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Alumni Spotlight

Dr. Zhi Chai, Postdoctoral Fellow at ISMMS

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We interviewed Dr. Zhi Chai about his experience during graduate school at Penn State. Here, he shares his opinions and advice on how to be successful during and after graduate school.

About Zhi Chai

ZhiChai_Sinai | LinkedIn | ORCID

Zhi obtained a Ph.D. in Integrative and Biomedical Physiology at Penn State in 2019. He is now a Postdoctoral Fellow at The Judy Cho Laboratory, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where their research broadly focuses on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Zhi conducts genetic, molecular, and genomic studies on large collections of research specimens, including mice, zebrafish, and humans using the BioMe® BioBank Program to investigate the pathology of ulcerative colitis and detect potential drug targets. Outside of research, Zhi loves cooking, mixology, and caring for his pet turtles and fish.

What motivated you to choose your Ph.D. program at Penn State?

During my undergraduate studies in China, my research area was primarily focused in the field of ruminant nutrition. When applying to Ph.D. Programs at Penn State, I planned to switch gears a bit and explore research focusing on human health and nutrition. After contacting several Penn State Alumni, I discovered that I was interested in working with faculty at the Integrative and Biomedical Physiology Program, an Intercollege Graduate Degree Program that is a part of the Huck Institute of the Life Sciences umbrella. Faculty members residing under the Huck Institute of the Life Sciences are from various departments, such as Animal Science, Nutritional Sciences, and Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences. I contacted several faculty members from these departments; although, they were not taking new students at that time, they provided me with the opportunity to rotate at their lab! Therefore, the offer from the Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Physiology was a perfect fit for me, compared to two offers from other schools I got in the meantime.

How did your Ph.D. training prepare you for your current job position?

In addition to essential research skills (critical thinking, rigorous logic, scientific communication, etc.) that most peers develop and acquire from Ph.D. programs, I was fortunate to be immersed in an interdisciplinary environment (Nutritional Sciences, Immunology, and Bioinformatics), which helped me to be resourceful, always ready to learn new things, and to never be afraid of stepping out of my comfort zone to disseminate research among varied fields! My current position as a postdoctoral fellow requires both wet and dry lab skills. To be more specific, the project that I’m working on requires experience with rodent models, performing and interpreting -omics data (single cell RNAseq, and ATAC-seq), as well as communicating with bioinformaticians in the group, all of which were core skillsets I gained during my Ph.D. at Penn State. I’m very grateful for the friends and colleagues from bioinformatics at Penn State, and among the courses I took, STAT 555 widened my horizon to the world of bioinformatics. Last not but the least, I’m also thankful for the encouragement and support from the T32 Training Grant (Physiological Adaptations to Stress) and Dr. Ross (my Ph.D. advisor), under her visionary leadership, patience, and trust, gave me confidence to design and execute an interdisciplinary project.

What is something surprising that you learned about yourself during your Ph.D.?

I was surprised by the power of maintaining a schedule book. I had some down times during my Ph.D. career due to time management issues, which affected my motivation and productivity. I had some counseling for a while, and since then, I began to actively set executable and time-bounded goals (SMART goals). I gradually realized that writing down these goals in my schedule book was actually the first step for me to estimate the amount of time I needed to dedicate to each task. This helped me overcome my concerns on not completing all my tasks in my schedule book on time.

Describe a setback you experienced. How did you overcome and learn from it?

The setback was lack of productivity and the resulting low motivation. I overcame this setback by improving my time management skills, through which I learned the importance of setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals.

