The 30-year-old student: is a PhD worth it?

0000-0002-8715-2896 Picture this: an enthusiastic young researcher, completing an undergraduate or master’s project, thrilled to be part of the exciting world of scientific discovery. The current project is going well, they have enjoyed some successes,

Lab sciences grad program brought me from the yogurt factory to public health

by Joe Shea, MS, research assistant, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health

My career as a laboratory scientist started in a yogurt factory. Yes, you read that correctly. And no, it was definitely not your typical lab experience. Instead of putting on a lab coat each day, I would change from my street clothes into freshly cleaned white pants, a button-down shirt, steel-toe boots and a hairnet. I’d begin my day walking through large rooms crowded with industrial steel pipes carrying yogurt in every direction, a site I initially found intimidating. I spent my time measuring the pH, fat content, protein content and bacterial contamination of milk, heavy cream and yogurt. The skills I gained as an undergraduate biology student at Siena College were being applied to quality assurance and ensuring that our products were safe for human consumption.

It was a great job, but I had the urge to move into something I would find more meaningful.

Lab sciences grad program brought me from the yogurt factory to public health | www.APHLblog.orgDuring a visit to my alma mater, I heard about a seminar for students who were interested in public health graduate programs. On a whim I decided to go. At the seminar I learned about the Wadsworth Center’s (New York’s state public health laboratory) Master of Science in Laboratory Sciences (MLS) program, which at the time was only in its first year of existence. The MLS program combines coursework and laboratory rotations in fields ranging from biomonitoring, clinical chemistry and genetics to infectious disease and immunology, while also providing courses in laboratory management. Shortly after, I completed my application and was accepted into the MLS class of 2015 – the second class in the history of the program.

The highlight of the program was my capstone project, an eight-month project in the lab of my choosing. I chose to rotate through the Mycobacteriology Laboratory, and became fascinated with the amount of testing it takes to diagnose and confirm cases of tuberculosis (TB), and to perform drug susceptibility testing on each of those confirmed samples. I decided to focus on utilizing whole genome sequencing (WGS) to identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of TB, and detect mutations associated with drug resistance in clinical isolates.

Drug resistant strains of TB represent a global health concern, as there are fewer treatment options and a higher likelihood of poor outcomes. Conventional drug susceptibility testing can take eight weeks or longer in some cases, which means that patients may receive ineffective treatment until these results are available. Currently, several different tests are needed to assess drug resistance; WGS, however, could be used to detect these potential mutations while also identifying the M. tuberculosis species and strain type. WGS would take far less time and provide more useful and detailed information than current methods and could decrease the time it takes for tuberculosis patients to receive appropriate treatments.

Having the opportunity to work alongside public health laboratory scientists at the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center was an invaluable experience. I believe in the importance of this work, and I loved having the chance to contribute to the groundbreaking work being done at the Wadsworth Center.

Lab sciences grad program brought me from the yogurt factory to public health | www.APHLblog.org

I recently graduated from the MLS program and am continuing to work in the Mycobacteriology Laboratory. I’ll be focusing on using WGS to identify and detect TB in clinical specimens (rather than pure isolates) which is challenging due to the presence of other sources of DNA in the sample. This position will also enable me to contribute to other ongoing projects in the lab using WGS, including the study of other pathogenic bacteria such as Legionella pneumophila.

Sometimes I think about that last-minute decision to attend the seminar at Siena College where I learned about this great program; it changed the course of my career by exposing me to a whole world of laboratory science that I had never considered.

Reflections on using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) to treat neuropsychiatric disorders

By Daniel Albaugh One of my most fascinating experiences as a doctoral student of neuroscience began with an early morning trip to the university hospital. Upon arrival, my laboratory colleagues and I met with one of the clinical neurologists, who … Continue reading »

The post Reflections on using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) to treat neuropsychiatric disorders appeared first on PLOS Blogs Network.

Re-launching the PLOS Student Blog & Introducing Travel Awards!

Hi PLOS readers! My name is Sara Kassabian, and I am a Masters candidate in the Global Health Sciences program at University of California San Francisco. I recently joined the PLOS community as Social Media Coordinator, and I’m pleased to … Continue reading »

The post Re-launching the PLOS Student Blog & Introducing Travel Awards! appeared first on PLOS Blogs Network.

APHL Staffer Shares her Career Path with the Next Generation of Public Health Students

By: Bertina Su, MPH, senior specialist, Laboratory Systems and Standards, APHL

Last fall I was invited back to my alma mater to talk about life after University of Maryland’s (UMD) Master of Public Health (MPH) program. A former classmate was coordinating an informational session for undergraduate students to help them get a sense of where the MPH grads went in their careers; she asked me to participate and I happily accepted both because she is a friend but also because I could have used an event like this when I was finishing my undergrad degree.

APHL Staffer Shares her Career Path with the Next Generation of Public Health Students | www.aphlblog.org

My journey into public health was not something that I planned. I earned a bachelor’s degree from Washington and Lee in chemistry, but as graduation loomed, I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life after receiving my diploma. Reality was sinking in. My fellow chemistry classmates went into research or continued to medical school, and while those options seemed to be the logical next steps, they were not the right fit for me.

