159: How to Break Into Cancer Research at NIH w/ Dr. Art Shaffer, National Cancer Institute, NIH [Espresso Shots]

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Dr. Art Shaffer is a Staff Scientist in the Lymphoid Malignancies Branch, National Cancer Institute, at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he and many other researchers are working tirelessly to find the cure for the 400+ diagnosed cancers.  He’s currently working to find a cure for Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. Art has worked at NIH for almost 20 years and says he wakes up every day grateful and excited to go to work. Art did his undergraduate studies at the University of Delaware where he got a BA in Biology.  Eventually he signed up for graduate school at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to pursue his PhD. Pull up a mug of your favorite caffeinated brew and learn how you can break into this fascinating field in this Espresso Shots episode!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why critical thinking (no matter what your undergraduate major) is a fantastic skill to have if you want to become a staff scientist at NIH
• How any Life Science degree can help you in breaking into this field
• Why you should do your best to get lab experience even if you’re washing glassware
• Why public speaking is a critical skill to have if you want your work to be useful
• How science is an incremental profession and is often not ‘sexy’ day-to-day
• How cancer is not just one disease
• Why you should watch Carl Sagan on Youtube
• How you should listen to T4C episode #09 to learn more about Art’s current job and his career