The day of Assistant professor at Princeton University--Professor Shi--Princeton University

-With the young Pi of the domestic encouragement
　

Preface: To Every young Pi (Principal investigator) who has just set up an independent laboratory at the School of Life sciences or medical school in Tsinghua University, I will advise more than once: at least for the first three years, you must consider yourself a super postdoctoral fellow, take the front, Do their best to do research in the laboratory, do their own projects, while training to train doctoral students, experimenters and post-doctoral. As long as you can repeat the brilliant doctoral and postdoctoral stage, you will not worry about the tenure in Tsinghua. 】

An offer from Princeton.

On the afternoon of March 27, 1997, in the lab at New York Memorial sloan-kettering Cancer Center, I received a phone call from Professor Tom Silhavy of the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University, "Yigong, I am calling To tell you a piece of good news. We faculty voted unanimously to offer you a position and at the level of Assistant professor. I overjoyed, "great. "Tom went on," We'll be happy to discuss with your about what you'll need to the set up your lab. We hope you can let us know whether your accept we offer by July 1st "I would like to respond without thinking," I am very happy accept to your offer. " Tom seemed to be surprised to hear my immediate response, and I didn't know how to react; he hesitated for a moment to remind me, "Well, yigong, please feel it over." Use this period to negotiate with us about your start-up package. That afternoon was one of the most happy moments of my life. I share the good news with Nikola Pavletich (my postdoctoral mentor) and colleagues in the lab. Nikola kindly cautioned me, "If I Were you, I would is not told them that I would accept the offer now." This is your a better deal! " Nikola deliberately aggravated the tone on "not".

In fact, I do not know how to get an offer after the importance of better treatment, but Princeton University is my dream of the academic Holy Land, how can I bargain in this place? This is my character. Moreover, get this offer is really a surprise, because this is my first formal job interview, in advance is prepared for failure.

The Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University has a total of two assistant professors (Assistant professor) in 1997, but more than 400 young postdoctoral scientists have applied. Through layers of screening, six interviewees were identified. As a member of the six, I went to Princeton for the last interview on February 27. To the world-famous Princeton, the mood is tense and excited, the night of 26th basically did not sleep, in the brain is all over the carefully prepared to introduce my research progress slides. 6 o'clock in the morning get up, catch up with seven points from New York Penn Station to the South train, 75 arrived in Princeton. Start the interview nine o'clock.

On the morning of 27th, a one-to-one 45-minute interview was held with four professors, one of whom was Shirley Tilghman, who became president of Princeton University in 2001. Because I've got a prior knowledge of their research, so the interview was smooth; but Shirley in earnest about her research progress after very unexpectedly test me a related problem, I very nervous to think after doing a decent answer, she nodded to say yes, I just received a cold sweat. Lunch with several PhD students at noon. After 1:30 P.M. lunch, he interviewed three professors, the first of which was Tom Shenk, who was the dean of the Department, and the second was the former dean of the department, Arnold Levine, who served as the president of Rockefeller University. 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I LTL003 a 50-minute academic report at the department's report Hall. I played well, the effect was unexpected and I was completely confident when I answered the question. The scheduled dinner was attended by Tom Silhavy and two other professors, and after my academic report Tom Shenk and Arnold Levine two heavyweight professors temporarily decided to have dinner, and Shenk hinted to me that "I think you'll become a Superstar at Princeton. "

Dinner is arranged at the famous French restaurant in Princeton Town Lahiere ' s restaurant. Levine said it was Einstein's favorite restaurant in Princeton for 22 years; Shenk pointed to an Einstein hanging like the table below, saying, "In a few years, if I invite you to the dine at this table, then you wil L soon receive tenure at Princeton. ". The dinner was very happy and it wasn't like a part of the interview. I stayed at the Nassau Inn that night, and I was so excited that I could hardly sleep until 4 o'clock in the morning in the day. The next day he continued one-on-one interviews with 8 professors, including Lynn Enquist, who later received Shenk as Dean, and Eric Wieschaus, the 1995 Nobel laureate. As I was exhausted after lunch for two consecutive days, I almost dozed off at the interview with Wieschaus, which made me blush and confess that I did not have a good rest. The interview ended 28th 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and the interview lasted for exactly two days. To be honest, the feeling of the next day is not as good as the first day and a little uneasy in my mind. Fortunately, finally got an offer.

