I wonder if anyone has come across a situation similar to mine, and all advice is appreciated.

I started my lab-based PhD and was bullied by the post-doc into doing menial work to contribute to his first author papers. He wrote timetables for my whole week filling in all the experiments I should do at all hours of the day, gave me the most unreliable, cheap and time-consuming techniques, refused to let me present my work at meetings as all of the results belonged to him, left my light-sensitive reagents out on the benchtop in the light while I was away on leave because he wanted the fridge space for something else, opened my mail, took prizes I won and removed the items he wanted and left the rest to me, put papers over my car keys when I left them on a bench, so I had trouble finding them etc.

I spent two years doing a useless method for him. When I had parts of an experiment which didn't work and other post-docs were telling me to drop that experiment and order a new design of reagent, he refused to let me and made me try more different conditions and remake all my other reagents again to see if any of those were at fault, so that I would waste more time.

After years of this I complained, and spoke to others, and the lab head eventually gave me a discrete project. With my new project, which started 5 months ago, I have made a significant discovery. Unfortunately my lab head says that the discovery is too big for a PhD student and will need to be worked on by a collaboration of labs. He says that I will be a middle author as the other work will contribute more. I said I was very unhappy with this, and that I should be a lead author on the discovery that I made. He said I would have to do all the back up work, and I can't do that as one person. I said that I would be willing to do as much as I can.

I have brought my own funding via a scholarship, and also won a $50 000 research grant early in my PhD for the lab. I am now running out of funding for my own PhD. I feel that I have been completely exploited.

I don't know what to do. I have asked for a PhD committee meeting with a representative from the university, but I fear that they won't be able to do much as they are colleagues of my lab head. Everyone that I speak to says that I am being treated unusually harshly. I am already aware of this, but I don't know how to change it. I am an MD doing a science PhD, and I think this might have something to do with how I have been treated.

Previous PhD students from the lab have had zero publications, and not gone on to do well/stay in science. I don't know what to do.

Your postdoc sounds like a bit of a nightmare (though I detect some paranoia from your end too, especially with the idea that anyone would deliberately put paper over your car keys).

You haven't really made a significant discovery if it's going to take so much work from other labs that you'll be relegated to a mid-author. More like a 'significant lead with a tonne of work left to make it meaningful'.

I would just encourage you to think about what you need to finish your thesis, write it up as soon as possible, then move on.

Hey Hector, sounds like you're in such a tough position, I really feel for you. How long do you have left to complete your PhD? I think you need to have a proper meeting with your PhD committee and discuss exactly what is going to go into your thesis, in terms of data and how you are going to write it up. It's great that you have made a discovery and only right that you would want the credit for it, although I can also see the need for others to become involved if there is a lot more work to be done in terms of interpretation etc. Still, I would fight to be lead author or at least to be able to present your finding at relevant conferences. But the main thing for now is to move forward with your PhD, then move on to another lab where you are happier and where you will not be exploited and your work will be recognised. There might also be a little tension because you have an MD...scientists are funny people sometimes, maybe one or two feel threatened by the fact you're already a doc? It wouldn't surprise me! Good luck with it, KB

======= Date Modified 24 Feb 2011 08:44:07 =======
Thanks for the advice and support. I should have clarified about my finding. I can publish it in impact factor 12 as it is now. This was the plan when I revealed the result. Now the plan has changed because the lab head wants to aim for Nature. I have 6 months left - guess I have to just start all over again.

======= Date Modified 24 Feb 2011 08:42:59 =======

Can you seek advice from someone at the uni who is independent from your supervisory team (post grad tutor in your department, student union advisor etc)? You have said you've requested that someone sits in on the meeting, but they might be able to give you additional advice.