🌱
A while ago I signed up for my first microbiology conference with a mentor. There were some segments that let us walk to the back of the room full of fascinating posters, and presentors would stand by their work, prepared to answer any questions from onlookers but also willing to meet new peers.
What questions would you ask to these researchers?
Maybe for starters, you could ask what the project is about, and they'll go through the hypothesis, experimental design, and conclusion. A small crowd may form around you to listen in too, but after that, what else should one ask?
I think in the shock of being at my first conference with real people doing real things, my mind blanked. So I often let someone else from the crowd ask a question to keep the momentum going.
But my goodness, I don't know if I could have made questions with the same depth as other people😢!
I guess since I was (and am) new to the reality of research (design, analysis, technology, etc?), the best I could have done is simply be exposed to the professional environment of conferences, like picking up on presentation skills or common questions other people asked.
But still, I felt a little defeated in my lack of knowledge about lots of big research words I didn't understand. Then I started wondering, what would progressing my knowledge even look like?
I asked my mentor and she said "you'll learn more over time, just be curious". Then I asked how she learned over time, and she said something along the lines of opportunities that come along, as well as dedication to self-teach.
But how do I know what resources to look into? Old books? New books? Google Scholar? Following a handful of professors and their papers online? Youtube? What am I even looking for???
I didn't ask this part out loud, but after steeping this thought, I think the answer is that it doesn't matter too much? (as long as its from a reliable resource, don't get it twisted 🫡)
Because at the conference, in the very back, were 2 tables of different companies selling lab analyzers and machinery advertised on these big brochures and catalogs. (They also had free pens and an adorable green-germ stress ball). I saw my mentor grab a catalog to take home, so I got one too, which was welcomed by the booth's salesperson. At first though, I didn't really know why my mentor took one in the first place because the items listed there cost, like, thousands of dollars, and also where would somebody put these mammoth chunks of steel in their houses, let alone how they would pay for the electricity bill? Then I realized I was being SILLY because she's the leader of a project and often buys supplies for the lab. Besides that though, why should I keep the catalog?
Then I realized this paper in my hands literally tells me all the latest trends people are buying for research, laying out for me the pros and cons of different technologies for me. Sure I've never heard of like 80% of the items listed but what's stopping me from googling them all on a slow afternoon? With this catelog, maybe I can finally, deeply understand the methodology section of any paper coming my way!
So after the conference, I realized 2 things...
A) I tend to be a very literal-minded person (why did I think she'd buy a DNA synthesizer for her home...😔).
B) It's okay to not know everything yet.
Maybe for starters, you could ask what the project is about, and they'll go through the hypothesis, experimental design, and conclusion. A small crowd may form around you to listen in too, but after that, what else should one ask?
I think in the shock of being at my first conference with real people doing real things, my mind blanked. So I often let someone else from the crowd ask a question to keep the momentum going.
But my goodness, I don't know if I could have made questions with the same depth as other people😢!
"Why did you choose this bacterial species and not xyz strains?"
"I see you've analyzed your samples with abcdefg technique but have you heard of hijklmnop. Maybe you should consider it because of qrxtuvw...."
"Hi I've just read dbqiwhwb's paper and I'm interested if you have an opinion of the future of eyqidbqiuqj as opposed to aqusbahshba?"
"What steps did you take ensure swywbsjvq is testing sgsjabsdwjbs and not wtqgqishqnai?.... Oh thats interesting but are you aware cnwhwisvai can affect pwehbwisbqb?"
But still, I felt a little defeated in my lack of knowledge about lots of big research words I didn't understand. Then I started wondering, what would progressing my knowledge even look like?
I asked my mentor and she said "you'll learn more over time, just be curious". Then I asked how she learned over time, and she said something along the lines of opportunities that come along, as well as dedication to self-teach.
But how do I know what resources to look into? Old books? New books? Google Scholar? Following a handful of professors and their papers online? Youtube? What am I even looking for???
I didn't ask this part out loud, but after steeping this thought, I think the answer is that it doesn't matter too much? (as long as its from a reliable resource, don't get it twisted 🫡)
Because at the conference, in the very back, were 2 tables of different companies selling lab analyzers and machinery advertised on these big brochures and catalogs. (They also had free pens and an adorable green-germ stress ball). I saw my mentor grab a catalog to take home, so I got one too, which was welcomed by the booth's salesperson. At first though, I didn't really know why my mentor took one in the first place because the items listed there cost, like, thousands of dollars, and also where would somebody put these mammoth chunks of steel in their houses, let alone how they would pay for the electricity bill? Then I realized I was being SILLY because she's the leader of a project and often buys supplies for the lab. Besides that though, why should I keep the catalog?
Then I realized this paper in my hands literally tells me all the latest trends people are buying for research, laying out for me the pros and cons of different technologies for me. Sure I've never heard of like 80% of the items listed but what's stopping me from googling them all on a slow afternoon? With this catelog, maybe I can finally, deeply understand the methodology section of any paper coming my way!
So after the conference, I realized 2 things...
A) I tend to be a very literal-minded person (why did I think she'd buy a DNA synthesizer for her home...😔).
B) It's okay to not know everything yet.
But with that in mind, what role or value do I have in science in general?
And how far do I go learning any new topics, ever?
