Effective Self-Management for Early Career Researchers in the Natural and Life Sciences

Natalia Z Bielczyk¹, Ayaka Ando², AmanPreet Badhwar³, Chiara Caldinelli⁴, Mengxia Gao⁵, Amelie Haugg⁶, Leanna M Hernandez⁷, Kaori L Ito⁸, Dan Kessler⁹, Dan Lurie¹⁰, Meena M Makary¹¹, Aki Nikolaidis¹², Michele Veldsman¹³, Christopher Allen¹⁴, Adriana Bankston¹⁵, Katherine L Bottenhorn¹⁶, Ricarda Braukmann¹⁷, Vince Calhoun¹⁸, Veronika Cheplygina¹⁹, Catarina Costa Boffino²⁰, Ece Ercan²¹, Karolina Finc²², Heidi Foo²³, Ali Khatibi²⁴, Christian La²⁵, David M A Mehler²⁶, Sridar Narayanan²⁷, Russell A Poldrack²⁸, Pradeep Reddy Raamana²⁹, Taylor Salo¹⁶, Claire Godard-Sebillotte³⁰, Lucina Q Uddin³¹, Davide Valeriani³², Sofie L Valk³³, Courtney C Walton³⁴, Phillip G D Ward³⁵, Julio A Yanes³⁶, Xinqi Zhou³⁷; OHBM Student and Postdoc Special Interest Group

Affiliations

¹ Stichting Solaris Onderzoek en Ontwikkeling, Veldstraat 48, 6533 CD Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Welcome Solutions, Veldstraat 48, 6533 CD Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Electronic address: natalia.bielczyk@gmail.com.
² Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Blumenstrasse 8, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany.
³ Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), 4545 Queen Mary Rd, Quebec H3W 1W6, Canada; Université de Montréal, 2900 Edouard Montpetit Blvd, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada.
⁴ Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
⁵ The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Building for Interdisciplinary Research, 5 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University of Zurich, Lenggstrasse 31, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland; Zurich Neuroscience Center, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 660 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
⁸ Neural Plasticity and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, University of Southern California, 2250 Alcazar Street, CSC 133, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
⁹ Departments of Statistics and Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94702, USA.
¹¹ Systems and Biomedical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George St, New Haven, CT 06519, USA.
¹² Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, 101 E 56th St, New York, NY 10022, USA.
¹³ Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK; The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 30 Royal Parade, Parkville VIC 3052, Melbourne, Australia.
¹⁴ Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Maindy Road, CUBRIC, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, UK.
¹⁵ Future of Research, 82 Wendell Avenue, STE 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Psychology, Florida International University, 8th Street, DM 256 Miami, FL 33199, USA.
¹⁷ Utrecht, the Netherlands.
¹⁸ Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, 55 Park Pl, 18th Floor, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Postbus 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
²⁰ Institute of Psychiatry & Department of Radiology, Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Dr. Ovídio Pires de Campos, 785 - Cerqueira César - CEP: 01060-970 São Paulo, Brazil.
²¹ C.J. Gorter Center for High Field MRI, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, C3Q, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, the Netherlands.
²² Centre for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Wileńska 4, 87-100 Toruń, Poland.
²³ Department of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) School of Psychiatry Level 1, AGSM (G27) Gate 11, Botany Street UNSW NSW 2052, Sydney, Australia.
²⁴ School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain (CPR Spine), University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
²⁵ Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, 780 Welch Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
²⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, Gebäude A9, 48149 Münster, Germany.
²⁷ Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal H3A 2B4, Canada.
²⁸ Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Jordan Hall, Building 420, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
²⁹ Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, 3560 Bathurst St., Toronto, ON, Canada.
³⁰ Department of Family Medicine, McGill University, 5858, Chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal, Quebec H3S 1Z1, Canada.
³¹ Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA.
³² Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, 243 Charles St, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
³³ Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Wilhelm-Johnen Strasse, 52425 Juelich, Germany; Otto Hahn group Cognitive Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science, Juelich, Germany.
³⁴ School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Sir Fred Schonell Dr, St Lucia QLD 4072, Brisbane, Australia.
³⁵ The Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, 770 Blackburn Rd, Monash University, 3800, Melbourne, Australia.
³⁶ Department of Psychology, Auburn University, 226 Thach Hall, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
³⁷ School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 2006, Xiyuan Ave, West Hi-Tech Zone, Chengdu, Sichuan, P.R. China.

PMID: 32325057
PMCID: PMC7665085
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.03.015

Effective Self-Management for Early Career Researchers in the Natural and Life Sciences

Natalia Z Bielczyk et al. Neuron. 2020.

