Staff Scientist: Tom Paulson

Tom Paulson, Ph.D. is a Staff Scientist in the Human Biology Division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA.

How did you choose your career? Was this an easy or hard process for you? If you struggled, how did you overcome these struggles?

I'll answer this question two ways: the first is how did I choose biology and the second is how did I end up doing interdisciplinary/translational research. As for the biology, I have never been the type of person who always knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I always liked science. I always had been interested in how things work and had I grown up in a larger town where I was exposed to other types of science, like the various forms of engineering, I may have chosen some other kind of science to study. When I was an undergraduate, it never even entered my mind that I wouldn't study some kind of science, and biology really piqued my interest at that point. I'm sure I was influenced by my parents' careers (math teaching and nursing) and by the fact that my older brother studied biology as well. After I graduated, I was offered a teaching position at a local high school to teach biology and chemistry, which I seriously considered. However, when I realized that I could continue going to school, get my degree, and they would pay me do it, moving on to graduate school was not a difficult choice to make, even though at that point I did not know what I wanted to study. As for moving into translational research, this was more of a conscious choice. During my graduate career, during which I was doing basic research on genetic instability, I had the chance to be part of a collaboration with oncologists looking at genetic instability in breast cancer. Even though it was a small part of my graduate work, the concept of applying basic research findings to understand what is happening in patients was very appealing. When I chose where to do my postdoctoral work, I went to the place that would allow me to do this. The words interdisciplinary and translational were just starting to be applied to this type of research, so finding a position that would allow me to do the kind of science I wanted wasn't easy at the time.

What kind of training, both formal and informal, did you receive to prepare you for your career? If applicable, how did you select where to attend graduate school? How did you choose your postdoc? How about any additional training? How did you choose what additonal training to pursue and how did you choose where to do it?

At the undergraduate level, I was a general biology major, which gave me a good grounding in a wide variety of subjects. I am glad I did this instead of majoring in molecular biology, which would have narrowed my focus very early on. I also worked in a biology lab as part of a work-study program, which allowed me a lot of hands-on experience in the lab and eventually do an independent study project. I was also lucky that at the time, Northwestern had an outstanding group of biology instructors who really made the subject come alive.

I selected graduate school based primarily on the recommendation of the PI whose lab I worked in as an undergraduate. I got into both UCSD and Cornell and was having a difficult time choosing which place to go, since both were fairly equivalent academically. I eventually chose UCSD on the basis that I had never been out of the Midwest and thought it would be good to go someplace that would expand my horizons. I'll never know for sure, but I think I made the right choice.

I chose my postdoc based upon multiple reasons. As stated in the answer to the first question, translational work appealed to me and the lab I eventually chose was one of the few places in the country that was doing good translational work. Location was another consideration. I had an offer to a high-profile lab in Boston that on the surface would have been the obvious choice career-wise. However, my wife and I really preferred Seattle to Boston, so combined with the project, I decided to come to Seattle. Being someplace that you are happy to live in can be a big boost when your job is demanding.

I didn't receive any additional training prior to my postdoc, other than doing some short postdoctoral work in my thesis lab. After starting my postdoc, I have done a lot of work on new subjects, some of it course-based and other things more learned on the job. What new things I learned were a combination of my advisor suggesting some of them and myself realizing I needed to be more familiar with certain techniques or disciplines.

How competitive and/or rigorous was the training for your career?

I would say it was quite rigorous. Although I was a general biology major as an undergrad, I also managed to take all the upper level molecular biology classes that were available, which was a bit of a stretch at the time. The lab I did my graduate work in was run by a fairly high-power PI who was demanding of his students — not in a bad way, but he instilled the ethic that good science requires rigorous thinking, well-planned experiments and good technique — and didn't hesitate to say if the results were not up to his standards. However, he was also understanding and took his duties of training the next generations of scientists very seriously. I would say that most of the scientific rigor I have was learned during my graduate career. My postdoctoral work has been no less rigorous, but since I am working with human samples, the rigor is different. Experiments can't be controlled like a basic science experiment and therefore the planning has to be different in order to obtain good results. As well, working much closer to patients gives you a much greater appreciation of what is at stake in an experiment.

In general, how much did the training cost? Was the investment worth it?

This is difficult to determine. My graduate course work was all paid for, as well as receiving a stipend to live on, so there weren't really a lot of out of pocket costs. If I had taken the teaching job, I'm sure my salary at this point would be higher than it is now, in addition to having had made more money in the interim. However, I never went into science for the money in the first place, so I think it has been worth it.

How long did it take you to train? Was it shorter or longer than anticipated? If you had any setbacks, how did you deal with them?

I was in graduate school forever. Okay, only eight years, but it seemed like forever. It did take longer than anticipated (I had thought six years at the maximum). The main reason for this was my initial thesis project essentially went nowhere, but it took almost four years to do so. I switched to another project and was able to finish that for my thesis. At the time, I was certainly frustrated, since the setbacks weren't due to errors on my part, but due to trying to establish a new technology that just didn't work. The setbacks were educational, since I had to troubleshoot, change my approach and keep working. I also became proficient at many more techniques that I would have if I had a "simple" thesis project. As clichéd as it sounds, it taught me perserverance.

What was the process like to apply for your first job after your training was over? Was it easy or difficult? How did you cope with any difficulties? Did that differ from subsequent jobs you've had?

Since I simply segued into a staff scientist position, I don't have a lot to offer about job applications.

What advice would you give to someone interested in following a similar career path?

I would say to get as much cross training in the relevant disciplines as possible. For example, take a couple of years and get an M.Ph. in public health, since that will open up a lot of doors for you in the future.

How much do you like what you do? Why? Is it what you imagined it would be? If not, how have you adapted?

I love the science that I am doing. It is interesting and I think that we are helping patients while we learn more about cancer. I hate the funding aspects of science and if anything drives me from this career it will be the stresses associated with finding funding again and again and again. I have adapted to this by taking on other projects that have more stable funding, but these don't hold the same attraction as the other projects do. However, I need to do this to have some stability.

How do you achieve career-life balance? Is this easy or hard to do? How many hours do you typically work per week?

My wife and I made the decision early on that work is not the most important thing in our lives, and we work hard to make time for our family. I would say that for the most part we succeed. I think the only way we are able to juggle career and kids is that we are both in science and we have been lucky that our bosses understand and allow us to have flexible schedules to accommodate the demands. Of course, that means we still have to get the work done even if sometimes it is late at night or on weekends, although we try to keep those as open as possible. At this point, I work fifty–sixty hours per week.

What strategies have you figured out over time to help you succeed?

Organization is critical so that the time you are working is used efficiently.

How do you see your field changing in the next 5–10 years?

The funding question is the biggest thing — the next five years are going to be difficult. I think there is going to be more emphasis on coming up with biomarkers that can help patients now, as opposed to simply adding to our knowledge base.

Anything else you would like to share?

Graduate school is where you first learn to be a scientist — therefore you want to pick the place (location and PI) that are going to give you the best training in science. The exact type of science you do isn't as important as learning how to do it properly.

For your postdoc, what you are working on becomes more important, since you will likely continue working along the same lines at least for the near future. However, don't think your training is done at this point — there is no better time to fill in the holes in your skills than at the end of your graduate career and the beginning of your postdoc. Take all those classes you wanted to take but didn't have time while writing your thesis.

When you are looking for a place for graduate work or for a postdoc, ask yourself if you think you will be happy there, not just survive. Science is hard enough without having to worry about a toxic working environment or being in some part of the country that drives you crazy.