Why chasing research money could hurt you

0:00 Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast, where academic clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor. As clinicians, we spend a decade or more as trainees learning to take care of patients. When we finally start our careers, we want to build research programs, but then we find that our years of clinical training did not adequately prepare us to lead our research program. Through no fault of our own, we struggle to find mentors, and when we can't, we quit. However, clinicians hold the keys to the greatest research breakthroughs.

0:40 For this reason, the Clinician Researcher podcast exists to give academic clinicians the tools to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor. Now introducing your host, Toyosi Onwuemene. Welcome to today's episode of the Clinician Researcher podcast. Thank you for tuning in today. I'm your host Toyosi Onwuemene, and it is an absolute pleasure for me to be talking with you today. All right, I'm talking about why chasing research money could be hurting you. Why chasing research money could be hurting you.

1:23 And before I start, I want to remind you that Academic Negotiation Academy is open to enrollment. I would love to be your coach to show you how to negotiate your academic career. If you are interested, please sign up on our website for the waiting list at clinicianresearcherpodcast.com. I look forward to seeing you. Okay, so today we're talking about why chasing research money could hurt you. And I hear you saying, what? What do you mean chasing money? That couldn't hurt me. I would be so honored to have so much money to fund my research program. And yes, that is correct. Money is what helps our research programs move forward. It's what helps us hire.

2:03 It's what helps us do the work. But why chasing the money could hurt you is something I'm going to talk to you about today. So when I first started in research, especially as a faculty member, one of the conversations that would come up was that, well, this is not what NIH is funding right now. This is what NIH is funding. So this is what you should be doing. And then I would say, okay, great. So I need to go out and write a proposal that NIH will fund. And then keep looking at other proposals that NIH has funded and work really hard to kind of recreate the proposal and submit that. And to be honest, I didn't do very well with many of these proposals that I submitted. And it just was so frustrating because sometimes they would change direction.

2:44 For example, COVID happened. And with COVID, all of a sudden, all the research monies were going to people doing COVID. And then everybody changed direction and was doing COVID research. And then came more money going into health disparities type work. And then all of a sudden, everyone was doing health disparities type work. At least the conversations were around, well, how do we put a health disparities focus on our research so we can get funded? And I think I realized really over time that although other people could succeed with that strategy, that was not going to be my strategy. And it really is the story for me of the tortoise and the hare. So the hare is fast and can pivot every few minutes and move in a different direction.

3:31 And as the tortoise, you're just kind of slow and you're plodding along, but you're making progress. And at the end of the day, the tortoise will always win. I mean, in the story, clearly the tortoise is the one winning. You could reshape the story and stop the hare from sleeping so that the hare can win. But at the end of the day, if you are making slow steady progress in one direction, you greatly increase the chances that you're going to get there. And so I want to talk to you about what to consider before you start chasing money. At the end of the day, you're trying to fund your research program. And to be honest, you're not really discriminatory. You're like, look, whoever will give me money, I will take.

4:12 And so you're like, let's not be naive here. I need money for my research program. So I will take the money and I will chase whatever money is available. But I do want to say please do what you need to do. I'm not here to stop you. Please succeed in whatever way rings true to you. But I do want to talk to you about what to consider before you start chasing money. And I have six things today that I'm asking you to consider before you start chasing money. And by chasing money, I mean as soon as a call for proposals comes out, you are trying to see how can you shape your research to fit the call for proposals because, hey, that's where the money is now. OK. So I want to first start by saying that you should consider that chasing research money is actually a strategy that can be wildly successful.

4:54 Oh, it can be so successful. Because if you can make a case for why you should get this new pot of money to support this new research paradigm or this new direction, you're gold. You increase the chances that you get that pot of money. And many of the times when there's like this change in direction and this new infusion into this new research area, that's a lot of money going in. There was so much money for COVID at the beginning of the pandemic. And then when there was a focus on health disparities, so much money started pouring in. And the reality is that there's enough money in there. If you can kind of twist and turn and make it work, you can be wildly successful. And as I've talked about in a prior episode, wild success is possible without true joy.

5:40 And wild success can be a pitfall. So you don't even care about COVID research. But all of a sudden, because there's money there, you just like repurpose everything you're doing, change everybody's direction, put them on this COVID project. And then when the money runs out for the COVID, you are still left wildly successful in your COVID projects. And then what do you do? COVID is not what you really wanted to do. But now you've succeeded in it. And now you actually kind of are stuck in your success. You're needing to continue to move these projects forward. And it's fine if you're saying it affects us diseases and COVID is something that you've been so interested in all this time. Not so hot if you know you couldn't really care less about COVID research, except that there was money there and you went for it.

