How do I change labs gracefully during my PhD?

The problem Dear Nature, I’m a graduate student in biochemistry at a prestigious institution in the United States, and I’ve concluded that I’m in the wrong laboratory. I’m constantly exhausted and my project isn’t one I’m truly passionate about. Our principal investigator (PI), who is also my adviser, is something of a star in their field, so they’re rarely around to provide me with in-depth mentoring. I’ve had to lean heavily on staff scientists and postdocs in the lab for help, but my experiments aren’t working, I feel my progress has stalled and I fear I’m not getting the support I need from my adviser. I’d like to find an adviser who is a better match for my skills and work style, but the process seems fraught with landmines. I’m concerned my present adviser will take my departure personally and might even retaliate. I’m also worried about funding and whether starting over could push my graduation date far off into the future. Changing labs midway through a PhD seems uncommon, but there has to be a way to approach this problem without burning bridges or otherwise hurting my career. How can I leave this situation behind gracefully and transition to a lab that is a better fit for my interests and style of work, while preserving relationships? — Not a bridge burner

The advice

You’ve already taken a healthy first step by identifying one of your key goals: preserving good professional relationships, no matter what path you chart for yourself going forwards. By using skills you already have as a scientist (gathering data, problem-solving and looking for positive ways of resolving to thorny issues), you’re likely to find a way to regroup.

Nature spoke to current and former graduate students, ombudspersons and academic leaders at several major research institutions around the world, and a career counsellor for PhD students, about navigating your situation and making informed decisions as to whether and how to change labs during your training years.

Define your goals

Jennifer Polk, a career counsellor based in Toronto, Canada, who advises PhD students who wish to craft careers outside of academia, says that you should “give yourself the grace that you need” to define, and perhaps redefine, your goals. What you thought you wanted at the beginning of your PhD programme could change as the reality of the day-to-day grind of lab research sets in. “The clearer you are about what you want, the better,” Polk says.

The office of the ombudsperson at your institution could be a good place to start an informal, confidential conversation around a perceived mismatch with your adviser. Many other institutions, both in the United States and internationally, have a similar person in place to resolve conflicts. Katrin Jordan, head of the research directorate at the Dresden University of Technology in Germany, says that German universities provide graduate students with “persons of trust”, who function as a source of support. “These advisers are available for early-career researchers,” Jordan says. “When a student says, ‘OK, I’m not happy’, we can try to mediate and to facilitate a switch if possible.” Other places to look for support might include trusted members of your dissertation committee, or the office of your institution’s director of graduate instruction.

Craft your approach

There are a few options open to you. If the issue is a purely scientific one (for example, your research interests have changed), you might be able to transfer to a different lab while ensuring that your current supervisor remains on your dissertation committee. Alternatively, you could ask for a co-supervisor if you don’t already have one, who could help you to shift the focus of your project or provide extra support.

“We often talk to people proactively about having more than one mentor,” whether acting formally or informally, says Ellen Goldstein, director of the Office of the Ombuds at the University of California, San Francisco. “It's good, practically, because you learn different styles of leadership. You learn about different kinds of science. You learn about different perspectives.”

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