Podcast – How to choose a postdoc, and find the right PhD

Voice Over:

Welcome to the Dementia Researcher Podcast, brought to you by dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk, a network for early career researchers.

Charlotte Stoner:

Hello, my name is Charlotte Stoner and welcome to our podcast recording for the NIHR Dementia Researcher website. This week we’ll be discussing how to choose a postdoc and finding the right PhD. Today I’m joined by Christopher Madan, Angelique Mavrodaris and Suzanne Hill. Christopher is an assistant professor at the University of Nottingham. His areas of interest include memory, aging, brain structure and functions using MRI. Angelique is a clinical research fellow and consultant in public health at the University of Cambridge. Angelique’s areas of research include aging, dementia and infectious diseases from a global health perspective. Suzanne is a PhD student, a clinical teacher and also a pharmacist at the University of Bradford. Her research interests include medication management when people with dementia are moving between a care home and hospital setting. So, thank you very much for joining us today and I look forward to what I think will be a very interesting discussion for a topic that I’m sure most early career researchers have come across.

Charlotte Stoner:

So, identifying an area of interest to study in or to work in requires not only an awareness of where our own curiosity resides, but also an appreciation of the reality in which we can explore those interests. It also requires a personal level of enthusiasm or pragmatism. Beyond the search process itself. There’s a degree of compromise when identifying any meaningful opportunities when embarking on a PhD or a postdoc project. Topic, supervisor and location are all tricky decisions. So how can we make them, I’m hoping our panel today will be able to help.

Charlotte Stoner:

So to get things started, what I’d like to do is to ask each of our panelists to just briefly describe what their PhD involved. So Christopher, if I come to you first.

Christopher Madan:

Sure. So yeah, thank you for having me. So, my PhD may be a little bit different from the people listening to this podcast. I was more interested in just basic how does memory work. So not a clinical perspective itself, that’s something that developed over time, but what makes some information more memorable. Then over the course of my PhD in some of the different studies I did, came to look at emotion and reward and basically how these motivational type factors influence our memory for everyday things and more in the experimental setting. Basically my studies were looking at younger adults, so not applied yet, but that’s the thing over time.

Charlotte Stoner:

Great and Angelique, what was your PhD about? Or is, because you are in fact an actual PhD aren’t you? Yeah.

Angelique Mavrodaris:

Still doing it, yeah. So my PhD is currently bringing together two major public health challenges, dementia and infection. We know a lot about infections as a cause of dementia, but we know less about dementia progression and infection, the role of infection rather, in people with dementia. So I’m exploring infections and the impact of infections on dementia progression. I look at incidents, I look at outcomes and I look potential for prevention.

Charlotte Stoner:

Brilliant. And Suzanne, what about yours?

Suzanne Hill:

Yeah, so I’m currently studying a PhD also. Mine is about investigating the quality and continuity of medication management systems when people living with dementia in the care home setting move between the care home and hospital setting.

Charlotte Stoner:

Brilliant. So I suppose the first step in deciding to do a PhD is where do you look? Where are the PhDs advertised? Christopher, where did you see yours? Did you have to approach supervisors?

Christopher Madan:

Sure. So one thing that maybe is also relevant is think about which … let’s say across countries there’s probably differences. So I, for argument’s sake, know a bit less about how a student in the UK might look for a PhD in the what websites or something you might look to, but at least if you have some idea of what university, maybe contacting people at the university that you did your undergrad studies at. Then to look at the list of who are the faculty and the departments that might be relevant, who might have interests that are overlapping with what you think you might want to do and to reach out and see if you can meet with them in person, especially again if you’re in the same city and just try and have a chat with them and see if there’s some kind of actually overlap in terms of let’s say personality and that stuff as well and not just the topic and seeing what are they working on currently that might not be reflected in say their publications and their website profile.

Charlotte Stoner:

So I imagine some people might be a little bit nervous about maybe emailing professors or doctors or institutions. Would you just advise them to go for it?

Christopher Madan:

Be professional, but definitely go for it. So at least as an undergrad you likely emailed some of your professors in terms of your classes, but then also those people are doing research too. So those might not be the people that you want as your supervisor just in terms of topic, but you were able to approach them and sure it’s a different context, but it’s not that much different to email someone else at a different university, or again even if it was at the same where you are currently.

Charlotte Stoner:

What about Suzanne? How did you come to do your PhD?

