The way to success in science

Posted on 02 Jan 2017 by Jack Leeming

Young people working in any variant of science face many challenges. However, some tips can increase your chances of success, says Naturejobs journalism competition winner Sofia Otero

A degree in science is just one stepping stone on a long path with varied exits, curves and about-turns. Choosing wisely is not always an easy task, but there’s no right way to success: there’s a whole lot out there to choose from.

At the London Naturejobs career expo on September 16^th, there was a lot of talk on how to succeed in science, and an interview with the editor-in-chief of Nature, Sir Philip Campbell. Some tips came up repeatedly and are worth listing. Continue reading →

How do you handle conflict?

Posted on 09 Jun 2016 by Karen Kaplan

Conflict is inescapable. Even if you’re the least contentious person on the planet, disputes will arise – between you and other lab members, your adviser, your principal investigator, collaborators, co-authors. The list goes on.

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Team science and the early career researcher

Posted on 08 Jun 2016 by Jack Leeming

The current trend towards increased research collaboration and larger groups is fuelled by the need to answer bigger questions, but this approach puts individual contributions at risk.

Guest contributor Lucia Possamai

Research ventures where several researchers, groups or institutions work together to answer a research question is becoming known as ‘team science.’ It can be seen at work today in large genetics studies, such as the 100,000 genomes project, in multi-centre clinical trials, or in rare disease consortia. Even on a smaller scale, it is becoming more common for publications to arise from collaborative projects.

As an early career researcher I can appreciate that team science is not just good for science: it gives those of us embarking on our scientific careers the opportunity to take part in research with high impact that would otherwise not be accessible to us. It can remove the pressure to obtain independent funding – in many cases, all funding will have been obtained as part of the larger project’s grant.