“Nurture your scientific curiosity!”: Meet Henrieka Detlef

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Nathalie Pettorelli

Hennie_DetlefHenrieka Detlef is currently a second year PhD student at Cardiff University. Her research focuses on reconstructing climate change in the past 1.5 million years, in particular continental ice volume in combination with sea ice extent in the North Pacific Ocean. Here she tells the story of how a trip to New Zealand made her study Geology in the first place and why a career in science is a great choice for everyone. At Soapbox Science Cardiff she is going to speak about a secret passion of hers: how and why future ocean acidification will impact our marine life.

 

 

SS: Henrieka, how did you get to your current position?

HD: Before I came to Cardiff I studied Geology at Kiel University in Germany. Quite early during my studies I discovered my love for climate science, in particular Paleoclimatology.

After I graduated with a bachelor of science, I did a 3-months internship in Paleoclimatology at Cardiff University. By then I was still planning to pursue a master’s degree in Tromsø, Norway. However I was so impressed by the atmosphere in the research group in Cardiff and the laboratory facilities that I decided to look at the PhD offers for the next academic year. I found a project that captured my interest instantaneously and I applied for a PhD position and the master program at the same time. When I was offered the PhD I was overwhelmed and didn’t have to think twice.

 

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

HD: For me in school it was always a very close tie between scientific subjects like biology and geography and artistic subjects. I struggled to make a decision after I graduated and decided to take a year off instead to travel New Zealand and Australia. Lucky for me New Zealand is a geologically very interesting country and my curious/scientific nature quickly gained the upper hand over my artistic side.

Now being a PhD student the influence of female role models, like my supervisor, becomes more and more important. They can not only offer guidance with career decisions but also offer a glimpse of what is possible if you pursue a career in academia. As a woman for example it is great to know that a career in science and having a family is very much possible.

In retrospective pursuing a career in science was a great decision. It offers me a chance to investigate new things and to overcome problems, which makes every day an interesting work experience.

 

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

HD: In my research I work with microfossils that we find in sediments deposited at the seafloor. These microfossils get preserved over millions of years and their chemical composition can tell us about the climate at that time. I think it is simply astonishing that these tiny fossils are capable of and it fascinates me every day.

 

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?

HD: I think events like these are important to let people know about the research that is going on in the UK right now. As an early career scientist I have experienced that when you become more and more specialized in a certain field of research you become more and more reluctant to communicating your research to a wider audience. Soapbox Science counteracts this phenomenon in a unique way, it is the perfect interface between cutting edge research and the non-scientific community. It’s a great event both for the audience as they get to hear and learn about so many different interesting things and for the scientists as we get to learn to make our research more accessible to a wider community. I can’t wait for the reactions and discussions on the day, it’s going to be great fun!

 

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day – excitement? Fear? Thrill? Anticipation?

HD: Definitely excitement with a pinch of nervousness!

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Fabulous mentors kept me inspired: Meet Emma Lane

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Nathalie Pettorelli

Emma_LaneDr Emma Lane is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Cardiff University.  Emma was born in London and studied Pharmacology for her first degree, before doing a PhD in Neuropharmacology at KCL, focusing on novel therapies for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.  Emma spent 2 years working in Sweden after her PhD where she specialised on understanding the side effects of cell transplantation for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. She then moved to Cardiff for a second post-doc position after meeting Prof Dunnett from Cardiff University at a conference in the US where Emma was presenting her work. She came to Cardiff for a three year contract, single……10 years later she has a husband, 2 children, a lectureship and her own research group.

 

 

SS: How did you get to your current position?

EL: In 2009 I was working as a post-doc in Cardiff University School of Biosciences and had contacted the School of Pharmacy about whether I could deliver some lectures for them to get some teaching experience. I ended up being seconded into the school to deliver material after the module leader left the School.  A lectureship was the advertised and I applied! 5 years later (whilst on maternity leave) I was promoted to Senior Lecturer.

 

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

EL: My mum was a nurse, my dad a policeman, and I was always fascinated by the idea that legal and illegal drugs could have such huge effects on the body and brain that were both therapeutics and dangerous. I wanted to understand why, and discovered a fascination for chemicals known as monoamines which influence lots of different function of the brain

 

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

EL: My main research is focused on treating Parkinson’s disease with stem cells, repairing the damage caused by this devastating, progressive disease, by putting new cells directly into the damaged brain.  We need to understand how the drugs used to treat the disease, might affect the way these new cells behave if we use them as a therapy, will they help or hinder? I love being at the transition of lab science moving into the clinic and seeing how the lab work can directly influence clinical trial design and chances of success.

