What Makes the Dream Work

           Work is work. With few exceptions, we as humans wake up to an alarm clock and go about a morning routine. The day’s attire, a coffee and breakfast, perhaps the daily news, all the while keeping an eye on the time so as not to be late for work. Today, that extra whack of the snooze button has us behind, and our dentist wouldn’t be too proud of our brushing time. The cocktail of caffeine and stress-driven cortisol presses our foot a little harder on the gas pedal, and we just barely make it to the morning meeting. The hours go by—maybe accompanied by a second coffee—and the day ends. Just as we wind up, we take the moments after 5:00 to declutter our thoughts of the day. Whether we are returning to a family, a dinner with friends, or a captivating Netflix series, we continue on knowing the cycle will repeat itself tomorrow. But the time in between—the time that consumes the majority of our conscious lives, the time of work—creates the foundation for our success in life. That success can only be found through two things: what you are doing, and who you are doing it with.

            Although the alarm clock buzz for a day researching cancer seems captivating enough for self-fulfillment, it isn’t so simple. Sure, there are gratifying moments when discussing our work with those whom it impacts most: the inspiration is mutual, and it motivates us each to continue the fight. Moments of Eureka, though, are few and far between. The complexity of the disease alone forces a researcher to develop a short-sighted view restricted to the day’s experiments. Pile on top the work of grant writing, equipment maintenance, and notebook keeping; we’re back to, well, working. Alone, it’s only too easy to fall into this trap. Failure to appreciate the beauty and nobility of performing this research is in itself a widespread disease, one which can only be cured by a work team dedicated to success.

            We in the Roychowdhury Lab have unearthed the treasure map to such success. Both as individual researchers and as a cancer medicine lab, the self-satisfaction of knowing we did our best does not come without working together. The combination of bioinformaticians, clinicians, bench researchers, and undergraduate students within the lab has each person practically speaking a different language given the unique and diverse backgrounds present. Through patience and team-building exercises reminiscent of early teenage summer camps, however, our team has come to decipher the language each member speaks and allow us to effectively communicate and work together. In fact, it is through working together that we established the Ten Principles for a Successful Team listed below. We use these traits as guidelines not just for an efficient work environment but for the purpose we wake up for each day. Rather than just making it on time to a meeting, we are combining our unique skill sets to develop new diagnostic tests to improve treatments, understand how cancers outsmart therapies, and search for novel therapeutic strategies for treating cancer. Rather than simply cleaning beakers alone, we are helping one another knock off chores to leave more time for researching cancer. Rather than being individual, drone-like researcher, we are a team. Each day we experience the success of one day curing cancer.

The Roychowdhury Ten Principles for a Successful Team

·      Selflessness

·      Positive Attitude

·      Commitment

·      Specialization

·      Accountability and Trust

·      Communication

·      Organization and Alignment

·      Respect (attitude with gratitude)

·      Patience

·      Recognition and Appreciation