Helping you become the person you want to be
You have joined my research group because we have a shared interest in using computers to solve problems in molecular biology. Not a lot of people in the world share this passion, and it is the first of several important bonds we will share.
There are a lot of ways to be curious and useful in bioinformatics. Where do you fit in? Our job is to figure that out. I say our because we are in this together. As the mentor, my role is to be your guide, advisor, critic, and supporter. As the mentee, your role is to be curious, open-minded, studious, and committed. We won't always play our roles perfectly. That's okay. Like science, we will always be a work in progress.
I prefer to be honest and open about everything. So let's start off with the harsh realitites: science is filled with difficulties. Projects will fail. Great ideas will be abandoned. You will get scooped. Your paper/application will be rejected for no discernable reason. You will meet geniuses who intimidate the fuck out of you. Under these cicrumstances, it is normal for mentees to feel overwhelmed and to question their belonging. While normal, these feelings are also undeserved. Scientists are particularly bad at self-evaluation and tend to trivialize their worth and contributions.
The particular flavor of science in my lab can make you feel especially unprepared. You are entering a research setting at the intersection of genetics, molecular biology, statistics, computer science, software engineering, and information technology. To be effective, you will not only have to know quite a bit about each of these fields, but how to put them together in meaningful and novel ways. As a result, it can take a while for you to experience the successes that will give you a feeling of mastery.
So how are you going to navigate the complexities and difficulties that lie ahead? How are you going to end up feeling a sense of accomplishment and belonging in the harsh world of academic science? It starts with communication. We have to talk. Often. And not just about the details of your next experiment. We need to talk about your goals, both career-based and personal. You have chosen a difficult path, and you will need support along the way. Support can take many forms from your research friends, to your best friend from 6th grade, to a professional therapist. No great athletes get where they are alone. They all have huge support structures beneath them. Scientists are like the pro athletes of the intellecutal world. To be successful, we need support too.
As your mentor, I will be an important part of your support team. And believe it or not, you will also be part of mine. We're in this together.