Suzanne Hill:

So I was quite fortunate in that I was working at the University of Bradford at the time when I heard about the Alzheimer’s Society funded Doctoral Training Centre being set up at Bradford. I suppose during my master’s in research methods studies, I had been working with my supervisor who I’ve continued with with my PhD. So we had discussed a number of potential PhDs of which the Alzheimer’s Association one was the one that I have now gone forth and studied further. But the other things were I also looked at the NIHR fellowships and that type of thing as well, went to the … there was study days and things that were run by the NIHR, that I attended. So I considered a number of different opportunities, but it was the Alzheimer’s Society one that I was most drawn to. So that’s the one that I went with in the end.

Charlotte Stoner:

Do they advertise these on websites?

Suzanne Hill:

Yeah, they do advertise on websites as well. It was just that because I was within the institution, I suppose that it was easier in terms of I didn’t … I’m also, because I had a family and the location of the PhD was important for me, so I had that to consider as well. So for me, it just all fell into place in Bradford.

Charlotte Stoner:

Brilliant. Angelique, did you identify yours by another means? How did you come about doing a PhD?

Angelique Mavrodaris:

Well, I guess for me, I started out as an academic clinical fellow in public health. So I knew that I wanted to continue on an academic track. So I knew about the NIHR fellowships and other funding body fellowships. I guess we talk about the three Ps, person, place and project but I think there was always a fourth P for me and that was passion. It had to be something that I was super passionate about because I knew otherwise I’d lose interest or I’d just … It’s going to be hard enough as it is without passion, I think you’d struggle. So I thought about the areas that I was really passionate in and they were dementia, older people and infection and I’d worked in those areas.

Angelique Mavrodaris:

So I, keeping in mind that I had to prepare a grant proposal and put the PhD together myself, I thought about those two areas and how I could combine them and then thought about the people that could help me with that process. So, supervisors that could potentially and were potentially best placed to help with the topic, help with the skills that I’d need to achieve and that sort of thing. They weren’t in my host institution at the time, so I did, as Christopher had mentioned, approach them randomly. Luckily all three of them, because I felt I needed expertise in three specific areas, were very open, really, really helpful and really welcoming without knowing me at all. So I would agree. I’d say just go for it and do what you feel is right for what you’re passionate about to make it work.

Charlotte Stoner:

Those three experts that you contacted were they different institutions?

Angelique Mavrodaris:

All three of them were.

Charlotte Stoner:

Oh right, okay.

Angelique Mavrodaris:

That is something, I say it with reservation, because it was something that came up at interview, whether this was a good or a bad thing. For me I felt it was a good thing, because I’d been in one institution and I felt I needed to gain experience and learn about different styles, different things from different places. So it worked out well for me but I had to show that it could work and had to reassure the funding body that this isn’t something that would be a deterrent in the future. But just building that team and showing the strength of it was really important and I think made a lot of difference to my PhD as it is now.

Charlotte Stoner:

Did you have to travel back and forth to for meetings for supervisors and things?

Angelique Mavrodaris:

I do travel. I have two research team meetings a year that I organize, but I’ve also got blocks of time. So I have a block of time as a visiting scholar at another institution coming up later this year, that’ll be for six months. I have one main host institution that I’m based at but I will have two blocks of time visiting and then I’m able to go between departments and fortunately my funder is funding that, which makes it a lot easier.

Charlotte Stoner:

That makes easier, yeah.

Angelique Mavrodaris:

And really enriching as well.

Charlotte Stoner:

So we’ve touched upon it briefly, talking about passion and place and but what are the other things that are really important when you’re on taking a PhD? Because it’s three years, or I think up to seven years part time. So it’s a huge commitment. What are the things you should really consider before you start this journey? So Christopher, what do you think?

Christopher Madan:

So, I think one of the things that people tend to not think about as much as they should. So sure there’s the place and the project, but to some degree what’s really going with that is who your supervisor is. So let’s say from … I’ll just give an example that I can relate to better. Let’s say, studying emotion and memory. Lots of people study that and there are specific different places which you might have your own preference over where you’re willing to live or move to or whatnot. But then they’re not interchangeable that there’s just different people studying this topic, they’re people with their own broader views of their research and you should read their papers for sure beforehand, but then also if whenever possible, because this might be a bit difficult in some cases, but try and meet with them and actually have a conversation with who your potential supervisor would be and see how you get along.