I took a year off after graduation to volunteer at Bread for the City, a non-profit in Washington, DC, that provides food, clothing, medical care, legal and social services residents in need; it was there that I became exposed to the world of public health. I worked in the medical clinic doing mostly administrative work helping with health insurance enrollment and coordinating health education programs. I began to understand what public health was, and that I could use my science education in this field to help people. I spoke with many of the staff about how they found their way into public health, and they all had MPH degrees. It became clear that if I wanted to move my career in this direction, I needed to find an MPH program that worked for me. Before I knew it, I was back in school learning about biostatistics, program evaluation and epidemiology. After completing UMD’s two-year MPH program, I interviewed for a program manager position at APHL, and I have been here ever since.

Fast forward a few years… There I am setting up my information table at UMD’s School of Public Health featuring APHL’s Annual Report, Lab Matters and my own business cards. I even wore my APHL STAPH staff t-shirt. I had the opportunity to speak with several students who asked questions mostly about my MPH experience and responsibilities at APHL. Some were not familiar with either public health laboratories or association work, so it was rewarding to expand their knowledge. I talked about my quality improvement and survey work, but their ears really perked up when I told them that I get to travel and work with people all over the country.

I’d love to see undergraduate public health programs hold more events like this one to give the next round of graduates the opportunity to hear from alumni about their journey into the public health workforce and about other career paths they had not considered. While my path into public health may have been unconventional, I am thankful that I took it. The work has been rewarding, and I hope that my participation will encourage another public health student to pursue an equally fulfilling position.

I encourage you to contact your alma mater to share your knowledge, experience and lessons-learned with public health students. You just might inspire someone to pursue a career in a public health lab.

Mentor Roulette

Throughout my education and career I have been mentored. Sometimes I have chosen those mentors and other times they have been assigned to me. Choosing these people who guide you, stick up for you, and help you along in your job search is a vital part of your career. This is a task for which there are no instructions and you learn by trial and error what sort of mentor best suits your personality and goals. I feel like I’ve learned quite a bit about choosing a mentor in the last several years and I want to share what I have learned about myself and mentors in general.

Let’s start with choosing a mentor. When I first sought out mentoring, I had no idea what I actually needed from a mentor or what I could expect. I had some lucky choices and some clunkers. The most important advice I can give for this is “Know Thyself”.

I am a casual person and want someone I can relate to without feeling the need for strict formality. While I am treating the interaction as a professional encounter, I want to feel comfortable.

Find someone who is enthusiastic about your interests and goals. Not every person you find is knowledgeable about your interests or even that happy to help you pursue them.

Seek out someone who is interested in helping you along, not just using your bright-eyed enthusiasm to their own benefit.

In the lab, I found I needed a balance between micro-management and a totally hands off mentor. I wanted the freedom to develop my own experiments and plans and to get input when I needed it. Too much mentoring doesn’t keep me motivated. I’ve seen many students join labs without carefully considering the type of mentoring offered and whether it will work well for them. I think this relationship is one of the most important factors in surviving graduate school.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to people you don’t know. I’ve gotten the best advice from people who are working in areas I am interested in that I randomly emailed. These relationships shouldn’t be a one way street where the mentor is the only one giving to the relationship. These connections should be cultivated, check in with a mentor even when you don’t need a letter of recommendation or specific advice. Keep them in mind because someday you may be able to return the favor and recommend the perfect person for an opening they may have in their office.

If a mentoring relationship isn’t working well, don’t be afraid to move on to a more productive relationship. Everyone has limited time so if you don’t feel you have a good connection with a person or their interests just don’t align as closely as you thought with your own, move on.  It’s hard to know from a first meeting whether you will be a good match with a mentor. I’ve certainly changed my mind about mentors after spending more time with them.

It’s incredibly difficult to work in a vacuum in science (and in any field). Having working relationships is important to productivity, creativity, and some days your mental stability. Seek out those you admire and those who are invested in you and connect with them.


Filed under: Follies of the Human Condition Tagged: Graduate School, mentor, networking

Do as we say, not as we did

In the recent Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Washington Update, there is a letter to NIH director Francis Collins that supports recommendations from the Biomedical work force working group’s recent report. The report recommends, among other things, shortening the average Ph.D. training time to five years, while increasing training in skills targeting scientific careers outside of academia. How practical would it be to implement these recommendations?

Graduate school takes far too long. Ph.D.s are, generally, ill-equipped to do much more than academic bench work. But, I’m not convinced that the current system can be changed easily.

One reason Ph.D. takes so long is that a first author publication from your research is often a de facto requirement for graduation. These days, papers require increasingly complex experiments and reams of data, not to mention drawn out review processes. Unless publication requirements change, I don’t think a significant dent can be made in the average time to graduate number.

Increased training in the skills needed for pursuits outside of academic science may be moe daunting. Improving these skills will require time outside the lab and the support of PIs, who were indoctrinated with the traditional values of academic research. Time for this training must either come at the expense of less training in research skills or increased time in graduate school.

The recommendations do not really address the major role that PIs will play in making these changes happen. While I think that many investigators will support these recommendations, PIs are only familiar with the academic track may not equipped to mentor students through a shorter training period,while also facilitating career development. These and their previous experiences. Without training for mentors to match the increased training of students, this plan will be doomed to fail.

It is a multi-layered problem, but I’m glad that the NIH seems to be taking a look at the situation they fund. I’ve personally struggled with a lack of training in areas outside of academic benchwork and I hope that the system will be improved. To see what fellow blogger Mike thinks of this issue,  check out his post on the topic.