on research.

the way i think about research right now.

a few days ago, i noticed that our work had been accepted into the RSNA 2025 annual conference, which is the most prestigious annual conference in radiology (a field i like a lot). this made me think about the whole “research” more deeply than before. so i wrote a lot, and this essay is a summary of what i'm thinking right now about research.

before diving into the main subject, i want to mention that before this time, i had some research experiences, especially four years ago when i joined teams in our university and other universities and societies in the country that were writing systematic reviews (also known as "research" here). but, i’m grateful that those works didn't go as they were planned, and almost nobody followed up on them. :) this made me think that research was a total waste of time, nobody cares enough, and everybody is doing it to have a “paper”, and i prefer to do some "real" work. i also wrote a linkedin post to notify my colleagues that i’ll not accept research opportunities, respectfully. :) here is that post:

so i chose another path, enrolled in an mba program, joined a startup, and started to learn to build and sell things as a product designer, and in other roles i have had in the past years.

but accidentally, a person i admire a lot in mayo clinic (a fantastic place to do med-ai research by the way) invited me to work on something. that was somewhat unpredictable, because all the research experiences i had were about emailing some "idc"-personality mediocre professors to let us join as screeners (a beginner role in the process of writing systematic review articles) in one of the thousands of works they were doing, and finally not even getting an answer. :) i think i have more than ten experiences like this with the professors in our own university and other universities in the country.

but this work wasn't basically like them. the professor "professionally" invited me and other contributors, and designed a clear path for us: to do research, to make something valuable, and to be accepted into the best conference in the world. that was amazing, and i definitely accepted. but more importantly, it wasn’t just about the work itself; it was about the team. i always prioritize people over the work, and no matter what the work was about, i definitely wanted to work with that great professor and that great team.

this was how the work started, and i learned a lot the whole time we were doing this. we had some tough times, especially near the conference deadline, during which i worked more than 20 hours in three days on the project, right alongside my studying for an upcoming exam. this was challenging, but it was our pleasure to work on a project that was simultaneously “meaningful and interesting”. noticing that it had finally been accepted into the RSNA was honestly great news i heard a few days ago, and here i want to write about my thoughts on research.

i like research, but not the low-accountability research that some people who call themselves "researchers" are doing. it's not that interesting and i’ve never called myself a “researcher” and will probably not in the future. i prefer doing end-to-end things, from researching the questions/problems i personally have or see in the world/nature, to finding the answers through scientific, non-scientific, and other approaches. once i find the answer, i want to design a solution (product) around it because i believe there's no better person to design a solution than the one who had the question and found the answer. after i've designed the solution and made the real product, i want to provide/sell it to people who had the same question or problem i did, to make their lives (and mine) better than before. after the sale, i want to monitor the product's value creation throughout its lifetime (quality assurance), ensuring it's not only working at its full potential but also maximizing it as much as possible by solving side-problems/bottlenecks. ultimately, i even want to write essays about the product i implemented :) and talk to other people and thinkers and, more importantly, get feedback on my thinking process throughout the entire cycle by watching how people/market treat my product. this is to improve the way i think, because knowing/learning more and becoming “wiser and more thoughtful” is what truly matters to me.

but doing only a part of this cycle, whether it's research or any other kind of work, isn't satisfying enough for me to dedicate my whole life to it. i see this entire process as what i want and am capable of doing for the rest of my life, not as a "career path" or "work." it's simply the way i prefer to live. :)

like always, i would be happy to read your thoughts on this essay in the comments below or through direct message at sina80mor@gmail.com.

PS: i will share more about the research work i did. It was my first published work, and will be available through AJNR (American Journal of Neuroradiology) very soon. so stay tuned for future announcements! :)