6:24 And so consider that you could become wildly successful. And is this the thing in which you want to become successful? And is this the thing in which you want to continue to propagate success? And so if the answer is yes, yes, yes, good for you. Please go chasing that pot of money. But if you're just pivoting, and that's not really your interest, don't do it. Stay true to yourself. But consider that if you chase money, you can win. You can win big. But is that the way in which you want to win big? And are you going to want to continue that path over time? Something to consider. Okay. Number two is that chasing money as your primary strategy leaves you at the mercy of the funders.

7:12 And yes, funders have the money. And so they're very big, very powerful, very amazing and important group of people. The funders have the money. But when you start chasing research money, you are at the mercy of the funders and at their wimps. Funders kind of change their minds. Today this is an important priority for them and they may change direction a couple of years from now and say, no, this is no longer our priority. And then what do you do when your major funder changes priorities? Then you kind of have to change priorities too, because now you're like, well, I started this line of work because you were supporting me. And now you're telling me there's no more money for this?

7:52 What am I going to do? And so in a way, you're at the mercy of the funders to determine what your research program should be. But ultimately, you are the one in charge of your research. You're the one leading your research program and nobody gets to lead your program except you. And even though the funders have the money, they're not in charge of setting the direction for your research program. You are. And so when you kind of chase research money and chase funders, sometimes you lose your way because it's like, wait, what is the essence of your program? What is the problem you've come to solve? And if every few years you make a pivot and you're shifting towards some other direction because maybe there's more money in it, it's like, so who's driving your research program?

8:35 Who's the real leader here? And I think what it can do is take you away from your primary responsibility as the leader of your program. So chasing research money can leave you at the mercy of the funders. And sometimes it can call into question who's really leading your program. Number three is that chasing research money is a sad way to lead your research career. Now, if you've listened to any of my past episodes, you know that I'm always big on starting with why. Why are you doing this? What is the point of your research program? Where are you going with it? Who's going to benefit from it?

9:15 When you look back on your career 40 years from now, what are you going to say about it? What will be the things that bring you joy? And if all you can say when you look back is that I got a boatload of money, I was very wildly successful, and you cannot be clear about the body of work that you succeeded in, or how it resonated with you, how it helped you fulfill purpose. And I think I would argue that that will be so empty. And so chasing research money is kind of a sad way to lead your research career because it means kind of money as your leader rather than it serving you in support of your purpose.

9:59 And it's great to be resourced. It's great to have so much funding. It's so awesome. What primary purpose does it serve? And so as you are working towards resourcing your research program, make sure that you are actually stepping up and leading and ensuring that you really are moving forward your purpose in a way that you can be proud of 30, 40, 50 years from now. Okay, so don't chase research money. It's a sad way to lead your research career. Number four is that research money is a great servant, but it's a horrible master.

10:41 Because the moment you make an argument for a research proposal and it's funded, you're kind of committed to doing the work. And there are many schools of thought as to whether the work was already done before you submitted the research proposal, but in reality, when you get funded, you're obligated to the work that you said you're going to do. And sometimes there's a school of thought that you're like, no, once you get the money, you can do what you want with it and you can't. You really are obligated to do the work. And yes, things change and sometimes a certain direction that you thought you would go in changes and you're pivoting your research. And as long as you're open and honest about that, it's okay.

11:24 But it is important to recognize that the research money that you get really is to fund your program, is to help you get to a destination. And so allowing yourself to kind of set the direction for the research money is helpful rather than chasing the research money around. Because money is a great servant and it's not a great master. So it helps you serve purpose and helps you go and do amazing things and have amazing impact. But it's not a great master because what happens when we are prioritizing research money is that we start to go all out to make it work.

12:06 And we sometimes start to bend the rules and start to do things that might not be ethically acceptable just in the service of the money. It's like, no, getting this money is so important. And then all of a sudden you start to create an environment of pressure around yourself. And even without speaking or without even directly communicating that to people on your team, when they see that you are so big on the money and they start to focus just on the money and then they leave their ethics behind as they're kind of trying to satisfy this desire that you've expressed, whether explicitly or implicitly. And then all of a sudden you can see a lot of pressure in your program and people start to kind of bend the truth to their whim.

12:49 And that's where some kind of missteps can happen and some bad things can come out of that. And so it's important just to go back to the basics. Like, why are we here? Why does this money serve the program? We don't have to get money at all costs. We don't have to bend the truth to get money. And just making sure that you're really building a culture of integrity and building a culture of clarity and purpose and mission. You want to do that. And you don't want to ever create an environment in which it's like, well, just get the money at all costs and let's figure out the rest later. Because it's not going to be a culture that's sustainable. It's not going to be a culture that you enjoy.

13:31 And the people around you are not going to enjoy that culture either. So don't let chasing money be something you do because really you start to serve the money itself instead of serving the purpose that gives the money work to do. And you create a culture that can be toxic to good work being done and can come back and hurt you years, years down the road. All right. Number five, instead of chasing money, start with why. Start with why is something that's kind of like a theme of every podcast episode. You know, it is important to have money to fund your research program. Even if you don't get funded, your research program may not continue.

