Thank You For Your Submission to JAMIA

I've been working very hard lately on a manuscript for my supervisor that had been roughly drafted by a previous research assistant a few years ago and then somewhat neglected until recently when I was asked to basically rewrite it. My initial excitement at being a part of a publication wore off quickly when I realized how much work this paper needed. It ended up being a much bigger job than I had anticipated but today I am extremely happy to say that after MUCH toil (long afternoons, short lunches, struggles with grammar and collaborative writing efforts with my principal investigator) I have finally submitted it to the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association! What a relief. Also, check it out, I'm listed as an one of the authors!

National Science Foundation Press Release

Happy Friday babies! Today is super exciting for many reasons - it's almost the weekend, I have a million favorite people coming to visit, the weather is beautiful - but the latest exciting news is that I got an email from Julia with a link to this awesome press release from the NSF about our research! If you had a hard time muddling through the abstract that I posted yesterday then this article will be a lot more illuminating in terms of what our project was actually about so definitely take a look! I'm mentioned right at the very end as a co-author which thrills me. There are also some cool images attached that you can scroll through. Enjoy!

Elkhorn Slough, CA - one of the locations we took samples of water from that contained superoxide-producing bacteria!

Yay Science! I'm Officially a First-Time Published Author!

I didn't even realize but COINCIDENTALLY today is the day the paper got published online!!! You can't view the whole thing unless you have an account but you can read the abstract and see my name looking all official-like underneath the title :)
I AM LITERALLY SO EXCITED I MIGHT BURST!!

I Got an Email from SCIENCE!

Some of you may have seen my initial post that I had to take down due to the paper not being officially accepted and issues with copyright etc. BUT NOW I’M FINALLY ALLOWED TO TELL THE WHOLE WORLD!!! I’m getting my first paper published in Science!

One of the most rewarding things about working in research is getting your name on a publication. It's extremely gratifying to know all your hard work is actually contributing to something concrete that you can be proud of and share with others and just generally show off to the world a bit.
The summer after I started my post-bac I was hired as a research assistant for the Hansel lab at Harvard University following an interview with Julia, a new post-doc who had just started with the lab. I owe so much to her for looking past the fact that I had no background in research and had never worked in a lab before. I remember earnestly telling her that what I lacked in experience I more than made up for in effort and perseverance. I love learning and was more than willing to start from scratch. Julia was amazing and gracefully took on the responsibility of teaching me everything I needed to know to work at a microbiology & geochemistry lab. Working in research can be difficult and it can take years to get authorship on a paper. I was incredibly lucky to be given the opportunity to work on a project that culminated in a manuscript in less than a year on which I was able to put my name.
This manuscript has been through a lot; after submitting it to and getting turned down from Nature, we sent our creation in to Science and were told there was interest but it needed more revisions. This apparently happens fairly often especially with a publication like Science, which is an extremely high caliber research journal. Our paper was resubmitted and I got an email (screenshot below - Dr. Mendes!!! It makes me so happy to see that in print)* telling me to fill out a few authorship forms in order for them to accept the manuscript. ACCEPT?!?!?!! I was nervous to actually tell people it's a definite thing but since that initial email I've gotten confirmation that they're moving ahead with publishing our research! I'm incredibly excited and it really makes all the long hours and wrestling with data collection 110% worth it.
There are a host of things I worry about when I consider how competitive of a med school applicant I am but then something like this happens and it's so reassuring. It's just a reminder that it's always worth it to try your best in everything because it WILL pay off one day. It may sound trite, but it is true. So if you're struggling now just remember that it's not just your test scores and grades that matter, it's everything you do that is a testament to your intelligence, your work ethic and your willingness to keep on keepin' on.

Initial email (Me: Dr. Mendes! Yay!)

*I am not actually a Dr. of any sort, I'm pretty sure they just address all authors as such in order to not step on any toes. 

Acceptance email!!! Wooo!!!

On getting published in the research field

A few weeks ago I had a meeting with my current PI and as we were going through the agenda (who should send out which emails, documents that needed to be updated etc.) she casually drops this bomb: "oh by the way, you should probably get started on drafting the manuscript for Aim 1." I know this is an incredibly cliche phrase to use but you LITERALLY could have heard a pin drop. I actually didn't know how to respond so I just nodded, mutely. On the one hand I was THRILLED (excitement level: mentally jumping up and down) and on the other I was terrified because I've never actually written a research paper on my own before, at least not one based on scientific data. Also I've only been on this project for three months! Thankfully my PI went on to explain how she was giving this to me because she has been very impressed with my involvement in the study so far and really wants me to have a publication before I leave (which may or may not be in September but that is still very up in the air). It calmed me down somewhat to know that she has a lot of faith in my abilities and clearly wouldn't be giving me this task if she didn't think I was up for it.
While I've been incredibly lucky and am thankful to have been given several opportunities to get published before applying med school, I don't necessarily think it's completely up to chance. There are definitely things that anyone can do to help get their name on a paper they can include in their resume, CV, or grad school applications.
Probably the most helpful thing you can do for yourself is be proactive. I kind of hate that word because I think it's overused but it works in this case because it means "creating or controlling a situation by causing something to happen" (Google) and that's exactly what you want to do. If you already work in research and you want to get your name on a paper, don't just wait to be approached, talk to your PI about wanting to take on more responsibility and ask about the possibility of being included on a future publication. The worst thing they can say is no and you're no worse off than you were before. You can also talk to fellow RAs and ask if they need any help on their projects that may give you credit. Sometimes this might be tricky to navigate because I know some places are more competitive than others but in my experience I've found that any help offered is often gladly taken and you'll at least get a mention for it.
If you don't already work in research but would like to, start asking around because a lot of RA jobs are filled through recommendations (that's how I got my position). If you feel like you aren't close enough to the people you would ask just do it anyway. We've been looking for someone for our FDA project for months and if my roommate's sister's best friend contacted me asking about working at Partners I'd probably recommend her to HR as long as she wasn't a huge disaster (side note: we're still looking for someone for that project so if you're interested, holla at me).
If you're worried you won't get hired due to lack of experience then stop stressing because you're probably awesome in plenty of other ways. I've talked to several coworkers who have conducted interviews lately and was told that they primarily look for someone who is independent, goal-oriented and willing to learn. What you already know matters a lot less than how hard you work to get better at new things. Also doing all the regular things like showing up on time, not being rude, and dressing nicely really help (seriously, some interviewees don't do this, it's crazy).
Above all else, persevere! I guess it's mostly common sense but if you don't get the first job you interview for or your query about being on a paper is shut down then just keep trying. You'll get there, I promise.