Investing in the Whole Scientist.

by Sean Smith, PhD

I went into science for the type of reasons you might expect—the love of knowledge, the possibility of learning or creating something new, and the challenge of answering complex problems. But what has kept me in science—especially on the academic spectrum—has been the enriching relationships one can build in such environments. Academic advisors are uniquely positioned to influence the development of their trainees; when used judiciously, it can be incredibly empowering. I have been very fortunate to have fantastic mentors who have continually invested into my development, and their examples have set a high bar for what I hope to accomplish in the future. To me, the most exciting aspect of running a lab is the opportunity to invest in others and empower them to do great things. I joined the Convergence Scholars Program to help answer key questions: how does one create a positive lab culture and sustain it? How can one invest in and effectively manage a team? How can professors mentor their trainees in conducting high-impact research, while encouraging them to maintain a healthy, balanced lifestyle? 

To get some answers, I participated in the Jackson Lab’s Whole Scientist workshop in Bar Harbor Maine. All of the participants were housed in a beautiful mansion for four days. We heard from experts in communication, team dynamics, diversity and inclusion, as well as project management. We were also placed into teams to tackle a big problem in science, and tasked to generate a strategy that leverages the techniques we've learned throughout the course.

My team chose to work on the problem of null results. Many experiments (likely most) fail to generate enough positive data to generate a full scientific story and are at best mentioned as an aside in presentations, but are often never distributed past the original generators. This can lead other researchers to regenerate those same data wasting time and resources. We proposed an incentive structure tied to performance reviews that would help generate a socially-engaging database of unpublishable data. Then we used the project management tools we had learned to generate an approach to piloting that solution. Overall, the Whole Scientist Workshop was a great experience that helped me grow as a professional scientist and as a person. 

The other major activity I participated in revolved around reconciling my identity as a scientist beyond the laboratory setting. An important part of my life is my Christian faith. However, I found that since I've started my postdoc, many aspects of my faith had been pushed aside and challenged in new ways. I decided to attend a conference put on by an organization that straddles the worlds of faith and science. Biologos was founded by Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, following the publishing of his book entitled “The Language of God.” In his book, he recounts his own experience with science, faith, and the human genome project. This conference proved to be invaluable as I was able to engage with leading scientists, including Dr. Collins, who are also wrestling to reconcile scientific research in a way that allows them to live out their faith. I learned that these amazing scientists also struggle with many of the same questions I had, but have best worked through them by engaging with a community that I now have access to. In addition, this conference taught me new approaches for communicating science to groups who are most skeptical of it—including those with my own faith heritage. Facts are not enough to get people to engage with scientific questions seriously—especially certain questions that might challenge pre-held convictions. Rather, researchers need to invest in relationships to build social capital, trust, and be well-versed in a vocabulary that can help bridge between these communities.

My experience with CSP has given me the confidence to build up both myself and those around me in a holistic manner. I learned new ways to engage with people on professional and personal levels as well as techniques for managing and helping both myself and others achieve their goals. I cannot say that I have all the answers, but I do know that I am more excited than ever about building up the human side of science as I move into the next stage of my career.