14:12 It is a reality and it's a reality that really hits home for many people. But it is important to recognize why do you do what you do and why is it important? Only remember that you're a clinician. You're not answering research questions just to answer research questions. You're asking research questions because you see a need in the patient population that you serve. You see the need. And your research program is a response to that need. And it is an important question. And sometimes what you're doing is just over time, you're refining your skill at making the need more obvious, making the need more clear to the funders around you.

14:52 And so the basis for your research program is solid. Unless you're just like, you know, oh, I just started this project. Somebody gave it to me and here I am. We are ones later, unless that's you. And if that's you, we should talk because you don't want to get to the end of your career and just feel empty and just feel like, yeah, I was wildly successful, but that didn't really feel good. Or, well, I was wildly successful and now my 18 year old doesn't talk to me. You know, you're building a life at the same time as you're building a research program. And it's got to be a meaningful life and your work has got to be meaningful. You've got to enjoy the journey.

15:34 Can I just say that again? This whole process is about enjoying the journey. No, it's not about prestige. It's not about honor. It's not about glory. It's about enjoying the journey. And when you do work that's consistent with your values, that's aligned with who you are, and every time it yields a reward, it nourishes you so deeply. And it's so good. Every time you do work and you can look back on your work and say, that is a fine contribution. There's no way to put monetary value on that. It's so good. And I want that for you.

16:14 I want that for you. I want you, instead of just chasing the money, start with why, the why of your research program. And I want to argue that when the why of your research program is so good and so deep, I want to believe that the universe conspires to help you succeed. And even when the universe does not conspire to help you succeed, you conspire to help yourself succeed. Because the reason for your why is so clear to you that you're like, even if you're not going to pay me, this work is going to move forward. And somehow you start to attract people who have the same sentiment as you, and you really start to move the work forward. So I'm going to ask you to consider starting with why instead of just chasing money.

16:56 Okay? And then number six is to use your why to create opportunities for money to come to you. When you're so sure, when you're so clear on why you're doing what you're doing and the importance of it, then you can really start to make a case that other people can start to see the why alongside you. And that kind of is the whole big thing about grantsmanship. You get to a place where you can actually communicate clearly what's in your head so that at the time the reviewer reads it where you're not there, they clearly understand where you're going, what you want to do, why it's significant, because you explain it to them so well. And so the reality is, if you would be so clear about why you're doing what you're doing, why it's so important, then you can actually start to work hard to use that why to create opportunities for funding to come to your program.

17:48 And so then you're not really letting the money lead you, you're letting your program lead and you're using your program to create opportunities for funding. I remember Judah Folkman gave a talk at a meeting that I was at a couple of years ago, and I think Judah Folkman died a few years ago, but he talked about how when he was doing work on angiogenesis, nobody was doing that work. Nobody was funding that work. And over the course of time, all of a sudden, change in direction, there was so much more money going into that field, all of a sudden everybody came in and was doing work in angiogenesis.

18:29 Angiogenesis is just such a big thing by itself. But someone was the lone voice in the wilderness saying, hey, angiogenesis is a big deal. And for the longest time, they were on their own doing that work. But over time, it really paid off. And his story is not the only story of that. It's like when you know and you believe in the truth and the value of what you're doing, abandoning it doesn't get you closer to realizing your dream, but continuing to stay focused and putting in the time and the effort, creating opportunities where opportunities don't exist, allow you to do the impossible. And I invite you to that.

19:10 I invite you to think about why your program is so important, that even if you look around and there doesn't seem to be anybody funding it, think about why does it make sense to stay with it? Yes, you do want to be creative in funding the program, but you don't want to change direction just so that you can get funded. You want to make sure that you stay focused and you bend opportunities to your will, not that you're bending to the will of opportunities. So I want to invite you, if you are someone who knows someone else who would benefit from kind of the information we've talked about and thinking about why you should lead your research program and not let the pursuit of money lead for you, please share this episode with someone else.

19:56 Help somebody else discover it or leave us a review that somebody else can discover and learn so much. Imagine how amazing it would be if we just were very clear about the whys of our research program and we stuck through hard times to get to the other side of research success in a place that we actually want to be successful. I think that would be so awesome and I invite you to that space. All right, I want to thank you for listening to us today. It has been a pleasure talking with you today and I look forward to the next time.

20:36 Thanks for listening to this episode of the Clinician Researcher Podcast, where academic clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor. If you found the information in this episode to be helpful, don't keep it all to yourself. Someone else needs to hear it. So take a minute right now and share it. As you share this episode, you become part of our mission to help launch a new generation of clinician researchers who make transformative discoveries that change the way we do healthcare.