Collaborating for the Advancement of Interdisciplinary Research in Benign Urology
Question: How do you stay accountable to your writing goals, and what advice do you have for trainees? As trainees and faculty, one of the biggest challenges we face is writing. Manuscripts, dissertations, fellowship applications, grants, and abstracts all compete for attention alongside experiments, coursework, mentoring, teaching, and service. Unfortunately, we frequently postpone or procrastinate writing until the deadline is near. Consequently, …
Question: What inspired you to pursue a career in research, and when did you realize it was the right path for you? For the first 15 years of my life I was convinced I was going to be an actress. However, somewhere between middle school and my first pipette I realized my stage was going to …
Question: How did your career path evolve? I had about a year of working in a lab at the University of Virginia during undergrad in 2000, where hardly anything worked. However, a volunteering experience at a local hospital made me realize that was not the environment for me. I decided to apply to graduate schools, …
Question: What is one thing you did in grad school to set you up for success as a post doc? My path to a PhD was far from conventional. Rather than following the traditional rotation model, I entered graduate school as a Master’s student in a cancer biology lab with the intention of completing my …
Director of Cell Biology Programs in Urologic and Kidney Diseases Project Scientist for the Urology Centers Programs/CAIRIBU Division of Kidney, Urologic and Hematologic Diseases (KUH) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) National Institutes of Health (NIH) 2 Democracy Plaza, Room 6135 6707 Democracy Blvd. Bethesda, MD 20892-5458 E-Mail: mullinsC@mail.nih.gov Hello CAIRIBU …
Seth Reasoner recently completed his MD-PhD at Vanderbilt University. Since then, he has continued his engagement with CAIRIBU and credits his CAIRIBU Community engagement as a transformative experience that strengthened his collaborative network and contributed to his professional development.
You learn to publish through repeated
writing, feedback, mentorship, and reviewing others’ work. Publishing is not just about mechanics; it’s about finding your voice and developing a consistent style.
Dealing with difficult or unfair PIs involves clear communication, documentation, and selfadvocacy. Mentorship is often seen as unidirectional, but the mentee is also
responsible.
Knowing you’re meeting expectations starts with defining your own goals and what independence means to you. Regular, open conversations with supervisors are key to measuring growth.
Balancing expertise and growth in a postdoc I am a new postdoc who switched research focus from hypertension to urology, and I would be happy to provide some insight into this topic. As a recent PhD graduate, you are an expert in a specific research niche, under a broader umbrella topic. For example, during my thesis …