I've been stumped on what new topic I could explore in this blog, but FINALLY, I present to you a YouTube video by Professor Beckmann introducing the bacterial genus Wolbachia, and its history. I was inspired by it being one of the few bacterial names that stuck with me after the conference.
I enjoyed this video because it goes through a quick rundown on the history and discovery of Wolbachia in a manner that makes each researcher's work or research questions seem very...approachable? Like, you don't need a PhD to just think of a good, strong question!
Plus, I've now been introduced to the concept of cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), which can also be explored in this other Youtube video by Professor Beckmann. I'm intrigued because in school, we'll usually just learn that sperm+egg=combining DNA=instructions for new life, and that's about it. But what other factors, which I've never heard about, could also dictate reproduction, or other biologic processes? I just think it's neat how there's always something new to learn about in biology.
Going back to Wolbachia though, I've generally learned that...
Is this good enough? Is my exploration too shallow? Should I be taking serious notes?
I'm still trying to make my own metrics of success in how deeply I research new topics.
But also, a part of me thinks that my notes may be sufficient for future conversations, because afterall, I'm not the one studying the insects right now, and maybe its okay to reach out to these experts if I'm still curious.
If I continue feeling insufficient, though, perhaps soon I'll read a Wolbachia paper to scan the backgrounds and experimental designs, since I tend to find the most context or broad details there.
BUT FOR NOW, I think I can say that a good amount of research to do on any new topic, is simply as much as I want! Because sometimes the goal of research is not to know everything or to ask the deepest questions. Sometimes it can just be to quench a bit of curiosity, which will always be present in my life, and maybe an everchanging whirlwind of ideas. Let me know what you guys think of this answer.
My value as a new researcher might simply about bringing things back to the basics, like to prompt easy communication about an experiment's goals, structures, results, and troubleshooting in near lay-language But also, I think I have my own value to bring from personal interests and communities. Inclusive language, feminist lenses, environmental concerns, composition and design, now blogging... everyone has a unique perspective that actually matters a lot in how we develop the world.
If I could go back to the conference, here's 3 genuine questions I would ask, now that I've brainstormed my own roles and capacities as a student.
Looking at this now, I probably could have just Googled "questions to ask a conference", but alas I did not think of that in the moment 😢. But perhaps creating them myself will make it tougher to forget them later, and I'm sure my sincerity will always lead to more good questions.
And how far do I go learning any new topics, ever?
I've been stumped on what new topic I could explore in this blog, but FINALLY, I present to you a YouTube video by Professor Beckmann introducing the bacterial genus Wolbachia, and its history. I was inspired by it being one of the few bacterial names that stuck with me after the conference.
I enjoyed this video because it goes through a quick rundown on the history and discovery of Wolbachia in a manner that makes each researcher's work or research questions seem very...approachable? Like, you don't need a PhD to just think of a good, strong question!
Plus, I've now been introduced to the concept of cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), which can also be explored in this other Youtube video by Professor Beckmann. I'm intrigued because in school, we'll usually just learn that sperm+egg=combining DNA=instructions for new life, and that's about it. But what other factors, which I've never heard about, could also dictate reproduction, or other biologic processes? I just think it's neat how there's always something new to learn about in biology.
Going back to Wolbachia though, I've generally learned that...
- Wolbachia infects a broad majority insects
- Wolbachia has varying beneficial and adverse affects on reproduction, and
- Wolbachia insect infection is being explored as a sterilization method on Mosquitos to prevent the spread of disease (more on ethics in a future blog post?)
Is this good enough? Is my exploration too shallow? Should I be taking serious notes?
I'm still trying to make my own metrics of success in how deeply I research new topics.
But also, a part of me thinks that my notes may be sufficient for future conversations, because afterall, I'm not the one studying the insects right now, and maybe its okay to reach out to these experts if I'm still curious.
If I continue feeling insufficient, though, perhaps soon I'll read a Wolbachia paper to scan the backgrounds and experimental designs, since I tend to find the most context or broad details there.
BUT FOR NOW, I think I can say that a good amount of research to do on any new topic, is simply as much as I want! Because sometimes the goal of research is not to know everything or to ask the deepest questions. Sometimes it can just be to quench a bit of curiosity, which will always be present in my life, and maybe an everchanging whirlwind of ideas. Let me know what you guys think of this answer.
My value as a new researcher might simply about bringing things back to the basics, like to prompt easy communication about an experiment's goals, structures, results, and troubleshooting in near lay-language But also, I think I have my own value to bring from personal interests and communities. Inclusive language, feminist lenses, environmental concerns, composition and design, now blogging... everyone has a unique perspective that actually matters a lot in how we develop the world.
If I could go back to the conference, here's 3 genuine questions I would ask, now that I've brainstormed my own roles and capacities as a student.
- What's the most unexpected struggle you had in this project?
- What inspired you to form your question/hypothesis?
(Because what are you curious and passionate about?! Or what work did you read that inspired so much to fill in a gap in knowledge?)
- What are some points or ideas you want other people to takeaway from your work?
Looking at this now, I probably could have just Googled "questions to ask a conference", but alas I did not think of that in the moment 😢. But perhaps creating them myself will make it tougher to forget them later, and I'm sure my sincerity will always lead to more good questions.
~Daniela
No comments:
Post a Comment