Taking risks renewed a passion for research
A/Prof Ashraful Haque inspired EMCA’s at the SBS Retreat in June 2024 with his story of failing 8 grants and all but leaving the system. It was some key advice from a colleague and change of mindset that enabled Ashraful to not only take risks, but embark on some of the most enjoyable research of his career.
Image: A young A/Prof Ashraful Haque
I understand how difficult and stressful it can be waiting for the outcome of a grant, an experiment or a paper review process.
In order to fight off that sense of 'fear', I've found it useful to focus on enjoying my research as much as possible. Seeking out and developing the ideas and collaborations that bring joy. That way if the grant, experiment or paper is unsuccessful, it still has value, as the period of time spent –be it six months, or a year or more– is at the very least enjoyable on a personal level.
In 2016 I had essentially run out of research funds and was due to leave the research sector at the end of that year. This was very stressful, and I was looking into contingency plans for an alternative career path. Because of this, I can wholeheartedly empathise and relate to those currently worried about their employment.
I was fortunate that a large grant was being funded in October/November of that year, and this was potentially my last opportunity. I was going for it, but most importantly, I sought advice and counsel from a colleague. Advise which I still hold dear, and which re-ignited my passion for research:
Do the most adventurous and enjoyable research that you can afford and try to forget (as much as possible) about the short term future.
So I switched my focus – LESS about what I felt might be the agenda of the funding bodies, and MORE to my passion. I was fortunate – as it happened, the most enjoyable research was in fact the research that was most appealing to funding bodies.
My key message: Your best research may likely come from a deep passion for the research that you do rather then the research that you think others want you to do.
I embraced some of the more multi-disciplinary research that we had been working on. These risks freed up my thinking allowing me to better ideate and be more innovative in designing experiments.
The successes that followed this mindset shift, which we're likely a combination of good fortune and good ideas, were grants and generation of a niche or expertise for which I would be known over the next 5 to 8 years.
A/Prof Ashraful Haque is head of the Haque Laboratory, in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and lead of the Bacterial and Parasite Infections theme at the Doherty Institute.
The Haque Laboratory seeks to understand how the immune system responds during infection with malaria parasites. They want to convey some of the beauty of the immune system as it responds to infection with parasites and viruses. And by doing so, hope to discover new ways to boost the immune system and help protect humans from infectious diseases.