Marilen Benner

CHAPTER 12 276 A plea for being open to a new approach – Changing perspectives based on evidence Reproductive immunology comprises a field of many unknowns. The related conferences have an active debate culture; many meals are accompanied by a lively back and forth on opposing hypotheses. The wish to provide solutions for fertility and pregnancy complications creates an urgency in developments. In many countries, clinicians will provide diagnostic tools and treatment before the needed proven efficacy, which adds to the pool of uncertainty regarding the topic. Still, the scientific discussion depends on evidence rather than opposing thoughts. Which concepts are we going to build on when we try to fill a knowledge gap? We thought that this thesis started with a proposal based on commonly accepted positions of the field. As a starting PhD candidate, this goes along with the expectation that with a solid foundation and the right assumptions, the project is going to follow a straight path. In the end, the projects turned out rather different than we planned in 2015. Apparently, this is the classic, unpredictable path that most PhD projects follow. Likewise, the frustrations going along with failed experiments are not hugely surprising. Looking back, a lot of learning happened especially in that time of what seemed like failure. Professor Uri Alon termed this phase of frustrations The Cloud 1 , as summarized on the following page, with his kind approval. I am writing this Behind the Scenes chapter for all those, who might have started a PhD project, but who struggle because nothing seems to go according to plan. Without The Cloud, most of this thesis’ chapters would not have been written. Just like young researchers and their supervisors, reproductive immunology will thrive, when we are open to a change of plans and concepts. 1 Uri Alon, “Why truly innovative science demands a leap into the unknown”, TED: Ideas Worth Spreading, June 2013, https://www.ted.com/ talks/uri_alon_why_science_demands_a_leap_into_the_unknown