I wrote this piece for the October 2025 JYI Newsletter. Sharing it with the world here.
My name is Nafisa, and I am the Chair of the Board of Directors (BoD) at the Journal of Young Investigators. I have been part of the Board since 2011 while I was a PhD student. Now am a faculty member at the School of Medicine at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. I have grown from a scientist in training to leading my own research group while being on the JYI BoD.
My name is Nafisa, and I am the Chair of the Board of Directors (BoD) at the Journal of Young Investigators. I have been part of the Board since 2011 while I was a PhD student. Now am a faculty member at the School of Medicine at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. I have grown from a scientist in training to leading my own research group while being on the JYI BoD.
One piece of advice I have for students at any level is creating your online presence. It does not matter what you plan to do in the future (e.g., work, go professional school (medical, graduate, dental school). At this time, I would recommend creating a LinkedIn profile. For students that are working towards to a faculty or research position I suggest setting a website to profile their research (papers and meeting presentations), research focus(es), and teaching experience, service activities, and contact information. These activities should also be included in your CV, but not everyone has access to your CV!
Social media (e.g., LinkedIn, Bluesky, etc.) are also useful tools to connect with others. This can include connecting over a wide variety of things like job ads, cool papers, interesting scientific meetings or training opportunities, as well as connecting to others. I recently wrote about building a community during your scientific training, it might be a good read for you. I think the opportunities for connecting with others over social media is endless. It takes some time to build a network, but I would encourage you pursue it. I have come across many interesting people and things using social media. Once you create these accounts and websites, make sure you keep them updated! I schedule a monthly update to my website, and I use Buffer to post to my social media accounts at least once per week. I also go on a few times a week and share cool stories.
You may be thinking, you are an undergraduate, and don’t have any experience to post yet. That’s fine, but I ask you to re-consider. I am sure there are things you have accomplished that have gotten you into college – you are part of JYI! So that is something you can share.
I still deal with regular bouts of imposter syndrome (a psychological pattern of self-doubt, fearing that my accomplishments are underserved despite evidence of competence). When I experience it, I feel it and then move on and then about the work I need to do on hand. I ask you to do the same.
To end this article, I will share links to my social media accounts, as well as some resources I think may be beneficial to you.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out, jadavji@jyi.org