1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,860 Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast, where academic clinicians learn the skills 2 00:00:05,860 --> 00:00:11,260 to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor. 3 00:00:11,260 --> 00:00:17,340 As clinicians, we spend a decade or more as trainees learning to take care of patients. 4 00:00:17,340 --> 00:00:22,380 When we finally start our careers, we want to build research programs, but then we find 5 00:00:22,380 --> 00:00:27,780 that our years of clinical training did not adequately prepare us to lead our research 6 00:00:27,780 --> 00:00:29,200 program. 7 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:35,480 Through no fault of our own, we struggle to find mentors, and when we can't, we quit. 8 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:40,580 However, clinicians hold the keys to the greatest research breakthroughs. 9 00:00:40,580 --> 00:00:46,200 For this reason, the Clinician Researcher podcast exists to give academic clinicians 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:51,800 the tools to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor. 11 00:00:51,800 --> 00:01:01,040 Now introducing your host, Toyosi Onwuemene. 12 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,060 All right everyone, welcome to today's episode. 13 00:01:04,060 --> 00:01:05,060 I am Toyosi Onwuemene. 14 00:01:05,060 --> 00:01:08,900 What a privilege it is to be talking with you today. 15 00:01:08,900 --> 00:01:09,900 Thank you for tuning in. 16 00:01:09,900 --> 00:01:11,260 Thank you for listening. 17 00:01:11,260 --> 00:01:16,760 I'm talking today about how to structure your research collaborations, and I want to invite 18 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:23,060 you, if you have not already, to sign up for Academic Negotiation Academy, where we show 19 00:01:23,060 --> 00:01:28,380 clinicians how to negotiate their careers so that they can lead the research programs 20 00:01:28,380 --> 00:01:33,540 that help them thrive and make a significant difference in the lives of their patients. 21 00:01:33,540 --> 00:01:37,700 So if you're interested, please sign up on our website, clinicianresearcherpodcast.com. 22 00:01:37,700 --> 00:01:41,820 I would love to be your coach and help you negotiate your research career. 23 00:01:41,820 --> 00:01:47,340 Okay, so today we're talking about how to decide on collaborations. 24 00:01:47,340 --> 00:01:55,660 And I think that collaborations are so awesome because what one person can do when you bring 25 00:01:55,660 --> 00:01:59,100 two or three people together, oh my goodness, you can do so much more. 26 00:01:59,100 --> 00:02:02,140 And then if you bring four or five people together who have the same goal, who have 27 00:02:02,140 --> 00:02:06,140 the same focus, it's pretty awesome. 28 00:02:06,140 --> 00:02:09,780 And the thing about collaborations though is that they kind of have their dark side 29 00:02:09,780 --> 00:02:12,860 as well. 30 00:02:12,860 --> 00:02:18,740 And I'm going to talk a little bit today about the dark side and the bright side of collaborations. 31 00:02:18,740 --> 00:02:24,260 And the specific collaboration I'm thinking about is kind of one collaboration in particular. 32 00:02:24,260 --> 00:02:31,340 I got together with a group and we had a specific rare disease population that we were interested 33 00:02:31,340 --> 00:02:32,340 in. 34 00:02:32,340 --> 00:02:37,980 And over the course of years, we worked really hard on building a panel of patients that 35 00:02:37,980 --> 00:02:40,700 we could answer questions in. 36 00:02:40,700 --> 00:02:45,060 And so there was a lot of excitement at the beginning and we were able to kind of craft 37 00:02:45,060 --> 00:02:49,540 solid research questions and think about what variables we wanted to collect. 38 00:02:49,540 --> 00:02:55,380 And we built a red cap registry and really a lot of the work moved forward. 