What advice do you think is the most valuable for someone who is:

  • Applying for graduate school. Use as many resources (e.g. networking with alumni and senior students, information interviews, masters programs, summer internships, volunteer work, or rotations) to understand the detailed process behind applying to grad school, the research field you’re interested in, and possible career paths that you can take.
  • Starting graduate school. Attend conferences as early as possible during your graduate studies. I now regret postponing my first conference for years because I wanted to perfect the project I was working on. However, now I don’t think there would ever be a “perfect” project! Even if you only have a vignette of preliminary data, it shouldn’t be the excuse for missing the benefit of your very first conference. A conference can be regarded as a motivation, reward, or a milestone. I feel it is especially crucial to get feedback as an early-career researcher, as opposed to working behind closed doors. Conferences not only widen one’s vision on how other research groups tackle the same problem, but are also great opportunities for networking. Keep visioning the career trajectory, and seek resources to develop skillsets according to that career plan.
  • Finishing graduate school. It’s been only a few years since I finished graduate school, but I’d like to share a few practical tips/suggestions:
  1. Use platforms/search engines (LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed, hercjobs.org) to assist your job search, with the understanding that different recruiters may have their own preference where to post their job ads.
  2. Follow your dream labs on LinkedIn or Twitter; there might be some “surprise” job ads.
  3. Job Boards of academic journals (such as Cell, Nature, and Science), the national society/association that you’re interested in, and various institutions (such as Harvard University-Office for Postdoctoral fellows; Stanford-Office of Postdoctoral Affairs)
  4. Actively network at conferences! Participating in leadership committees helps build these skills. While reading research articles, if you come across PI’s you’re interested in working with, reach out to them using contact information on their lab homepage or department websites.

Interview by Janhavi Damani

 

Student Stories

Checking feelings

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As a scientist, I often spent more time lost in thoughts outside of myself – experiments, deadlines, coursework – than devoting time to personal introspection. However, I discovered that reflecting on my motivations and goals are important to feeling centered and succeeding in grad school. Thus, I wrote to myself some reminders and started revisiting them as checkpoints for my mental health. Although, in the beginning, the following advice sounded to me like superficial aphorisms on the back of a teabag, “sip by sip” I became aware that I could be happier if I followed them.

Note: It is bittersweet to write about my personal experiences as I am still finding my ways to conclude my degree. I am not here to give anyone advice. Instead, I share my story to contribute to the community of graduate students who are enduring difficult times and want to talk about it.

Stop comparing yourself with others

I heard this advice on my first day in graduate school by talking with senior students. At the beginning of my training trying to be as good as my peers helped me acquire and improve upon skills that were beneficial to my professional performance. However, overtime, comparing myself with others often led me to think that I was not working hard enough. My continuous desire to out-do myself drained my energy and led to negative self-esteem. After a few good cries and self-analysis, I noticed that excessively comparing myself with others was detrimental to my overall well-being. Each graduate student has different life experiences, abilities, and cultural and educational backgrounds. Our differences provide us each with unique ways to execute tasks. So instead of looking at my classmates as rivals, I asked for their advice and offered support. Their accomplishments now inspire me to believe that I will also be successful in my own way and in my own time.

You are good enough

Being in academia has allowed me to encounter many smart and talented people and explore unfamiliar situations. Inevitably, I went through periods of self-doubt and despair. I often asked myself if I deserved to be a doctoral student while I was hopeless that I would be able to get anything done correctly. I was afflicted with “imposter syndrome.” Luckily, I had emotional support from family and friends who reminded me of my own self-worth. They reminded me of my story, my frustrations, my persistence, and my accomplishments. So, when you start doubting yourself, remember your trajectory, your victories, and that you are already successful for simply making it this far.

There is always something to be thankful for

It is easy to dwell on problems and let the negative thoughts become all-consuming. I experienced this when I projected my frustrations at work onto my partner. After hearing me out, a friend helped me realize how I was making my relationship unhealthy and how my partner, to the best of his abilities, was being nothing but supportive through my hard times. From this situation, I learned that when I am having bad days at work, instead of projecting my feelings onto others, I should remind myself of the good things I have in my life – family, friendships, accomplishments – and be grateful for them.

