Leading Research

 

When I switched my career arc from hospitality to research within the university, I didn’t know if I wanted it to become permanent.  I knew that the hospitality industry seemed to no longer hold the draw over me that it once did and that a change and reset for me was necessary.  I wanted to start pursuing something else in earnest, but I most likely thought the transition would be associated with the media in some way.
 
However, to start, I chose to take a position with “normal” hours that opened early-ish in the morning and rarely went later than 5PM. Some friends and family had referred me to a position within Penn State to assist with the execution of various nutritional studies in their Metabolic Diet Center.  I would assist in ensuring that the participants were coming in and filling out their paperwork and eating their study foods, as well as preparing the study foods themselves.  I also would be counted on to assist others in their training and to showcase what the lab was about to others. In all, the work wasn’t particularly challenging, but my reliability, maturity, and "team first" attitude made me feel like an asset for the team.

While I was there, I was starting to pick up a routine of writing on the side pretty regularly for this very blog, mostly focused around sports articles.  Then, as things seemed to be going swimmingly, Covid-19 hit and disrupted most everything about our lives.

As the virus took over, my job effectively ended in the way that it was.  I would become eligible for the unemployment benefits that were needed and afforded to many who could not do the things they used to do.  In this period, hope sprang that I might help affect the world with my personal stories and musings, yet I must confess as time moved forward and no opportunity felt like it had arisen made feel a bit depressed.  It also felt like a legitimate trauma to not see many friends and loved ones for such long stretches.

Then, somewhat out of the blue, I was contacted about the possibility of scoring the brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of various patients.  This struck me as somewhat complicated and said I was up for anything but confessed I knew little to nothing about the particulars of the subject.   I worked with Kristin Davis, a graduate student working on her doctorate, and she couldn’t have been more kind in working with me.

I worked in a room alone with the computer, scoring FMD scan after FMD scan until the project would become complete after a few months.  By this time, I had started to build a rapport with the nurses and staff that surrounded me.  Once again, I was asked if I would like to take on some other responsibilities, in this case assisting with a couple of Covid-19 studies.  The Penn State wide ranging data collection effort Data 4 Action and an acute study looking at how using a nasal and oral wash effects Covid-19. 

Now I was becoming counted on for more and more in different research capacities.  A kind of Swiss Army Knife available for any tasks Penn State might need me for, as help was in short supply as Covid-19 remained disruptive.

Gradually, it became more and more of a point of pride that I was assisting the recovery effort and was in some ways on the front line in terms of research.  While I was (and am) still writing on the side, another part of me was looking into the possibility of becoming a permanent research assistant, or research technologist.

Research and studies are the bread and butter of an institution of higher learning.  To now be a depended-upon cog in the wheels of science made me feel as though I could perform any task.  The variance of tasks such as leading one-on-one zoom instructions, cooking and preparing specifically measured meals, or taking artery measurements on a computer, feels like a bit of a reward each time.

Not A Doctor

One of the things, that I thought I would miss in the role of being a research assistant was providing leadership.  Having worked in a team and social environment for the previous 15 years, I knew that I enjoyed being looked to for advice and guidance, and I might lose access to those moments as I work in a more subservient role.

However, even as an assistant, I find I can find ways to lead.  I can lead by example and attitude.  I can lead by holding others and myself to account.  I can lead by reflecting others best qualities back to themselves.   If the lead investigator calls a meeting about procedure, I can show leadership by speaking up and sharing my experience or share new ideas.  I can empathize and listen to others.  I can come to work with the attitude that reflects the positive feelings I have towards my coworkers.

I don’t know what the future is holding for me right now.  I still feel like my ultimate future rests in telling stories.  But perhaps now I have found what some of those stories might be about.  I’ll have to do some research on it.