The programme for the Spring 2010 series of Careers After Biological Sciences at Leicester (CABS) seminars is announced here. All of the speakers were undergraduate students at the University of Leicester and, in keeping with the usual format, a balance is offered of both “Careers in Science” and “Careers from Science”.
All sessions take place between 5 and 6 pm on Thursdays in Bennett Lecture Theatre 2. Each speaker will talk for about 20 minutes and will include some details of their current job, their route to that role after graduation and offer general advice for anyone considering a career in a similar field. You are strongly encouraged to come to as many sessions as you feel able.
The series kicks off on 18th February with two talks on a genetic theme. Farrah Khawaja (Clinical Scientist at St George’s Hospital, London) will talk about Diagnostic screening for genetic diseases and Dr Jannine Clapp (Research Associate, Department of Genetics) will answer the question What is a Postdoc?
On 25th February, Claire Simpson (Deputy Director, East Midlands Science Learning Centre) will be discussing Science teaching: the classroom and beyond. Dr Ruth Saunders (Senior Postdoctoral Research Associate in Respiratory Medicine at the Glenfield Hospital) will offer insights into A career in academic research.
On each evening 4th March and 11th March we will have talks from two speakers who have taken on similar roles after studying bioscience at Leicester, but are at different stages of their career. On 4th March we will be considering careers in the Police force with Inspector John Gray (Melton Police) and Okiki Okunola (Student Constable, Metropolitan Police). On 11th March we tackle moving from Bioscience into Legal Careers with Ed McFarlane (Legal Adviser, EEF Manufacturing) and paralegal Leigh Wodke.
On March 18th, the final evening of the series, we return to Careers in Science, with Krupesh Mistry (Research Support Staff, MRC Toxicology Unit) and Russell Benamore (Technical Team Leader, Arla Foods).
Sessions are intended for any undergraduate bioscientist at the University of Leicester and there is no need to book. Members of staff, postgraduate students and students in other subject are also welcome but please contact CABS organiser Dr Chris Willmott (cjrw2 at le.ac.uk) in advance.
Judging from the e-mail correspondence I have received, a significant number of second year students are interested in doing some laboratory work during the summer vacation.
As the studentship page indicates, the exact details of application procedure varies from scheme to scheme. However, from the correspondence I’m having, the stumbling block for several people seems to be a stage further back, i.e. ”How do I know what projects are available?“
The short answer to knowing what laboratory work may be feasible is “you need to ask potential supervisors”. There is no ‘central list’ of possible project as these would often emerge organically from any conversation – some staff would perhaps be willing to take on a summer student, but have not really considered the possibility thus far.
Nevertheless, the following generic advice may be of some benefit:
(1) Let your fingers do the walking: The first thing to do is to read information about the research being conducted in the School of Biological Science. This can be found on the various Departmental web pages (Biochemistry, Biology, Cell Physiology &Pharmacology, Genetics, Infection, Immunity & Inflammation). Look at both the Research sections and the People/Staff pages to see the kinds of work people are doing.
Of course, if you are not going to be Leicester-based for the summer, then there is nothing to stop you investigating the possibilities of similar lab experience at a different University nearer to your home. However, you must expect this process to take longer (and ideally you ought to make initial contact before the Christmas vacation so that you might get a chance to visit in person). A potential supervisor elsewhere is likely to want a reference from your Personal Tutor and a copy of your results to date. Therefore, you ought to raise this possibility with your tutor at the earliest opportunity – the more notice they have that a reference is required the better.
(2) write an e-mail: Next, write a polite e-mail to a potential supervisor whose research area interests you. Explain that you are interested in being considered for a summer placement and wondered whether or not they would consider taking you on.
Hopefully you will receive an enthusiastic response. However, don’t be too disappointed if they reply declining your suggestion; there can be all manner of reasons why they may say no, including the fact that they themselves will be away over the summer, or because they have a major piece of work scheduled thst needs their undivided attention, or because they already have a student placed with them/in negotation with them, or (for schemes where quotas are applicable) because they know that someone else within the Department already has plans to apply.
