Funding dilemma in current lab, need advice on what to do

[labdilemma]

Hi all,

Long post inbound, throwaway for very obvious reasons. I am a PhD student about to begin his third year in a top 5 cell biology program in the US.

 

When I joined my current lab last summer after rotations (I am one of three grad students that joined at the same time, we are all their first grad students they’ve mentored), I was brought in to set up a new line of research for the lab that I had significant experience in, but my PI didn’t. This line of research is incredibly expensive and difficult to perform, but returns very high impact results. Further, I had a project in mind that I really wanted to do, and this PI independently had the exact same idea. In short, it seemed like a perfect fit. I really like the PI as a person, and the two of us get along really well. My second year was mostly troubleshooting, but by the end of this year we finally got a pipeline set up in the lab, and we are now in position to start seriously collecting large amounts of good data. He has given me lots of positive feedback, let me take the drivers seat for my project, and been very supportive. I seriously cannot overstate how much I appreciate him as a mentor.

 

There’s only one problem. My PI is new faculty going into his fourth year, and he has been unable to get any grants. His funding is rapidly dwindling, and he is getting very nervous about lab finances, trying to cut costs wherever possible. He recently told me that we were going to be out of start up funds by the end of the year, and he even told me he might have to switch me to his cheaper primary line of research in the lab if funding continues to be an issue, which I have absolutely zero interest in doing. This is also a major issue because the data collection I want to do this year will be incredibly expensive, though it will almost certainly result in multiple papers. I just won the GRFP so I don’t cost anything, which helps, but it still isn’t enough.

 

On the other hand: a few months ago, a very high profile superstar PI (that my current PI knows well) just came to my institution with multiple NIH grants in hand and literally multiple millions in start up funds my institution gave them to lure them here. I started meeting with this new PI here, and within a short time, I was able to both get this high profile PI on my committee and I was even able to tentatively start up a collaboration with them using the methods I set up in my current lab, which this high profile PI also wants to get set up in their new lab here. Within the next few weeks we should have our first pilot data back. This PI is also looking for new PhD students here, and has a very strong record of placing people into faculty positions.

 

Given the funding difficulties in the lab and the situation with this high profile PI, I have been strongly considering switching to this other lab, or ideally working out a co-mentorship arrangement that would allow me to work mostly from the other lab without these resource concerns. I feel bad about it given my strong rapport with my current PI and I don’t want to hurt them, but at the same time I do not want to go down with the ship if they cannot get money.

 

Are my concerns off-base, or are they valid? Obviously, this situation is very delicate, and I do not know how to broach it without offending or alienating my current PI. Once I talk to the superstar PI about it, it will almost certainly get back to my current PI as well. Do you have any advice on what I should do, or how I should approach the situation? I really want to stay in academia, and I do not want this current dilemma to hamper my career or my standing in any way, and I really don’t want to burn any bridges. What would you do, or what would you recommend?

 

TLDR: Love my current lab and PI dearly but it has funding problems. Superstar PI came in, and we seem to work well together. Considering switching labs but do not want to alienate current PI. What should I do?

[Butterfly_effect]

I would recommend not switching labs and instead focusing on fostering a co-mentorship and if possible, a formal collaboration where the new superstar lab can contribute more funding/resources but you can remain primarily in your current lab working on your current project. I would bring this up with your current PI (the idea of a collaboration) and see what they think. I've known students to be co-mentored by 1 new PI and 1 established one and some that work in both labs and use resources from both labs. If both PIs are enthusiastic, it can be a great productive relationship for everyone.

My concern about switching labs is that you may not be able to continue this project you really like in the new lab. Especially since your advisor thought of the idea at the same time independently, he might not want to let you continue working on that project in another lab. Depending on how specific your project is and how much of your current's lab resources have been devoted to it, you might be barred, formally or informally, from continuing that exact same project outside that lab. I would tread very carefully here and know that if you do switch, you may have to develop a different project using the same methods.

[juilletmercredi]

Talk to both PIs and see what you can work out. There are so many permutations of what a co-mentorship agreement might look like here and it really depends on the preferences and thoughts of the PIs involved. I'd also suggest a co-mentoring relationship, but it's less because of the above concerns - I'm not really sure how someone could "bar" you from pursuing a line of research in a different lab -  and more because of continuity of mentorship (you're already in a good relationship with your current PI).

[Butterfly_effect]

On 8/30/2019 at 10:49 PM, juilletmercredi said:

'm not really sure how someone could "bar" you from pursuing a line of research in a different lab

You're right that 'bar' is too strong, but it might be uncomfortable given this:

On 8/4/2019 at 5:51 PM, labdilemma said:

Further, I had a project in mind that I really wanted to do, and this PI independently had the exact same idea.

If the PI independently had the 'exact same idea' they might want to continue that line of research in their own lab (funding situation be damned) and could view it negatively if you want to take that idea to work on with someone else (outside of an agreed-upon co-mentorship or amicable split). Do they think of this more as a project they thought up and gave to you or one you thought up and developed primarily on your own? It's not really that your current PI could really stop you from working on it, and given their financial situation they very well might not be able to continue it in their lab, but it might be felt/seen as adjacent to 'scooping' your current lab, depending of course on how much of the idea you developed vs. your PI, how much of the data you generated already in your current PI's lab, and how similar your project would be in the new lab. Your PI may very well not feel this way at all, but it would be worth having a conversation about ownership of the project if you decided you wanted to leave the lab.