Communication

I'd like to talk a bit about communication among student and post-doctoral researchers. The position of a student or post-doc is very isolated. Long hours are spent slaving away at the bench doing experiments, and the peer group is almost entirely made up of other students and post-docs working in the same lab space, or maybe across the hall. Very few interactions take place with researchers outside of ones own university or institute. I find it strange that in the internet age communication among students and post-docs is controlled by geography.

The isolation of students and post-docs is striking and ironic when compared to the connectivity of the PI for whom they work. For a professor to get tenure and promotions they must demonstrate that they are recognized nationally and internationally. The PI is very connected, it's a part of their job. They travel frequently and communicate with peers from throughout the world.

So why is there such a striking difference between these two positions? I would like to propose that there are three reasons for this; time, money and history. All of which are now unnecessary. Historically, communication with researchers outside of ones own university occurred primarily at a scientific meeting. However, meetings were time-consuming and expensive. Other alternatives were mail, which was slow, or telephone, which was expensive. This led to a situation where bench researchers did not often communicate with peers outside of their own university. This lack of communication created a culture where bench researchers were not expected to communicate, and if any time or money should be spent on communication it would be done by the PI, who could represent the lab. Thus, historically, students and post-docs stay at the bench and work.

While travel to meetings is still relatively time-consuming and expensive, communication with peers is not. The internet explosion of the last decade has proven that communication is now cheap and fast. Students and post-docs should be able to freely communicate with each other throughout the globe. So why isn't it happening? I am constantly frustrated when I walk through my lab and see every student and post-doc at their desk working at a computer, surfing the internet, but still isolated from their peers.

Students and post-docs have the most to gain from improved communication. This is why students and post-docs need to lead the way to improve communication among their peers. PI's are already connected, so they will see a minimal benefit. In the internet age, why don't we have “virtual” meetings, where talks are streamed on the internet? Posters could be shown online with live chat sessions. Chat-rooms could be used to discuss your favorite protein with other experts in the field. Discussion forums could be used to get help with a technique, or advice about which instrument to purchase. Blogs could be used to discuss the latest publication in a field. Etc, etc...

I believe we are ready for a revolution in scientific communication. JeffsBench.com is one of the first websites created to try and improve communication among students and post-docs. With the internet we can end the isolation of being a bench researcher.