Christopher Madan:

If you can go that far, if you can get a little bit further and talk with some of the current students, or even maybe more so former students of the supervisor, and see how they might reflect on their own supervision experience and see how the working style in terms of expectations, how often they want to meet? Just how they kind of talk to you. Those sorts of things are very important and yes, you have to be passionate about the topic, that’s still very important obviously, but it should be at least a somewhat enjoyable experience. It can be stressful and I’m sure it will be no matter what. I don’t think there’s a way round that, but let’s say when the supervisors may be a little bit stressed with you as the student, how do they communicate that?

Christopher Madan:

People just generally differ in that and that’s something that it’s hard to tell upfront but then if you can try and talk with the person beforehand and again, especially current and former students, they might be able to pass on some of that information and that should be able to inform your decision and makes a big difference. Because if that is something you’re doing for years of your life, it’d be nice to work with someone who’s supportive and can communicate in a way that works well and not something that adds additional stress beyond the part that has to be there, in a sense, of a PhD in itself.

Charlotte Stoner:

What about you, Suzanne? Angelique? Are there other factors that you think are really important when you’re considering doing a PhD?

Suzanne Hill:

Well, seconding what everybody else has said, the passion goes without saying. It’s got to be something that you’re passionate about to stick with it. I suppose that’s a passion in terms of the topic and also with regards to what Christopher was saying about the supervisors as well, that the supervisors and also the wider institution that you’re working within are all working in the field, the topic of your interest, and also that maybe the methods and approaches that people use as well. If you’re wedded to a particular approach, that that institution supports or has at least some expertise in supporting that approach. The location was really important for me as I mentioned earlier, because I have children so I was limited in terms of how far afield I could move, so that was important for me.

Suzanne Hill:

Also, I suppose if you’re an international student as well, which some of my colleagues are, there are other considerations, and I think Christopher mentioned, about is it a location that you … Is there housing? All these practical considerations. Is there a good postgraduate community there? Is there a vibrant postgraduate community, is that something that’s important to you from a peer support perspective and also a social perspective, you’ve got to have some downtime as well.

Suzanne Hill:

As Christopher said, with supervisors, luckily I knew some of my supervisors, I didn’t know others. I’m quite fortunate in both my passion for medicines and studying dementia both come together at Bradford. Luckily there’s good strong faculties, or schools of pharmacy and dementia studies that come together. So it was fortunate for me that that came together within the one institution and there’s fantastic support and academics within those disciplines there. So, yeah, I’m just trying to think if there’s anything else that we’ve not considered.

Charlotte Stoner:

What about you Angelique?

Angelique Mavrodaris:

So for me, and I spent a long time thinking about it. I still remember how long it actually took me. I think a lot of thinking goes into these things and when you’re in it, you forget. But what was really important to me was that it needed to be something that would take me to where I want to go.

Angelique Mavrodaris:

So I had an idea of what I wanted to achieve, what I wanted to do, what my calling was. The PhD, I felt, had to be a stepping stone or a door that would open me up to those possibilities and the potential and where I wanted to go next. So that was a really important consideration for me in planning the PhD as well.

Suzanne Hill:

I think also funding as well, the funding of the PhD and what you’re able to stand, you know?

Charlotte Stoner:

Yeah.

Suzanne Hill:

What kind of funding you can manage with. So, I think the financial considerations are really important and obviously some people self-fund, but then if you’re looking for something that’s funded, those are important considerations.

Charlotte Stoner:

Yeah, I suppose that’s very true because depending on the funding body actually the stipend and thing can differ quite a lot. So if you get it from a university, I believe they’re meant to be slightly better than economic and social research council or Alzheimer’s Society. How are you guys funded if you don’t mind me asking?

Christopher Madan:

So I’ll give a slightly different answer than what you actually asked. So as I am faculty now, I have students contacting me about … to potentially be PhD students under my supervision. So I’ll answer more in terms of what I know of the UK and how it works at Nottingham-

Charlotte Stoner:

Yeah, yeah perfect.

Christopher Madan:

… rather than my own less relevant, for argument’s sake, situation here. So at Nottingham, basically we go more for trying to get half of it funded by one of the doctoral training programs, let’s say at least for psychology, ends up being ESRC or BBSRC, partly based on what the scope of the project is. Then the department covers … The school covers the other half. So then, at least what I’ve gone with, and I think seems to work, is more for the potential student to contact the supervisor and get some guidance.

Christopher Madan:

So the school website should have some information as well, but if someone contacts me then I’ll say, “Here are some of the different project ideas that I’m thinking that could be the seed of an idea for a PhD proposal and here are the relevant funding sources that at least I know of.” So I’d be happy if the student was able to find something else beyond that and that’s great but at least I’m happy to provide some guidance to … Not that the student has to figure all of these things out.

