A career in ...
Academic research

Profile
Name: Tracy Palmer

Age: 38

Present occupation:
MRC Senior Non-Clinical Research Fellow, John Innes Centre (October 2004 – September 2009)

Previous employment:

Recommended links:
John Innes Centre

The Medical Research Council Career Devlopment Awards

Wellcome Trust. Schemes include: Advance Training Fellowships and Research Career Development Fellowships.

Royal Society offers a number funding schemes to support postdcotoral researchers, including: Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships, UK Relocation Fellowships and University Research Fellowship.

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council offers BBSRC David Phillips Fellowships.

What attracted you to microbiology research?

I studied biochemistry at university, but I found myself particularly enjoying the lectures on bacterial physiology, photosynthesis and gene regulation. When it came to choosing a PhD I followed up this interest by working with photosynthetic bacteria, and I’ve worked with microbes ever since.

How did you find the transition from postdoc to research group leader?

Very difficult and quite traumatic! Nothing prepares you for the absolute responsibility of supervising PhD students and postdocs. During our training we acquire the ability to think scientifically, but we are not trained in people management skills and you just end up having to pick them up along the way!

Can you describe a typical day?

There isn’t really a ‘typical’ day, although more often than not I manage to find at least a couple of hours to work at the bench. I have never given up benchwork, it’s the thing I enjoy most about my job and one of the main reasons why I am a perpetual fellow! One of the great attractions of working in a research institute is the access to central facilities such as a media kitchen, which has saved me countless hours preparing LB and autoclaving tips! The rest of my time is taken up with grant and paper-writing and reviewing, other bits and pieces of admin and the odd conference here and there.

How do you fund  your research?

My research is funded through a combination of different funding bodies – the BBSRC, MRC, Royal Society and European Union are currently my main sources. In the past I have also enjoyed funding from the Leverhulme Trust and the Welcome Trust. Local funding bodies, in particular the John Innes Foundation and the University of East Anglia have been particularly helpful for funding for PhD projects.

Is it possible to achieve a good work-life balance as a researcher?

This is a difficult one. It’s a job that constantly encroaches on your time in one form or another. From working late meeting grant deadlines, to inoculating overnights on a Sunday, to attending scientific meetings, it’s almost impossible to have what most people would consider a ‘normal’ home life. As a working mother I try to restrict my working hours between 9am and 6pm during the week, and be away as little as possible at weekends, but it feels like a constant battle!

What is rewarding about your job?

My job is rewarding in lots of ways. The prospect of  making new scientific discoveries is still very exciting to me. It’s great to see people in the lab enjoying their research, and very rewarding to have a hand in their career development. Getting papers published and grants funded is something we always celebrate in the lab, and it makes up for the disappointments. Finally the opportunity to travel to conferences, particularly in exotic places, is a definite perk of the job!

How do you see your future?

I’m very happy with my current job, and I see my long-term future as a project leader here at the John Innes Centre. Norwich in general is a fantastic place to do microbiological research. Apart from the John Innes Centre, there are quite a number of microbiologists and bacterial biochemists at the University of East Anglia and at the Institute of Food Research, and medical microbiology in particular will be strengthened over the coming months and years with the construction of the Biomedical Research Centre (BMRC) at UEA. Although I expect my administrative load to increase over the coming years, I will be very disappointed if I have to hang up my Gilsons for good!

What advice can you offer people planning a career in microbiology research?

I can only really offer advice on a career in academic research, since this is the only experience I have. Choose PhD and postdoc positions carefully - publications are very important, so try and pick labs that have a good publishing record. Volunteer to supervise lab visitors, it’s good experience for training PhD students in future and it helps hone those all important people management skills! Finally, work on something that interests you – and be prepared to work long hours and weather quite a lot of disappointments along the way.