drjeffholst.bsky.social
Cancer Metabolism Researcher | UNSW Sydney |
https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/jeff-holst
11 posts
288 followers
454 following
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Anytime Sarah, will always make time for you!
I have to acknowledge a lot of luck/good timing along the way. But happy to share some thoughts on the ups and downs, key decisions and thought processes that have helped me survive in research.
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In addition, pitching to venture capital led to funding through the Medical Research Future Fund.
Take home message?
I have wanted to quit research regularly. The lows are really low.
But if you love research like I do, get good mentors, collaborate and look for innovative ways to get funding.
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3 – Alternative funding sources
I worked hard with our consumer panel to successfully pitch our research for CIA funding from NBCF, PCFA/Movember, Cancer Council NSW, Cancer Institute NSW (including SPHERE/Sydney Cancer Partners), Ramaciotti, Tour de Cure, Charlie Teo Foundation.
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2 – Collaborations
My early work on transporters wasn’t “sexy” research on its own, but was funded as part of larger PCFA/Movember collaborative programs with senior colleagues.
Recent collaborations resulted in MRFF funding as CIA and CIC in areas of research outside my cancer metabolism focus.
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Considering this lack of NHMRC funding, how did I survive?
1 – Luck
Friends and colleagues focussed on the bad luck – many near miss grants within 0.2 of the cutoff (2015/17/19/22/23) were touted as “bad luck” – don’t worry, you’ll get it next year. But I had good luck in near miss grant awards.
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I got bogged down in the detail – a very narrow specific research plan, an inability to communicate the big picture of why my area of research is significant.
I now collaborate widely, with some amazing colleagues outside my institute who can advise and guide my applications and research direction.
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After 11 years of rejection, I learnt not to take the scores personally – but to try and learn from them. The graph below shows my scores have improved over time. But why?
Firstly, looking at my early scores, track record was not the problem, but my scientific quality and significance were low.
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In life? Oh, you mean joining BlueSky...