Yes, And...

Most of you know I work in the field of science - Molecular Biology and Cancer Research, as of the current moment.

I fell in love with science and research my sophomore year of college at Shenandoah University.  I originally started my undergraduate career as a  Pre-Pharmacy/ Chemistry major, but when I took my first Microbiology class I felt my calling.  It hasn't always been easy to be in this career field, as most scientists don't get paid much, but you do it for the love of research.  I worked in a histo-pathology laboratory upon graduating from college, and then transitioned to an infectious disease research lab in Maryland a couple years later.  And now, I have once again transitioned into Cancer Research at the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute.  It's been an incredible journey filled with interesting studies and unknowns.

I've worked both in industry and in academia.  Working in academia has been an eye opening experience for me.  I was so excited when I first started, but then my morale was slowly degraded by people who felt the need to belittle me because I didn't have a PhD behind my name.  I started to loathe my job and went into a downward spiraling depression to the point where I just didn't care.  My work started to suffer.  My boss noticed, but didn't know how to approach the subject with me.  Nobody told me this is how it would be.  (I obviously knew encountering adversity in the workplace was inevitable, but the way I felt was beyond unbelievable, in my opinion)

In my time here at the university, I've seen quite a few PhD students fall out of love for similar reasons... they get stumped and frustrated without much support to help them through those times.  Or they get cut down so low by the scientists with over-inflated egos who want nothing more than to prove that they're right... about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING!

I can't say that I hated it completely because there are some pretty amazing colleagues that I work with, most in other labs, who make it all worth it.  They gave me hope.  They helped me remember the reason why I fell in love with research in the first place.

I then heard this amazing TED talk by Professor Uri Alon, a physicist who also studied theater.  By studying theater, he was able to find ways around those blockages and depressions he came across as a science student.  He uses the idea of "Yes, And..." - a concept he learned in theater, as a way to allow the flow of ideas to continue in a scene.  Then why not science?

If we are able to talk about the subjective and emotional sides of science, it would be for the benefit of all... we'd be able to be more creative in solving problems, as well as changing the culture of science and making it better; more collaborative.

But we can also take his lesson and apply it to our own individual lives - not just science.

So... Yes, And...