Research is a path towards the unknown, guided by existing knowledge of the universe and its ways, powered by scientific curiosity, and facilitated by human imagination. I’ve come to believe that research is not just about finding the right answers; it is also about asking the right questions. With that said, I believe, there are three aspects that dictate the merit of a research endeavor: novelty, significance of contribution, and translational impact. Novelty requires an idea to be unique in its own way. While novelty is encouraged and welcomed, there’s a cost that comes with something new. Research advancements follow a path seeded with punctuated equilibria, where contemporary methods are traded off for their innovative counterparts only when their contributions are significant enough to warrant an upgrade. Hence, it is important to marry novelty with a significant contribution to the status quo. The vast scientific knowledge amassed by humans is like a reservoir filled with water; it serves no purpose until the water is channeled to homes, where it is used for drinking and cleaning. As researchers, we bear a moral-social responsibility to pave a clear path facilitating the translation of contributed knowledge to serve a practical purpose, thus requiring research designs to encompass translational impact.

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