Path to discovery
Creating an environment where new research ideas thrive
CRISPR-CAS9 gene editing, precision medicine, RNA-based therapeutics. Some of the biggest breakthroughs in health and medicine over the past decade were supported by major grants from large funding agencies.
Yet, the journey from graduate student, to new faculty member, and eventually, lead or principal investigator on a large-scale study that will make a meaningful impact on people’s health and well-being can seem daunting.
The University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions is working to ensure early career faculty have the resources they need to move innovative ideas from brainchild, to pilot testing and ultimately, on to large studies that lead to the next significant advancements in health.
A major goal for many health scientists is to receive a National Institutes of Health Research Project Grant, also known as the R01, during their careers. It is the NIH’s oldest funding mechanism and provides substantial funding over multiple years, said Adam J. Woods, Ph.D., PHHP’s associate dean for research and a professor of clinical and health psychology.
“These grants are the source of most of the big scientific discoveries,” Woods said. “They signal to the research community that your research idea has the potential to have a major impact and that you are a well-recognized expert in your field.”
Laying a foundation
Getting that R01, or similar caliber grant, is not easy, however. Scientists need to build the case for a larger grant, often through support of smaller grants, and grant proposal rejections are common. To help PHHP faculty on their path toward receiving larger grants, the college has established the PHHP Research Innovation Fund. The program is designed to fund pilot testing or feasibility studies that will place faculty members, particularly early career researchers, in the best possible position to obtain research funding from outside agencies.
Unlike many other grant programs that may take months, or even a year, to respond with decisions on grant applications, the PHHP Research Innovation Fund makes decisions on awards and provides funds within four weeks of submission. This mobility helps PHHP researchers be responsive to emerging research areas while pursuing their ideas for improving human health.
Young-Rock Hong, Ph.D., an assistant professor of health services research, management and policy, and Deepthi Varma, Ph.D., a research assistant professor of epidemiology, are among the first faculty to receive awards through the PHHP Research Innovation Fund. The grant program supports Hong’s efforts to collect and analyze data on the long-term effects of bariatric weight loss surgery on cancer risk, and Varma’s pilot study to understand the sexual and reproductive health concerns of women living with HIV.
“As an early-stage investigator, having protected time for research is crucial,” Hong said. “Academic institutions often have teaching and service responsibilities that limit the time available for developing new and expanding research programs. Luckily, the PHHP Research Innovation Fund is a valuable resource that helps overcome these challenges and allows me to advance my research program.”
Dr. Young-Rock Hong has received a PHHP Research Innovation Fund award to develop a dataset for use in studies of bariatric weight loss surgery and its impact on cancer risk and other health outcomes.
Jesse S. Jones
How to be a faculty member 101
For some new graduates beginning an academic career, the experience can feel like they’ve been plunged in the deep end, struggling to figure out how to teach, publish, mentor students and conduct research. Instead of a “sink or swim” approach, the College of Public Health and Health Professions has instituted several mechanisms of support.
“We are trying to demystify pathways for success in academic careers, educate our early career faculty on what it takes to have a great career and help them build the strongest foundation for long-term success,” Woods said.
This fall, the college created a Faculty Academy designed to provide resources, workshops, networking and other support in the major pillars of faculty responsibility: teaching, mentoring and research. In addition, new faculty are matched with mentors early on, and all faculty can take advantage of an internal review process that offers researchers feedback on draft grant proposals by college leadership and senior faculty.
Financial support for travel to scientific conferences or membership in professional organizations, support services for grant applications and overall career guidance can all make a big difference for early career faculty, Varma said.
“Most importantly, academic institutions should recognize the importance of work-life balance and support the well-being of early career scientists, especially women scientists, with wellness programs that can help mitigate stress and promote a healthy and supportive work environment,” she said.
Dr. Deepthi Varma’s newly-funded pilot study will accelerate her research on the sexual and reproductive health
concerns of Florida women living with
HIV and using substances.
Katarina Fiorentino Klatzkow
Even Einstein’s ideas got rejected
The pursuit of discovery is not a straightforward path for most early career researchers and academic scientists. Along the way, many researchers face speedbumps, roadblocks, difficult terrain and sometimes, the daunting task of charting a new course.
