How has your work evolved over the course of the last year? “Science can sometimes be somewhat slow going in terms of generating new data and new ideas and moving things forward. But, I would say that looking back over the last year, a lot of things have really taken shape with my own research program and for those working in my lab. There’s been really nice progress on every trainee’s project and it’s contributed to a couple of different research publications. I was also successful in getting three new grants to support my research. It was an excellent year – one of those rare times where in one year you get that much success with grant funding and publications. It’s been a combination of a few years of work to get preliminary data and putting that data together to get publications into scientific journals to ultimately be successful with those grants. But what’s most exciting with getting grant funding means I foresee a lot of evolution in my research over the next few years.”
Generally, what does your day to day look like? “Overall, this involves the perspective of short- and long-term goals for my own research program. The highest priority are my own trainees, my own research, getting publications, and getting grants. Long-term thinking involves recognizing that we've experiments to do for a publication that may be a year from now, so I can submit a grant following that. You have to recognize that the things you're doing on a day-to-day basis will contribute to things that are going to be required in three months, six months, or a year down the road. This is balanced with other little things that just crop up on a daily
Dr. Trevor Shepherd Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology (Cross Appointment with Anatomy and Cell Biology)
More about his research http://bit.ly/ShepherdLab Contact Info tshephe6@uwo.ca (519) 685-8500 Ext. 56347
basis. For example, editing an abstract for one of my trainees or taking a look at a grant for a colleague. It’s about that balance of things that are going to be dropped on your plate for the shortterm, as well as the ongoing day-to-day responsibilities that contribute to the long-term.”
“what’s exciting is getting grant funding means I foresee a lot of evolution over the next few years” 7