Christopher Madan:

So at least, if there is somewhat of a narrower set of people that you, as the student trying to apply, wanted to contact. If the supervisor wants to take on students, I think that’s a minimal thing that they can do really easily but it’s quite a bit more work for you, is to figure out what funding agencies at that respective university that would fit the project ideas that would go with that supervisor. They would already know and just ask them. So maybe that makes it also maybe a little bit less daunting that you don’t have to have everything prepared when you first contact … send that first email and that’s less on you and easier to scope out your possible options then.

Charlotte Stoner:

Yeah. Yeah. Very good advice. Sorry Suzanne. I know you’re funded by Alzheimer’s Society because we’ve already said haven’t we? Angelique, what’s your funding body?

Angelique Mavrodaris:

So I’m NIHR funded.

Charlotte Stoner:

NIHR funded, yes of course, sorry.

Suzanne Hill:

I think the other thing is with those funding opportunities as well, I know with being part of the Doctoral Training Centre, there are other things that come alongside the funding. So there’s the funding but there might be opportunities. So for example, I might have the opportunity for international travel, or having international advisors associated with your PhD, having the opportunity to work with stakeholders. We have a stakeholder panel, and a care reference panel and so there’s really good links into … I think more so now, where it’s increasingly important that the research is translated into practice. There’s all those opportunities as well. I suppose they’re bonuses with the PhD, so I’ve enjoyed all those aspects of my PhD as well. It’s an extra thing to manage, but it’s a fantastic opportunity.

Charlotte Stoner:

Yeah, yeah. A PhD has got to have some upsides, hasn’t it? Yeah.

Suzanne Hill:

It’s got to have some … It has.

Charlotte Stoner:

So once you finish your PhD, you have to make that jump from a PhD to a postdoc. I know two of our panelists here are current PhD students. So what I’d like to ask from them is what are the things that … What are you going to consider when you’re making that jump? What’s important for you? What will you be looking for in a postdoc position? So Angelique, if I come to you first.

Angelique Mavrodaris:

I think it brings together a lot of things that we’ve been discussing as PhD points. So again, the person, place, project. I think I’ve started out building my skillset and my PhD has been a fantastic training opportunity, but at the end of it I know that I’ll probably need to build on that. So I need to think of the training elements of what direction I want to go in. I touched briefly on where I’m hoping to go in my career as a whole. So I’m hoping to expand my global public health research and that’s the direction I know I want to travel in and that’s hopefully where my postdoc can take me to. Again, we’ve talked about location, which I think is another consideration. I’ve just had a little girl so I will need to think about location quite carefully. So as much as I would love to take it to another institution, because I really believe in the idea that you can move around and learn more, we’ve got to be practical at the same time.

Angelique Mavrodaris:

So it’s trying to juggle, or balance, or bring all those concepts and elements together, that will hopefully contribute to it. But again, the underlying bit for me is always, it’s got to be something that excites me and that I really believe in.

Charlotte Stoner:

So for you, it’d probably be a little bit topic-based, you want to carry on with the global health stuff and that’s something you’re really passionate about. So when you’re looking for a postdoc, it’s the topic that is really pulling you towards a postdoc, would you say?

Angelique Mavrodaris:

It will, but at the same time balancing all the practical considerations that I need to, so yes.

Charlotte Stoner:

Suzanne, what about you? When you’re looking for a postdoc, what’s your ideal job?

Suzanne Hill:

Well, I suppose I’m slightly less certain than Angelique, I wish I was more clear in my mind of which direction I want to go with.

Angelique Mavrodaris:

That’s not true.

Suzanne Hill:

But currently, I do the research alongside teaching as well, so I’ve got a teaching position at Bradford, which I also really enjoy. So I’ve got both of those aspects that, do I combine the two? I’m not really fully into the research yet, so I’m hoping that it’s something that I really enjoy doing. It’s been fantastic so far, so I would anticipate that I will continue on the research route but then for me, there’s whether I continue that research in a purely academic setting and I combine it with teaching maybe, but also the opportunity to go back into the clinical setting and lead research in a different institution, in hospital or … So I suppose this part would be that’s keeping my eyes open as to what opportunities emerge, bearing in mind the practicalities of having a young family and also money, dare I say it? But we’ve got to be practical about these things. Also, having three children costs money, so there’s also that. But like Angelique, the excitement and the passion and the networking and the vibrancy that comes with a research career definitely appeals to me and I would love to do that.