 

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?

EL: The novelty of the set up, the challenge of talking about my research and making it accessible and engaging to anyone who wants to listen, and the added challenge of having to draw people in!

 

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day – excitement? Fear? Thrill? Anticipation?

EL: EXCITEMENT

 

SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?

EL: I would like there to be greater weight placed on the scientific value of the project you are proposing, rather than your track record.  It is incredibly difficult for anyone to progress or get grant funding if you have a gap in your track record, or to get that ever important first foot on the ladder of significant grant income.  It’s a hard financial climate for everyone, but the need to compete with people who haven’t got that break (which is necessary if you want a family) adds additional pressure to female scientists in particular. In theory science is a family friendly career, in reality it’s a life choice which needs much more than a 9-5 job.

 

SS: What would be your top recommendation to a female PhD student considering pursuing a career in academia? 

EL: I had fabulous female mentors from an early stage in my career, their advice and support was invaluable. Having someone independent to help give you perspective on where you are now, and where you want to be in the future, is incredibly useful in keeping you inspired and on track, especially when the chips are down.

 

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Openness to the public: Meet Veronica Fowler

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Nathalie Pettorelli

veronica1Dr. Veronica Fowler possesses an MSc in Equine Science and PhD in Virology. She has held scientific roles both at veterinary institutes (The Pirbright Institute and Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency) and non-government organisations (The Brooke) involved in veterinary based capacity development in developing countries. Veronica spent ten years working on large budget translational science projects primarily concerned with development and assessment of next generation novel molecular vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and their associated diagnostic tests. Catch Veronica on her Soapbox on Saturday 28th May in London where she will be discussing ‘OUTBREAK ALERT: How quickly can you help identify the pathogen?’.

 

SS: Veronica, how did you get to your current position?

VF: Having grown up in the Wiltshire countryside I have always been interested in the welfare of animals and their contribution to the livelihoods of the people who depend on them.  Therefore I chose to study Animal Science at the University of Reading. Following this I began my scientific career at the Animal and Plant Health Agency developing improved diagnostics for detection of bovine Tuberculosis in badgers. At the same time I undertook a MSc in Equine Science at The University of the West of England.  Upon completion of my MSc I realised I wanted to further my research career and moved to The Pirbright Institute to undertake a PhD in Virology (foot-and-mouth disease).  My PhD was to design and assess novel chimeric foot-and-mouth disease vaccines and their associated assays for differentiating infected from vaccinated animals. This was a collaborative PhD project between the Pirbright Institute, the Royal Veterinary College and the United States Department for Agriculture, Plum Island Animal Disease Centre. On completion I chose to stay at The Pirbright Institute as a Post-Doctoral research scientist developing novel DNA vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease. During this time I developed a keen interest in methods which can be used to improve animal health in developing countries and therefore took up the position of Research Advisor for The Brooke, which is a global animal welfare non-government organisation focusing on improving equine welfare in developing countries. I really enjoyed this position, however I also enjoyed being a laboratory/field scientist and therefore I returned to The Pirbright with the skills I developed at The Brooke in capacity development to create a new role involving both laboratory and field based science. My current position at The Pirbright Institute is to develop innovative next generation molecular diagnostic tools for a multitude of economically important diseases of livestock and to validate and transfer the use of these methods into developing countries to enable the improvement of livestock welfare and secure the livelihoods of the people who depend on them.

 

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

VF: At school I really enjoyed my science lessons and had a great science teacher who understood my way of learning, enabling me to do well in this subject.

 

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

VF: The fact that every day is novel and challenging, trying to create innovative ways to solve problems.

 

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?

VF: Within my role I undertake fieldwork which involved  engaging with local communities within developing countries. I really enjoy finding participatory ways to communicate science and receive feedback from the communities to a varying audience, sometimes in the absence of spoken language.  Soapbox science appealed to me as another medium for me to communicate science in a fun and enjoyable way and hopefully inspire the next generation of scientists.

 

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day – excitement? Fear? Thrill? Anticipation?

VF: Discovery

 

SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?

VF: Openness to the public

 

SS: What would be your top recommendation to a female PhD student considering pursuing a career in academia?

