By Greg Sutton, University of Edinburgh, UK, @Endothelin1
Starting off our series of reflections from members about their experience of being a physiologist during a pandemic is one of our Early Career Theme Leads, giving the perspective of a PhD student over the last few months of the third UK lockdown.
November – teaching online, coding, and a job plan
I have no new lab work until 2021 due to the restrictions. It is time to learn how to code in the meantime! To this end, I decide to start a new computational project exploring blood flow in microfluidic devices. This project is slightly related to my experimental research, but it investigates the role of the blood’s physical properties rather than biological functions.
Alongside my research, the first round of online teaching for the 2020 – 2021 academic calendar is also in full swing. I am relatively new to teaching and this semester is the first time I am teaching online.
At the very least, I hope my internet does not crash. I am unsure about what to expect but I hope I do not come across like an overenthusiastic YouTuber trying to promote junk. Most students usually keep their cameras off, making it hard to judge comprehension without feedback from their facial expression.
Networking is important. No matter how much teaching or research I have to do, I always make time for networking. This month, I digitally met many external speakers through the departmental seminar series. I think everyone is enjoying the gradual return to normality.
I took two days leave at the end of the month for the first time since the pandemic started. My day were much the same but with longer walks and more tea. I wrote a “job plan” during my days off. I spent time identifying the skills I have and the ones I wanted to learn. I also made a list of opportunities matching these criteria and when they would become available. I wonder if I will use this plan in the new year.
December – conferences, C++, and Christmas(ish)
What is a December without Christmas parties? At least the weather is not bad, despite it being perpetually dark outside.
December was a strange, virtual conference month. It has been a very long time since I spoke to this many people. It was the usual exhausting experience. I was mentally drained by the end of it although I never got lost this time. The biggest difference for me is the lack of social interaction. I found it harder to present. I can’t feel the mood and vibe of the room, so it is hard to adapt my speech to the audience.
I did manage to win best talk for day 3 of the MRC Precision Medicine Conference, despite this being the first time I had presented at a conference in over a year.
We had a virtual departmental Renal Day to highlight the research carried out in the department this year, and an online quiz.
I submitted what is likely to be my final abstract as a PhD student to the Scottish Cardiovascular Forum 2021. I also submitted another grant, the third of four which need to be submitted before I finish my PhD.
For two months now, I have been learning to work with Linux and C++. For now, all my data suggests that I am no natural-born coder. On the plus side, I have been taking French lessons all year. I’m now at the end of my third class and I can see that my French skills have improved. Je vais mieux tout le temps! If only I could use my French skills to analyse my data in a new way.
In other good news, my partner passed their PhD viva in nutrition and adiposity, thank goodness.
And after a long year, I got to spend my Christmas with some of my family.
January – winter, on the move, and teaching
The new year brings week after week of horrendous snow and ice, and a new confinement – not exactly what I asked Santa for. Despite this, I’m still feeling happy after the long Christmas break where I got to spend three weeks with my family.
We are due to move flat this month and restart practical experiments for the first time since the early autumn. My immune cells are ready for isolation (unlike me, I am sick of it). I have booked all my tissue culture hood times. Tissue culture hoods are used to keep the culture sterile while I change the liquid media to replenish nutrients and remove waste products.
Teaching is online, as expected. Thankfully, students are turning their cameras on more, so I’m not always met with a faceless screen. I had great fun running group discussions, one on the health effects of e-cigarette smoking and another about how bats can transmit diseases. All the students seemed very engaged and well-prepared. Everything overran because we had so many points to cover, and everyone had something to say.
Teaching has been a revelation for me. I never thought I would enjoy it as much as I did. I was surprised at how engaging it was and at the effort needed to design and implement the tutorials. I actually liked teaching and working with the students more than I like working in a tissue culture hood all day. Definitely, a new career option for me!
I rounded off a busy month by helping organise an early career networking event with the other Early Career Theme Leads. Some of the comments from participants in this event are helping us shape the upcoming Physiological Society conference we are organising, Future Physiology 2021. Exciting!
February – final experiments, thesis, and Future Physiology conference
All the other Early Career Theme Leads and I are busy preparing for Future Physiology: 2021 and Beyond. I’ve emailed all the cardiac and vascular speakers for event and helped organise the skills workshops including sessions about networking, systematic reviews and remote data collection.
The pandemic has been tough on scientists, with the number of funding opportunities for PhD studentship and postdoctoral positions more limited than before the pandemic. We have a strong career and skills focus at this conference to help our fellow ECRs in this competitive environment.
Simultaneously, the last cell culture experiment of my PhD is on the go. I have mixed emotions. This is not how I expected my studies to end but at the same time I am happy to see the project finish. Hopefully, the cells do not die on me. Would they do that to me? Would they? Surely not?
I moved into my flat during a snowstorm. It is an old flat with high ceilings. Thank goodness for hot water bottles (Gran always knows best).
After completing the flat move, I finished collecting all the data from my experiment – my cells didn’t let me down! And the data looks good. My computational project is also still running. It is taking me some time, but I am slowly learning to code in C++.
I must really start writing my thesis. I have four months remaining. How hard can it be?
Future Physiology is our annual conference for professional development, organised for early career researchers by early career researchers. It is tailor-made to offer you the experience, renewed enthusiasm, and networking opportunities to help you take the next steps in your career. Learn more and register here.
Please note that all views expressed on The Physiological Society’s blog reflct those of the author(s) and not of The Society.