The Scientists We Want to Be
“It is an amazing time to do science, but an incredibly difficult time to be a scientist.
There is so much cool stuff going on. Everywhere I go — my lab, seminar visits, meetings, Twitter — there are biologists young and old are bursting with ideas, eager to take advantage of powerful new ways to observe, manipulate and understand the natural world.”-Dr. Michael Eisen, co-founder of PLoS
It can be hard to reconcile the earlier statement from Dr. Eisen, with the message of hope he later expresses. He is right though. Throughout the field of scientific research we have never been been so well equipped to make incredible discoveries. Why then, is it such a hard time to be a scientist?
I have spent my time in this field as part of several diverse groups, and from those experiences, believe I’m beginning to understand why. Though the needs of each group were different, they shared many of the same frustrations. These frustrations centered on mechanisms of the research environment, rather than the topic of study.
One of the recurrent issues is with experimental reproducibility, the likes of which have fueled the creation of a central hub in Nature’s archives. Another theme I’ve seen is concern over funding as money that was once abundant in industrial R & D suffers severe cuts. Once research is complete there is a fight for the few article spots available in high-impact journals.
Many researchers have focused their efforts in a competition for a specific pool of resources. We use these resources to acquire the financial freedom to explore our research interests, publish our results, and cement our place in the world. Competition for these resources will always be an essential part of what drives this economy, but the current atmosphere encourages too many people to drop out entirely.
As the demands of the research environment surge ahead of this specific pool’s supply, several groups have begun to experiment with less explored pools of resources. These researchers are part of a movement tapping into areas such as synthetic biology, automation, crowdfunding, open-source development, and more effective approaches to scientific communication.
Their unusual approaches have been met with increased scrutiny. Yet, the people in this movement have risen to the challenge through interaction with each other, using their shared knowledge and technology to drive growth and grant them legitimacy within the current system.
Take Alex Lorestani of Gelzen.
Prior to starting Gelzen, Alex was enrolled in an MD/PhD training program where he became concerned with the role of factory animals in spreading antibiotic-resistant pathogens. As the head of Gelzen, he combats this issue by replacing animal-derived protein with recombinant protein grown in bacteria. By creating a process for gelatin production that was quick, massively scalable, and lowered the threat of antibiotic resistance, they generated significant financial interest.
After joining with the biotech startup accelerator Indie Bio Gelzen began to focus on the ability to get such a product to market. During their time at Indie Bio they found a collaborator in fellow startup, Circularis.
Circularis’s methods for rapidly prototyping gene promoters aided Gelzen in further advancing their product, an interaction that lends further legitimacy to both companies. Gelzen has now graduated from Indie Bio, and is poised for financial success as they continue the fight against antibiotic resistance.
From stories like Alex’s I’ve begun to identify new paths available to researchers in the 21st century. To continue this conversation I’ve begun interviewing people from this new movement of scientists. I’ll share these conversations in a blog known as Spin Down, where beyond the conversations themselves I’ll highlight their technologies and the increasing role they play in our world.
If we open ourselves to untapped resources, we’ll be equipped to become The Scientists We Want to Be.
For the next article, I’ll be talking about my interviews with the people who are helping to crowdfund the next wave of scientific achievement.This article will feature Experiment co-founder Cindy Wu and Walacea founder Natalie Jonk.
Blog posts not directly linked:
Kopelyan, Alex. “Blog.” Building the Next Generation of Recombinant Proteins: an interview with Alex Lorestani of Gelzen. IndieBio, 24 Jan. 2016. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.
Eisen, Michael. “Restructuring the NIH and Its Grant Programs to Ensure Stable Careers in Science.” It Is NOT Junk. 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.
