In my early research days, I said yes to everything.

Cardiology. Pulmonology. Critical care. Internal medicine. Even hematology.

If you looked at my CV then, you wouldn’t have guessed I was deeply interested in rheumatology.

But I always was.

The problem? My early research portfolio didn’t show it.

It was scattered. Opportunistic. A series of disconnected projects that never compounded.

Yes, I gained technical skills. Yes, I published papers.

But there was no theme. No clear trajectory. No vertical growth.

I wasn’t building a research program.

I was building a strip mall.

Each project was a single-story building. Useful, maybe. But forgettable.

Eventually, I paused. Zoomed out. And reimagined how I wanted to show up as a researcher.

That’s when I decided to build a skyscraper.

A vertical research program. Anchored in one core problem: psoriatic arthritis and spondyloarthritis.

Each project layered on the last. Each insight informed the next.

And things changed. Fast.

The papers became sharper. The collaborations deeper. The impact more tangible.

Here’s how to avoid the strip mall trap and start building your skyscraper, floor by floor:

1️⃣ Find Your Anchor Topic

Don’t pick what’s trending. Pick what keeps you up at night.

What clinical question would you still be obsessed with even if you never published a paper?

That’s your anchor.

It should be narrow enough that you can own it. And broad enough that it can grow with you.

Example: Don’t just study “diabetes.” Own a subproblem like: “hypoglycemia risk prediction in older adults on insulin”.

When you do this, your future papers write themselves. Each one solves a new piece of the same puzzle.

2️⃣ Stack, Don’t Scatter

Stop spreading yourself thin across 5 unrelated papers.

Start stacking 3 deeply related ones.

If your first study looks at HbA1c control post-discharge in diabetic patients, your second could explore disparities in insulin initiation. Your third? A pilot testing EHR-based nudges to improve follow-up.

Each one supports the next. Each one raises better questions than it answers.

That’s how you build momentum and depth.

3️⃣ Say No (Even to Good Ideas)

This is where most early researchers struggle.

You get excited. You want to say yes to everything.

But every “yes” is a “no” to your skyscraper.

If a project doesn’t reinforce your vertical, either decline or delegate.

Even great ideas are distractions if they don’t fit the blueprint.

Pro tip: Keep a “Someday Maybe” list of tempting but misaligned ideas. You’re not rejecting them forever—just shelving them for the right season.

4️⃣ Promote What You Build

A skyscraper no one sees might as well be a basement.

Visibility matters.

Submit to conferences. Share preprints. Present at journal clubs. Get known for your vertical.

If you’re working on a niche like diabetes self-management in underserved populations, you should be on every relevant panel, poster session, or discussion thread.

When people think of your topic, your name should come to mind.

Make it easy for others to remember you. And refer you.

5️⃣ Play the Long Game

Anyone can publish a few papers and move on.

But those who make a real impact?

They go deep.

They stick with the same problem long enough to see its many angles. Long enough to build tools, models, or frameworks that others use.

They become known for it.

That’s how a research program becomes a legacy.

🔍 Your Next Steps:

• Review your last 3 projects. What’s the common theme—if any?
• What is one anchor topic you’d be excited to explore for the next 3–5 years?
• What is one good project you should say no to this month?

More projects won’t make your career.

But the right ones, stacked with care, will.

Go vertical. Build something that lasts.

What’s the skyscraper version of your research career?