Here you are, ready to start a PhD or a postdoc.

Maybe you are weighing your options, asking yourself questions – which lab should I join? How fast will I publish? Are my papers gonna land in journals with a high impact factor? – whose answers may very well steer your life in one direction instead of another.

Now, scouring the web for suggestions on which factors to include in your decision process, you have stumbled on this obscure blog, and you may have found out that I was quite lucky in my choices.

I won’t pretend I have a formula to ensure you minimise the likelihood of regretting your pick. I won’t hide that pursuing a PhD has left me with some regrets. But I have a suggestion that may very well make all the difference.

Before picking a lab, search if its PI is in PubPeer.


What’s PubPeer?

In a nutshell, it’s a website where scientists can discuss their PEERs’ PUBlications. They comment on papers already in journals, raising concerns on methodology, data analysis, and conclusions. And the authors can reply back to address them and clear their reputation if wrongly attacked.

Why should you check PubPeer?

Because it may give you valuable insights into how the community perceives the quality of the work produced by a lab. Often, your future PI’s work won’t show up in PubPeer conversations. But, on occasion, PubPeer may reveal a history or shoddy publications, possible misconduct or even data fraud 😰 Most scientists uphold the highest standards of research integrity, but, in rare instances, you may be about to commit your future to a (sometimes very successful) quack.

Do yourself a favour: don’t build your entire career on lies – once a fraudster, always a fraudster.