Be true to your current self

Not long ago, I found myself imagining what my future would look like. I started asking; What do I want to achieve in my personal life? What do I want to do for a living? What are my passions? I felt odd for not knowing or having complete answers to these questions. Little by little, I discovered new goals and priorities that were significantly different from those I had at the beginning of my Ph.D. training. In my first two years, I worked overtime, trying to advance my training and get more work done. I often canceled social meetings with friends and colleagues. Then, I found myself feeling lonely and missing fun moments. I realized that developing friendships and bonding with my peers improved not only teamwork but gave me a sense of belonging. I also thought that a career in academia was my only option after graduation. But now I see that there are other careers in science that I would love to contribute to. Today, I am working towards achieving my new goals and adjusting my work-life balance to meet my expectations for my future career. Thus, knowing what you want and knowing that this too may change, is something powerful and transformative.

Overall, I AM proud to be a Ph.D. student. I also agree academia needs to change and support a healthier environment for the minds of students, faculty, and staff. So, check our feelings, talk about them, and work together to promote change.

Written by M. Isabel da Silva

Mental Health at Penn State

Whether you are struggling with academic stress, homesickness, relationship issues, depression, or another mental health concern, the staff at the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) are available to support you. >> Read more

Event Recap

Physiological Adaptations to Stress Training Grant, What is it All About?

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Clockwise from front row right: Adwitia Dey, Kelly Ness, Billie Alba, Zhi Chai, and James Hester. Not pictured: Paul Hsu (Hershey Campus).
Current Physiology Training Grant Students. Clockwise from front right: Adwitia Dey, Kelly Ness, Billie Alba, Zhi Chai, and James Hester. Not pictured: Paul Hsu (Hershey Campus).

In 2014, the Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Physiology secured one of the National Institutes of Health’s prestigious pre-doctoral training grants. Titled, “Physiological Adaptations to Stress,” the program provides students in the sciences with interdisciplinary training by exposing them to diverse but relevant fields of study such as law and business. The grant provides funding and access to unique coursework to two to four students per year for three years each.

Various research topics are covered by current trainees on the grant, including the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in aging and vascular stress, chronic and disease-mediated inflammatory effects on the central nervous system, intestinal epithelial response to microbial infection in a vitamin A deficient state, and the effects of sleep restriction on adipocyte function. I am a member of the second cohort to be added to the grant, so I thought I would ask my fellow trainees some questions about being members of an interdisciplinary training grant.

In the fall of 2014, the first cohort of four students took a course on entrepreneurship through the business school. I asked Paul Hsu, a joint MD-PhD student at Hershey Medical Center and a member of the initial cohort of trainees, about the course.

“The entrepreneurship class was a good, broad introduction into the issues encountered by start-up businesses and the major obstacles that are encountered as a company grows. The course provided an environment to learn how to plan and direct the development of a company into a variety of endpoints (rapid growth, lifestyle entrepreneur, etc.),” said Hsu.

I think it is especially important to highlight how unique of an opportunity it is for graduate students in the hard sciences to take business and law school classes. This year’s cohort had the chance to take a business school course called Team Process, which I found to be an incredible experience. It exposed me to an entirely different way of thinking and seeing the world and taught me how to communicate more effectively. My fellow cohort member, Adwitia Dey, agrees: “The curriculum has taught me to evaluate my personal skills candidly and learn to work on my weaknesses actively, particularly [when] working in a team setting. This training will most definitely impact my future as a career scientist whether I follow a path in academia or industry because being an effective team member is important in all capacities.”

This summer, all six current trainees will have the opportunity to partake in a two-week intensive course on science patent law, a topic far beyond most doctoral training programs, but a critical aspect of many scientists’ current and future careers. Other focuses of the training include effective scientific communication to diverse audiences and a capstone course taught by faculty from numerous departments, entitled Physiological Adaptations to Stress. I cannot overstate the importance or honor of being a part of this training grant as the interdisciplinary training it provides will allow us to more effectively navigate future careers in the sciences and in science-related fields. I highly recommend that students from a broad range of science fields and from throughout the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences apply to be a part of this unique training opportunity.

 

For more information about the training grant see here: https://www.huck.psu.edu/content/graduate-programs/biomedical-stress-physiology