Entrepreneurship: To be a super postdoctoral

Although I could start a separate lab in Princeton in the summer of 1997, I chose to postpone it for six months and formally report it in January 1998, the main reason being the completion of my postdoctoral research work, and the preparation of myself more fully. However, I still feel very nervous, I do not know whether the next few years of academic career can continue their doctoral stage and postdoctoral training brilliant.

Shenk and Levine said to me that I would never forget, so far I want to share with each young pi advice. Like every assistant professor who has just started an independent lab, I am worried about whether I can successfully apply to the research fund, especially the NIH project, which is particularly true and urgent for non-native English speakers. I expressed this concern to Shenk in January 1998, when I first arrived at Princeton, Shenk replied, "Yigong,please focus on your and apply for NIH grants only if you have s Ignificant preliminary results. If you are fail to obtain any external funding but are doing fantastic, we'll support you! Please don ' t worry. " Shenk's remark dispelled all my doubts. As long as my scientific research is excellent, even if I can't get the funds outside, my department will support me.

There is no denying that every assistant professor will be able to get tenure, and I also, from the first day of formal reporting in Princeton, often think of this question, and often think very nervous. In the six years between 1991 and 1997, seven young assistant professors tried to get tenure in the Department of Molecular Biology, but only one succeeded, and the other six were forced to leave Princeton and seek another job. Levine through my fears, and told me point-blank, "Yigong, think about it:getting tenure are not so difficult." If you can reproduce your track record as a graduate student and a postdoc into the next 5 years, you'll get your tenure a T Princeton or any other top-notch university in the US. If Shenk's stance eliminates my fear of applying for funds, Levine's advice makes me see the goal of trying to get tenure. Levine further reminded me of "the difference is" and you were alone as a grad student or postdoc. But now, have a lab full of people. That ' s why it should the not being difficult to get tenure. This sentence gives me enough confidence. Yes, I will at least have the four of the laboratory, plus me, if such a group of people together can not repeat my job as a Ph. D. and postdoctoral work weight, I was too stupid, not worthy of Princeton's tenure.

Levine also made a specific suggestion for me to do independent pi, "Treat yourself as a super-postdoc in the lab during the" 3 years. You are must work on your own projects at the bench and supervise your. This is way, you'll get your the take off immediately. I fully accept Levine's proposal, not only every day on the experimental platform to do their own topics, but also to do their best to guide doctoral and post-doctoral research, scientific research work quickly formed a situation, only three years to successfully get the Princeton University tenure. In celebration of my smooth tenure party, Levine once again advised me, "I know you ' ve been working hard on the bench for 3 years." Now your lab are fully established, and you need to shift your focus from bench work to supervision. Some people believe, and I agree, that spending the vast majority of your ' time on the bench work after being a PI for 5 ye Ars won ' t make your fantastically successful. "I was a bit out of my mind about this proposal, but it makes sense to look back over the past more than 10 years of research.

My advice to the young Pi of Tsinghua

For each young pi who has just established an independent laboratory at the School of Life sciences or medical school in Tsinghua University, I will have more than one time to advise: at least in the first three years, you must be based on your own is a super postdoctoral, take the front, do their best in the laboratory to do research, do their own projects, while helping to train and train doctoral students, The experimenter and the postdoctoral staff. As long as you can repeat the brilliant doctoral and postdoctoral stage, you will not worry about the tenure in Tsinghua. Of course, I also have the confidence that I can do the support work for young people just like Shenk and Levine. As long as you do a good job of research, even if you do not get funding outside, Tsinghua will do its best to support you.

I also warned these excellent young people: do not spend time to make connections, do their best to do research, to win the strength. In fact, a person's dignity, academic status, and others from the heart of respect, can never rely on the relations between the acquisition, only from their own real academic accomplishment and contribution. The impetuous scientists who are passionate about the relationship every day, if there is no real academic achievement, even if the surface scenery, in fact will be peers (including some he pulled relations, care for his people) from the heart despise. In academia, this is always the truth. In the United States is, in China, in any country in the world is the same.

With all the young pi for encouragement.

From:http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-46212-411102.html