“Our challenges do not define us, our actions do.” – Michael J. Fox
Persistence is key to pursuing research. My mentors continue to teach me the importance of perseverance in research and have provided strong models of perseverance in their own research journeys. Yet there is no denying the challenge of facing rejection. I am continually humbled by the research process. To me, a career in research requires a lifelong commitment to self-reflection, continual growth, and perhaps most importantly, perseverance.
I am grateful and proud to be a recent recipient of the ASHFoundation New Century Scholars Research Grant. My proposal was funded on the third try. For anyone like me who may be considering re-applying for a research grant mechanism this year, here are some key insights and strategies that have helped me:
Hit Rates of the Pros: In academia, all we see publicly announced are the successful outcomes. It is important to remember what we do not see are the hit rates, or the total attempts. It would be so illuminating (and reassuring) to see the proportion of successful outcomes out of the total attempts. I am no baseball expert, but my husband is a huge Dodgers fan and has encouraged me to look to baseball pros for remarkable examples of persistence. Consider Shohei Ohtani: his career batting average is .282. This means, on average, he gets a base hit in roughly 1 of every 4 tries. Many consider Shohei Ohtani the greatest baseball player of this generation, possibly of all time. Even his historic career home run percentage is just 7.5%! I find a lot of hope and inspiration in watching baseball these days (thanks to my husband!) for the important reminder that it takes a lot of tries, even for the pros, to get a hit.
Focus on the Science: For moments of doubt or uncertainty regarding the likelihood of receiving funding, my remarkable mentor, Dr. Tiffany Hogan, offered me sage advice: focus on the science. Shifting my focus away from concerns about the funding outcome and instead focusing on the science has helped reinvigorate my excitement for the work, deepen my scientific thinking, and sparked my innovation and creativity. For anyone who may benefit from this reframe as I have, I encourage you to come back to the science for science’s sake, not just for the sake of funding.
Pick Yourself Up: Years ago now, I came across this image of an orange peel picking themselves up and walking on (this image has circulated online for many years with no identifiable original source. It is shared here as a symbol of resilience and persistence). This image never ceases to inspire me! To me, this is the embodiment of perseverance. I keep this image saved on my desktop as a reminder that sometimes we just have to pick ourselves up and keep going.
In current times of uncertainty, I am especially thankful to the ASHFoundation for its strength and stability in providing funding opportunities that enable researchers to launch new research projects. We, as a research community, are extremely fortunate that the ASHFoundation is a stable funding source at this time. For anyone who may be debating whether to re-apply to the ASHFoundation, I absolutely encourage you to carefully consider the detailed reviewer feedback provided (thank you, ASHFoundation!) and try again!
Jennifer Zuk, PhD, CCC-SLP is an Assistant Professor of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at Boston University. She is a recent recipient of the ASHFoundation New Century Scholars Research Grant. She also received support from the ASHFoundation during her doctoral training through the New Century Scholars Doctoral Scholarship. Her research program examines factors in early childhood that shape children’s language and reading development, with the aim to facilitate positive outcomes for children susceptible to communication disorders.