39 00:02:55,380 --> 00:03:00,700 But one of the things that I appreciated is that some people were moving the work forward 40 00:03:00,700 --> 00:03:02,580 and others were not. 41 00:03:02,580 --> 00:03:06,540 And many times we would come to meetings and some people would say, oh, I haven't had time. 42 00:03:06,540 --> 00:03:07,540 I haven't had time. 43 00:03:07,540 --> 00:03:13,220 And really, you know, there were years and years that went by of, well, we haven't done 44 00:03:13,220 --> 00:03:15,100 this and we haven't done that. 45 00:03:15,100 --> 00:03:18,260 And maybe two or three other programs that were kind of leading the charge in terms of 46 00:03:18,260 --> 00:03:21,100 like, you know, making things happen. 47 00:03:21,100 --> 00:03:22,420 And then the pandemic happened. 48 00:03:22,420 --> 00:03:26,300 And then of course, it was really hard to move anything forward. 49 00:03:26,300 --> 00:03:32,940 And I remember just thinking about how much I had invested time into this particular collaboration. 50 00:03:32,940 --> 00:03:35,220 And oh, yeah, it did yield fruit. 51 00:03:35,220 --> 00:03:38,060 We had publications that came out of the collaboration. 52 00:03:38,060 --> 00:03:40,300 But it also was a lot of energy. 53 00:03:40,300 --> 00:03:41,780 It was a lot of energy. 54 00:03:41,780 --> 00:03:46,020 And I think I had such a great vision for what could be achieved in this collaboration 55 00:03:46,020 --> 00:03:47,820 that somehow wasn't really happening. 56 00:03:47,820 --> 00:03:53,980 And I finally got to a point where I thought, hmm, it may be time for me to transition this 57 00:03:53,980 --> 00:03:59,780 collaboration or at least stay in a peripheral rather than be in a leadership role. 58 00:03:59,780 --> 00:04:04,340 And that was an important move for me because ultimately what it allowed me to do is focus 59 00:04:04,340 --> 00:04:06,900 energies on other areas. 60 00:04:06,900 --> 00:04:13,300 And so it's helped me really think about collaborations and how do you get value out of your research 61 00:04:13,300 --> 00:04:14,300 collaborations? 62 00:04:14,300 --> 00:04:18,380 How do you structure your research collaborations so that they serve you? 63 00:04:18,380 --> 00:04:21,920 And yes, research collaborations are kind of about the greater good. 64 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,020 And the greater good is always important. 65 00:04:24,020 --> 00:04:26,940 But it takes a long time to get to the greater good. 66 00:04:26,940 --> 00:04:29,980 And many times people don't always agree on what that greater good looks like. 67 00:04:29,980 --> 00:04:35,740 And so in some collaborations, arguing about what is the greater good, what does it look 68 00:04:35,740 --> 00:04:42,740 like, who benefits from it can overwhelm discussion so that instead of moving forward and doing 69 00:04:42,740 --> 00:04:45,420 the greater good, you're spending a lot of time trying to figure out what that greater 70 00:04:45,420 --> 00:04:46,760 good looks like. 71 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:51,620 And so for that reason, I want to just share with you today ways to think about collaborations. 72 00:04:51,620 --> 00:04:57,780 The first thing I want to share is that you are the most important piece of any collaboration. 73 00:04:57,780 --> 00:05:00,300 Can I say this again? 74 00:05:00,300 --> 00:05:04,260 You are the most important piece of any collaboration. 75 00:05:04,260 --> 00:05:07,260 And I hear you saying, no, I'm not. 76 00:05:07,260 --> 00:05:10,420 Get over yourself. 77 00:05:10,420 --> 00:05:16,180 What I'm saying is that from the perspective of your career as a clinician researcher, 78 00:05:16,180 --> 00:05:18,740 you are the most important piece of the collaboration. 79 00:05:18,740 --> 00:05:24,140 No, not the collaborative leader, not the program that's making it happen. 80 00:05:24,140 --> 00:05:25,140 It's you. 81 00:05:25,140 --> 00:05:30,060 And you're here because you're advancing your career as a clinician researcher. 82 00:05:30,060 --> 00:05:31,740 That's why you're here. 83 00:05:31,740 --> 00:05:35,180 And it's great that at the end of the day, other people's careers are served by your 84 00:05:35,180 --> 00:05:36,180 work. 85 00:05:36,180 --> 00:05:43,500 The primary, most important person to be served by the work that you do is you and your career. 86 00:05:43,500 --> 00:05:48,460 And so any collaboration needs to first be structured with you in mind. 87 00:05:48,460 --> 00:05:49,820 How will you benefit? 88 00:05:49,820 --> 00:05:53,140 Oh, yes, at the end of the day, patients will benefit. 