws of the country exporting theanimals and those of the country importing them.Again, a broker familiar with these regulations canprovide invaluable assistance. There may be quarantinerequirements depending on the species andcountry involved. Some countries require VeterinaryCertificates for animal-derived materials and PhytosanitaryCertificates for plant-derived materials.The requirements of the importing country mayvary depending on the identity of the exportingcountry. For example, animal-derived products fromone country might be of greater concern than thesame products from another country.Sending materials that are not properly packed,because the regulations don’t exist in yourcountry, may result in them being impoundedin other ports where strict rules apply. Alwayspack your samples following internationalshipping rules.”Moses Bockarie, Papua New GuineaPhysical Challengesto Shipping MaterialsLong DistancesTemperatureMany biological materials and reagents, rangingfrom frozen tissue culture cells to enzymes andvaccines, need to be kept cold during shipmentto retain viability or performance. The AmericanType Culture Collection (ATCC; http://www.atcc.org/) is a bioresource center that ships biologicalmaterials such as bacteria, fungi, protozoa, plantseeds, cell lines, viruses, and antisera throughoutthe world, except to countries restricted by theUnited States government. If possible, techniquesfor shipping that bypass the need to keep materialscold are used. Obviously, shipping delays arenot as deleterious, and shipping is less expensive,if materials are stable at ambient temperatures.Sometimes biological samples can be shippedspotted on filter paper.For example, the Malaria Research and ReferenceReagent Resource Center (MR4; www.malaria.mr4.org), a central source of malaria-relatedorganisms and reagents managed by the ATCC,ships monkey blood infected with Plasmodium174 excellence everywhere

falciparum, one of the parasites that causesmalaria, in this manner. Diagnostic antigens andsmall quantities of DNA can be extracted fromthese samples. Freeze-drying is sometimes usedto stabilize certain microorganisms (bacteria andfungi) and some products such as enzymes, butcannot be used for other types of materials suchas tissue culture cells, which must be shippedfrozen. Additionally, freeze-drying is both expensiveand time-consuming, and is not an alternativethat would necessarily be available to individualscientists. If materials must be kept frozen, it isessential that good “cold chain management” isused (discussed in more detail below). To movematerials as quickly and efficiently as possible,ATCC uses freight forwarders who accompanymaterials through customs.You may or may not be involved in cold chainmanagement if you are on the receiving end of ashipment. If you are sending heat-sensitive itemsto distant colleagues, it is important to considerthe issues carefully. An excellent article about thistopic is listed in this chapter’s Resourcessection (page 176). It stresses that many failuresto maintain the desired temperature come aboutbecause of insufficient planning. In brief, importantpoints to consider are (i) packaging, (ii) choice ofshipping company, (iii) communications with thatcompany, and (iv) necessary documentation.Specialized couriers that deal with pharmaceuticalproducts and reagents for the life sciences canprovide door-to-door service to most countries, andmight represent a good choice for sending important,heat-sensitive materials [see, for example, QuickInternational Courier (http://www.quickintl.com/)or World Courier (www.worldcourier.com). Someairline networks have procedures to handle suchshipments, and such couriers will use thoseairlines. That option is not inexpensive, however.It is important to communicate with the courierearly to work through important steps of theprocess. They should know, for example, whothe customs broker is, who to contact if thereis a delay, and the hours when packages can bereceived by the recipient. Packaging must bedetermined after you establish the extremes intemperature the shipment will likely encounter(considering, for example, the expected temperatureat both the sending and receiving ends)and the length of time the shipment should take.“Qualified” (or tested) packaging systems areavailable from packaging vendors with a focus onthe pharmaceutical and biotechnology communities.Finally, customs paperwork should be readybefore the item is shipped. You should establishwhat documentation is needed for both import andexport before shipping. Furthermore, you shouldknow who will pay the duty and value-added taxwhen an item is imported, and make sure thatfunds will be on hand for payment of those taxes.One important challenge that we have faced isthat once or twice shipment of reagents wasdelayed en route to us, and this delay was notcommunicated to us and shipment arrived at theweekend or over the holidays. The cold chainwas broken, thus resulting in the loss of theseexpensive reagents. It is very important to keeptrack of the reagents during their transportationto their destination so that appropriate arrangementscan be made to collect them as soon aspossible after their arrival in an effort to averttheir loss.”Susan Mutambu, ZimbabweViabilityThe requirements for keeping organisms viableduring shipping vary enormously depending onthe species. Microbial cultures are often sent asstab cultures in microtubes (which are small andhard to break) at ambient temperatures. MR4,discussed above, transfers mosquito vectors ofhuman malaria as eggs on damp filter paper. TheJackson Laboratory (http://www.jax.org/index.html), which ships mouse strains for biomedicalresearch to countries throughout the world, usesspecialized plastic containers for shipping. Wateris provided for mice in prepackaged, sterile, gelatinizedwater packets (Napa Nectar TM) instead ofin bottles or through other moisture sources.moving materials and equipment175

