The MuD/PhuD Mind Project

This is the MuD/PhuD Mind Project Podcast! I’m Dr. Ursula Lang, here to bring you the real life stories of talented physician-scientists. I know first hand the hustle and challenges that can dilute the fun and creativity that attracted us to science in the first place. My mission is to change all that by teaching you how to experiment with your mindset and investigate what’s going on in your brain. Join me if you are looking for inspiration and the tools to create more joy in your life and career.

5. Master of Mentorship with Dr. Scott Friedman 08/06/2021

4. Pen to Paper - Time Management Step 1 07/22/2021

3. Fitting the “MD/PhD Mold” Just Right with Dr. Zahra Ghiassi-Nejad 07/16/2021

3. Fitting the “MD/PhD Mold” Just Right with Dr. Zahra Ghiassi-Nejad My very first podcast guest is a rockstar physician-scientist and also a dear friend, Dr. Zahra Ghiassi-Nejad. The title of this podcast was inspired by something she said “Wait a minute...no one needs to tell me what to do and I can do it however I want to...or however I want to decide to proceed - use both of the degrees or one of them” “I get to decide” - those are very powerful words and words matter! Sometimes these words are forgotten along the way of this long training journey. She came to the US from Iran on an F1 visa to attend NYU for undergrad. Despite what others said about her visa status, she was determined to pursue a combined MD/PhD degree. She said it best: “You can’t get there if you don’t try.” Zahra was there by my side in the lab during our graduate school years and we share many special memories. She is now an attending physician in radiation-oncology at Mt Sinai Hospital in NYC and enjoys helping her patients get the life-saving treatment they need to combat cancer. She has two beautiful children, a loving husband and is also on a personal growth journey. Some of the reflections we went through about our joint experience in the grad school years, dated more than a decade back. We spoke about our wiser selves and how we have a perspective now that we couldn’t see back then. We both share that with you here. Dr. Zahra Ghiassi-Nejad’s advice to MD/PhD trainees: Never lose sight of the “why” you are putting yourself through an 8-9 year program when you are in the lab years pipetting and repeating experiments. The lessons you learn in the lab are more valuable than the specific project you work on. It is always okay in the end and if it isn’t okay, then it isn’t the end. (John Lennon made popular, but likely an old Indian proverb) I hope you walk away knowing that no matter how you do the path, it is the right way. The right way is the way you decide for yourself. The opinions provided on this podcast represent those of myself and of my invited guests. They do not represent the opinions of any particular institution. This is not professional advice and for your entertainment only. /episode/index/show/mudphudmindproject/id/19828565

2. My Big WHY 07/10/2021

2. My Big WHY The beautiful thing about the journey we will take into looking at our mind with curiosity is that it mirrors what we already do in research. We start with the scientific question. Why do we want to answer that question? Why is it important to us? It may help someone I’m curious (just because I want to) It sounds interesting or exciting to know the answer It sounds like fun I want you to ask yourself why you are doing the research you are doing. Then ask yourself why you keep doing it. Is your ‘big why’ compelling enough to get you through the obstacles that are in the way? If your reasons for doing it are convincing enough to you, that is what is going to get you through. It is why we do the work. Now, think of a time in your life that you started something and you stopped before completing the goal. I’m not saying that changing our minds about our path or decisions is a bad thing (more about that later), but let’s be curious for a moment and think of that time. For me it was most recently bench research. When COVID led to the shut down of my postdoctoral lab, I went through some soul searching and put my BIG WHY with respect to the bench research to the test. I asked myself “WHY” as many times as I needed until I got to the root and most fundamental reason. Why do I want to continue doing bench research? Because I want to know the underlying mechanism to explain my clinical observation. Why do you want to know? Because I believe it could help people and I’m positioned to answer these questions. Why do you want to help people through research? Because I enjoy the creative process and helping people fulfills my purpose. Once I established that the reason I wanted to continue bench science was to help people through a creative process, I asked myself how I could still fulfill that purpose in a different way. I decided that I can still contribute to science through supporting physician-scientists. I wanted to inspire and continue to be present in this amazing world in my own unique way. I started to get curious and ask myself if there is another way I can stay aligned with my BIG WHY. Is there another way I could still be curious and also help basic science move forward. If you are listening to this podcast and have put one and two together, you may recognize that I decided I could still uphold my values of making a difference in science by helping other physician scientists and researchers with their mental resilience. If I could help you all listening, then I could still be making an impact in science. If your WHY is compelling enough, you can and will find a way to uphold it. It may just not look the way you anticipated it would. I may have convinced myself at some point that doing bench science was the way I would make that impact, but learning the tools of mind management allowed for me to get very curious about my assumptions. Other reasons you may be doing things include: prestige, recognition, what i’ve seen my family do and I don’t know any differently, Ask yourself this “why” question 5 times. Each time you answer the WHY, ask yourself again until you get to the root of your motivation. That is the one you will want to defend and fight for. /episode/index/show/mudphudmindproject/id/19766231

1. Preview for The MPMP Podcast 06/23/2021

1. Preview for The MPMP Podcast Mission: To serve as a platform for sharing stories and insight from other physician-scientists and pay it forward. This knowledge has been hard earned and I can’t think of a better way to give back than to share it with all the budding physicians scientists out in the world who are filled with big dreams and high hopes! This podcast is also for you seasoned physician-scientists especially if you have developed a hard edge over the years and perhaps some bitterness at the NIH pay line. Join us here to regain some inspiration and learn some tools to get you back to your inner pre-med dreams. Amplify the voices of those who are underrepresented in the physician-scientist space. Explore our thoughts about the MuD/PhuD path and pipeline. Investigate our mind with curiosity and compassion. Experiment with our mindset in order to get back balance, creativity and a passion to pursue our life’s purpose. How we will do this: Every week a new podcast will be published. I will alternate between a guest physician-scientist and my own insights into cultivating a growth mindset. We will have fun doing this with creativity and inspiration from those around us. If you want to take things deeper: My plan is to teach everything in this podcast. You will get the inspiration and the tools However, human brains do not learn by just listening! The information is fun and makes you feel good. BUT, ask yourself what changes you have actually made by just reading a book. In medical and graduate school, I needed to learn by doing. You can do all the things on your own, but if you want to accelerate your progress, reach out to me. You are also welcome to join my various online communities! Some of you might want 1:1 coaching and some of you will want the group experience too. I’ve created those opportunities for you with two of my amazingly talented and beautiful physician coach partners. For 1:1 coaching, email me: Follow me on Instagram: @drurslang Website to book discovery call: If you are a Latina Physician, join us in our LATINA DOCS Facebook community. Latinadocs.com If you enjoyed this episode and also believe in my mission, please subscribe, rate and review - it makes it easier for other physician-scientists to find me. Until next time! /episode/index/show/mudphudmindproject/id/19576292

The MuD/PhuD Mind Project

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