Hannah Marie Kirton

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.109.30

Taking the next step as an early career researcher means recognising your potential to fund independent thinking and research. However, in light of funding limitations and the ‘postdoc boom’, it may seem that fellowship success is a battlefield, and not one for the faint-hearted. Some postdocs also claim that without a defined career pathway and record-breaking publications, the chances of fellowship success are nothing but pipe dreams. There are too many postdoc stigmatisms!

The prestigious L’Oreal-UNESCO Fellowship for Women in Science awards recognise outstanding female postdoctoral researchers, providing them the opportunity to independently further their early career research. This year, Annie Curtis, from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Dublin, was one of five fellowship awardees, and here she shares her recent fellowship success, including some useful tips.

Q: Annie, talk us through your career pathway, and how this led to your current research status.

A: After my genetics undergraduate degree at Trinity College Dublin I was between minds on whether I would do an MBA or PhD. I took some time off and worked as a research assistant at Duke University in North Carolina. Still undecided, I took another position as a research assistant at University College Cork. It was there that a postdoc told me I should really consider a PhD, and knew the exact head of a lab I should approach. This was Professor FitzGerald, leading Irish cardiovascular researcher, at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. In 2001, I started my PhD with Professor Fitzgerald, who introduced me to the world of circadian rhythms and how our body clock controls cardiovascular function. For instance, blood pressure is highly circadian; it increases in the early morning hours, hence the morning prevalence of heart attacks and strokes. It was an amazing experience working at UPenn, and Professor Garret still remains a fantastic mentor and support to my career.

Thereafter, I took a position as a Principal Scientist at GlaxoSmithKline in Pennsylvania for 2 years. However, the homing gene was strong, so in 2008 myhusband and I moved back to Ireland. I knew I wanted to stay in research, but the academic landscape in 2008 was pretty grim in Ireland, given the financial crash. I took a position at a main funding agency called Science Foundation Ireland until I figured out who was who in the academic field, and where the best opportunities were.

My return to academia came when I recognised that Professor Luke O’Neill, a world-leading immunologist at Trinity College Dublin, was awarded an ERC advanced grant. I knew I had to do another postdoc, but I also knew that I needed 5 years of security (and I was hoping I would start a family). I met Professor O’Neill over coffee, and once he started talking about his research in innate immunity, I could see there was an opening to investigate the role of the body clock in immune cells. I spent 5 years in his lab, had two beautiful baby girls, and had the best time. In 2016, it was time to start my own laboratory, and I was fortunate to be awarded one of the StAR Awards from the RCSI. The position is tenure track and has allowed me to start my Immune Clock laboratory.

Q: What is your research background, and how did this inspire your fellowship application?

A: My research background is focused on the body clock in macrophages, and inflammation. I am also very interested in how immune cell metabolism, such as macrophages, shapes immune response. My fellowship application was to understand how the mitochondria in macrophages are changing over the course of a day and how this impacts on the inflammatory response.

I felt that the research project I was proposing was timely (pardon the pun!) due to immense progress in understanding how metabolism is affecting the immune system, but no one was looking at this in terms of the body clock. In essence, my research takes in three areas – body clocks, metabolism and inflammation – all within this one very important immune cell called the macrophage.

Q: Talk us through the steps of the L’Oreal UNESCO application and interviews.

A: The application for the fellowship is pretty straightforward. If you haven’t written a grant before, it’s a nice one to start with. The interview, held at the Royal Society London, included a five-minute presentation followed by questions from the panel. On the interview day, L’Oreal UNESCO invited school children to meet with women in a multitude of careers to challenge gender stereotypes. Young children form opinions about gender-specific roles from as young as five, so it’s really important to ensure young children, especially young girls, see all the careers available to them.

Q: What aspects of the L’Oreal-UNESCO Fellowship process did you enjoy the most?

A: Without question, the interviews. It was fantastic to visit the Royal Society and meet the other women selected for interview, including the staff from L’Oreal. The whole experience was superb; it included posters from PhD students from around the UK, so we had the opportunity to see some really interesting science.

Q: What does being a L’Oreal-UNESCO winner mean for you?

A: Firstly, I really was deeply honoured to receive the fellowship. I am very passionate about women in STEM and therefore delighted my story would hopefully bring more girls (and boys) into a career in science. Also, as my career trajectory has been a bit atypical in that I worked outside of research for a number of years, I hope this shows early career researchers there are many paths into a science career. Plus, this fellowship really has made a huge difference in terms of the types of experiments I can do, including the flexibility the award offers in terms of childcare support.

Q: What other key aspects do you feel were a great help and support to your success?

A: A key aspect that helped was the mentorship I received from both Luke and Garret. They have been inspirational to me and are both current collaborators of mine. I also found the flexibility that Luke afforded me, when I started in his lab, was key. He allowed me to work on body clocks in macrophages, although he could have easily insisted I work on something he was interested in. It was this flexibility and support that allowed me to publish in this area and gain my own research niche that I could develop and grow into a career. For that I am truly grateful. I also found that RCSI is a superb place to work in terms of flexibility and support. In my first year at RCSI, I was completely protected from teaching. This was an immense help in allowing me to set up my research group.

Q: What makes a good candidate for a fellowship?

A: First and foremost, your research idea has to be unique and interesting. For most of us it’s not that we don’t have interesting research ideas, but rather that we are not very good at selling the research idea. Being able to write a compelling proposal is key, but it takes practice and more practice. I also think that you have to be really passionate about what you do, as that comes across in the proposal and especially at interview stage. So to summarise, have a stellar idea, strong writing skills, and passion.

Q: Since competition for funding is very high and restricted, how many applications did you submit before being given this prestigious award?

A: My first fellowship success was with Science Foundation Ireland in 2013. That enabled me to publish papers in the field of clocks and inflammation, which helped strengthen my credibility for this application. I then applied for the L’Oreal fellowship in 2011, but was unsuccessful. It stuck in my mind that, if possible, I should try again. This year was the last year in terms of my eligibility. I had completed 8 years as a postdoc, which is the cut-off point for this award. Since then I have applied for four other grants. I have heard back on two and didn’t get either. The other two I am awaiting a decision on shortly, so fingers crossed. The one thing I have learned is that in this profession you have to build resilience. It is just a simple fact of life that most grants do not get funded, and that everyone’s grants are often rejected. Nobody should take a rejection personally, just get back on the horse and apply for the next one.

Q: In your experience, what positive advice would you offer for unsuccessful fellowship applications?

A: A positive aspect of an unsuccessful application is the feedback that you receive from the reviewers. I always take on board the reviewers’ comments and strengthen the next application by implementing the feedback that I feel is correct.

Q: How do you balance professional and personal life, particularly under the pressure and demand to strengthen and continue your success?

A: I really try and bring in my expertise of the body clock into my professional and personal life. I get up early and start my day so I am home by 4.30pm. I have the rest of the evening with my two little ladies and husband. I am not someone who can work long hours, and that helps maintain a good work life balance. Also, it’s really important to have fun in work, so surround yourself with people that you really enjoy working with, to maintain a really healthy work–life balance.

Q: Finally, what’s the ONE key piece of advice you’d give to an early career researcher applying for a fellowship?

A: Be yourself. Let your personality shine through in the application, it’s often the applications that are a little different that catch people’s attention. I know you said only one! But if I was to sneak in one other piece of advice I would say you have to work on something you are truly passionate about. Everything else falls into place after that!