Essential: Networking with Collaborators and Contractors
Looking at publications in the biosciences from early days to today, one big change is obvious: the number of authors. While in the 1950s, 1960s and before mainly 2 or 3 authors are on the publication, the number increases until today to 5 to over 10, sometimes more than 30 authors.
Many of these authors are specialised in one field, like in mass spectrometric analysis of samples generated by scientists in cell culture, from cells treated with a small molecule, a drug candidate, made by medical chemists. Later bioinformaticians will look at the data, doing pathway analysis, telling the biologists what gene to knock out and so on.
Or clinicians want to analyse plasma samples for proteins, peptides or metabolites, they need scientists with knowledge in this field, mass spectrometry or immunological assays. And they need statistic to analyse the data, another group of scientists come in.
All these people contribute to the project as collaborators, in a network.
Building this network, bringing people together with different expertise and communication between them is an essential step in any project. In big research centres or universities or in large pharma companies, these expertise are present within. Smaller universities, start-ups and small companies will not have the expensive skills at hand, the need to build up the network to outside groups, either to collaborators or to contractors. This can be time-consuming and difficult and, even worse, frustrating,
Here we will help contacting and meeting the right people and communicate with them and setting the path for a fruitful collaboration.
Many of these authors are specialised in one field, like in mass spectrometric analysis of samples generated by scientists in cell culture, from cells treated with a small molecule, a drug candidate, made by medical chemists. Later bioinformaticians will look at the data, doing pathway analysis, telling the biologists what gene to knock out and so on.
Or clinicians want to analyse plasma samples for proteins, peptides or metabolites, they need scientists with knowledge in this field, mass spectrometry or immunological assays. And they need statistic to analyse the data, another group of scientists come in.
All these people contribute to the project as collaborators, in a network.
Building this network, bringing people together with different expertise and communication between them is an essential step in any project. In big research centres or universities or in large pharma companies, these expertise are present within. Smaller universities, start-ups and small companies will not have the expensive skills at hand, the need to build up the network to outside groups, either to collaborators or to contractors. This can be time-consuming and difficult and, even worse, frustrating,
Here we will help contacting and meeting the right people and communicate with them and setting the path for a fruitful collaboration.