62 | Dianne Newman and the visceral and intentional sides of science

Dianne Newman – a molecular microbiologist at CalTech – is a professor both in Biology and Geology. In this episode, she encourages young scientists to pursue questions to which they have a visceral connection, rather than following popular trends. In its search for fundamental truths guided by our inner biases and preferences, Dianne likens scientific curiosity to artistic expression. She emphasizes our control over how much we dwell on the difficult aspects of our research, helping us to find satisfaction in creatively working around whatever obstacles we meet. Dianne also reflects on the unpredictable nature of research, and stresses how a problem that somebody else gives you can very rapidly become yours if you take it upon yourself to become its creative driver.

This episode was supported by Research Theory (researchtheory.org). For more information about Night Science, visit https://www.biomedcentral.com/collections/night-science .

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 2:01 Emotion drives the creative process
• 5:24 Find the question that captivates you
• 9:51 New questions can emerge from old literature
• 16:05 The tension between fundamental and applied research
• 19:39 Thanking our sponsor - Research Theory
• 20:07 Optimism as a means of creative control
• 26:08 Empathy being crucial to mentoring
• 29:33 Finding comfort in the discomfort of the unknown
• 31:50 Advice to students
• 38:32 Final thoughts