In this recording Dr Lovesha Sivanantharajah, Alzheimer’s Society Research Fellow from Bangor University gives a talks about balancing a research career and parenthood.
Covering everything from the decision on when to start a family, to how to cope with work during pregnancy, changes to the brain, and then how to adapt to life as a parent – whilst also keeping an eye and a focus on your career. In this incredibly candid and honest discussion, Lovesha explores the issues, and shares how she and her husband organise life.
- 0:00 Introduction
- 2:04 Understanding why certain parts of the brain are vulnerable to Alzheimer’s Disease
- 5:50 What do you wish you had known before you became a parent?
- 13:59 How do you cope with financial concerns about fixed-term contracts and potentially needing to uproot your family to go to a new job?
- 18:03 How do you divide up parenting work with your partner, if you have one?
- 21:42 What support have you received from funders and from your employer with parental leave and returning to work? Was there support you would have liked that you didn’t get?
- 26:26 What was parenting/working from home like for you during the pandemic?
- 30:49 What challenges have you faced as an academic and a parent? Good Employee Devoted Parent
- 38:54 What have been the best aspects of being an academic and a parent?
- 41:34 What challenges and joys do you see ahead of you as a parent in academia?
Emily Spencer
Nature Careers Blog
