Crafting a research legacy.
Early in a career, researchers may be primarily concerned with the immediate-producing publications, managing projects, acquiring grants, obtaining professorships-all of which are valid accomplishments. After several years, most scientists find themselves wondering: "What is the legacy of my research?" A research legacy is broader than individual publications. It represents an impact of a researcher, a person, an institution and society, on the knowledge we already have, on the work we do, on people and on future generations.
Legacy is a matter of significance. Research in fields that have made groundbreaking and fundamental discoveries establish knowledge frameworks on which future discoveries will be built. But contribution isn't just measured in discoverable findings. Mentorship is frequently a critical component of a career's legacy; students, co-investigators, postdocs and post-docs take with them the ideas, work ethic, and principles that they absorbed from those they encountered throughout their careers. Leadership also establishes legacy through initiatives that extend beyond individual contributions. Some researchers may also create a legacy through the development of new tools, new methodologies or new theories that can guide research efforts. Finally, integrity must remain foundational. A research legacy should not be diminished through questions about ethics or scientific rigor.
For most researchers, their greatest legacy isn't a personal accomplishment, but a collection of contributions to knowledge, to others in the scientific community and to society at large. A legacy requires time-significant influence takes years to develop through perseverance. Legacy is not the province of a few-the impact of every individual researcher can transcend their own project. Scientific careers are relatively short but research itself is ongoing; the ideas produced in a laboratory today might inspire future breakthroughs, future researchers or provide solutions for currently unknown problems.
A research publication represents a fleeting contribution in a particular point of time. Research legacy is ongoing. The scientists that we remember are not those who completed their most prestigious individual project, but rather the ones who have left an enduring mark on the entire body of knowledge we possess.
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