VF: To be driven, determined to succeed and to grasp and create opportunities as they arise.

 

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Make more scientists better listeners – Meet Lindsay Todman

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Nathalie Pettorelli

ProfileLindsayDr Lindsay Todman (@LindsayTodman) is a post-doctoral systems modeller at Rothamsted Research, an agricultural research institute in Harpenden. In her work she is using mathematical modelling to develop metrics of soil resilience, helping to quantify the important role that soils play in buffering agriculture from climatic changes. Catch Lindsay on her Soapbox on Saturday 28th May in London where she will be discussing ‘Creative maths – a tool for managing our fields’.

 

SS: Lindsay, how did you get to your current position?

LT: I got to where I am after a series of previously unplanned side steps! I took mechanical engineering at uni mainly because I was good at maths but also wanted the chance to build stuff in the workshop. While I was there I enjoyed the courses on fluid flow the most, so after my undergrad I continued studying the flow of one particular fluid (water), taking an MSc in hydrology at Imperial College London. The plan was always to work as a hydrologist when I finished, but during the year one of my lecturers approached me and asked if I was interested in applying for a PhD. The subject caught my interest, so I took a PhD. After my PhD one part of my decision was easy, I knew I enjoyed research and wanted to continue in it. But I also wanted to broaden my perspective by working on a new topic so I found a postdoc position at Rothamsted Research. The project I’m working on is looking at the resilience of soil microbial communities to drought and rewetting, so it has once again stretched my knowledge in another direction whilst building on my skills in applied maths.

 

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

LT: Mainly my parents, in fact what I do is pretty much a combination of the jobs they were doing when I was younger (a farmer and computer scientist). Of course, there have been nudges along the way that have pushed me in this direction. Most notably after finishing my MSc I had an offer for a job and a PhD and was struggling to decide between the two. Talking to a friend of mine, I admitted that the main reason I was uncertain about doing a PhD was because I thought there were other people who could do the project better than me. He just asked me whether any of those people were planning on doing it.

 

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

LT: I think it’s fascinating that we live within such a complex environment, in which the interactions of individuals (humans, animals, plants) are so interdependent. I find the complexity awe inspiring, but it also means that human actions can have unintended negative consequences that are challenging to identify or address before they happen, but we can (and should) try!

 

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?

LT: I remember going to Speaker’s corner in Hyde Park as a teenager and really enjoying the atmosphere and involvement of the crowd, so I thought it would be a fun, if somewhat scary, way to share my research.

 

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day – excitement? Fear? Thrill? Anticipation?

LT: Terrified (but excited)

 

SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?

LT: I would make more scientists better listeners.  By that I mean better at putting aside their own agendas so that they can hear what others have to say and setting aside time to really discuss and understand it. So many scientific challenges fall in between disciplines and will need scientists to work together (and I mean really work together) to make progress because exciting new ideas come when people from different perspectives take time to listen and understand.

 

SS: What would be your top recommendation to a female PhD student considering pursuing a career in academia?

LT: Have confidence in your ability and in the fact that only you will do your research in the way you do because of the unique perspective that you bring to it. Seek out influences that broaden your perspective, by working with new people or learning new skills.

 

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Bringing science out of the labs: Meet Kayleigh Wardell

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Nathalie Pettorelli

KayleighDr Kayleigh Wardell is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the lab of Matt Neale (University of Sussex), which investigates the mechanisms by which chromosomes are rearranged during meiosis. Meiosis is a specialised form of cell division that produces gametes and a central stage in this process is the rearrangement of chromosomes to generate genetic diversity. Kayleigh is a STEM Ambassador and a keen science communicator, and enjoys sharing her love of science with anyone who will listen. Come and meet Kayleigh in London on the 28th of May, 2-5pm!

 

 

SS: Kayleigh, how did you get to your current position?

KW: Understanding how our cells work has always fascinated me. My undergraduate degree was in Biochemistry at Imperial College London and following this I worked as a Research assistant at UCL on a breast cancer clinical trial. I loved the research element of the work and that inspired me to undertake a PhD, and I chose to do a project that would allow me to learn more about how cells work on the inside. I did my PhD at the University of Nottingham in the lab of Dr Thorsten Allers, where I researched DNA repair in archaea; single-celled organisms that often live in extreme environments. Following my PhD I knew I wanted to continue researching DNA, and I now work as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the lab of Dr Matthew Neale at the Genome Damage and Stability Centre (University of Sussex). I research how DNA gets crossed over during the formation of sex cells, an important process that leads to variation within populations. However, if it goes wrong this can leave to infertility and genome rearrangements.

