Research lives and cultures

Dr Nicola Nadeau became interested in the natural world at a young age. After studying Zoology at Newcastle, she secured a PhD at Cambridge in evolutionary genetics.  She moved from being unsure that genetics was really the area she wanted to be in, to becoming captivated by the possibilities it presented. She thoroughly enjoyed the PhD process, helped along by a supportive department and supervis...

Dr Jenny Clark developed an interest in biology at school in Belgium, but found it too qualitative and so ended up studying physics at university. She did her undergraduate and Masters at Imperial College London, with a year in Padua, but a summer stint at UCL was enough to cement a desire to work in the field of Biophysics.  However, for her PhD she chose to work in a completely different researc...

Professor Sherif El-Khamisy started off in community and clinical pharmacy in Egypt but the repetitive and unchallenging nature of the work left him seeking more. He completed a Business Administration diploma at the same time as a Masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences before securing a PhD position in Sussex, attracted by better research funding and facilities to be found abroad.  This was self-fund...

Prof.  Ivana Barbaric discovered a love of scientific research through competing in a national biology competition she entered in secondary school, for which she won 1st prize.  Early on in her career, she realised the importance of networking and began to develop an international network of colleagues, as well as amassing new technical skills, through working and studying abroad.  During her PhD...

Dr Andrew Lin is a senior lecturer in the School of Biosciences at The University of Sheffield. He was previously Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow in the Department of Biomedical Science when he was awarded a 5-year European Research Council Starting Grant. From a young age Andrew had his sights set on a career in academic research, pursuing his passion for neurobiology. Following his PhD at the Universit...

Dr Rhoda Hawkins is academic director at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS Ghana). Rhoda has been a lecturer, then senior lecturer in the  Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sheffield since 2011. Rhoda grew up in a Christian family, where she developed a keen interest in studying the world around her through science. Following her first degree at Oxford, s...

Dr Rebecca Corrigan first became enthralled by science at school and specialised in microbiology from the mid-point of her undergraduate studies. After a very successful summer placement, which produced 2 papers, she was certain that a career in scientific research was for her. She ended her PhD with a further 4 1st author papers that helped her secure a postdoc position but, as a naturally shy pe...

Dr Rebecca Barnes has always had an enormous love of science and imparting knowledge to others. She applied for a variety of PhDs before ending up in Glasgow to study the molecular biology of parasites, where she realised a passion for the academic environment. She was invited to help set up a lab as a Postdoc by a young academic from the USA and so moved to the States, but the expectation and pre...

Dr Silvia Valenzuela-Lamas is a Principal Investigator and archeologist at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) in Spain.  She was previously a recipient of a prestigious European Research Council Starting Grant. She used this success to leverage a permanent position back to her home country after several years of hard work and academic uncertainty. This discussion will get y...

Dr Mirna Mustapha is an MRC Senior Fellow at the University of Sheffield (UK). Her research through multiple international collaborations has led to the identification of over 15 human genes involved in deafness. She has plenty experience of being the only woman from a Global South country in the room.  Why having support networks and mentors are key to survive and thrive in research careers Why w...

Araceli is Founder and CEO of Qureca, a company that offers support to individuals and businesses in the quantum field. She has experience in both the academic and industrial world. She has created a space in-between the two to bridge gaps in understanding, communication, and conversations in quantum.  Our conversation will get you to think about: How it took a lot of resilience to be accepted ont...

Dr Natasha Chang is Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at McGill University. She is one of these academics who has had the challenge of setting up her research group during the Covid period. She reflects on the last few years since becoming a PI.   Things to reflect on prompted by the discussion with Natasha: How a coffee and a conversation with a mentor can challenge your minds...

Stephen Aderinto is an early-career scientist working in the Chemistry Department at the University of Sheffield. He is not scared of challenges having left Nigeria for his undergraduate studies in China and a PhD in the UK. Now, he works on a multidisciplinary project to develop DNA probes to be used in cancer R&D. Find out a bit more about Stephen:   https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Step...

Dr Amy Wong is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology at The University of Toronto. She became a PI in 2019 with a lab hosted at the Hospital for Sick Children, 10 years after starting her Postdoc. She is a pioneer in using human stem cells to model lung development and disease. Listening to our conversation will prompt your thinking: How could “time off...

Dr Jonathan Draper is Vice-President of the Canadian Stem Cell Network and responsible for the strategic design and rollout of the network research and training programs. After a decade of working as a PI, he took the challenging decision of letting go of his identity as a research group leader and not running a lab anymore. He shifted his professional efforts into another role as a stem cell lead...

Dr. Nika Shakiba is an Assistant Professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME) at The University of British Columbia (Canada). Her research into the social lives of stem cells aims to answer fundamental biological questions for the development of novel therapies. Her commitment to public engagement has been an important thread in her leadership development. Dr. Nika Shakiba started her...

Dr Samantha Payne is Assistant Professor in Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph (Canada). She has recently received funding from the Canada Stem Cell Network to examine how nerves modulate the response of organs and tissues to injury.  She has moved quickly from her Postdoc to her first PI role. Interestingly, she has returned to the university where she did her Bachelor's...

Dr  Vijay Raghavendran is an Indian researcher was has experienced the tribulations of short term research contracts. This has led him to work in many countries on several continents. Vijay has also worked as a science teacher. His broad ranging interests from science to the humanities have enriched his nomadic research life.

Kristin is Senior Scientist at the University Health Network and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. She also holds an Ontario Institute for Cancer Research Investigator Level II Award and is a Medicine by Design Investigator. Listening to our conversation will prompt your thinking What would synergy with your PI/ Postdocs/ PhD students look...

Dr Sean Sapcariu is programme manager at the Luxembourg National Research fund.  Trained as a biomedical scientist, Sean moved into university strategic development before jumping on the other side of the fence by now working for a national funder. Growing up as an American is maybe what gave Sean a sense of freedom as he moved along his career. His ethos of trying things out and jumping into the...

 Dr Zoe Hewitt is a stem cell expert wearing two professional hats through her role as project manager for one of the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform Hubs, and  CEO and founder of the consultancy-Regenerative Cell Therapy Consulting (RegenCTC) Limited. Zoe jumped straight out of her PhD into setting up facilities for the growth of stem cells that could potentially be used for regenerative medici...

Matt talks about himself as someone who is “a Jack of all trades”. It’s true that I have known him involved in so many different types of projects that it could be hard from the outside to define exactly his research niche. As an interdisciplinary researcher and thinker, Matt acknowledges that both his stubbornness and his position of privilege have contributed to his continuing academic career. T...

We take for granted informal encounters during scientific conferences. Some will shape the course of our lives. It was meeting an academic from Sheffield during a conference in China which changed the direction of Dr Yi JIn’s life. She is now a Wellcome Trust Sir Henry Dale Fellow at Manchester Institute of Biotechnology. Yi received encouragements from both her Master’s supervisor in China, and a...

Prof. Stéphane Bordas is an academic at the University of Luxemburg who has had a globe-trotter career, starting in France before working in the USA, Switzerland, Scotland, Wales and more recently Luxemburg.  Stéphane’s transition to a Professorship was quite rapid considering he obtained it just 3 years after his first lectureship. Stéphane is keen to mention the critical role of several mentors,...

Dr Muna Abdi is an independent scholar and consultant who is using her own experience and expertise as a British Somali academic to support organisations embed anti-racist practices.  Being a black British Somali woman in the academia is likely to put you in the odd-one-out category of university staff in the UK Higher Education system.  Dr Muna Abdi has experienced many academic spaces since the...