<p>Well, in academic science, labs are run by a single professor, who basically employs everyone in the lab and therefore gets to have a say in the research questions which are being investigated. Grant money from the federal government generally goes to the professor. He who has the gold makes the rules, as it were.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to imply that there’s no freedom to explore your own ideas, but you’re somewhat constrained by the type of research problems your lab is investigating in the first place. </p>
<p>In my research, I am investigating the relationship between two proteins which are found in neurons. One of the proteins, X, is the binding partner of a protein called Y which is the binding partner of a protein called Z that the professor who runs my lab discovered. (Z –> Y –> X) The lab I am in studies protein-protein interactions in the neuron, particularly those which can be related to Z, as that’s my professor’s baby. I’m characterizing the interaction using a variety of cell biology techniques, including overexpressing my proteins in neurons and imaging the neurons on a confocal microscope.</p>
<p>I work by myself on a day-to-day basis, although I work directly under a postdoc, who helps me design and interpret experiments and answers questions for me when I get stuck. I’m also responsible for keeping up with the scientific literature regarding my project, and reporting results to my professor.</p>
<p>So while the project is largely “mine”, it seems silly to me to say I’m investigating my own ideas, because no one in my lab works entirely independently – we’re all obliged to report our results to our professor and to take his suggestions seriously, since he is the one signing our paychecks.</p>