Current opening

Yes, the laboratory currently has an open position for a Postdoctoral Fellow. Applicants must have a strong interest in some aspects of thermoregulation: roles of prostanoids in fever and hypothermia; neural pathways of thermoregulatory behaviors; or thermoTRP channels in thermoregulation. The area of methodological specialization is open. Applicants must have a track record of peer-reviewed publications. The ideal starting date is now (the beginning of 2010). If interested, contact the laboratory director.

To prospective postdocs

In my postdocs, I am looking essentially for two qualities. The first one can be described as exceptional dedication, resilience, and the ability to work hard. I am looking for someone who would cherish the opportunity to conduct research and be eager to work long hours, not someone who would be watching the clock. Workaholics are lucky people – they love what they are doing and prefer their work to many other activities. The time will come when your health, family duties, disillusionment, or other factors will prevent you from working day and night. But if this time comes when you are 28, you are probably in the wrong field. I have a Japanese print at home that includes a poem. It says: “The difficult takes time, the impossible takes a little longer.” Go for the impossible!

The second quality is even harder to find. The late Lloyd Partridge told me that progress in science comes only when we change our models. Have you always been testing in your mind the models you have been taught? Have you been making some of your teachers uncomfortable by questioning the wisdom they have been feeding you? Great! I really value this ability to critically evaluate what you have learned. I call this independent thinking. This means you have a logical aptitude to distinguish between a model that provides an insight and one that provides only an illusion of understanding. Remember: no changes to the model you are currently using – no progress.

Over the years, I have seen a few books on how to become a scientist. Hans Selye, the author of the stress theory, wrote a good one: “From Dream to Discovery: On Being a Scientist.” I read it in Russian first, and then in English, and it left a deep impression on me. Other books on how to become a scientist, the majority, were not so useful. They explained typical career steps, emphasized the importance of networking, and in general were in line with contemporary corporate propaganda. Instead of reading the latter type of books, you may want to read Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead” or Frank Lloyd Wright’s “An Autobiography” – either contains a few lessons for a person who intends to dedicate his or her life to doing something creative and original!

The motto of Frank Lloyd Wright was: "Truth against the world." Sometimes, he paraphrased it as "Truth is life." But if reading 700+ pages of his autobiography is not on the top of your priorities list, here is a more practical suggestion: read a half-a-page-long piece by Paul Smaglik, Naturejobs editor, entitled "In search of the truth."

What to expect from working in my lab is illustrated by the painting “Volga Boatmen” by Ilya Repin, a great master of Russian realism. This painting shows how postdocs headed by the PI (in the red lab coat, on the stern of the laboratory) are enjoying their playful adventure and having fun, while each postdoc is exercising the freedom of selecting his own, individual research path. The image of the painting can be viewed on Wikimedia.

On a more serious note, I have seen too many young (and not so young) enthusiasts who were grossly disappointed to discover that research is 99% hard work, and that an increase in research quality comes at the price of much greater increases both in the effort and time spent. Of course, fun, intellectual enjoyment, and creativity play indispensable roles in research. In fact, the life of a career scientist who does not see poetry in science, who cannot grasp the beauty of the “big picture,” and who is blind to intellectual elegance and deaf to “Eureka!” screams is just pity married to misery. But all these wonderful and truly indispensable things comprise a surprisingly small portion of the everyday life of the laboratory. Without having them, you should not go into research. But without being able to set them aside in a small corner of your life, while filling the rest of it with hard work, you may not achieve much.

If you are still interested, please feel free to contact me – I will be happy to answer any questions you might have. You might also consider visiting FeverLab for a brief tour – or even better – working with us for a few months. Sometimes such short-term project arrangements can be made.