 

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

KW: When I was growing up I was always fascinated by the world around me and could often be found collecting worms or frogspawn! I had some very inspiring teachers at school who nurtured my love of biology further. It was when we learned about genetics at GCSE and A-levels that my love of things to do with DNA really sparked.

 

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

KW: I am studying meiosis, which is how sex cells form. I think it is highly rewarding and exciting to be researching how we are all made. Inside our cells there are a vast number of complex things happening which all need to be coordinated so that they happen in the right place at the right time. I find it really interesting to try and understand what is happening inside of us. I really enjoy the problem solving aspect of my work; piecing together results to gain an understanding of how things are working inside cells.

 

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?

KW: I really enjoy science communication. I am a STEM Ambassador, frequently visiting schools to talk about science as well as delivering activities at science fairs. I think that it is really important to bring science out of the lab: allowing non-scientists to learn about the research that we do and question us about it. It is also really important to show people that science is for everyone, regardless of background, gender etc. Soapbox Science is a great platform for this, and I wanted to be involved as it is a way for female scientists to promote not only themselves and the work they do, but also show people that girls can be scientists too. Furthermore, it sounds really fun!

 

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day – excitement? Fear? Thrill? Anticipation?

KW: I’m not sure it can be summed up in one word! Excitement, nervousness, anticipation…

 

SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?

KW: During my career so far I have had to move several times up and down the country. I know that this is the norm in academia as you have short-term contracts until you are able to obtain a permanent position (most postdoctoral contracts are around 3 years). Some people do manage to stay in one location for their careers, but I feel like this is the exception to the rule. A lot of scientists leave academia (female and male) because they don’t want to, or can’t, uproot and resettle so frequently. I think that this is a real shame that sometimes it comes to choosing between your career and your personal life.

 

 

What would be your top recommendation to a female PhD student considering pursuing a career in academia?

If you love your subject and are willing to work hard, then go for it! Build a network of support around you: friends, family, co-workers. You will need them at times but if you love your job then it is worth it.

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I have one of the girliest jobs around: Meet Katie Hassell

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Nathalie Pettorelli

Katie HassellKatie Hassell (@khassellspace) is a Spacecraft Thermal Engineer at Airbus Defence and Space, based in Stevenage.  Since joining just over four years ago, she has worked on EarthCARE, Solar Orbiter, PLATO and LISA PathFinder; as well as being an active STEM Ambassador.  Find out below how she got to where she is now; why spacecraft engineering is her dream job and why spacecraft are a girls’ best friend.  Katie will be on her Soapbox on Saturday May 28th 2-5pm in London, showing us how engineers are “Keeping Space Cool (But Not Too Cold)”.

 

SS: Katie, how did you get to your current position?

KH: I’ve never really known what I wanted to do, so I just went with what felt right at the time.  That lead me to A levels in Maths, Physics and Chemistry.  An inspiring teacher later and I found myself reading Physics at the University of Warwick.  I don’t think I made the best student, but I had a great time and learnt so much; I look back on my notes now and wonder how on Earth I used to know even half of it!  I worked out a career in academia wasn’t for me; but that left me being unsure of what I did want.  At that point, I was doing pretty much anything, one of the big employers where I lived was the local County Council, I had 3 different roles there over nearly 4 years.  At that point, I missed science so much, I sat down and reviewed what I liked about each job, what I was good at and what I was really interested in.  The answer (now I look at it, it’s obvious): I like space; actually, I love space.  A bit more reading around and I learnt that my ideal job was as a spacecraft engineer, using physics to create structures that will help scientists learn more about the universe.  To boost my confidence, I saved a lot of money and studied Aerospace Engineering MSc for 12 months and applied for the job I’m currently in now.  I can’t describe how nervous I was that first day: I’d spent all that money and time, relocated, paused the career path I was already on, what if I didn’t like it? I loved it, I still love it and I’ve never looked back.

 

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

KH: I think various teachers along the way gave me the spark for science.  In particular, my A level teacher pointed me at a book: “Mr Tomkpins in Wonderland” by George Gamow; I became hooked on Physics.

I also couldn’t have done it without my family; they don’t have a science background at all, so some of my options must have looked like I was deliberately taking the hard route, I wasn’t, but they supported me whatever I was up for doing next.

