What is biomedical research?

For the past 5 years I have been working at UCSF as a graduate student in biomedical research. What that means is that I work in a lab where I grow cells in an incubator, treat them with potential drugs or genetically manipulate them, and observe how biological behaviors change in very specific contexts. In the lab, I have focused on two major projects: one working on HIV-1 gene regulation and the other investigating human gene regulation. Therefore, I consider myself a virologist and cell biologist. I also consider myself a scientist and academic.

One of the most fulfilling aspects of this work is that I am always learning. I have learned a great deal about human biology and the pathogens that infect us. Working at an institution like UCSF has opened my eyes to some incredibly promising therapies that can greatly benefit humanity. It is truly inspiring to be among people who are motivated to change the world for the better, to improve the lives of those who suffer from disease and hardship. 

Unfortunately, many of my peers are unhappy. I honestly cannot blame them! The scientific process is incredibly unforgiving. You toil away for years working well over full time, paid barely enough to survive, to possibly learn something useful about the world. While it is difficult, many of us accept that only a handful of researchers will actually end up with hypotheses that are truly paradigm shifting. However, even more problematic is that "good science" is currently measured more by the flashy science journals in which you publish, than the quality of your work. This is forcing young scientists like myself to work on topics that will publish in specific journals instead of working on biomedical problems that may be relevant to our communities. This is also forcing experienced scientists to hold onto massive amounts of scientific data that their trainees produce until they have a story worth publishing in a 'top journal,' further slowing the already slow research process and preventing their trainees from publishing some of their hard work. Unfortunately, even when published the vast majority of research is still published in For-Profit 'top-tier' scientific journals that are managed by folks more interested in revenue than they are about the health and well-being of humanity.

Fortunately, the young scientific community is a motivated bunch of decent folks. Perhaps we can come up with a system that accelerates science, allows scientific discovery to be driven by curiosity in our natural environment but also by important public health issues. One that focuses on real biological questions than the money that drives scientific research.

So that's all the time I have for the moment. I will talk about this more.