The key to success, says David Fuller, Ph.D., a seasoned researcher in neuromuscular disorders, a professor of physical therapy and director of the doctoral program in rehabilitation science, is to remain relentless in your pursuits despite challenges or rejection.
“If I knew definitively how to (get large research grants), I’d probably write a book and sell lots of copies,” Fuller joked. “In all seriousness, the number one thing you have to do is work really hard and put in the time. To have a belief in what you are doing, stick with it and keep pushing through.”
Research and rejection go hand in hand, but according to Fuller, that’s where the magic of discovery thrives.
“I tell my mentees that Albert Einstein couldn’t publish his Ph.D. thesis for years because it just kept getting rejected. And he definitely had some pretty good ideas,” Fuller said. “You have to embrace that rejection is part of the process of how scientific inquiry works.”
Despite the knowledge that rejection is par for the course in scientific history and progress, Fuller notes that such acknowledgement doesn’t make the human experience of rejection any easier. In fact, he emphasizes how remarkably normal it is to feel hurt, upset or discouraged when faced with rejection or professional
critiques, especially when you’re incredibly passionate about a project or have dedicated significant time to a scholarly pursuit or area of study.
“It takes me days, sometimes weeks, to recover from a rejection,” Fuller said. “As a human being, it’s tough to be rejected. But there’s also the reminder that the best scientists who have ever lived, they got rejected too. So, you’re in good company.”
Scientific rejection is
common and happens
to even the world’s
best scientists, says
Dr. David Fuller (right).
Lindsay Gamble
Successful researchers have mentors
It is hard to overestimate the value of mentorship in helping early career researchers manage rejection, navigate the many other challenges involved in academic science, network with other researchers and much more.
“Good mentorship is the difference between stellar careers and researchers who are still struggling,” Woods said.
Rebecca Pearl, Ph.D., an assistant professor of clinical and health psychology, director of the Body Image and Stigma Lab, and a recent recipient of the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, knows firsthand the impact of mentorship on the professional trajectory of early career scientists.
“It can be difficult to feel confident about your ideas when you’re first starting your research career,” Pearl said. “I know I’ve benefited greatly from having mentors who expressed belief in me and encouraged me to pursue my ideas.”
Mentorship has been instrumental in helping Dr. Rebecca Pearl establish her research program in body image and stigma.
Katarina Fiorentino Klatzkow
Supportive mentorship helped Pearl forge an independent research career throughout different stages of her training, from her undergraduate studies to her postdoctoral fellowship. She credits the exceptional kindness and generosity of her mentors, as well as their encouragement of her independent research early in her career, with facilitating her smooth transition to professorship and securing extramural funding.
“My mentors have all emphasized and modeled the importance of conducting research that can translate directly into real-world change and make an impact on people’s health and well-being,” Pearl said. “They always pushed me to think about the big picture and taught me to be strategic with research questions and methods, so that study findings could be used to inform public health policy or improve clinical practice.”
Both Fuller and Pearl credit mentorship, as well as persevering through inevitable rejection, with their research successes to date.
“There are so many things that no one tells you how to do as a new faculty member, and challenging situations that arise that you may not know how to navigate,” Pearl said. “It’s very useful to have a trusted confidante, whether that’s someone more senior than you, or a fellow junior colleague, who you can ask even minor questions without feeling self-conscious.”
Pearl obtained a K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute as an early career researcher. A strong network of encouraging mentors contributed to making this milestone possible.
“Mentors have been instrumental in my development as a scientist, and in opening doors for me that I never would have had access to on my own,” Pearl said. “Because I recognize how much others have done for me, I want to pay this forward to my mentees.”
Like Pearl, Fuller believes in the power of paying mentorship forward. He currently serves as a principal investigator for a NIH T32 grant, one of six training grants in the college designed to support doctoral and postdoctoral trainees as they establish their own research careers.
“A great honor, and one of the things I enjoy most about my job, is the opportunity to mentor and help the next generation of students achieve their goals,” Fuller said.
