Research lives and cultures

Prof. Jim Thomas was inspired by his father to become a scientist but, after not achieving the best degree in Chemistry at Reading, he opted to teach in the UK before going to Western Kenya with Voluntary Services Overseas, where he taught in a rural high school for several years. 

This lent him a great deal of perspective and led him to revisit his childhood ambition of becoming a research scientist, commencing a PhD as a mature student. While his late entry into an academic career would normally mean that path was closed, he continued to pursue it, despite being offered a job in industry with a top company. 

He achieved a high profile Postdoc position with a Nobel prize winner in France but soon returned to the UK, to Sheffield, where he began to apply for fellowships. 

He was awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship but also chose to take on a relatively large teaching timetable to show his commitment to the department and also to get to know students with whom he might potentially collaborate in the future. 

He has also engaged in science communication work, which has honed his skills in terms of writing proposals and technical papers and generally being able to write in a more interesting way.

More about Jim:
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/chemistry/people/academic/jim-thomas

Access career timeline:
https://academicstories.group.shef.ac.uk/jim-thomas/

Dr Julie Hyde’s love of chemistry was inspired by her father and experimenting with him in the garden shed when she was young. She left school with no qualifications but got a job in the chemical industry as an Analytical Chemist while also studying part-time at college.

It was here that one of her tutors suggested applying to university, which she did. After her BSc, Julie moved into lecturing/ teaching chemistry in Further Education. During this time she taught on both academic and vocational courses as well as managing vocational programmes.

This job was later combined with part-time study in her spare time for a PhD in Organometallic Chemistry and Crystallography at the University of Sheffield, aided by an extremely supportive research group and teaching colleagues.

Julie currently teaches undergraduate chemistry at the University of Sheffield specialising in laboratory programmes and for the last seven years she has spent approximately three months each year delivering practical chemistry on the University’s joint BSc with Nanjing Tech University (NJTech) in China. 

Julie is also the Director of the Year in Industry Programme in Chemistry. Julie is a Chartered Chemist (CChem) and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and, alongside her teaching roles, she is also heavily involved in public outreach as the Schools Liaison Manager. 

Julie received a Senate Award in 2017 for excellence in learning and teaching in the category of Sustained Excellence and in 2018 was presented with an RSC award for her promotion of chemistry locally, nationally and internationally.

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/chemistry/people/academic/julie-hyde#tab00

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 supervisor. 

After completing her PhD and a brief stint as a postdoc with her PhD adviser, she moved on to a 5 year postdoc position in a different lab. With the support of her postdoc adviser, she developed a side project into a fellowship application. 

After a few unsuccessful attempts, she bolstered her publication record with some high profile articles and was eventually successful, securing a NERC fellowship at Sheffield. 

This was a major transition and quite lonely at times but she formed some strong collaborations and has now settled into managing her own research group on the evolution of structural colour in butterflies.

More about Nicola:
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/biosciences/people/academic-staff/nicola-nadeau

Look at her timeline and career milestones:
https://academicstories.group.shef.ac.uk/nicola-nadeau/

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 research area, attracted by a more positive and supportive atmosphere. Her supervisor moved away after her first year but she managed to acquire another via email, who became a collaborator, friend and mentor to her and gave her the confidence to move on with the next stages of her career. 

While an academic career path does generally mean moving around quite a lot, placing her relationship and family life first has never negatively impacted on her career. She continues to love her work and find it fascinating, learning something new every day.

More on Jenny:
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/physics/people/academic/jenny-clark#tab00

Explore Jenny's career timeline and milestones:
https://academicstories.group.shef.ac.uk/jenny-clark/

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-funded at first, but he soon acquired a scholarship with the help of an encouraging supervisor. After a failed attempt at setting up a research group back in Egypt, he went to the US to improve his research profile and make himself more competitive for fellowship positions. 

He brought back the training on mouse models of human disorders he had acquired there to the Genome Centre at Sussex, where the Director was supportive and made sure he was separated from his PhD supervisor. 

In 2012, he successfully established a Genome Centre in Egypt in partnership with a Nobel laureate to give something back to his country and, for himself, he gained huge experience in managing infrastructure and people. 

After his fellowship, he was drawn to the welcoming and nurturing research environment at Sheffield, where he took up his current role in 2013.

More on Sherif:
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/biosciences/people/academic-staff/sherif-el-khamisy#tab00


Explore Sherif's career timeline and milestones:
https://academicstories.group.shef.ac.uk/sherif-el-khamisy/

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 in Oxford, she completely changed the direction of her research to focus primarily on a new found fascination with stem cells – a challenging but positive experience. She went on to a postdoc position at the University of Sheffield where she started to think about what she needed to do to obtain an academic position. 

She made sure to keep publishing in good journals, apply for lots of funding and show her willingness to teach, which she did by taking on undergraduate and Masters student groups and completing a Certificate in Learning and Teaching.

More on Ivana :
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/biosciences/people/academic-staff/ivana-barbaric

Explore Ivana 's career timeline and milestones:
https://academicstories.group.shef.ac.uk/ivana-barbaric/

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 University of Cambridge, he took a slightly different direction with his postdoc to expose himself to a wider range of techniques, questions and approaches.

More on Andrew: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/biosciences/people/academic-staff/andrew-lin#tab00

Explore Andrew's career timeline and milestones:
https://academicstories.group.shef.ac.uk/andrew-lin/

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, she left to do her PhD at Leeds, where she had previously experienced a supportive research environment during a summer placement. After a number of postdoctoral positions in both Europe and the UK, one of which led her to question her place in science and academia, she regained her love of science and discovered a passion for teaching – a chance to step back from research and do something positive. She applied for a variety of fellowships before it was suggested to her that she should apply for a lectureship, as this was not necessarily more difficult to achieve. The balance between teaching and research is still important to her now in her lectureship and, while balancing the pressures and expectations of the role can be challenging, she enjoys every aspect.

Have a look at milestones in Rhoda's career:
https://academicstories.group.shef.ac.uk/rhoda-hawkins/

More on Rhoda: 
https://nexteinstein.org/a-conversion-with-dr-rhoda-hawkins/
https://rhoda-hawkins.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/

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 person, she had to push herself to speak at conferences and international events. She went on to produce more high impact publications during her postdoc and was able to focus on her enjoyment of bench science, including a funded trip to the US to learn a new technique to bring back to the lab. After one failed attempt, she consulted her supervisor for invaluable help and advice on applying for fellowships, which led to her securing her current 5-year role.

This interview will allow you to think about:

• How short international research visits could be an alternative to research experiences abroad
• Why early conversations with your PI are important for stepping into the next stage for your research independence
• Can you build the confidence for early discussions about authorship as a Postdoc taking steps towards your fellowship

Explore Rebecca's timeline with important milestones in her research life:
https://academicstories.group.shef.ac.uk/rebecca-corrigan/

Hear more about Rebecca: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/biosciences/people/academic-staff/rebecca-corrigan#tab02

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 pressure made it a very stressful time. She transitioned to a project in a different lab and got some good data but the failures of lab work and lack of publications began to get to her. Following suggestions from her PI, she began to teach and demonstrate at a nearby community college, which cemented a desire to find a teaching-focused university role going forward. She applied for a number of jobs in the USA and the UK, ending up at Sheffield. Here, she relishes spending time with the students, supporting other academic colleagues and moving things forward in the department, having the time to direct her creative energies into more innovative teaching methods.

View the video and timeline:
https://academicstories.group.shef.ac.uk/rebecca-barnes/