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Ian Krout ’22M (PhD) on Honing Your Skills Beyond Research

Monday, February 26, 2024

Listen on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube Music.
 

Ian Krout, a 2022 graduate of our Toxicology Ph.D. program, currently serves as a postdoctoral fellow at Emory University School of Medicine and an assistant professor at Kennesaw State University.

In this episode, he discusses his current role as a bench scientist, primarily focusing on sequencing and data analysis, contributing to research investigating how pesticide exposure may interact with the gut microbiome to influence the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.

Reflecting on his academic career, Krout explains how he discovered the Toxicology program at the University of Rochester and why he chose it for his graduate training, highlighting the program's focus on collaboration, interdisciplinary work, and professional development. He also shares his experience in finding the right postdoctoral opportunity, emphasizing the importance of setting goals, seeking feedback from committee members, and exploring research that aligns with one's interests.

Krout offers advice to graduate students, encouraging them to maximize their educational experiences by leveraging available resources and embracing opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Key Takeaways

Intentionality in Career Planning: Take a deliberate approach to identifying and applying for postdoctoral opportunities. Setting clear goals and aligning them with your career aspirations helps you prioritize programs that offer meaningful advancement opportunities.

Utilizing Resources: Use the resources available at academic institutions; from career talks and workshops to faculty committees, you can gain valuable insights and personalized feedback on potential career paths.

Networking and Collaboration: Engage with your peers and faculty members in the academic community. Prioritize a collaborative environment and foster connections and partnerships with those around you. Be proactive in your engagement and take the initiative to maximize your learning and networking opportunities.

Reflective Practice: Introspection is crucial for your academic development and personal growth. Seize opportunities to develop and hone your skills beyond research so you can adapt to new roles and responsibilities, becoming a more well-rounded scientist.

Living in the Moment: Remember to appreciate the present while focusing on future goals. Enjoy your academic journey by finding a work-life balance that allows you to approach your studies enjoyably and sustainably. Value your holistic development as both a person and a scientist.

Key Quotes

  1. 06:56: "...the Toxicology program...being really unique and opposed to the other programs that I looked at and the fact that they focused on collaboration and interdisciplinary work as opposed to competition and sort of trapping yourself in one discipline, which I found with a lot of the other graduate schools I looked at. And so with that focus on collaboration, it made the program really welcoming and it made it so that interdisciplinary work could occur between labs, between graduate students even.
     
  2. 08:38: " I made it a point to try to take advantage of any career professional development opportunities that came my way. And a lot of that happened through myHub with Eric Vaughn and Elaine Smolock at the Writing Center. I participated in a number of career talks and professional development workshops that really allowed me to see the breadth of opportunities that were available for PhDs and hone in my own career aspirations. So utilizing all of these things made me just a more well-rounded scientist, not only because professionally I looked better, but I was taking the skills that I learned in things such as leadership and management workshops back to the bench."
     
  3. 09:00: "I also took part in the science communication group Thinkers and Drinkers, where we were able to focus on how do we communicate our science to individuals outside of the scientific field. So, not only was I doing the research, but I was working on how to communicate that research to others to make it so that my Ph.D. was not only at the bench but was also interactive with translating that research to individuals who are the constituency of the research that we're completing."
     
  4. 13:09: "Knowing what my goals were and knowing what I wanted to achieve in the next three and next five years really made it so that I could sort through my options as next steps and find something that fit my role."
     
  5. 21:08: “Don’t be afraid to reach out to people like Eric and Elaine. If you have an idea or you have something you need help with, they're amazing and more than willing to help. … reach out, get involved, do as much as you can."

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