Better at the Bench

Entry #1 of the alumni blog :)! Andres was a postdoc in the Rohatgi Lab and founding father of the Biochemistry Seminar Series. I asked Andres a few questions about his transition to becoming a PI at the NIH and he graciously provided us with a peek into the process. Enjoy!

Current job title
Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH).  
Lab Website: https://ccr.cancer.gov/Laboratory-of-Cellular-and-Molecular-Biology/andres-m-lebensohn

How did you find your position?
It was advertised in the typical job websites (Nature Jobs, Science Careers).  However, I only found it on the very last day the application was due because I had been searching for positions at universities.  I did not realize that academic positions at the NIH, such as this one, are highly sought-after due to the unique funding mechanism combined with a high degree of intellectual freedom.  Funding is contingent upon past performance rather than on having to write grants to obtain/renew it.  In other words, as long as you are doing great research in your general area of interest, you are pretty much guaranteed funding.  In the vision statement for the Center for Cancer Research, our director Tom Misteli writes “Our scientists enjoy complete intellectual freedom and are expected to creatively and innovatively explore the most important questions in the field of cancer research and treatment.  We support projects over a long time horizon allowing our investigators to pursue some of the most difficult, high-risk problems in the field...”  This statement is entirely accurate based on my experience so far; what more could a scientist wish for!?   

What has been the largest challenge of starting your own lab?
Recruiting great students and post-docs.  At the NIH we have a fantastic pool of post-bac (recent undergraduate) applicants who do one or two years of research before moving on to graduate or medical school.  However, it has been more challenging to find great graduate students and postdocs.  We have very small graduate partnership programs (i.e. Ph.D students from nearby universities such as Georgetown or Johns Hopkins that do their thesis research at the NIH) and as a starting investigator it takes some time to get great post-doc applicants.  

What has been the largest reward of starting your own lab?
Working with great post-bacs!  I have two amazing post-bacs who are incredibly smart and motivated, so it is really fun to teach them first-hand how to think about their research and how to do experiments.  At the moment they are driving my entire research program!  

One piece of advice for someone that also wants to become an assistant professor?
We tend to have pre-conceived ideas about what is the best setting in which to start our independent research careers. “Top universities” are in everyone’s mind, but they have their own challenges such as extreme competition for space, resources and students.  Some jobs may require juggling research, grant-writing, teaching and administrative responsibilities, making it challenging to keep a good work-life balance.  Many of us don’t realize there may be other options that can align better with our personal goals and ambitions.  Keep your eyes open for different kinds of positions and be flexible about your expectations.  At the end of the day our priority should be to find an environment supportive of our boldest research ideas, and one that provides us with the best chances of securing funding and recruiting the best people to help us pursue them.