Graduates of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry say choosing a mentor, recognizing transferable skills and accounting for family needs can shape a doctoral career as much as a research topic does.
The alumni shared five lessons through the university's The Next Step podcast, which UR Medicine summarized. The advice reflects their personal experiences, not a new study of graduate-school outcomes.
John Lueck, now an associate professor of pharmacology and physiology, said prospective postdoctoral researchers should ask how often a laboratory offers feedback, whether trainees attend conferences and where previous trainees went next. A well-known investigator, he said, is not automatically the right mentor for every student.
Shoshana Katzman, who chairs medical sciences at Agnes Scott College, said trying different roles helped her identify work that combined teaching, advising and leadership. Michael Chen, whose career moved from public health research into technology and artificial intelligence, said graduate training in analysis, writing and explaining complex ideas can apply beyond academic research.
Child neurologist Bo Hoon Lee said a mentoring relationship grew when she showed sustained interest in pediatric neuromuscular disorders and reliably followed through on opportunities. Researcher Makaia Papasergi-Scott said family considerations mattered when her doctoral adviser moved a lab out of Rochester; she stayed and found support in another laboratory.
The graduates' examples point to practical questions for students to ask about training environments and to the value of support networks when plans change.
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