I find space fascinating, as a really easy starting point, the images are incredible; then you delve a bit deeper and learn about what it going on to create that; and so on, it’s such a huge subject and contains everything.  It’s mind-boggling and totally wonderful.

 

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your work?

KH: Space gives us an opportunity to look at the universe (including specific things within our Solar System) from a different vantage point; it removes a lot of the obstacles that we come across on Earth, e.g. the atmosphere!  To do all that though, we design the spacecraft to do things automatically, we’ll still talk to them once they’re in space, but generally once a satellite is up there, we ask how it is doing and it just gets on with whatever it’s meant to be doing.  Of course, the other cool thing about my job is that things I work on end up in space.

 

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?

KH: I do a lot of activities with schools as a STEM Ambassador, I’ve also done a lot with other age groups, but always at places where people are already interested in what I can tell them (e.g. the Science Museum); Soapbox Science is totally different.  I believe that anyone can do anything if they want it enough, the hardest part of that though is: what does “anything” look like?  I hope people will come away with an understanding that even if something it’s hard, it doesn’t make it impossible and that a bit of hard work goes a long way.

 

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day – excitement? Fear? Thrill? Anticipation?

KH: Eeeeeeeeeee! (OK, I know that’s not a word, but it’s both me jumping up and down for joy to get to do this and running circles everywhere trying to work out what to do, how to do it, how not to be boring and also trying to remember that not to speak at a million miles an hour)

 

SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?

KH: That it is for the really smart, or those who come from certain backgrounds, that it’s boring! That’s not one thing… I would like to change the perception that science is boring.  I agree, sometimes the way it is delivered is dry, but that’s more about the delivery than the science itself; science is what happens when you start asking lots of questions, and everyone can ask questions.

 

SS: What would be your top recommendation to a female student considering pursuing a career in engineering?

KH: Engineering is such a broad subject, it’s likely that anything you’re interested in you can probably do engineering related to that.  To me, it’s also a different thought process compared to science: science is “what does that do?” and engineering is “how can I do that?”; they both use the same starting points fairly often too.

As engineering is so all encompassing, it does mean that there is something for everyone.  I like to think that I have one of the girliest jobs around, because spacecraft are very expensive and I get to make them shiny.  It’s all a matter of viewpoints.

 

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I could count the number of female lecturers I was taught by on one hand: Meet Jessie Durk

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Nathalie Pettorelli

JessieDurkJessie Durk is currently a PhD student at Queen Mary University London, researching theoretical cosmology. She is passionate about science communication, believing it is crucial we inspire the next generation! She currently juggles her PhD studies alongside working at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, as an Observatory Explainer, which she loves. Catch Jessie on her Soapbox on Saturday 28th May in London where she will be discussing ‘Structure in the Universe – does it matter?’.

 

SS: Jessie, how did you get to your current position?

JD: I did a four year undergraduate degree at Imperial College London and then completed a Master’s degree at King’s College London, both in the fields of theoretical physics. During my MSc, I applied for PhD positions in cosmology, before being accepted at Queen Mary, where I am now.

 

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

JD: I’ve always had a mathematically inclined mind, both enjoying maths and being good at it, and it was my mum who planted the seed of ‘Why don’t you use that skill and study physics at university?’. Once that tree had started to sprout, it was my then A-level psychology teacher who pointed me in the direction of choosing theoretical physics, rather than the usual experimental/applied physics, due to my love of maths. Since then I’ve never looked back – I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.

 

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

JD: Being able to understand how the world works, and how to explain various phenomena are great. But there are still a lot of unexplained things that we don’t understand. So we carry out research, and build on what people have discovered/derived before us by taking baby steps to perhaps generalise their work, or use a different mathematical technique, for example, in the hope to try and answer some of these unsolved problems. The whole process of doing this is mindbogglingly cool, especially in the field of theoretical cosmology where what you’re doing on a daily basis can seem very abstract and esoteric, but if you step back and fit it into the bigger picture (in my case, looking at the role of small structures on the dynamics of the universe) then you realise that you’re part of the lucky few who get to tweak and play around with theories in the knowledge that you’re working towards a better understanding of the universe.

 

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?

JD: I’ve always been passionate about outreach and science communication, having previously done a teaching internship, appeared on television, and been a tour guide for the Science Museum here in London. Naturally, as I’m now doing my own research, it seemed like a fantastic opportunity to finally do some public engagement, and tell the public about what I’m doing. I also like the fact that you get to meet so many other scientists in various other fields that you probably wouldn’t from just working within your research group. Plus, the fact that it promotes women in STEM can only be a good thing!

 

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day – excitement? Fear? Thrill? Anticipation?

JD: Excitement, absolutely! I used to dread public speaking, but through pushing myself to be a tour guide, or give seminars to my fellow PhD students, etc, I’ve grown more accustomed to it and developed my speaking skills, and actually enjoy giving talks and presentations now (I think I will still be a little bit nervous on the day however, who isn’t?)

 

SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?

JD: As I’m a first year PhD student, I haven’t experienced the professional science side as much as the other Soapbox Science speakers. During my undergraduate years however, what did strike me was that whenever we were taught by a female lecturer, the impression I got from peers wasn’t ‘She’s good at her field, that’s why she’s obtained an academic position’ but rather, ‘She’s female AND a lecturer? Wow, she must be REALLY clever then,’ implying that women naturally aren’t as clever as their male counterparts. I think it also doesn’t help that I could probably count the number of female lecturers I was taught by on one hand during my five years of university before I began my PhD. I think this is what needs to change, more female physicists in top academic positions, but to do this requires the problem of the leaky pipeline to be tackled.

 

SS: What would be your top recommendation to a female PhD student considering pursuing a career in academia?

JD: My advice to a female considering pursuing a PhD would be that you have to really really love your field and be passionate about it. A PhD is not easy, in terms of the sheer amount you’ll be learning, but also the setbacks that can happen during the course of your research. I found the transition from being a taught postgraduate at the top of my class, to suddenly being immersed in a world where everyone was speaking the language of cosmological research, in a way that was far more fluent than my level at the time, very challenging. Having the ability and resilience to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep going is what’s needed.

 

 

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The academic route is not for the fainthearted: Meet Samantha Terry

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Nathalie Pettorelli

samathaDr Samantha Terry is currently a lecturer in Radiobiology at King’s College London. She is a biologist and has participated in many different type of science communication, including ‘I’m a scientist, get me out of here’ and ‘Pint of Science’.

Here, she describes her experience of working in research and how being a woman in science should not detract from achieving ones goals. Catch Samantha on her Soapbox on Saturday 28th May in London where she will be discussing ‘Is all radiation damage bad?’.

 

 

SS: Samantha, how did you get to your current position?

ST: I am currently a lecturer at King’s College London, which means I give lectures (as the name suggests) and I lead my own group of PhD students and postdoctoral researchers who carry out the research I (and they) are interested in. At least, that is the plan. Currently the size of my group is 1: me. I first did an undergraduate in Cell Biology, followed by a PhD in Radiobiology, 3 postdoctoral research positions (at Oxford, in the Netherlands, and at KCL) and finally a lectureship position in 2015. I got this position by great teamwork, hard work and by gaining experience in a mix of research fields, which makes me as a researcher stand out from the crowd.

 

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

ST: I really only followed my own intuition. I didn’t especially set out to have a career in science, but I simply took it one step at a time. At school, I had never had much biology and yet I did enjoy it, so I decided to do an undergraduate in the subject to see what else I might enjoy. I also took classics, however I realized that my potential to get a job with studying biology was greater.

A 4th year undergraduate research project put me in a great position to get a PhD in the same group. I would love to say I had a plan, but I just thought it would be interesting to carry out the PhD research project and I had no other plans so I did that. Next, Oxford happened – despite it meaning a 2-year long distance relationship between Oxford and Seattle, I simply could not say no to working at Oxford. No need to worry, we are now married with a house 🙂

The Netherlands position was perhaps the first time I made a conscious decision of what kind of research I needed to do next in order for my research career to thrive. I choose the field of radionuclide imaging because it would allow me to learn new skills in an excellent and world-renowned group.

Finally, I landed at King’s College London, which was mostly down to luck but also down to being able to use my network. I got a great position, which led to my lectureship, at a great university in a city where my husband, a physicist, was also able to get job fabulous for his scientific career.

 

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

ST: In my case, what fascinates me most is that with the work I carry out now, I might be able to carve a completely new research field and become an internationally respected leader in the field. This is what drives me from day-to-day. What I absolutely love about the job is the fact that I get to collaborate with many different research groups from different countries with a range of research interests that initially might not look related to the work I carry out. Also, I get the chance to work with industry and potentially see my work translated to the clinic much faster than I could possible achieve on my own.

 

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?

ST: Some of my colleagues had participated in the past. Also I like to push the boundaries and I think it is a great opportunity to show people that you can do well as a woman in science. Rather than sitting in my office writing grants or discussing papers/theses/experiments, I get to see how well (or terribly) I do when I am pushed to try something I normally never get the chance to do.

 

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day – excitement? Fear? Thrill? Anticipation?

ST: Fear – definitely fear. Oh and apprehension.

 

SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?

I unfortunately have to mention two things.

  1. My first bugbear is the temporariness of the contracts of postdoctoral researchers. It is hard to produce excellent work when you have a contract of only two years as this in reality means you almost need to be looking for the next job just as you have started your new position. This is even more pronounced when you have to move countries to gain a new position, as we all are recommended to do.
  1. The scientific culture is very much oriented around funding and publishing papers. This in turn means that science is often not pursued unless we know the project will work. There is very little scope for blue-sky research where the potential impact to the world is unclear.

 

SS: What would be your top recommendation to a female PhD student considering pursuing a career in academia?

ST: I have no female-specific recommendations, as I firmly believe that being a female should not detract from achieving your goals, regardless of how big they might be. I would however recommend any PhD student to seriously think about whether the academic route with all its uncertainties is the way for you. It is not for the fainthearted. Also, if you do decide to stay in research, make sure you integrate yourself into the field and make connections. These, if positive, will help you along every part of your career.

 

 

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Data Science – Demystified!

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Nathalie Pettorelli

Hao NaiBy Hao Ni (@Hello19860630). Hao currently works as a senior postdoctoral fellow at Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance. Her research interest is to model the evolution of complex systems that are impacted by noise using the theory of rough path and its applications. In today’s world, we are increasingly exposed to novel terms such as ‘big data’, ‘artificial intelligence’, and ‘computer board game grandmasters’. During her presentation at the Oxford Soapbox Science event, Hao will touch on these themes by introducing her research on modelling the effects of data streams, and give some demonstrative examples to show the performance of her algorithm.

 

In mathematics, there are only absolute trues and falses, everything is clear-cut, and there is no ambiguity. The “good” mathematical objects stem out of the abstraction of realities. To me, these are the mystical wonders of the mathematical world.

Appealed by its natural beauty and elegance, I have enjoyed learning and working with mathematics from a very young age. I have been very fortunate to be able to pursue my interests in this area; having completed my undergraduate studies in mathematics in China and Germany, I went on to work with Professor Terry Lyons at Oxford, first as a doctorate student, then as a postdoctoral researcher. Starting this fall, I will be based at University College London, working in my capacity as a senior lecturer in financial mathematics and fellow of the Alan Turing Institute for data science.

I have worked on various research themes such as stochastic analysis, machine learning and financial mathematics during my time at Oxford.

Although I have a strong passion for theoretical mathematics, I also enjoy working in the applied field. Having completed a masters degree in Computational and Mathematical finance at Oxford, I interned briefly in the financial industry. My PhD work was mostly theoretical and focused on the rough paths theory, a branch of stochastic analysis; in the final year of my doctorate, I worked on linking this theortical work with regression and develop a general methodology to model the effects of data streams. I have continued my work in this area to this day and as a result, gained some research experience in machine learning and statistics. I believe the development of machine learning or artificial intelligence has traditionally focused more on the engineering side, which has led to huge successes in various domains, such as image recognition and robotics. But it is yet unclear why those methods were so successful. I believe mathematics can offer an answer to this question, and provide a solid theoritical foundation to data science as a whole.

Since last September, I have worked on change-point detection in financial time series, and collaborated with a number of commercial partners such as the Man Group, and colleagues from the departments of mathematics and engineering at Oxford. I have enjoyed communicating with people from different research backgrounds, which broadens my knowledge and brings new perspectives into scope. I have been as a member of Oxford-Man Institute for Quantitative Finance for over six years; and I deeply appreciate the excellent opportunities this interdisciplinary institute offered in meeting with people from different backgrounds.

Outside of work, I enjoy traveling, fine art, and food tasting. I am grateful that I am generously supported in life by my parents and loving friends, who have given me lots of courage and care. In my professional life, I have had great mentors, colleagues and collaborators. To me, the stochastic analysis group at Oxford is like a family.

Starting from a young age, I have felt obliged to make a positive impact on our society by helping others. This is my main reason for wishing to share my research experience and thoughts at Soapbox. It has never occurred to me that there would be any conflict between being a scientist and a woman at the same time; instead it defines who I am and makes me feel special and proud. From my own personal experience, the most important thing in research is to have an open mind to new ideas, and be curious as a child. Scientific research is not always straightforward, which can often bring stress to people; there is no guarantee that hardworking researchers can ultimately achieve their research goals. But if one is determined to do research, one should enjoy the process as a whole rather than focusing only on achieving the end goals.

Lastly I would hope a life that is defined by Bertrand Russell’s famously stated Three Passions, which I would like to quote to end this mini-blog: “Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.

 

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Against all odds: finding my own path to science

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Nathalie Pettorelli

Vicki CLifton 2015By Vicki Clifton

A/Professor Vicki Clifton is a is a National Health and Medical Research Council Senior Research Fellow who is currently a Professorial Research Fellow with the Mothers and Babies Theme at Mater Medical Research Institute in Brisbane Australia, leading the Pregnancy and Development team.  Her current research focusses on the impact of maternal asthma and other health complications during pregnancy on placental function, fetal growth and childhood development with a specific interest in allergy.

 

 

cliftonI never imagined doing a PhD.  I grew up in a low socioeconomic area of Australia with few aspirations and where it was cool to be dumb. Bullying and violence were just a part of normal life and anyone who was different was ostracised and ridiculed. Women were under-valued overall within our society and viewed as mostly mothers and housewives. Women who did work were often criticised for working and not taking care of their family. However my family were intelligent and loving and the women in my family were strong and motivated. They ran their own businesses, worked hard and had careers. These women were a shining beacon for me. So I knew at an early age I would be like them. Yet, my path to science would prove to be a bit different from the usual.

The first hurdle for me was being able to attend university. My parents could afford to pay for the administration fee and some text books but not tuition fee. Luckily, at that time, University was free in Australia!  If it had been today, then I expect I would not have been able to go to Uni. Once I was at University, however, it opened my mind to a plethora of information and opportunities and eventually led me to postgraduate studies.

I believe that it is important to choose a topic for your PhD in an area that interests you and you are passionate about. I am passionate about pregnancy and healthy babies which lead me into the field of placentology and examining the role of the placenta in fetal survival and this passion comes from a deeply personal experience. I had a miscarriage at 20 weeks gestation and aside from it being a totally devastating experience, I questioned what happened. There was no clinical explanation for the miscarriage as technically after 12 weeks things should run smoothly with the pregnancy and I found that “no explanation” was a frustrating answer. Just after this event an opportunity arose to do a PhD on the placenta and so I decided maybe I could find the answers through research.

Another difference in my career path relative to anyone else relates to the choices I made in relation to motherhood. I completed my undergraduate and postgraduate studies on a part time basis because I was pregnant and caring for my children and I needed to make money to survive outside of my study. I loved being a mum and taking the time to be with my kids. It’s just taken me longer to climb the ladder. That was my choice.

Finally, I would not have a career in science if it were not for a group of men. The people who have encouraged me to do postgraduate study, who gave me my first job, who supported me during my PhD and postdoctoral studies were all men. Each of them taught me a great deal about how to work towards a career in science and I am incredibly grateful for their support and encouragement. I never felt discriminated against and when I worked hard, achieved my goal, I was aptly rewarded.

What made me succeed against all odds is that I like a challenge and I like the competition. I want to see how far I can go. I never listened to anyone’s views on the subject of me because if I did, I’d probably still be in my home town doing very little. I never feared failure. It hurts to fail but it hurts more to give up. A new challenge does scare me but it excites me too- can I do it? Will I fail or will I have success? Some challenges don’t work out how you planned but you often realise retrospectively it was for the best that things happened a certain way. So don’t fear the challenge of a PhD if you know you are passionate about the topic and you know you are fascinated by science.

My advice for anyone who wants a career in science and embarking on a PhD is “go for it!”. It is an experience that challenges every aspect of your self- your resilience, your identity, your relationships, your intellect. It is an intellectual marathon with data! I loved and hated the experience of a PhD but at the end of my PhD I felt a great sense of accomplishment and capability. I knew I could be a scientist and I could survive any career challenge that was given to me.

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