By: Fatu Badiane Markey
Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Erika Shor of the Research and Grant Development office of the Public Health Research Institute (PHRI) at Rutgers Newark. Dr. Shor has a very unique position at PHRI where she combines a career in research with scientific writing. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of California Berkeley and completed a Doctorate in Genetics from Columbia University. Let’s learn more about her journey and what advice she has to offer to graduate students and postdocs interested in pursuing an alternate career path.
How did you first get introduced into biology and research?
My family immigrated to the United States from the former USSR and there was a lot of pressure to follow a prestigious career path such as medicine, or law. I did not have a strong interest in medicine, but as an undergraduate at UC Berkley, I still took premed classes. In my junior year, I took a biochemistry course and really enjoyed it. The professor of this course encouraged me to start working in his lab and I absolutely loved it. I felt like I had found my place.
Did you expect your career to take this path?
Not exactly, but I would be happy in any academic sphere where the topics are interesting; it doesn’t necessarily have to be biology. I am very happy with where I am now and with what I do.
How did you get interested, or involved in science writing and grant development?
During my second postdoc at Princeton University, I had the opportunity to teach a few classes as part of a writing program geared towards graduate students in the sciences and engineering. I also had experience in writing and editing grants during my time as a graduate student because my PI at the time expected all students in his lab to prepare their own manuscripts. It was a hard experience, but I am glad I had it. My current position at PHRI came about from a meeting I had with Dr. David Perlin, the Executive Director, about a new position to help faculty write grants.
What is the biggest weakness in PhD training now and what should we be doing proactively to overcome it?
From my understanding, most graduate programs are focused on research and/or teaching. Most programs don’t have any writing instruction and I think that writing training is necessary. It is a big part of academia and even in other careers such as industry. Learning how to explain your research is absolutely key. As a student you need to ask yourself the right questions: “What are you good at? What do you want to do? What do you like to do?” There are a lot of jobs out there where the skills we have can be useful.
What is the best part of your job?
I do research on Candida glabrata; it mutates very quickly and readily acquires resistance to anti-fungals. I am trying to understand why this is the case. Research is enjoyable, but it doesn’t always work and can be frustrating. I like that I can put it away for a time and make a difference elsewhere. When I help faculty in editing their grants, I know that I can help to make it better. And whenever a grant gets a good score, or gets funded, that also makes me feel good because it means that a particular research project can go ahead. I feel like it is another way for me to contribute to science.
What is the hardest part of your job?
Transitioning between writing and research is hard. During periods of heavy grant writing, like now when NIH has a lot of deadlines, I spend most of my time in my office reading and editing. Both writing and research need a lot of focus. Sometimes I can juggle both at the same time. Fortunately, since I work with yeast which can be easily frozen, it is easy to stop the lab work at any time. The key to returning back to research after writing is keeping good notes and getting refreshed on lab techniques.
Do you think it makes sense for graduate schools to focus on alternative career paths?
Yes, absolutely. NIH funding has flat lined in the last 15 years and the numbers just don’t work out – there are too many PhDs and not enough spots. More PIs now have realistic expectations that there are not enough academic positions for graduate students. I hope that there is encouragement for students to look at alternative career paths.
As a woman in science, what have been some challenges, if any, that you have encountered within your career?
As a graduate student at Columbia, I could not really see myself in a lot of the female faculty I encountered; most had no children, or had children much later in life. I realize now that I didn’t see these examples because it is damn hard. Many women put off having children until they have labs. I married fairly young and I had a lot of doubt if what I wanted was even possible. Could I even do it? I had children during my first postdoc and even with an extremely supportive husband it was still hard and took my focus away from the lab. In order to have an academic career, productivity during the postdoc years is key. There is a lot of frustration and confusion in how to balance everything. In the end, though, I am very happy with what I am doing; it all worked out.
What advice can you give to current students?
In graduate school, it is important to start looking at realistic career paths early. I did not do this and I wish I had. But again, it all worked out and I am very happy. Ask yourself the right questions and explore. Look for programs such as iJOBS and talk to people and network. The path you map for yourself may or may not work, but if you start early there is a better chance for things to go well.