If you’ve been finding it harder than usual to focus because there is too much happening externally to you, you’re not alone. It’s like trying to do serious cognitive work inside of a jungle gym full of kids. The background hum of uncertainty creates a distracting environment that makes it difficult to sit down and think deeply, to write the … Read More
When You’re Asked to Meet about Your Research Finances: Prepare, Practice… and Let Go
An email arrives from your grants administrator or department finance office. They’d like to schedule time to talk about your research budget. Your stomach drops a little. If that reaction sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Even experienced PIs can feel caught off guard when these conversations come up unexpectedly—partly because financial oversight in research can feel opaque, and partly because, … Read More
Can You Be a Successful PI and Have a Life?
Many research environments revolve around a not-always-unspoken belief: that the most serious scientists are the ones who are always working. Because research is often viewed as a “passion” career, this translates to an expectation that the passion pursuit should dominate one’s life: the PI who responds to emails at midnight. The postdoc who skips conferences because they can’t afford to … Read More
NIH Funding: Death of the NOSI and Birth of the “Highlighted Topics”
Among myriad changes to the NIH extramural funding landscape in 2025, one announcement is the NIH’s intention to reduce the overall number and types of funding opportunities. Specifically, NIH intends to “Identify a single authoritative source for NIH funding opportunities that aligns with other federal grant-making agencies Centralize information on areas of particular scientific interest across NIH Simplify the process … Read More
Tackling the Tough Conversations: Guidance for PIs Who Keep Putting Them Off
Being a group leader involves a lot of people skills, and even those who undergo leadership training face countless challenges to their skillset. Most enter research leadership because they are drawn to tackling interesting questions or problems—not because they want to resolve interpersonal conflicts or give hard feedback. Yet, many PIs receive little training in navigating tough conversations with the … Read More
How Successful PIs Build (and Repair) Research Group Culture
Ask a group of principal investigators what makes their research programs run well, and initial answers may vary. Talk long enough, though, and a different theme emerges. The groups that sustain productivity over years, that attract talented people and keep them engaged, that weather the inevitable setbacks without falling apart… those groups tend to have something else in place. They … Read More
Building a Research Niche Without Getting Boxed In
If you have spent time on the academic research career path, and particularly in mentoring programs, faculty workshops, or conversations with trusted advisors, you have heard some version of the advice: Find your niche. Carve out a space that is distinctly yours. Become the person known for that thing. It is guidance that gets repeated so often it starts to feel … Read More
Your Research Vision Is Bigger Than Any One Grant
Most research leaders know that grants matter. Grants provide resources, support people, and catalyze momentum. But far too often, the funded project comes to be treated as the vision of the research program. This subtle shift can unintentionally limit where the work ultimately goes. A research vision should define where you and your research program are headed. Grants can help … Read More
The PI Energy Audit: Reclaim Your Focus and Reignite Your Spark
You chose research because you care about discovery, ideas, and helping others grow. What you probably didn’t choose: the steady stream of administrative tasks, packed calendars, and the low-grade sense that your best thinking time keeps getting chipped away. This is at best a recipe for frustration and dissatisfaction; at worst, it’s a catalyst for burnout. Leading research today is … Read More
A New Era for Biomedical Research Funding: Understanding NIH’s Updated Stance on Animal Models
Biomedical researchers with linkage to the NIH have weathered a lot of changes in recent years. In fact, you’re likely noticing some shifting expectations that may not always be clearly spelled out. The recent NIH announcement—Funding Alignments with the Initiative to Prioritize Human-Based Research—is one such signal. This announcement portends a new vision for how the NIH prioritizes approaches to … Read More