Research????

I have to admit that I did not make up my mind to do a PhD due to immense interest or self-commitment to do research, a typical reason given by people doing PhD. My decision was rather driven by the fact that I simply want to pursue a higher academic degree and that I was uncertain of my next step in life.

However, after being here in this lab for 3 weeks, my mindset is somehow altered. I seriously admire the extensive knowledge and stringent attitude of my supervisors towards science. This inspires me to want to become someone like them in the future. Also, the immense research atmosphere in the lab and the dedication and proactiveness of my fellow labmates are equally exalting. I hope that I will be as competent as they are one day.

On the other hand, I am pondering over the fruition that may come in return. The saying “hard work pays” is never, or not always, the dogma of scientific research. With hard work and a brilliant mind, you can unfold tardily the big picture of something, but it might not be sufficient to make significant scientific breakthrough. Undeniably, on top of brain and effort, one needs some luck sometimes to discover something.

Barry Marshall won the Nobel Prize for his unintentional discovery of Helicobacter pylori, and this would not have been possible if the incubator did not went faulty and if that did not happen during the Easter holiday. Christian de Duve, another Nobel laureate, earned the prize due to his accidental discovery of lysosome, when his laboratory centrifuge broke down and he had to use a table-top centrifuge instead.

Anyway, it might be at a too early stage for me to consider this now while I haven’t really started doing research. For the moment, I just hope that the inspirations and stimulations that I gained in the past 3 weeks will stay around to keep me moving forward. :-)