. 2020 Apr 22;106(2):212-217.

doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.03.015.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Stichting Solaris Onderzoek en Ontwikkeling, Veldstraat 48, 6533 CD Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Welcome Solutions, Veldstraat 48, 6533 CD Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Electronic address: natalia.bielczyk@gmail.com.
² Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Blumenstrasse 8, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany.
³ Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), 4545 Queen Mary Rd, Quebec H3W 1W6, Canada; Université de Montréal, 2900 Edouard Montpetit Blvd, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada.
⁴ Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
⁵ The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Building for Interdisciplinary Research, 5 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University of Zurich, Lenggstrasse 31, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland; Zurich Neuroscience Center, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 660 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
⁸ Neural Plasticity and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, University of Southern California, 2250 Alcazar Street, CSC 133, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
⁹ Departments of Statistics and Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94702, USA.
¹¹ Systems and Biomedical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George St, New Haven, CT 06519, USA.
¹² Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, 101 E 56th St, New York, NY 10022, USA.
¹³ Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK; The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 30 Royal Parade, Parkville VIC 3052, Melbourne, Australia.
¹⁴ Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Maindy Road, CUBRIC, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, UK.
¹⁵ Future of Research, 82 Wendell Avenue, STE 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Psychology, Florida International University, 8th Street, DM 256 Miami, FL 33199, USA.
¹⁷ Utrecht, the Netherlands.
¹⁸ Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, 55 Park Pl, 18th Floor, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Postbus 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
²⁰ Institute of Psychiatry & Department of Radiology, Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Dr. Ovídio Pires de Campos, 785 - Cerqueira César - CEP: 01060-970 São Paulo, Brazil.
²¹ C.J. Gorter Center for High Field MRI, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, C3Q, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, the Netherlands.
²² Centre for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Wileńska 4, 87-100 Toruń, Poland.
²³ Department of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) School of Psychiatry Level 1, AGSM (G27) Gate 11, Botany Street UNSW NSW 2052, Sydney, Australia.
²⁴ School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain (CPR Spine), University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
²⁵ Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, 780 Welch Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
²⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, Gebäude A9, 48149 Münster, Germany.
²⁷ Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal H3A 2B4, Canada.
²⁸ Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Jordan Hall, Building 420, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
²⁹ Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, 3560 Bathurst St., Toronto, ON, Canada.
³⁰ Department of Family Medicine, McGill University, 5858, Chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal, Quebec H3S 1Z1, Canada.
³¹ Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA.
³² Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, 243 Charles St, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
³³ Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Wilhelm-Johnen Strasse, 52425 Juelich, Germany; Otto Hahn group Cognitive Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science, Juelich, Germany.
³⁴ School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Sir Fred Schonell Dr, St Lucia QLD 4072, Brisbane, Australia.
³⁵ The Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, 770 Blackburn Rd, Monash University, 3800, Melbourne, Australia.
³⁶ Department of Psychology, Auburn University, 226 Thach Hall, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
³⁷ School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 2006, Xiyuan Ave, West Hi-Tech Zone, Chengdu, Sichuan, P.R. China.

PMID: 32325057
PMCID: PMC7665085
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.03.015

Abstract

Early career researchers (ECRs) are faced with a range of competing pressures in academia, making self-management key to building a successful career. The Organization for Human Brain Mapping undertook a group effort to gather helpful advice for ECRs in self-management.

Keywords: ECRs; career development; early career researchers; mentoring; networking; self-management.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Figure 1**
A Popular concepts for goal setting/time management. i: the S.M.A.R.T. approach for setting goals (Raia, 1965), with examples. **ii:** the Yerkes-Dodson law. There is an optimal level of arousal above which performance decreases due to high stress level. **iii:** the Eisenhower chart. The key to long term success is to manage important but not urgent tasks, **iv:** the *pomodoro* technique and *timeboxing* for planning work time. In the pomodoro technique, tasks are kept in lists and working time is pre-divided into periods of deep work (green) interleaved with breaks (red). In the timeboxing, every task is assigned with a precise time slot. B Models of mentoring. Left: the traditional, hierarchical view. Middle: modern, multilayered model. The mentee becomes the centre of their own mentoring network, with multiple mentors at different career stages (magenta), peer-coaching with other ECRs at a similar stage (light green), and more junior mentees (dark green). Right: “lifeline”/“advisory board” model: a network of mentors at different career stages serving as an advisory board.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. Allen CPG, and Mehler DM (2019). Open Science challenges, benefits and tips in early career and beyond. PLoS Biol. 7, e3000246. - PMC - PubMed
1. Bielczyk* N, Veldsman* M, Ando A, Caldinelli C, Makary M, Nikolaidis A, Scelsi MA, Stefan M, OHBM Student and Postdoc Special Interest Group, Badhwar A (2018). Mentoring early career researchers: Lessons from the Organization for Human Brain Mapping International Mentoring Programme. Eur. J. Neurosci 49, 1069.–. - PubMed
1. Bielczyk N (2019). What is out there for me? The landscape of post-PhD career tracks. Amazon Digital Services LLC. ISBN-10: 1675579660.
1. Chekroud SR, Gueorguieva R, Zheutlin AB, Paulus M, Krumholz HM, Krystal JH, Chekroud AM (2018). Association between physical exercise and mental health in 1·2 million individuals in the USA between 2011 and 2015: a cross-sectional study. Lancet Psychiat. 5, 739–746. - PubMed
1. Cheplygina V (2018). How I fail. Retrieved from http://web.archive.org/web/20180817170504/http://veronikach.com/how-i-fail/

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Effective Self-Management for Early Career Researchers in the Natural and Life Sciences

Affiliations

Effective Self-Management for Early Career Researchers in the Natural and Life Sciences

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources