Befriend a statistician. Not too long ago, someone asked me for the one most important piece of advice I would give researchers new to the field. I quoted a colleague who said to befriend a statistician.
Cultivate relationships through professional associations. I regularly present at sessions sponsored by the American Society of Nutrition at Experimental Biology and carefully plan my schedule so that I can talk with other presenters whose abstracts intrigue me.
Review. Yes, it’s time-consuming, but will worth it because of how much you can learn and because of how satisfying it is to help other researchers.
Be open to random opportunities that arise. Career goals are worth thinking about, but don’t discount opportunities that present something new and different.