If there’s one thing I’ve come to appreciate over the course of my research career, it’s that success depends less on knowing all the answers and more on developing a core set of habits and skills—ones that help you frame better questions and build stronger teams to solve important problems. The four that have been most important in my own experience are: recognizing the boundaries of knowledge, using creativity to answer questions that matter to patients, building and leading teams, and thinking with agility.
Early on, I spent a lot of time trying to master the existing literature in my field. Eventually, I realized that progress comes not from knowing everything, but from understanding where knowledge stops. It takes an understanding of the literature and being an active clinician to spot the edges—where evidence is thin, where clinical practice outpaces science, or where assumptions haven’t been tested. That’s where the opportunity lies. In my own work, this meant recognizing that kidney stone disease was becoming more common in children, but that most research focused on adult populations. That gap shaped the direction of my work and helped define a niche that remains, to this day, underexplored and clinically meaningful.
Creativity is another skill that has always been important to me. As an undergraduate, I majored in English literature and thought that I would leave creativity behind in a career in Medicine. However, the ability to design studies that answer important, patient-centered questions in practical and innovative ways is incredibly important and fulfilling. Some of the most meaningful research I’ve been part of has come from connecting ideas across disciplines or reimagining study designs to generate knowledge that can change how care is actually delivered. Creativity also plays a role when things don’t go as planned—it’s what allows you to reframe challenges and move forward when your original approach hits a wall.
Equally important is the ability to build and lead a team. No matter how strong your ideas are, research today is collaborative by nature. Leading a team well means more than managing tasks—it’s about creating a shared sense of purpose, creating space for diverse perspectives, and investing in people’s growth. I’ve learned that mentorship and communication are not side responsibilities; they’re central to sustaining any research program. Much of what I’ve accomplished has been made possible by working with others who bring different strengths, and by building an environment where those strengths are recognized and aligned toward a common goal.
Lastly, being an agile thinker—able to learn quickly and apply that learning in new contexts—has helped me stay productive and adaptable. I’ve had to adjust study protocols mid-stream, rethink hypotheses, or retool analytic methods in response to new findings or unforeseen constraints. Agility doesn’t mean constantly changing direction; it means being able to integrate new information and pivot when needed, while staying grounded in your broader objectives.
These skills didn’t develop overnight. They’ve grown over time, shaped by setbacks as much as by successes. But they’ve helped me keep moving forward in work that’s often unpredictable and always evolving.