Suzanne Hill:

There’s a lot of really exciting patient safety and dementia work streams going on within the locality where I am currently. So hopefully there might be some opportunities there that I can take advantage of.

Charlotte Stoner:

Christopher, you have made that jump from PhD to postdoc. What was your experience of that? Did you have to compromise on anything?

Christopher Madan:

No. So I guess, the thought process was think of … From the supervisors that I worked with in the research that I did, relative to the bigger picture of what I want to be studying in more of a career scale, what kind of skills were I currently missing and who would have the ability to give me that kind of experience? So, for argument’s sake, so I had done some research on emotion memory, but that’s a fairly broad field, so I wanted to work with someone else who would have that kind of expertise. I’d done some MRI work before that point, but I wanted a lab that, let’s say, everyone did MRI imaging and that that was just a staple in the lab. Whereas before, I was the only one in the respective labs that I was in doing that, which took a lot more work to just figure out basic things and, for argument’s sake, less confident I was doing it right.

Christopher Madan:

So then I wanted a lab that had both of those elements and one thing that wasn’t quite as planned initially, but ended up being really important, then, at least in my trajectory from that point forward, was also that lab did work doing aging. So then that wasn’t really something I was thinking of when I was looking for the postdoc, but was something that I knew that the lab did and I see what I thought of it and that has actually quite dramatically changed my career trajectory relative to what I thought, let’s say when I was looking for the postdoc. So, at least the thing to plan for, is what kind of skills do you think you want that you don’t yet have and what’s the best way to acquire them?

Christopher Madan:

Then again, similar to the advice for a PhD, try and talk to these people beforehand and hopefully as, let’s say, a current PhD student looking for a postdoc, you have more ability to do that than you did earlier stages, at conferences, or at meetings and also let’s say having a better idea of their research because as a PhD student, I would hope that someone could read the papers of a given researcher and get more out of it than someone looking for the PhD in the first place. So you’re going to take the skills that you used to get to the PhD and at least this line of reasoning is that you want to continue to academia, which I’ll say is not something that you have to by any means to do, but that’s the line of the … theme for the podcast.

Christopher Madan:

But definitely think about what do you want to do? So let’s say you’re wrapping up your PhD, what’s important to you? What aspects did you like or not like? So let’s say if there was a teaching component, or a marking, or some sort of that thing, did you enjoy that part? Do you want to go more in that direction? Do you want to go in more a research direction? Do you want to have more of an administrative facilitator role, like you’re being a research coordinator? Taking the skills that you gained, but then think of about which way you want to go. If it is a postdoc with the idea of going through a research career path, then to think about what kind of direction do you see that going? It very likely will change quite a bit along the way, but at least try and think the best that you can at that point, about where you see it going and what would facilitate that path.

Charlotte Stoner:

Brilliant. So from over here it sounds like more topic and the topic that you want to be researching is more important. Though Christopher, you’re saying more it’s about identifying which methods you want to use and maybe expanding your skillset to include other things?

Christopher Madan:

So I’d still say topic, but I guess I’m … At least my point there was to give a bit more advice about how to pick which topic.

Charlotte Stoner:

Oh right, okay.

Christopher Madan:

So to have a bigger idea about your topic than you did for the PhD and then what portions within it that you currently just don’t have because you’re at that more junior stage, and then think about how to have a fuller picture, to have a more coherent research program, that’s obviously bigger in scope than what your PhD was, and to fill in that way, as a directer way to just have more of a comprehensive approach to the bigger research question that you’re interested in.

Charlotte Stoner:

Great. Okay, so I think we’re probably at our last question. So it is this. Did you make the right choice? Suzanne, did you make the right choice for your PhD?

Suzanne Hill:

Thanks. Yes, I most definitely did. There have been challenges. I think my challenges come more from juggling a young family and having a PhD and a teaching position as well. So it’s more a strategic planning thing, but most definitely chose the right topic and am positioned at the right institution with the right people supporting me to further my research in that field. So, yeah, definitely.

Charlotte Stoner:

Slight follow-up question.

Suzanne Hill:

Yeah.

Charlotte Stoner:

What would you say your top tip is for someone who’s thinking about doing a PhD? What advice would you give to them?

Suzanne Hill:

I would say think about it carefully because it’s a big commitment. It’s a big commitment both in terms of time and financial commitment, so consider that carefully. I would say that it’s a fantastic opportunity, it’s a fantastic career. I would say that no matter how much you plan, it’s always important to have that element that allows flexibility because often you may plan things, or think things are going to work out in a certain way, and they invariably don’t. There’s got to be some kind of flexibility there to allow things to emerge and happen. But yeah, I would say go for it.

