Joining a thriving community
With Dr Phil Elks
Phil has spent much time within the Sheffield Zebrafish community between his PhD, Postdoc and his current position as a research group leader, albeit an interlude with a fellowship in the Netherlands. Along the way, his research focus switched from bone development to the study of inflammation, but he kept his tool of choice, the powerful zebrafish animal model. Being part of a centre of excellence in using the Zebrafish model has enabled Phil to belong to a vibrant community of peers with interest and expertise, as well as offering the infrastructure, all elements that are so significant when developing a research niche.
Phil made a careful choice of research team to host his first fellowship. He used the word-of-mouth strategy and conference circuit to meet his fellowship host. This first fellowship was a short one from the European Respiratory Society, but this allowed him to have his first experience developing a new independent research project by bringing together his previous research skills, experiences and interests. Many funders offer research travel funds and small fellowships that are great opportunities to take the first steps towards research independence. Spotting these opportunities and understanding the funding landscape are critical competencies in research careers.
Hopping between fellowships is often part of the research independence transition game. With a bagged first fellowship, transitioning to a 2nd one that would allow him to build his research group took a great deal of effort. Phil left nothing to chance and shifted the odds in his favour by applying to 8 fellowships. What is essential to know about fellowship applications is that you can apply to different funders with the same project if you let them know you have applied to other funders. Eventually, he was awarded two.
Reflecting on his career, Phil is glad he took the chance to work abroad during his first fellowship. In retrospect, he wished he would not have had any fear in the move as he thoroughly enjoyed this period abroad, which was precious for his career.
The strategy of recruiting team members
As a fellow, it took some time before he started to recruit his team. Fellowships have different amounts of funding and access to PhD studentships, so it may take time for fellows before they can form their research group.
For fellows, these first years of primarily still working on their own can be significant, as it allows them to put things in place technically and methodologically so that when they get their first recruits, things are well set up. For Phil, he was able to initially be a co-supervisor of PhD students before starting to recruit his team. At the start of his 2nd fellowship, he recruited a research assistant instead of a Postdoc to establish the technical support needed for his future team.
The strategy of new PIs in deciding who to recruit first is a complex one. It is, of course, very dependent on your departmental set-up and the funding awarded to you. It is also influenced by the type of research you do.
Listening to our conversation will prompt your thinking:
How spotting small funding opportunities is part of shifting towards research independence
What informal opportunities may you consider to construct your leadership development
What could be your best recruitment strategy for building your team
More about Phil
Dr Phil Elks is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Medicine and Population Health at The University of Sheffield. His research career has been dedicated to using Zebrafish as a model to study human diseases. Being part of a vibrant community using this animal model has shaped his career.
Phil started developing his research team by being awarded a VC fellowship at the University of Sheffield and then a Sir Henry Dale fellowship.
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/smph/people/clinical-medicine/phil-elks
Thinking carefully and strategically about who needs to be recruited first, technician, PhD, Masters or Postdoc- is not straightforward. For some new PIs, getting great applicants can also be challenging. Those you recruit in the early years of developing your team will have a massive influence on how your research group develop and thrive. The excitement of getting fellowship funding and the eagerness to build your team could lead you to recruit too quickly and not the most suited team members you could.
In his strategy, Phil has had Master’ students as valuable team members who, over short research periods, could either consolidate projects or initiate new research lines. Being linked to a medical school has also enabled him to recruit trainee medics who spend some research periods during basic research.
o Who are the team members you want to recruit first? What will make the biggest difference in the dynamics of the team?
o What is your recruitment approach beyond a well-crafted job advert that could lead to talented applicants choosing to apply to work with you?
o Can you give yourself permission to slow down the recruitment process to ensure you are recruiting a candidate who will work well with you and the team?
PI progression
Phil has relished the shift from doing research to leading research as a way of enjoying research in a different way. Like all academics, he has faced “time” as the biggest challenge. He shares his incredulity at realising the number of admin tasks passed on you as a research team leader, which you were protected from as a Postdoc.
Aware that the transition from fellowship to lectureship position will eventually happen, Phil has been happy to contribute to a limited amount of teaching. As his faculty does not have undergraduate students apart from medical school students, his teaching has focused on postgraduate courses. He has had the privilege to focus his teaching on areas linked to his research.
Academic progression is often a consideration in deciding what to take on regarding admin and citizenship activities. Up until now, his engagements have been aligned with his current position as a new PI. For example, he has had roles as an Early Career Researcher Champion, which allows him to sit on a faculty committee that promotes the needs of early career researchers and fellows. There is often a challenge in being offered formal leadership opportunities within your department and faculty that are perceived as senior enough when applying for promotion.
Phil shares that discussing this issue of leadership opportunities with his line manager during the annual review process has been informative. Whilst you may feel that you are contributing plenty enough to be promoted, this may not be the perception of the promotion panel. Having someone who has experience in promotion panels evaluate your contributions and provide you with feedback may bring some clarity.
You may feel frustrated that some of your contributions are not perceived as significant enough to tip you over the promotion hurdle. However, at least getting clarity on how your contributions are perceived is essential information.
It is often the case that people need to articulate better the impact of their contributions. It may not be that you need to do anything differently; it could just be that you need to communicate your contribution differently, for example, more aligned with the department/institution's goals/ strategy.
For those who receive feedback that they need to show more leadership impact, you may feel that there needs to be more formal opportunities within your department/ faculty. Promotions review panels are not focused on formal departmental roles, so exploring the non-formal leadership opportunities that exist to develop this side of your role can have a strategic impact on your promotion.
o Who have you asked to provide you with feedback about the impact of your contributions?
o If you need to expand your leadership portfolio, where do you see gaps and what are you deeply interested in contributing to?
o Can you explore how to better showcase the impact of your contributions instead of feeling that you need to do more than you already do?
“I think it’s very difficult to feel supported, especially in those early stages as a postdoc, because you don’t have a permanent position. I think that’s a big problem in science. It’s difficult to feel supported if you’re not actually going to be supported to go to the next step…supporting people to do that next step.””
