PI

PI = Principal Investigator in science speak. It is the person who runs the lab. On two or three occasions over the past couple of weeks, the grad student in the lab has informed me that I will make a good one (compliment #1). But, I do hope there is a difference in what "being a PI" and "being a post-doc PI" is like.

I leave for a meeting on Wednesday at the crack of dawn, and I have SO MUCH WORK TO DO in the next 24 hours. Realistically I cannot get it all done if I expect to be coherent at the meeting, so I cannot miss out on too much sleep. Being coherent would be good because I am giving a talk and really need to make professional contacts. Luckily, something about the summer and daylight allows me to be perfectly (hah) functional on less sleep than I manage in the winter. I know a couple of Moms who are probably laughing at my management of my sleep right now.

I have an undergrad who started a few weeks ago. I have her up to speed enough that she can get stuff done while I am gone! She took introductory biology, but had essentially zero lab experience. She has good lab hands though, which is a huge bonus and means she seems to pick up the way you do things in lab easily. Today, after talking about what she would do while I am gone, she wrote a color coded detailed list of what she will do every day. No joke. My PI (the actual PI of the lab) came in, commented that the UG would be busy while I am gone, and also that she notices that I keep people busy (compliment #2).

I found out at about 6 this evening that my second undergrad will start tomorrow. At 8:30 a.m. She has only taken an introductory biology course for non-majors (read: VERY LITTLE BACKGROUND). I will not be able to get her up to speed enough in one day for her to do anything productive while I am gone. I did print out a bunch of papers for her to read though!

In addition to these two undergrads who are directly under my care, I have helped another undergrad over the past month learn two new techniques for his thesis, and regularly consult with the grad student, the other post-doc, and (yet) another undergrad. Oh, and the lab manager has started splitting her time in lab with another on campus job because our PI will be retiring in the next 5 years, and it was an opportunity she could not pass up. So at least 1 1/2 days a week I am the one "in charge" in lab anyway. OH, and I have a work study student finishing this week (who will luckily be back in the fall) who does what bench work I wish I could do right now. He has been invaluable.

So back to the post-doc PI thing.  If I count back, I am directly in charge of three undergrads, supervise 2 others 1.5 days a week, and also consult with, oh, everyone in the lab. And I am working on a paper. And I am giving a talk this week. And I lead an undergrad journal club every couple of weeks. And I have stupidly volunteered to present at the last two lab meetings. The only thing I am missing from being an actual PI is worrying about budgets and paying people (Difference #1)! To even out the time commitment that budgeting requires, I will start looking for a job.

Also, as a PI, I will actually be in charge, rather than wonder if it is my place to tell the OTHER work study student to reallocate his time to something more useful than what he is doing. (Difference #2)

And here I am procrastinating on my work by posting. Whatevs.