Honoring Julius Axelrod

Julie’s Philosophy on Research*.

* Axelrod’s simple approach to research has been described by many of his students. This particular list is courtesy of Christian Felder, PhD.

Ask simple questions. (But look beyond the obvious.)

Do something new, but not too new. (Work just left or right of mainstream questions.)

Talk to people and read! (Then talk more, read more. You never know where the next idea will come from.)

Science is 99% discouragement. Stay focused!

Do one good experiment a day.

Find and exploit your own scientific style.

Skimming the cream is a good thin. (But do enough science to know that the cream is real.)

Don’t sweat the details. Focus on your hypothesis and don’t get swayed by complexity.

Publish to clarify your thinking and your hypothesis. Nothing more.