Charlotte Stoner:

Just go for it.

Suzanne Hill:

If I can manage it, you can.

Charlotte Stoner:

And Angelique, did you make the right decision and what would be your top tip for someone who’s considering doing a PhD?

Angelique Mavrodaris:

Definitely feel like I made the right decision. I love what I do. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else and I really value the fact that I was able to balance my clinical and academic career and bring the two together. I think it looked like something impossible at the beginning, but my funder, my employer were great when I first proposed the idea, so I’m really loving that interface and feel really fortunate to be in this position. It feels like a real privilege to be able to do research and clinical work alongside each other, so really, really happy and would not change it.

Angelique Mavrodaris:

In terms of top tip, wow. I think we’ve, we’ve talked and touched on so many top tips, but I’d say, if this is what you want and if this is what you believe is right for you, then just go for it. If the first hurdle comes along and you fail, second hurdle comes along and you fail, don’t let it get you down. Just carry on because I applied a couple of times. I think I spent a year and a half almost thinking about these things and writing proposals, doing interviews. It’s not easy. It can be really disheartening, demoralizing. You will get rejections but just persist and don’t give up on your dream, just go for it.

Charlotte Stoner:

And Christopher, what about you?

Christopher Madan:

So I guess the first one is about if I think it works out as planned? Or what was …

Charlotte Stoner:

Did you make the right choice? PhD or postdoc?

Christopher Madan:

Well, I think it all worked out. So I recently started faculty position, so at least … and I like what I’m doing. So in terms of research career-wise, I guess things have worked out and I’m happy with what I’m doing. As a tip, I guess somewhat related to that, but even otherwise, things will not go linearly just let’s say from project to project and position to the other. That’s fine. I’m sure it basically never goes linearly and that just gives you more breadth of knowledge and experiences and that’s maybe not … might not seem as directly useful as in why you think it’s not linear at the given time, but it will help later on and they’re just other things that you know something about or other experiences that you have that might benefit you in ways that you can’t initially planned for and it gives you a broader view.

Christopher Madan:

As a somewhat separate tip because I felt that that was still part of the, how things worked out. I’d say also look into, in terms of let’s say flexibility, like Suzanne had mentioned. When you’re applying either, let’s say, as the PhD or as the postdoc, also see if there’s others supervisors, not just the primary one that you want to work with, that do interesting work because maybe end up being collaborators on a followup study, maybe not right when you get there, but also having other people talk to you in another research lab and not just the people that you’re initially planning to work with. To have a bit more breadth and not be like, “Oh, if things don’t work out, that’s all that you have.” And just have more options, so something to look into.

Suzanne Hill:

Yeah, that’s been really good on my … with the group that we were, because there’s a cohort of seven PhD students in the Doctoral Training Centre and everyone’s very different approaches and very different disciplines and that does bring something else for everybody else, even though the approach is very different. So I agree with that.

Charlotte Stoner:

Brilliant. So over this very interesting half an hour, we’ve learned that passion and practicalities are perhaps very important when you’re doing a PhD. It is a commitment, but as long as you enjoy it and you are doing what you want to be doing, then it’s generally fine. Is that the consensus?

Christopher Madan:

Yeah.

Suzanne Hill:

Yeah, it’s flexible, which is excellent when you’ve got family as well.

Christopher Madan:

And have the opportunity of maybe live in different countries as things go, depends on other constraints, but it’s flexible in that way too.

Angelique Mavrodaris:

You can really make a difference with your PhD, I think. If you believe that and if you can make it work, it’s a special journey.

Suzanne Hill:

Yeah, the opportunity to make a difference is a real privilege, I agree with that as well.

Charlotte Stoner:

Brilliant. So I think with that, it’s time to end today’s podcast recording. I’d like to thank our panelists, Christopher. Angelique and Suzanne and hope that you enjoyed this recording. Please remember to subscribe to this podcast through SoundCloud or iTunes, tell your friends and colleagues and share via social media using the hashtag ECRDementia. Tweet, dem_researcher if you’d like to get involved or have any suggestions for future podcasts. Our website is also constantly updated with funding opportunities for those PhD and job listings. So make sure you take a look at dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk. You can also use the community page of this website to engage with our panelists this evening or any others and please do ask us any further questions you might have. Thank you and come back soon.

Voice Over:

This was a podcast brought to you by Dementia Researcher. Everything you need in one place. Register today at dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk.

END