Many Twists and Turns: Successfully Navigating an Academic Career as an Early-Stage Investigator

Jaimi “Mimi” L. Allen, PhD, CHES; Michelle Martin, PhD, FSBM, FACSM - Cancer SIG

In this Outlook article, I had the great pleasure of interviewing Dr. Jaimi Allen about her experiences as an Early-Stage Investigator.  I hope you will enjoy her insightful comments.

Dr. Martin: Please tell me a little bit about yourself, for example, your background, and area of research. 

Dr. Allen: My name is Mimi Allen, and I grew up in a small, rural town. I experienced firsthand the way the community would come together for one another, but I also witnessed the economic and health impact of living away from the resources available in “town.” This experience motivated me to pursue a health career helping those with an additional layer of disadvantage.

I’m now an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, but my path here was filled with twists and turns. To keep it brief, the past 20 years have included higher education learning, teaching, enlisting in the U.S. Navy, and working as a health coach and health education specialist. These experiences are what brought me into research focusing on social determinants of health and cancer survivorship.

Dr. Martin: Academic careers can be very rewarding, as we can define our own programs of research.  That said, one can easily get involved in many different projects and become spread a little bit too thin.  How do you make decisions about which opportunities you pursue versus those that you leave behind or delay?

Dr. Allen: This was something I certainly struggled with. Just like a lot of us, I wanted to save the world. I still do, but I’ve learned to be a little more strategic with it. When I first started my postdoctoral journey, I was asked about my short and long-term goals. Granted, there was a lot I didn’t know at the time, so my goal sheet looks much different now, but I revise it at least yearly. When I’m presented with a new opportunity, I look at my goals and ask myself two questions: (1) does this project or opportunity align with my goals, and (2) do I have the bandwidth to take it on?

Dr. Martin: As an early-stage investigator, you are often trying to develop excellence in multiple areas such as research, service, and/or teaching. How do you manage those multiple missions and make progress in the areas that you need to?

Dr. Allen: This is not always easy for me. Service comes naturally to me, so I am naturally drawn to events and opportunities that involve service to the community or institution. However, to truly make a difference (remember, we’re saving the world), then research and teaching are just as important. When it comes down to it, I consider my percent effort in each area when scheduling my week/month.

Dr. Martin: You were recently awarded a NIH career development award, congratulations! Often, as scientists begin their careers, they are uncertain about the type of grant and funding mechanism to pursue. What factors lead you to decide that K award was the best path forward for you?

Dr. Allen: Thank you! I was lucky. I had a great mentor who encouraged me to pursue a career development award from the moment I started my postdoc position. I honestly didn’t know much about career development awards before then, so I did all the searching I could to determine if that is what I thought would be best for my career. After my proposal was scored but not funded for my first K01 submission, a couple senior colleagues asked why I didn’t flip it to an R01. Before deciding, I decided to talk with some colleagues who had pursued both paths. I found those who were funded with a K had more protected time to learn and develop their skill set as junior faculty. This was very important to me since my background has not always been in research. I did a career shift from health coaching and education to research when I began my postdoc journey. Therefore, I moved forward with my K01 proposal and resubmitted when I felt ready.

Dr. Martin: What advice would provide to other early career scientists, to help them be successful?

Dr. Allen: I have two pieces of advice: (1) find the best mentors possible. This will likely require getting out of your comfort zone and may even require going outside of your institution. Spend some time on this crucial step because good mentors will be the difference in your success. I searched online and networked at conferences and events to find the best three mentors for me and my area of research. Their guidance and support helped me and the proposal substantially. I could go into much more detail on how much they helped, but I am trying to be brief. And (2) don’t give up. If you are interested in a career development award (or another funding mechanism), find ways to keep improving and keep moving forward. Learn from your mistakes, try not to take reviewer comments personally, and keep submitting with the guidance of your mentors. There may be times when you need to take a pause, but don’t give up.

Thank you so much Mimi for sharing your journey with SBM!