Recent Improvementsin Materials TransferThis chapter has emphasized some of the difficultiesassociated with shipping laboratory equipment andreagents to countries in the developing world. Itis important to realize, however, that the situationhas undergone dramatic improvement in the recentpast. The biggest change is in communications,which are strikingly enhanced in Southeast Asia,North Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin Americaas compared to the situation just ten years ago.Cell phones are now almost ubiquitous amongscientists and those who work in materialstransfer. Broadband internet connections are verygood in many regions of the world now, allowingeasy communication by email. Skype (http://www.skype.com), which routes voice conversationsover the Internet, is now available in a broad rangeof countries; its use can dramatically reduce thecost of direct international communications.These changes mean that limitations to communications—bothtechnical and financial—amongscientists, distributors, support staff, and otherkey agents generally no longer represent a bottleneckin the materials transfer process.Improved communications have also resulted inmuch greater availability of product information forscientists, with catalogs, product specifications,and sometimes prices available online. Accessto such information allows scientists to compareprices. This ability can lead to surprises or misunderstandings,because costs of equipment andother materials can be significantly higher in developingversus developed regions of the world. Onekey reason for these differences is the increasedsupport costs in the latter, as discussed above.Courier companies are familiar with the requiredinternational guidelines for packaging biohazardousmaterial and generally advise the researchersabout the correct procedures. In addition,they tend to assist us to obtain the necessaryexport licenses.”Brian Eley, South AfricaA number of international shippers are now verywell established in many locations, also leading toimprovements in materials transfer. For example,Federal Express (FedEx; www.fedex.com) andDHL (http://www.dhl.com) have local offices andcouriers in many locations, providing improvedinfrastructure for shipping. World Courier(http://www.worldcourier.com), another majorinternational courier company, is particularly goodwith cold chain preservation and clinical materials.Despite these improvements, barriers remain fortransfer of materials to and from the developingworld.RESOURCESD. Catizone, Planning for Your Cold Chain Shipment: TheForgotten Science of Clinical Research and Development.BioProcessing Journal, September/October 2005, pp. 2-4.This article is available at the Quick International Couriersite: http://www.quickintl.com/.For researchers collaborating with colleagues in theUnited States, the application for the U.S. Public HealthService permit to import or transport etiologic agents,hosts, or vectors of human disease can be found at:http://www.cdc.gov/od/eaipp/forms/Permit_to_Import_or_Transport_Etiologic_Agents_Hosts_or_Vectors_of_Human_Diseases_fillable1-17.pdf.Guidelines for the Humane Transportation of ResearchAnimals (2006), Institute for Laboratory Animal Research,is available from this site: http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309101107.Sources for a number of publications about internationalrequirements for shipping dangerous goods, some ofwhich are discussed above, are described on this site:http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/regs/international#icao.The IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations Manual is availablefrom this site: http://www.iata.org/ps/publications/dgr.htm.The IATA Live Animal Regulations manual is available fromthis site: http://www.iata.org/ps/publications/lar.176 excellence everywhere

