Thread by @DrJenniferReed

Thread: grant submission experiences as a #PI vs. trainee…with sides of serious and comical.

#AcademicTwitter @AcademicChatter

This week I worked alongside some of my #EPCHL team members (#postdocs, #PhD students) and colleagues to submit 2 applications (was involved in a 3rd). Same competition, same deadline.

Other #EPCHL staff continued to keep our 7+ other clinical trials running smoothly; they have this, they have superpowers that we don’t praise enough.

This brought up memories of a grant submission during graduate school where the PIs and PhD students.

(5 of us at the time…if I remember correctly) worked until the wee hours of the am (~3 AM) in the lab on the final sections. At one point we were given $ for a food run (which turned into gas station snacks). I was running on fumes…we had been at this for days.

(I can’t imagine how the PIs felt). Freedom and fresh air for a few short minutes until back to the lab. That night I called my ever supportive husband for a ride home. Out of bed he sprung to drive me and a lab-mate home…only to be pulled over for speeding…down a hill!

No buses at that time, and in a college town, I guess, there wasn’t much police business to do at 3-4 AM. Sigh…thank goodness one of us had a well-paying job to cover the fine.

I remember the next day, submission day. We arrived in the am, normal time, to keep pushing on the application. When it was over, it was back to business after some celebratory cheers. No holidays to follow…but what did I expect? This was, mostly, a new experience for me.

I wasn’t involved in grant submissions as a Master’s student as my PI was near retirement. He had built a nationally renowned research and teaching program, and always made time to meet and discuss life’s next steps. He was fond of the Pub on campus.

Maybe I should have taken a note to join him there more often. He signed his emails “Be great” to me (maybe it was the same for everyone, regardless that positivity kept me pushing for more).

Present day again ... as I pushed on the final stages of these grants, this was also the week I was dealt a grant rejection. Reviewer 1 indicated “brilliantly presented...” yet I did not score or rank high enough to likely be funded this round. We will see.

It was a resubmission, and I was punted to a different committee. Why?? Don’t worry...I’m going to serve my response to reviewers up like fine wine that nobody can turn down. Or, at least I’ll try.

I find these exercises of pushing and persevering lead to me reflect on where I have been, where I am going, and what I will accomplish. I also reflect on the #postdoc and #student experience. What did I appreciate (and not) as a trainee.

One thing is certain, team work has been the core successful element. Previously my #PhD lab mates (5 brilliant and tenacious women whom I greatly admire and miss), but now my colleagues, and, most importantly, my team.

The second key ingredient is rest/time to recharge….I don’t do this well (my husband says ever), but I am learning. In my final weeks/months of graduate school, I pulled too many all-nighters to count. My team and I need and deserve the rest.

There will always be something to do. Save some for tomorrow!

I've been working on a novel re: my academic experiences spanning different countries, Unis, advisers & areas of research. Maybe someday I will finish. One thing is for sure, it needs to be enjoyed over a good bottle of wine at a Pub @Dr_Scheid @jenna_c_gibbs @SarahLynnWest

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