I've had some tough conversation with colleagues (esp. junior PIs) over past few weeks that prompted me to write this. My intention is not to offend but to draw attention.
I'm proud of colleagues who pivoted to Covid19 research & published many amazing papers over past year. 1/
But I'm also proud of colleagues who showed kindness to their labmates & tempered expectations about productivity in an already difficult funding climate. Their focus on mental health of their lab is something to be commended. 2/
Especially now, the scientific enterprise needs these voices at the table. But a year (or more) of lost productivity can be fatal for tenure/ promotion decisions, grant funding decisions & the survival of these labs. Many departments have responded by extending tenure clocks. 3/
But ask yourself, how will this help really? How do you make up for all the lost time and lost momentum. How will a no-cost funding extension help if you still had to pay salaries over the past year? In many ways, this is simply postponing the cliff 4/
Yet, most of the ultimate decisions are often dependent on us as senior colleagues. We write the tenure letters. We review the grants. Now granted, we are also overwhelmed. But we can take the time to write a few more tenure letters, and especially highlight the challenges 5/
that are faced by our junior colleagues. I hope this will also lead to a slight reset of expectations, both at the level of departmental decisions and for funding agencies. Else we risk making this crisis much much worse for us all. /6
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
I'm excited that our community is discussing how to help folks (esp ESIs & their lab members) withstand the effects of Covid19 on their labs' viability. I would like to discuss the role that funding agencies can play to ensure the continued success of our cimmunities 1/
I must confess that I am not an expert in these topics, but this is a discussion we must be willing to have so I’m happy to take a first stab at this, even if I end up making a fool of myself (it wouldn't be thr first time) 2/
First, from funding agencies' perspective, it makes sense to ensure that investment into labs is given a chance to reach fruition; running out the clock on grants after 2-4 years of work because they were hit by Covid19 makes no sense, to the PIs or the funding agencies. 3/
Having dug a hole for myself on the issue of preprint reviews, I continue to dig deeper. I must confess that a patient friend crystallized my objections to me. I know a lot of people review preprints and papers equally diligently. However, I do not. 1/
I often do not review preprints from an evaluative eye the way I might for a journal. I usually 'review' them purely from the perspective of trying to make constructive suggestions on a story I'm interested in because it is cool and in my field. 2/
To that end, I raarely post public comments. Instead, I send unsolicited emails to the authors with my suggestions and objections. My reviews are not always 'easy'; occasionally they are tough and suggest more rigor in argument or experiment before submission to peer review 3/