appendixquotationsIn the course of putting this book together, weasked researchers to submit quotes for potentialinclusion at the beginnings of chapters. Many ofthem were wonderful, and we have included aselection of those not used to head chapters hereso that readers may enjoy them.“La science n’a pas de patrie. Elle est en effet le patrimoinecommun de l’humanité. La connaissanceest une, par -delà les frontières, qui sont souventdes cicatrices de l’histoire.” —Louis Pasteur“One never notices what has been done; one canonly see what remains to be done.” —Marie Curie“No hay riqueza tan segura como un amigoseguro.” —Juan Luis Vives“Ciencia es una manera de interpretar la realidad quedesecha dogmas, milagros y el principio deautoridad.” —Marcelino Cereijido, about trainingwith Bernardo Houssay“In nature there is nothing superfluous.” —Averroes“There is no shortcut to any place worth going.”“Success leaves clues, so does failure.”“If there is no wind, row.”“You miss 100% of the shots you do not take.”“Positive attitudes…come in unlimited quantities.Everybody can have one free.” —Harvey Mackay“When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.” —Dalai Lama“A discovery is said to be an accident meeting aprepared mind.” —Albert von Szent-Gyorgyi“A great secret of success is to go through life as aman who never gets used up.” —Albert Schweitzer“A man of ability and desire to accomplish somethingcan do anything.” —Donald Kircher“Action is the antidote to despair.” —Joan Baez“All progress is precarious, and the solution of oneproblem brings us face to face with anotherproblem.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.“All the technology in the world will never replace apositive attitude.” —Harvey Mackay“Alone we can do so little; together we can do somuch.” —Helen Keller“An investment in knowledge always pays the bestinterest.” —Benjamin Franklin“Anger is never without reason, but seldom with agood one.” —Benjamin Franklin“Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to getleisure.” —Benjamin Franklin“Encouragement is oxygen to the soul.”—Harvey Mackay“Failure is just part of the culture of innovation.Accept it and become stronger.” —Albert Yu“He who is well prepared has half won the battle.”—Portuguese proverb“Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.”—Confucius“If you want happiness for a lifetime – help the nextgeneration.” —Chinese proverb“It is better to build bridges than walls.”—Swahili ProverbAppendix177

“Knowledge is power.” —Sir Francis Bacon“Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.”—Christopher Lasch“One sure-fire way to stay creative: force yourself tolearn something new.” —Harvey Mackay“Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man,and writing an exact man.” —Sir Francis Bacon“Real success is finding your lifework in the work thatyou love.” —David McCullough“Success is the ability to go from one failure toanother with no loss of enthusiasm.”—Sir Winston Churchill“The only thing to do with good advice is to pass iton. It is never any use to oneself.” —Oscar Wilde“To know how to wonder is the first step of the mindtoward discovery.” —Louis Pasteur“Understand that the right to choose your own pathis a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility.”—Oprah Winfrey“You always pass failure on the way to success.”—Mickey Rooney“All who have meditated on the art of governing mankindhave been convinced that the fate of empiresdepends on the education of youth.” —Aristotle“What you always do before you make a decisionis consult. The best public policy is made whenyou are listening to people who are going to beimpacted. Then, once policy is determined, youcall on them to help you sell it.” —Elizabeth Dole“Divide and rule, a sound motto. Unite and lead, abetter one.” —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe“Happiness belongs to the self-sufficient.” —Aristotle“It is not the strongest of the species that survive,nor the most intelligent, but the one mostresponsive to change.” —Charles Darwin”Coming together is a beginning. Keeping togetheris progress. Working together is success.”—Henry Ford“Management is doing things right; leadership isdoing the right things.” —Peter Drucker“Hire people who are better than you are, then leavethem to get on with it...Look for people who willaim for the remarkable, who will not settle for theroutine.” —David Ogilvy“No hay riqueza tan seguar como un amigo seguro”—Juan Luis Vives“…the way in which scientific endeavors are pursuedaround the world is marked by clear inequalities.Developing countries, for example, generallyspend much less than 1 percent of their grossdomestic product on scientific research, whereasrich countries devote between 2 and 3 percent.The number of scientists in proportion to populationin the developing countries is 10 to 30 timessmaller than in developed countries. Ninety-fivepercent of the new science in the world is createdin the countries comprising only one-fifth of theworld’s population. And much of that science—inthe realm of health, for example—neglects theproblems that afflict most of the world’s people.”—Kofi Annan“Starting your own lab is a lot like getting yourdriver’s license: it’s an exhilarating time. Now youhave the freedom to go where you want to go andgo as fast as you want to go. On the other hand,you have to pay for the gas. You’re not just apassenger anymore—you have responsibilities.”—Tom Cech“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness isthe key to success. If you love what you are doing,you will be successful.” —Albert Schweitzer“Time is neutral and does not change things. Withcourage and initiative, leaders change things.”—Jesse Jackson178 excellence everywhere

