What does your role entail?

I am in my third year of working as a PostDoc researcher and I’m currently working on two projects. The first is a safefood-funded project, looking at snacking in children, on an all-Ireland basis. It’s very much an unresearched topic, so there's a lot of mining of UK and Irish databases for evidence.

The second is an MRC-funded project called CONNECTS-Food, which aims to co-create with stakeholders an implementation intervention to support schools in adopting a whole-school approach to food, across the UK. They’re both fascinating projects and dovetail quite well so I’m very luck

How supported do you feel working at Queen’s?

There’s a lovely sociability to working within IGFS which I really love – it’s a very collegiate and supportive environment. It’s easy to get to know the more senior researchers and there are lots of networking opportunities and fun things like the Christmas party. The new Biological Sciences building has been a real plus, in that sense. Behind the scenes, you know your supervisors and other senior researchers are really looking out for you and mentoring you, helping you find research projects, etc.

Of course, there are downsides – it’s financially insecure and some PostDocs are jumping from a two-month contract here to a three-month contract there, and Brexit and Covid has just made it a whole lot worse. That’s the same in any UK university right now. But it’s still a great learning experience. You can really develop your skills – not just your research ability but other skills like stakeholder engagement, promotion in the media, networking, etc. These are transferable skills for any career.

What are your hopes for the future?

I’m keeping an open mind. Academia is an obvious option and I already do some PhD supervision and teaching. I am also working towards a PGCHET qualification which is a great thing to have on the CV. I was very lucky that in my first research project as a PostDoc (an EITFood-funded, two-year project called We Value Food) there were funds available for the PGCHET – that’s not always the case.

But I’m also drawn to the policy side of things and would consider working in a regulatory organisation like the Public Health Agency or the Food Standards Agency. Or there are industry jobs where you can still be involved in research, so I wouldn’t rule that out either.

Having research experience and a PhD is always going to be a bonus whether you’re aiming for an academic career or working outside the university. I would definitely encourage anyone thinking of a PhD as it’s great to have your own specialist area of knowledge for a few years – you never get that opportunity again. But I would equally say to someone considering a PhD: Don’t undertake it unless you really are passionate about the subject. There will be hurdles to overcome and I think that deep commitment is necessary to drive you on.