Some potential supervisors may wish to wait until the results from the January exams are published to ensure that you are likely to be a strong applicant (the schemes are all competitive and it is of little benefit to anyone to put time into an application that is doomed from the outset). This will make the application process quite tight (particularly if you are wanting to apply for one of the awards with an early February deadline) – so if you have First class marks from Year 1 you may want to mention this in your initial message.
(3) Meet with the potential supervisor: It is important that you don’t bypass step (2) and turn up out of the blue at someone’s office. However, if you are going to move the process forward you will need to meet with the staff member as soon as possible – regardless of the specifics of who actually submits the application for the scheme(s) of interest, you will need to have discussed this together in advance.
.
The John Innes Centre in Norwich is a major resesarch facility specialising in plant and microbial science. We have been sent details of a summer scheme they are running which looks like a fantastic opportunity for anyone interested in microbiology or applied biology (but stretching to those interested in biochemistry or genetics too). The Scheme includes free accommodation, £200 per week and use of recreational facilities. The downside (such as there is) seems to be that you are committed to a full 8 weeks of work on specified dates (some of the other schemes are rather more flexible on when you work and for how long). If you have the potential to commit two months to lab research then this is definitely worth further investigation. See the John Innes Centre website for more details. The deadline is March 1st 2010.
The page detailing potential sources of funding for summer studentships has been substantially updated to include a much broader range of sponsors (see link, top right of this page). Some of those now listed will require you to conduct the research at their Institute, others will support research conducted in University laboratories.
The more eagle-eyed users of the Bioscience Careers website may have noticed the recent addition of a “Careers Events” tab – top right. This link will take you to a listing of forthcoming careers conferences and festivals. Particular emphasis will be given to specifically bioscience-focused events and/or events taking place near Leicester.
Back in September I wrote a post about Medical School Interviews on the sister-site Journal of the Left-Handed Biochemist. The original audience for the article were A level students. However, the article was well received and with many bioscientists planning to go on to study Medicine after their initial degree I thought it would also be useful to add a link from here.
For a number of years New Scientist has produced special issues promoting Graduate jobs. Their 2009 edition has recently been published and is available to read online (with the added bonus that you can download particular pages if you so wish). As well as advertisements for jobs and courses for further study, the magazine also contains an excellent article on practical advice for interviews. Coverage is not limited to bioscience careers, but there are several examples drawn from individuals with life science degrees. The magazine is also developing a wider student-focussed website, which can be reached via this link.
During the 2007 series of CABS seminars, Dr Peter Meacock, Sub-Dean for Graduate Studies in the College of Medicine & Biological Sciences at the University of Leicester gave some advice for Bioscientists considering a PhD as their next step after their degree. He has kindly updated his slides.
A video of his original presentation is available here.
Additionally, a panel of current PhD students were interviewed about their experience and the advice that they’d offer. A video of their discussion is available via this link. The panelist were Dan Hayward [BSc(hons) Biological Sciences (Microbiology)], Andrew Chadburn [BSc(hons) Medical Biochemistry, Abbie Fairs [BSc(hons) Biological Sciences (Physiology and Pharmacology)] and Priscilla Lo [Bsc(hons) Medical Genetics].
Following her presentation as part of the 2009 seminar series, the CABS team have subsequently been on a site visit to see Emma Catchpole at work. In this short video, Emma elaborates on her role and offers advice to students considering a similar career.
Dr Jo Marchant [BSc(Hons) Biological Science (Genetics), 1995] gave a talk as part of the 2007 series of Careers After Biological Science seminars. Jo has worked for both Nature and New Scientist, and is also the author of Decoding the Heavens which tells the fascinating story of the discovery of the Antikythera mechanism, believed to be the world’s first computer.
A video of Jo’s presentation can also be seen via this link.