acronymsGLPGood Laboratory PracticeAC/AQArtesunate/amodiaquineGMPGood Manufacturing PracticeATCCBIOCASCBDCIITCIOMSAmerican Type Culture CollectionBiotechnology Industry OrganizationChinese Academy of ScienceConvention on BiodiversityCollaborative Institutional TrainingInstituteCouncil for International Organizationsof Medical SciencesGRIPHINARIIATANIH Fogarty International Center GlobalResearch Initiative ProgramWHO Health InterNetwork Access toResearch InitiativeInternational Air Transport AssociationIATA LAR Live Animal RegulationsICAOICAOTIInternational Civil Aviation OrganizationICAO Technical InstructionsCITESCITIConvention on International Tradein Endangered Species of WildFauna and FloraCollaborative Institutional TrainingInitiativeCONICET Consejo Nacional de InvestigacionesCientíficas y Técnicas, the Argentiniannational research agencyICGEBICHICMJEInternational Centre for GeneticEngineering and BiotechnologyInternational Conference onHarmonization of TechnicalRequirements for Registration ofPharmaceuticals for Human UseInternational Committee of MedicalJournal EditorsCSRNIH Center for Scientific ReviewIECIndependent Ethics CommitteeCVCurriculum vitaeIMOInternational Maritime OrganizationDGDHLDangerous GoodsA German-owned international shippingcompany. The initials DHL originallystood for “Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn”but now stand aloneINSERMIPInstitut national de la santé et de larecherche médicale, the Frenchnational agency dedicated to biological,medical, and public health researchIntellectual PropertyDNDiEPOFDCDrugs for Neglected Diseases initiativeEuropean Patent OfficeFixed dose combinationIRBIRIDInstitutional Review Board (IRB) orIndependent Ethics CommitteeNIH International Research in InfectiousDiseases ProgramFICNIH Fogarty International CenterIVFIn vitro fertilizationFIRCAGATTGCPNIH Fogarty International ResearchCollaboration AwardGeneral Agreement on Tariffs and TradeGood Clinical PracticeJPOKIPOLARJapan Patent OfficeKorea Patent Office(IATA-LAR) Live Animal Regulationsof the IATAGHRIGlobal Health Research InstituteMIMMultilateral Initiative on Malariaappendix179

MOUMemorandum of UnderstandingRFPRequest for ProposalsMR4NGONIAIDMalaria Research and ReferenceReagent Resource CenterNon-governmental organizationNIH National Institute of Allergy andInfectious DiseasesRFASIPOSRATARequest for ApplicationsChina Patent OfficeNIH Scientific Review AdministratorTeaching AssistantNIHOIEPAPCRPCTU.S. National Institutes of HealthOffice International des Épizooties(World Organization for Animal Health)Program AnnouncementPolymerase Chain ReactionPatent Cooperation TreatyTDRTRIPsUNICEFUSPTO(WHO-TDR) WHO Tropical DiseaseResearch programTrade-Related Aspects of IntellectualProperty RightsUnited Nations Children’s FundUnited States Patent and TrademarkOfficePERTPIPPPQANGOProgram (or Project) Evaluation andReview TechniquePrincipal InvestigatorPublic/Private PartnershipQuasi-autonomous non-governmentalorganizationWBSWHOWIPOWMAWTOWork Breakdown StructureThe World Health OrganizationWorld Intellectual Property OrganizationWorld Medical AssociationWorld Trade Organization180 excellence everywhere

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excellence everywhereA Resource for Scientists Launching Research Careers in Emerging Science CentersScience is an international endeavor. Wherever it isdone, it connects us to the scientists, scholars, andphilosophers of the past and the future. Our work as ascientific community can make human lives better,healthier, and longer, and can improve the economies ofnations, regions, and the world. To be a scientist is botha privilege and a passion, but launching a career inscience is difficult. Success as a scientist will dependon many things —from intelligence and creativity to luck;from being a good team player to being an independentthinker and driver of your own work; from bringing outthe best in the people with whom you work to beingan accurate and respected authority whose fairnessand good ideas are known to other researchers,organizations, and perhaps governments. We hope theinsights in this book will help you build a career whereyou aim higher, reach farther, and perform better thanwhat you may have thought would be your best.9-09-2.5K