When Publishing Becomes Survival
In the world of biomedical research, it often feels like your worth is measured in citations and impact factors. From the moment we step into academia, we are taught a simple equation: more papers equals to more success. But is that really the full picture?
As someone who has spent years working in cancer research — from my time as a Ph.D. student at UCLA and now as a professor in Taiwan — I’ve felt both the pride of publication and the pressure of keeping up.
This is the reality for many scientists today. We’re passionate about discovery, about helping patients, about advancing knowledge. But we’re also navigating a system that can reward speed over substance, quantity over quality.
The Pressure Starts Early
Graduate students are now told that publishing is the ticket to everything — a good postdoc, a grant, a job, even self-worth. I’ve had students come to my office with frustrations and self-doubt because of a failed experiment or unsatisfactory progress reports.
As researchers, we’re expected to publish often, in high-impact journals, with novel findings. If your paper doesn’t land in a top-tier publication, it may feel like it doesn’t count. This culture creates an invisible, constant pressure that can affect not just your work, but your health.
What Are We Measuring, Really?
The current system of academic success often relies on a few key metrics:
- Number of publications
- Journal impact factor/ Citation
- Grant funding support
- Excellence in teaching and mentorship
- Reputation among peers
While these indicators have value, they are not the whole story. They don’t always reflect the depth of your work, the integrity of your process, or the hours spent mentoring others, refining experiments, or dealing with failed hypotheses.
Some of the most meaningful work I’ve done — including training students, building collaborations, and initiating team projects— may never be reflected in a citation count, but it has shaped careers and science all the same.
The Cost of the Publish-or-Perish Model
The constant drive to publish can have side effects:
- Rushed science: When deadlines loom, there’s pressure to “get a result” even if the study could benefit from more time or data.
- Repetitive studies: To maintain output, researchers may focus on low-risk, incremental findings rather than big, bold questions.
- Burnout: Constant pressure can lead to stress, exhaustion, and a loss of joy in discovery.
Redefining Productivity in Research
What if we reimagined productivity in science? What if we expanded how we measure success?
Here are a few things I believe we should value more:
- Quality over quantity: A few well-designed, meaningful studies can be more impactful than many superficial ones.
- Collaboration: Team-based science that crosses borders and disciplines is essential for tackling complex diseases like cancer.
- Mentorship and teaching: Training the next generation is as important as any publication.
- Responsibility and transparency: Science should be reproducible, sharing, and open for evaluation.
Staying Grounded Amid the Pressure
So how do we survive — and thrive — in this environment?
- Stay connected to your purpose: For me, it’s the hope of improving cancer care. When I feel overwhelmed, I remind myself that every experiment, even the ones that “fail,” is part of that mission.
- Seek mentors who value the whole person: I was fortunate to have mentors who embraced curiosity and understanding. Be that mentor to others.
- Celebrate small wins: Not every success comes with a DOI number. A good discussion, a new technique mastered, or a breakthrough in a student’s confidence is worth celebrating.
- Speak openly about pressure: Normalize conversations about mental health, stress, and the need for reform in academic systems.
A Call to Institutions and Journals
Finally, I believe change must also come from the top. Academic institutions and journals should:
- Reward mentorship, collaboration, and community engagement in tenure decisions
- Support researchers who take risks or explore topics based on curiosity, not trendiness
- Create space for longer, more in-depth studies
- Publish replication studies and negative results
- Encourage a culture of care, not just competition
Because the cure for cancer won’t come from rushing. It will come from doing science the right way — together.