89 00:05:53,140 --> 00:05:54,560 That's great. 90 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,300 Patients will always benefit from your work because you're a clinician. 91 00:05:57,300 --> 00:05:58,300 That's what you do. 92 00:05:58,300 --> 00:06:02,620 But how do you structure collaboration so that you win? 93 00:06:02,620 --> 00:06:06,900 Yes, the whole collaborative body wins, but how do you win as well? 94 00:06:06,900 --> 00:06:08,400 What is your win? 95 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:14,460 And so that's why it's important to recognize that you are the most important piece of that 96 00:06:14,460 --> 00:06:17,060 collaboration, you. 97 00:06:17,060 --> 00:06:20,380 And because you're the most important piece of that collaboration, every collaboration 98 00:06:20,380 --> 00:06:27,580 you enter into must have a clear definition of how you win, how you succeed within the 99 00:06:27,580 --> 00:06:29,780 confines of that collaboration. 100 00:06:29,780 --> 00:06:33,620 And I know that there are collaborations where it's like, well, you put in your time and 101 00:06:33,620 --> 00:06:36,860 maybe after seven or eight years of being part of this collaborative group, you can 102 00:06:36,860 --> 00:06:38,180 lead something. 103 00:06:38,180 --> 00:06:41,660 Yes, those kinds of collaboratives exist. 104 00:06:41,660 --> 00:06:45,260 But I need you to understand that you are the most important piece and you need to be 105 00:06:45,260 --> 00:06:46,860 very clear on how you win. 106 00:06:46,860 --> 00:06:51,740 And if the win is seven or eight years down the road, be very clear about that because 107 00:06:51,740 --> 00:06:54,820 you need to be winning before seven or eight years are up. 108 00:06:54,820 --> 00:06:58,260 And if for whatever reason the collaboration turns sour before the seven or eight years 109 00:06:58,260 --> 00:07:02,540 are up, does that mean all the work that you did turns out to be nothing? 110 00:07:02,540 --> 00:07:08,740 You want to just have that in mind that your winning is an important piece of any collaboration 111 00:07:08,740 --> 00:07:14,460 and you should consider that if any collaboration does not advance your career as a clinician 112 00:07:14,460 --> 00:07:19,380 researcher, I want you to consider if it's a collaboration you should be part of. 113 00:07:19,380 --> 00:07:24,220 And if you're part of it, consider whether it should be a major piece of your portfolio. 114 00:07:24,220 --> 00:07:25,660 Okay. 115 00:07:25,660 --> 00:07:30,760 Make sure you recognize that you're the most important piece of this collaboration. 116 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:35,860 The second thing that I want you to think about is that you are a great collaborator 117 00:07:35,860 --> 00:07:39,420 when you lead your own research program. 118 00:07:39,420 --> 00:07:43,260 So one of the things that collaborations help you do is in a sense they take pressure off 119 00:07:43,260 --> 00:07:49,360 of you so you don't have to be the one necessarily like driving the program or leading the questions 120 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:53,820 or necessarily applying for funding to fund the collaboration unless you're the person 121 00:07:53,820 --> 00:07:56,640 who's actually the leader of the collaboration. 122 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:01,280 It does take pressure off of you, but the best collaborators are people who understand 123 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:03,100 how to move work forward. 124 00:08:03,100 --> 00:08:07,260 The best collaborators are people who are actually doing the work and there's no greater 125 00:08:07,260 --> 00:08:10,920 laboratory to test your work than your own. 126 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:16,060 Whether that's a wet or a dry lab, there's no greater place to test your skills as a 127 00:08:16,060 --> 00:08:19,940 clinician researcher than your own personal research program. 128 00:08:19,940 --> 00:08:24,940 And so when you've gone through the growing pains of building a research program, of thinking 129 00:08:24,940 --> 00:08:31,020 about research questions and how to answer them and helping people come to do your work, 130 00:08:31,020 --> 00:08:37,900 you get very good at collaborations because you have something tangible to bring to the 131 00:08:37,900 --> 00:08:38,900 collaboration. 