Do Research and You Would Be Fine: My Goal For The Next Six Months

If you have spoken to me recently, you would have heard me say this: “If I do research, I would be fine.” Most people might not fully understand what I mean by that, and honestly, I do not fully know where it will lead me either.

During many academic interviews last year, I kept asking a simple question: “What’s one thing you think has taken you far in your career?” The answer I kept hearing, in different forms, was consistent: “write more papers.” That single pattern stayed with me and slowly shaped how I think about research.

“Write more papers.”

That became the underlying signal I could not ignore - not as a rule, but as a direction.

I am currently in a gap year, and it keeps me awake at night. At this point, it feels inevitable, but I have decided to make use of this period instead of worrying about it. I am writing this post to document my journey as an independent researcher and track my progress over the next six months. My goal is simple: submit six papers for publication within the next six months. Apart from that, I am also looking for a research internship or a lab that I can join.

My research interests lie in building data-efficient deep learning models using methods such as self-supervised learning and multimodal learning. Within medicine, I am particularly interested in nuclear medicine and, more specifically, pediatric imaging.

Because of my medical background and because I talk so much about research these days, people often ask me: “Do you want to practice medicine, or do you just want to do research?” My answer has not changed. I want to do both. I want to be a physician-scientist.

“I want to do both - I want to be a physician-scientist.”

I have failed while working on research papers in the past, but those experiences taught me valuable lessons. I believe learning from those failures will help me avoid repeating the same mistakes. From my previous interviews, I also realized that it has been difficult to convince people that I have AI skills for a research position. I believe doing independent research will help address that. I say independent because I do not currently have a lab, and I cannot join one without first proving myself.

“I cannot join a lab without first proving myself.”

One thing that gives me confidence is mentorship. Throughout my research journey, I have met amazing people I can reach out to for guidance. I have learned that people are generally willing to help if they see that you are genuinely putting in the work.

“People are willing to help if you are genuinely putting in the work.”

Last year, I started a challenge where I coded every day until I got a job. I kept it going for about five months. It was a great learning experience. Did it completely change my life? Not really. But it opened doors and led to opportunities that, although they did not all work out, still shaped my direction.

“Consistency opens doors, even when outcomes are uncertain.”

I am not saying that publishing papers in the next six months will change my life either, but I believe it will move me in the right direction.

Right now, I am working on a list of conferences to submit to. Six months from now, I will come back to this post and evaluate whether I achieved my goal. I think I have the skills. Now let’s see if I can put them to good use.