My search for a PhD place was rather more organised than my,
admittedly flukey, admission onto my undergraduate placement (documented
here).
Spending my placement year surrounded by people who had either completed or
were in the midst of a PhD themselves somehow didn't put me off the idea, so in September 2017, I started my search for the perfect PhD
opportunity. I wanted to find a project which utilised electrophysiology, a technique I got a taste for during my placement, to measure brain cell activity, and in particular to investigate what goes wrong in neurodegenerative diseases.
My search began on
findaphd.com, where I regularly used the search feature to find new
adverts for PhDs involving electrophysiology. I also set up email alerts for new PhD opportunities in Biological & Medical Sciences, so that I
wouldn't miss any opportunities of interest that didn't explicitly mention electrophysiology.
Through these email alerts, I
found a project investigating the role of an ion channel in Alzheimer's
disease. I used the contact form on findaphd.com to
message the supervisor, and we arranged to speak more about the project
over the phone. This ended up being a mini-interview, in which I
summarised my research experience and its relevance to the project, and
was then able to ask my own questions. I discovered that there would be
no electrophysiology in the project itself, which was disappointing, but
at least it meant I hadn't wasted time applying for a project which
wasn't right for me.
Several of my former labmates' PhDs
were part of a Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) with three other
universities, which was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC).
This structure enabled the students to be part of collaborative research
between two or more institutions, and have access to a broad range of
specialist equipment, not to mention funding for additional training
opportunities, which could involve going abroad! I found several
interesting projects on this scheme being advertised for my year, and used findaphd.com
to contact a potential supervisor, who was impressed with my
qualifications and experience to date. When it came to the application, I
added second and third choices in the hope of maximising my chances of success,
but I eventually found out that I hadn't been shortlisted for an
interview (on my birthday, of all days!).
Undeterred, I
put in another couple of applications over the Christmas holidays, this
time for projects funded internally within the respective universities, rather than by an external Research Council. The first project (Project
#1) proposed to investigate a neurodevelopmental disorder using in vivo
electrophysiology, and I was delighted to be chosen by the project
supervisor as the preferred candidate! The second project (Project #2)
also used in vivo electrophysiology, but this time to investigate the
effects of a drug which was found to slow down neurodegeneration in a
mouse model. Project #2 was also an industrial collaboration, which
would provide an opportunity to work at a pharmaceutical company for a
year. Five days after submitting my application for Project #2, I was
invited for a Skype interview with the three project supervisors, with
just 19 hours' notice! I was uncharacteristically calm the night before,
then despite the interview starting half an hour late, I managed to
stay calm and give well-thought-out responses, which led to me being
selected as the candidate!
However, being selected by
the supervisors was only half the story. For Project #1, I had to have a
face-to-face panel interview in early February alongside five other
candidates for different projects, and only the top candidate would
receive the scholarship. The process for Project #2 was very different;
once I'd been selected as the candidate, the lead supervisor and I
modified my original application, and the new version was one of 24
applications from across the university sent to the Selection Committee, of which only 10 received
funding. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to secure the funding for either
of these opportunities, but the experiences did prove useful.
There was no time to be sad, however, as I had another interview the following
week! Project #3 was similar to Project #2, but used in vitro electrophysiology rather than in vivo. The project was within an MRC
DTP similar to the one I applied for originally, but this time I chose
to apply only for one project. I left the interview thinking I could've
done more, but I had actually done well enough to get on the DTP – the
problem was, another student higher up the rankings had already accepted
the project I wanted. I visited another lab offering a project loosely
related to my interests, but while the lab members were very welcoming, I
ultimately chose to continue searching for an opportunity better aligned
with my interests.
In the time between my interview for
Project #3 and my decision not to take the alternative project, two
more projects had taken my interest. Project #4 proposed to use in vitro
electrophysiology to investigate a gene which is a risk factor for
Alzheimer's Disease, while Project #5 wasn't related to
neurodegenerative diseases, but would still provide training in electrophysiology, as well as behavioural experiments. Both projects had
funding secured, so the only hurdle was to be chosen by the
supervisors. I was shortlisted for both projects and got on well at the
interviews, but in mid-March I had an unexpected phone call from the lead supervisor of Project #2, notifying me of a new funding opportunity
which had arisen for the same project.
The new funding for
Project #2 was also part of an MRC DTP, but the selection process was
more similar to the arrangement for Project #1, in that one candidate
for each of the six projects would be interviewed, but this time the top
two students received funding. Later in March I arranged to meet the lab members, and I was thoroughly impressed with their enthusiasm about their research and
the contribution of Project #2 to their overall research aims. I was also fortunate to
meet a senior researcher/manager from the industrial collaborator and
find out how she progressed to that stage. By the end of the day, I was
completely sold on the idea of joining their lab, and in the following weeks I did my best to
prepare for the interview. Seven weeks later, I was back in the lab for a practice interview, and the following day I was the top-performing
student in the panel interview, therefore I had finally secured a
project I really wanted!
Now, 7 months after I was initially denied funding for it, I'm preparing to starting my ideal PhD! I'm so thankful that my supervisors kept me in mind and persevered to find another funding source, and I hope to keep you updated during my PhD journey.