132 00:08:38,900 --> 00:08:39,900 You have your wealth of experience. 133 00:08:39,900 --> 00:08:41,660 You have the work you've done. 134 00:08:41,660 --> 00:08:47,240 You have new ideas that you're consistently workshopping in your own research program. 135 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:53,940 So your strength as a collaborator is enhanced when you actually lead your own research program. 136 00:08:53,940 --> 00:08:57,940 And I want to say this because I think for many clinician researchers, there's this 137 00:08:57,940 --> 00:08:59,940 sense of like, well, I don't have to lead. 138 00:08:59,940 --> 00:09:02,180 I can just join other people. 139 00:09:02,180 --> 00:09:03,940 And yes, you can. 140 00:09:03,940 --> 00:09:05,680 And there's value in that. 141 00:09:05,680 --> 00:09:09,220 We need more people kind of contributing to the enterprise. 142 00:09:09,220 --> 00:09:14,420 But you become really, really good and effective as a collaborator when you actually lead your 143 00:09:14,420 --> 00:09:16,020 own program yourself. 144 00:09:16,020 --> 00:09:20,980 For example, when people are asking you for letters of support because you ask for letters 145 00:09:20,980 --> 00:09:23,080 of support, you know what that means. 146 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:24,900 You know how to craft a good letter of support. 147 00:09:24,900 --> 00:09:29,060 You know why it's important to be timely with getting your letter of support out to your 148 00:09:29,060 --> 00:09:32,740 co-investigators because you've had that experience. 149 00:09:32,740 --> 00:09:36,260 So you are a great collaborator when you lead your own research. 150 00:09:36,260 --> 00:09:41,980 And so don't let collaborations deter you from actually leading your own research. 151 00:09:41,980 --> 00:09:42,980 Okay. 152 00:09:42,980 --> 00:09:47,900 Number three is that collaborations are really only as good as the collaborators that contribute 153 00:09:47,900 --> 00:09:49,620 to them. 154 00:09:49,620 --> 00:09:51,760 What is the strength? 155 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:53,560 What is the investment? 156 00:09:53,560 --> 00:10:03,660 What is the commitment level of the investigators that are contributing to the research program? 157 00:10:03,660 --> 00:10:08,740 And that's important because if the investigators who are part of the collaboration are not 158 00:10:08,740 --> 00:10:17,900 invested, then it's a collaboration that may just continue to have subpar impact over time. 159 00:10:17,900 --> 00:10:22,260 If collaborators are not committed, then kind of they let things slide. 160 00:10:22,260 --> 00:10:28,060 And it's a month later, it's two months later, it's three years later, and the same things 161 00:10:28,060 --> 00:10:32,060 are happening over and over again and your work is not moving forward. 162 00:10:32,060 --> 00:10:36,700 So you have to recognize the collaborators that make up the collaborations. 163 00:10:36,700 --> 00:10:41,760 And this is not to say anything wrong about the people you may be collaborating with. 164 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:45,460 It's just that everybody has different time pressures and everybody has different levels 165 00:10:45,460 --> 00:10:46,940 of support for research. 166 00:10:46,940 --> 00:10:49,580 For many clinicians, there isn't support for research. 167 00:10:49,580 --> 00:10:51,300 People talk about sweat equity. 168 00:10:51,300 --> 00:10:54,360 So every time you're talking about sweat equity, just recognize that it means people are really 169 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:56,680 doing this work on their own time. 170 00:10:56,680 --> 00:11:00,340 Most of the time, if people are not resourced to do work, it's just work that they can't 171 00:11:00,340 --> 00:11:01,620 always do well. 172 00:11:01,620 --> 00:11:02,940 They can't do as well. 173 00:11:02,940 --> 00:11:06,900 Some people are able to make a lot happen on just kind of doing things on the side. 174 00:11:06,900 --> 00:11:09,340 But for the most part, most people can't. 175 00:11:09,340 --> 00:11:14,380 And so just as you're considering your collaborations, consider how much time do people have to actually 176 00:11:14,380 --> 00:11:16,380 put into this work? 177 00:11:16,380 --> 00:11:18,920 And is it sufficient to move the work forward? 