• Question: How did you get into your particular field?

    Asked by anon-249906 on 12 Mar 2020.
    • Photo: Andrea Kusec

      Andrea Kusec answered on 12 Mar 2020:

      I had a concussion when I was 13, so that got me interested in brain injury in general, which then led me to volunteering a brain injury hospital when I was doing my undergraduate degree. I was fascinated by the process of neurorehabilitation – a special kind of intensive recovery after brain injury – and how it can help people get back to what they want to do. To me, it’s so important to design treatments to help people live their lives the way they want to.

    • Photo: Sophie Arthur

      Sophie Arthur answered on 12 Mar 2020:

      I studied stem cells for my PhD because I just found them really interesting during my degree and I was always curious to find out more and more about them.

      But half way through my PhD I had to enter a competition where I had to explain my research in 3 minutes. Thats four years worth of research in three minutes! I ended up winning the competition and starting my blog Soph talks science. I then expanded into Instagram and sharing science in fun and engaging ways on social media and at events. I eventually realised that a career in science communication was what I wanted to do as it allowed me to still be curious about science and learn about all the new discoveries, but I got to share those science stories in fun and creative ways – and I was sort of good at it

    • Photo: M S

      M S answered on 12 Mar 2020:

      I think I just went with the flow. I knew what I loved and followed that

    • Photo: Nuru Noor

      Nuru Noor answered on 12 Mar 2020:

      I work as a gastroenterology doctor (seeing patients with any tummy problems) – I began to wonder if there were better treatments and better ways we could help people get better – so got involved in science and now work in clinical trials (which test new treatments to hopefully help people get better and quicker) 👍

    • Photo: Ioana Grigoras

      Ioana Grigoras answered on 13 Mar 2020:

      Working as a doctor, I noticed how there were so many stroke patients, but not enough was known about how to improve the outcomes after stroke or how to help patients with rehabilitation and help them learn how to use their limbs. I wanted to contribute to that, so I started working in brain imaging on a project that I hope would benefit stroke patients!

    • Photo: Sarah Brown

      Sarah Brown answered on 13 Mar 2020:

      I have always wanted to find a way to use both my maths knowledge (which I have always been good at) and my biology knowledge (which I really enjoy) so when I found out there were research topics within a field called mathematical medicine, I knew this was perfect for me. As for the specific topic of asthma, to be honest I decided on this mainly due to the university and supervisors. I believe it is really important to not only be interested in your area of research but also to be happy in the place you live and with the people you work with!

    • Photo: Kate Mitchell

      Kate Mitchell answered on 13 Mar 2020:

      My field is infectious disease epidemiology (studying infectious diseases at the population level), and even more specifically, mathematical modelling of infectious disease spread and control.

      I first heard about it in a lecture on my microbiology degree, so then I took a module in epidemiology and then a whole masters degree! And I ended up doing my PhD with the Professor who gave that lecture which first sparked my interest!

    • Photo: Petruta Morvay

      Petruta Morvay answered on 16 Mar 2020:

      Hi, great question. To make a long story short, I got in my field of research mainly by loving research more than anything else. I’ve studied Veterinary Medicine and then had a PhD. I could have just stopped at being a Vet, which I’m happy to be, but not as happy as being a researcher. Here, and on the main research project I work on which involves studying a painful disease of the joints, called arthritis, I feel I can make a bigger and better impact in helping people. This is by finding mechanisms and new and better ways of treating the symptoms of the disease. As for any job, I applied to a job advert, but my criteria was well defined towards what I’d be happy to work with. My interest was always into better understanding diseases and finding new and improved ways on treating them. Applying and working on the arthritis project is one example of a project that makes me happy to come to work. 🙂

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