Levin shared lessons that he learned while in academic medicine. The author is from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark.
Lessons:
(1) diligence is the mother of good luck (and luck helps if you are receptive to its offers)
(2) clinical medicine is fun but research is more fun
(3) you can be a good scientist even if you are only a "lowly" MD
(4) go where your data lead you
(5) even PhDs can teach you something
(6) your students, postdocs and scientific colleagues are the lifeblood of your career
(7) even a veterinarian can teach you something
(8) your research focus is likely to change many times during your career
(9) your lab associates, students and postdocs are your family
(10) science and romance can mix
Free advice:
(1) be science driven and not technique driven (the science is the goal, not the method)
(2) it is much more fun when your hypothesis is wrong
(3) if it is not fun, then you probably should be doing something else.