178 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:20,300 You want to recognize that. 179 00:11:20,300 --> 00:11:24,500 You want to consider collaborations where people actually are able to do work. 180 00:11:24,500 --> 00:11:27,700 They lead their own research programs, which means that they actually have time during 181 00:11:27,700 --> 00:11:33,140 the day and space to do the research, and those collaborators tend to be much stronger 182 00:11:33,140 --> 00:11:37,820 than collaborations where collaborators are kind of doing things as they can on their 183 00:11:37,820 --> 00:11:39,420 own time. 184 00:11:39,420 --> 00:11:45,740 And this is not, again, to down that or to say, oh, that's not a superior collaboration. 185 00:11:45,740 --> 00:11:51,880 It's just to say you want to recognize these collaborations and you want to determine where 186 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:54,140 in your work they fit. 187 00:11:54,140 --> 00:11:57,940 Do they come before the work you do? 188 00:11:57,940 --> 00:12:01,220 Which collaboration should be the most that you prioritize? 189 00:12:01,220 --> 00:12:03,380 Because you're always making an investment. 190 00:12:03,380 --> 00:12:07,020 You have to ask to what extent will I get a return on my investment and in what time 191 00:12:07,020 --> 00:12:08,020 frame? 192 00:12:08,020 --> 00:12:14,100 So recognize who your collaborators are because collaborations are only as good as the collaborators 193 00:12:14,100 --> 00:12:16,860 that contribute to them. 194 00:12:16,860 --> 00:12:22,660 Number four is that collaborations actually take a long time to come to fruition. 195 00:12:22,660 --> 00:12:27,220 Collaborations take a long time to come to fruition, and you have to recognize that time 196 00:12:27,220 --> 00:12:28,220 horizon. 197 00:12:28,220 --> 00:12:32,420 In fact, much of research takes a long time to come to fruition. 198 00:12:32,420 --> 00:12:36,140 And when we're moving forward in our research careers, we're thinking what's short term, 199 00:12:36,140 --> 00:12:40,860 what's going to bring something fast, what's going to take more time to come to fruition? 200 00:12:40,860 --> 00:12:45,060 You in general tend to have research projects at various stages of maturation. 201 00:12:45,060 --> 00:12:50,580 But when it comes to collaborations, usually it's a long process for you to really, really 202 00:12:50,580 --> 00:12:52,740 see benefit, for you to really see gain. 203 00:12:52,740 --> 00:12:55,620 And you want to recognize that. 204 00:12:55,620 --> 00:12:57,260 It takes time. 205 00:12:57,260 --> 00:13:00,900 And for that reason, it's like, okay, while you're doing this collaboration, what else 206 00:13:00,900 --> 00:13:01,980 are you doing? 207 00:13:01,980 --> 00:13:05,020 How else are you moving your research project forward? 208 00:13:05,020 --> 00:13:10,020 If it's going to take a few years for this research project to come to fruition, what 209 00:13:10,020 --> 00:13:12,300 else are you doing in those years? 210 00:13:12,300 --> 00:13:17,260 You want to recognize that collaborations can take a long time, and then you want to 211 00:13:17,260 --> 00:13:22,420 adjust accordingly for how much collaborations feature in the work that you do. 212 00:13:22,420 --> 00:13:24,220 And this is not to say they shouldn't feature. 213 00:13:24,220 --> 00:13:28,980 It's just to recognize that maybe they shouldn't be as prominent relative to the work that 214 00:13:28,980 --> 00:13:31,140 you generate for yourself. 215 00:13:31,140 --> 00:13:32,420 Okay. 216 00:13:32,420 --> 00:13:37,660 The other thing is that the leader of the collaboration is key to its success. 217 00:13:37,660 --> 00:13:44,580 So invariably, there's a leader of the collaboration, and they have energy, they have vision, they 218 00:13:44,580 --> 00:13:46,180 have focus. 219 00:13:46,180 --> 00:13:48,340 Who is the leader of the collaboration? 220 00:13:48,340 --> 00:13:54,980 And to what extent do they embody the things that you find valuable about that collaboration? 