Dr. Daehyun Lee Blog

A physician-scientist is defined by a commitment to the following five principles:

1. Meticulous Observation:
   Engage in detailed and careful observation, whether through direct clinical patient care or careful analysis of published literature.
2. Hypothesis Generation:
   Formulate clear, insightful, and clinically relevant hypotheses based on the questions arising from these observations.
3. Rigorous Methodology:
   Design logical, methodologically sound experimental approaches—including, but not limited to, in vitro studies, in vivo animal models, and clinical trials—to thoroughly investigate the proposed hypotheses.
4. Establishment of Causality:
   Execute studies capable of clearly demonstrating causal relationships between variables, interventions, and outcomes.
5. Reproducibility of Findings:
   Ensure the validity and robustness of findings by demonstrating reproducibility, thereby confirming that results can be consistently replicated by others.

The above recommendations are made by my dear mentor, Dr. Seongseok Yun, from Moffitt Cancer Center. He told me this was the advice he received when he graduated from his mentor. I guess this is like the Master Shifu’s secret to being a physician-scientist. It sure is more easy said than done.