Amelia Pollard
University of Nottingham, UK

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.110.18

On Friday, 12 January, The Physiological Society hosted an outstanding conference titled ‘Thinking outside the box: Translational Research and Career Options beyond Academia’. The conference was hosted at the University of Leicester, and around 60 postgraduate students and early career researchers were in attendance. The day kicked off with four keynote speakers, all of whom had previously undertaken PhDs and had since followed different career trajectories.

First, we heard from Kristen Clements, who is a senior translational scientist at the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine. Kristin gave an extremely interesting presentation on how the centre has implemented various research projects to the wider public. We were also given some useful tips to help disseminate our research along with tools to measure impact. Secondly, Damian Pattinson, vice president of Publishing Innovations at Research Square, spoke about the ways in which they aim to improve how scientists can disseminate research. Damian also has an editorial background, and so it was helpful to hear some of the ‘dos and don’ts’ from an editor when writing a research paper.

The third speaker was Paul Greenhaff, who is a professor of muscle metabolism at the University of Nottingham. Paul introduced the newly formed Nottingham Biomedical Research Council and gave an insightful overview of the progression of his research. It was great to hear how his research has been applied, starting from the lab bench to the bed side in clinical practice. Finally, we heard from Victoria Cabera-Sharp, who is the Research Development Manager at the University of Oxford, who enlightened us about the field of para-academia. Victoria explained how the skills that we have developed as scientists can be transferred to other academic-related jobs. Following on from the talks, a panel Q&A session took place which was joined by Richard Evans, a professor of molecular and cellular biology at the University of Leicester.

Whilst the presentations were extremely informative, the highlight for many of the delegates was the structured networking event, which gave us the chance to talk to the panel in small groups. This worked well as we were able to ask a variety of questions to each of the speakers in a comfortable and relaxed environment. It also gave the delegates an opportunity to get to know each other and offer advice to one another. It was good to hear from fellow scientists about their career aspirations and how they have started to implement their journey towards their chosen career path. Equally, for those that were unsure about their future career, it was very reassuring to find out about a range of excellent and stimulating jobs outside of academia that our skills are transferable to.

Overall, the conference was well thought- out and was highly beneficial to both postgraduate students and early career researchers. The tools and tips provided to us on how to disseminate and track the impact of our research were extremely useful, and I’m sure many of those who attended will be implementing them in their own work. Furthermore, the event highlighted the many doors that are open to us upon completion of our PhD aside from the traditional academic route.