In the abstract

I am giving out lab's presentation at the department retreat and submitting two meeting abstracts in September. [Abstract = summary of your presentation-to-be at the meeting.] So when a big international meeting announcement went out for a city nearby, I did not really think to submit an abstract. Three presentation, two students, and my own research seems like enough to juggle this fall...I want to break into this junior faculty thing slowly.

This big meeting is the type with physicians, politicians, biomedical researchers, basic science researchers, and who knows who else. It is the type of meeting I have not yet experienced, and my training grant will cover it, so I figured I would just attend. I am all for the assertion that if you are attending a meeting you should present, but even my PI was wishy-washy about this meeting while pointing out it would be a good experience. Apparently "my" grad student supervisee wants to present! He sent us an abstract draft from his visit home to TX three days before the deadline, only the mutant we use is from another lab and that PI should go on the abstract so we need her approval but then we got a vacation notice when she sent the abstract for approval and AHHHHH!!!!

Anyway. The abstract got submitted, but not before my PI and I discussed at length how much data to put in the abstract. We ultimately settled on combining the grad student and my research for a fuller picture, but minimal data in the abstract beyond what people could figure out on their own if they are so inclined to scientifically stalk the lab. This is because, as open and friendly as science is supposed to be, sometimes people maliciously scoop you. [Maliciously scoop = repeat your experiments/idea and publish the results before you in an intentional malicious manner.]

I did not worry about being maliciously scooped in grad school, mostly because my advisor was not known in the field in which I was doing my research so it was unlikely for someone to intentionally scoop her. My current PI is known in the field and has many close and, well, less close colleagues. I have told my grad student that if a scientist maliciously scoops me down the road and it causes a serious road block in my career, I would likely quit. I do not mean this lightly, and it would need to be the right combination of factors, but quitting and teaching at a private high school would likely make me at least as much money as a professor at a small liberal arts school and truly get me the summers off.

While my post doc lab is proving to be a good experience in many ways, learning to include enough information in an abstract and navigate the politics and collaborations and competitors of science will likely be some of the more useful skills.

Off to put the finishing touches on that retreat presentation...