221 00:13:54,980 --> 00:13:59,780 And you want to really think through who's the leadership of this collaboration. 222 00:13:59,780 --> 00:14:07,380 And also recognize that if the collaboration, if this particular leader ends the collaboration, 223 00:14:07,380 --> 00:14:08,860 what does that leave you? 224 00:14:08,860 --> 00:14:13,460 If there's a charismatic leader that's not you, and all of a sudden, for whatever reason, 225 00:14:13,460 --> 00:14:17,740 they can't lead this collaboration anymore, is it a collaboration that's structured to 226 00:14:17,740 --> 00:14:21,140 continue beyond this person? 227 00:14:21,140 --> 00:14:26,700 And these are just, you know, again, things to consider that is this a leader who actually 228 00:14:26,700 --> 00:14:31,820 is able to make the investment, has a wealth of experience, is able to continue to lead 229 00:14:31,820 --> 00:14:33,540 this group to success. 230 00:14:33,540 --> 00:14:38,300 So the leader is important, and you want to take time to think about that. 231 00:14:38,300 --> 00:14:42,580 Number six is think about what the end of the collaboration could look like for you. 232 00:14:42,580 --> 00:14:49,060 And sometimes I see faculty who are very, very invested in collaborations to the exclusion 233 00:14:49,060 --> 00:14:51,260 of any work for themselves. 234 00:14:51,260 --> 00:14:54,180 And then sometimes the collaborations end abruptly. 235 00:14:54,180 --> 00:14:58,700 Maybe the leader moves to another institution and changes job focus. 236 00:14:58,700 --> 00:15:01,780 And then all of a sudden, it's like, oh, all this work, where is it going to go? 237 00:15:01,780 --> 00:15:07,540 Or sometimes there's just a change in the environment and something else becomes more 238 00:15:07,540 --> 00:15:11,020 important and then this collaboration falls to the wayside. 239 00:15:11,020 --> 00:15:15,180 And so it's important to think about, okay, if this collaboration comes to an end, how 240 00:15:15,180 --> 00:15:16,180 do I move forward? 241 00:15:16,180 --> 00:15:22,700 Are all my eggs in this one basket such that I would suffer a lot of loss if this collaboration 242 00:15:22,700 --> 00:15:24,220 doesn't move forward? 243 00:15:24,220 --> 00:15:29,380 So you want to think about what the end of the collaboration could look like for you. 244 00:15:29,380 --> 00:15:35,260 And number seven, number seven is that if this collaboration did not exist, would your 245 00:15:35,260 --> 00:15:38,060 research still exist? 246 00:15:38,060 --> 00:15:42,580 If this collaboration did not exist, would your research still exist? 247 00:15:42,580 --> 00:15:47,500 And so it's important that we do collaborations because there's a lot of synergy there. 248 00:15:47,500 --> 00:15:51,580 But also consider whether this collaboration is all of your research program. 249 00:15:51,580 --> 00:15:56,580 And if for whatever reason this collaboration ceased to exist, would your research program 250 00:15:56,580 --> 00:15:59,460 still be there? 251 00:15:59,460 --> 00:16:00,580 Would it still be functional? 252 00:16:00,580 --> 00:16:01,820 Would it still be viable? 253 00:16:01,820 --> 00:16:05,900 Or would you now start thinking about, oh, great, I put all my eggs in that basket. 254 00:16:05,900 --> 00:16:08,340 Now I need to do something else. 255 00:16:08,340 --> 00:16:12,020 And so the reason I want you to consider all these things is not to give you like a negative 256 00:16:12,020 --> 00:16:17,020 experience or a negative sense of collaborations, but it's just to consider that collaborations 257 00:16:17,020 --> 00:16:19,340 should be part of your portfolio. 258 00:16:19,340 --> 00:16:22,500 They should not necessarily be all of your portfolio. 259 00:16:22,500 --> 00:16:26,260 And sometimes collaborations feel easier because you know what, there's so many people doing 260 00:16:26,260 --> 00:16:29,620 the work, therefore it's moving forward or somebody else is leading, therefore you don't 261 00:16:29,620 --> 00:16:31,540 have to worry about it. 262 00:16:31,540 --> 00:16:36,820 But again, I want to say that my conversation is mostly to research leaders because clinicians 263 00:16:36,820 --> 00:16:41,800 have the most amazing ideas that really will transform the way we do health care, will 264 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:44,060 transform the way we do patient care. 265 00:16:44,060 --> 00:16:48,860 And if you have one of those ideas, depending on a collaboration, to move that research 266 00:16:48,860 --> 00:16:56,040 forward is important as long as you also have kind of like a great framework for moving 267 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:59,980 the project forward even when there's no collaboration. 