Hello @monkia,

How are you doing? Did you decide to continue with the project or did you move on? These words sounded painfully familiar to me: "most of the people from the group are working on something quite different and I don't feel like I have a good support and somebody I can ask specific questions. Also, after three months I still don't have materials I need to work with". I have been working with my project for 1-1.5 years and I have no original data to publish, I am the only one in the group working with this project (a post doc just joined to do something vaguely similar but she is even less experienced that me and I have to teach her, not the other way around.). I also have a devastating lack of material which stops me from doing the experiments I need to do.

Hi Aziwa,

I am still stuck with the lack of material. Since the summer holiday season is approaching, the next time I can attempt to gather more cell material will be around the 18th of July. I am really losing hope and motivation because of this issue. Every time I try to think of other related questions to tackle (to get data) I am quickly reminded that all of that requires cells just like the original project does. When I ask my supervisor about it, he just tells me to keep going (aka. waiting) and does not really address the possibility that I might not be able to gather enough data in time. Meanwhile I am tasked with teaching our new post doc (all the respect to her, she is really nice) the methods and protocols I have established in our lab (we are a new lab). She was supposed to join so that I would have a more experienced colleague help me with the neuronal work but in the end I am still the most experienced person in our lab (i taught myself during these 1.5 years). My supervisor does not know the methods either so he is not really able to help with the troubleshooting either.

What about you Aziwa? What is at the reason you are having hard time gathering data / original results? I am not glad you are in a similar situation but it does feel good to hear that someone understands the source of my anxiety.

It really sounds like your supervisor has not really taken the responsibility of making sure that your project is yielding a sufficient amount of data for you to graduate in time. We do all of course have our own share of the responsibility but you are not supposed to be alone in it and other more established researchers like you supervisor are supposed to make sure that these types of problems do not stop you from finishing your degree. It really sounda like you are in a tough spot.

The reason your story hit a sore spot for me is because I have been working on my project for around 1.5 years and I have not yet produced any original results. I am already a year behind schedule and I can not really pick up the pace because I am doing my phd in neuroscience and collecting enough cell material for my experiments can take months. I am still at the beginning of my phd studies but your story really illustrates that it is perfectly possible to blow through the 4 years ahead of me without having anything to show for it.