The series, organised by the Dunn School Postdoc and Graduate Student Associations, offers an informal platform for Dunn School Group Leaders to share their academic journeys—complete with the ups and downs—to advise and inspire any aspiring academics.
Taking advantage of the flexibility of the series, Monika charted her career on a whiteboard wheeled into the EPA seminar room. Beginning with a Molecular Biology Masters in Slovakia, Monika went on to a PhD in Austria. Impressively, at a conference in her second year, Monika was extended a job offer as a post-doctoral researcher in Nick Proudfoot’s lab, driving her to graduate a year early and join Nick’s lab, landing her first position at our own School of Pathology. From here she continued to become a group leader in her own right.
Along the way, Monika stayed well-travelled, spending brief stints in both Harvard Medical School and Kyoto University. These short fellowships in other labs (and the independent funding to support them) could help “make” a career, she advised, as they not only look good on a CV, but are great opportunities to meet and learn from new people, generating new ideas and inspiration. She also collected scientific awards and achievements, including being named one of the L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science in 2011, funding awards from the MRC and CRUK, and a tenured professorship at Oxford last year.
Such success didn’t come without frustrations, however, as Monika revealed in candid discussion with the graduate students and postdocs in the audience. Despite her L’Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science helping her onto short lists for fellowships and career development awards, it proved no benefit for her applications for lectureship positions around the UK. Additionally, perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the application process entailed convincing the funding bodies of her ability to stay independent of her former lab in Oxford, whilst staying in the same Department. Finding your own scientific niche is essential for this, she advised—you don’t want to compete with your former mentor.
Amidst her description of her career progression, Monika took a moment to remind the audience of the need to stay grounded, and to not lose sight of the bigger picture despite the tendency of aspiring academics to compare themselves to the achievements of their peers—because after all, she says, “to succeed is to be happy.”
Once again, the event was well received, with an engaging and enthusiastic speaker, and plenty of questions from the audience. The organisers Gytis Jankevicius (a postdoc in I. Ahel’s lab) and Derek Xu (a graduate student in A. Baena’s lab), are excited about the upcoming schedule of Group Leaders, including the next speaker, former Head of the Department, Herman Waldmann.
To read more about Monika Gullerova and her work, visit her lab page.
To read up more about the research undertaken by the various labs at the Dunn School, visit the res groups webpages.
Written by Derek Xu (@derekcxu)