268 00:16:59,980 --> 00:17:04,780 And so I just wanted to share these seven things with you because I think it's important 269 00:17:04,780 --> 00:17:09,700 that you collaborate for synergy and also consider how you use a collaboration to your 270 00:17:09,700 --> 00:17:11,140 own advantage. 271 00:17:11,140 --> 00:17:17,100 So to summarize those seven, recognize that you're the most important piece of the collaboration. 272 00:17:17,100 --> 00:17:21,100 You're a great collaborator when you lead your own research. 273 00:17:21,100 --> 00:17:24,700 Collaborations are only as good as the collaborators that contribute to them. 274 00:17:24,700 --> 00:17:27,860 Collaborations can take a long time to come to fruition. 275 00:17:27,860 --> 00:17:31,340 The leader of the collaboration is key to the success of the collaboration, so maybe 276 00:17:31,340 --> 00:17:36,100 you should be the leader or create a collaboration in which you lead. 277 00:17:36,100 --> 00:17:40,540 Number six, think about what the end of the collaboration looks like for you and ask yourself 278 00:17:40,540 --> 00:17:45,500 the question, if this collaboration did not exist, would my research program still exist? 279 00:17:45,500 --> 00:17:51,160 So definitely consider carefully how you structure your collaboration and make sure you're leading 280 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:52,160 as well. 281 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:56,100 So lead your own research program, lead your own collaboration, and then be part of collaborations 282 00:17:56,100 --> 00:17:57,820 as well. 283 00:17:57,820 --> 00:18:03,220 And I want to also invite you to think about who are the people you collaborate with. 284 00:18:03,220 --> 00:18:07,380 Many times clinicians are more comfortable collaborating with other clinicians, and I 285 00:18:07,380 --> 00:18:11,760 want to argue that you should think about collaborating with PhD scientists. 286 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:17,860 And so how much synergy could come from the clinician expert and the methodological expert 287 00:18:17,860 --> 00:18:19,500 coming together to answer questions? 288 00:18:19,500 --> 00:18:22,620 I mean, that would be so phenomenal. 289 00:18:22,620 --> 00:18:29,620 And so I want you to consider synergy in collaborations and thinking about other methodologists who 290 00:18:29,620 --> 00:18:34,140 could help you really, really craft an amazing, amazing research program. 291 00:18:34,140 --> 00:18:36,420 Okay, that's all I have for today. 292 00:18:36,420 --> 00:18:41,220 I want you to please share this episode with just one other physician, just one clinician 293 00:18:41,220 --> 00:18:47,740 today needs to hear about how to structure, how to think about structuring research collaborations, 294 00:18:47,740 --> 00:18:50,180 and I want to invite you to please share this episode with them. 295 00:18:50,180 --> 00:18:53,100 All right, it's been a pleasure talking with you today. 296 00:18:53,100 --> 00:19:02,980 I look forward to the next time. 297 00:19:02,980 --> 00:19:08,340 Thanks for listening to this episode of the Clinician Researcher Podcast, where academic 298 00:19:08,340 --> 00:19:13,620 clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether or not they 299 00:19:13,620 --> 00:19:15,120 have a mentor. 300 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:21,100 If you found the information in this episode to be helpful, don't keep it all to yourself. 301 00:19:21,100 --> 00:19:22,980 Someone else needs to hear it. 302 00:19:22,980 --> 00:19:27,020 So take a minute right now and share it. 303 00:19:27,020 --> 00:19:32,480 As you share this episode, you become part of our mission to help launch a new generation 304 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:45,380 of clinician researchers who make transformative discoveries that change the way we do healthcare.