PhD Profiles: Jeff, 3rd Year in Medical Engineering, Imperial College London

Committing to do a PhD on a single project for several years can be daunting, so I’m starting a new series to help people who might be trying to make similar decisions. I’ll be sharing profiles from PhD students past, present and future, so you can gain insights from their experiences.

I figured a logical place to start would be with myself, so here’s an overview of my journey so far.

Here are all the PhD profiles.

If you fancy sharing your PhD journey on the site, please get in touch!

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Introduce yourself and summarise your PhD in a sentence

I’m Jeff, a third year PhD student at Imperial. In a sentence, my PhD work involves using 3D imaging to help both understand, and hopefully regenerate, articular cartilage: a tissue on the end of bones in the articulating joints of your body.

Cartilage can be damaged by accidents and sporting injuries or even just day to day wear and tear, so can affect a whole range of ages. The tissue isn’t good at repairing itself, so if you cause too much damage to it the tissue will tend to continue to degrade. If it’s not dealt with it can eventually lead to osteoarthritis.

I’m using micro-CT imaging and correlative techniques to basically help figure out the tissue’s properties and design better interventions. The work is very multidisciplinary. I’m just one cog in a bigger project aiming to design new materials and implants to repair and regenerate the damaged tissue.

You can find me on LinkedIn, Twitter or of course on this website!

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PhD Applications

What’s your background?

Many moons ago (2008-2012) I studied mechanical engineering (MEng) at Warwick. When I started the course I didn’t have much of an idea of what I wanted to do afterwards. I’d chosen mechanical engineering because at school I’d been decent at the required subjects. I also enjoyed designing and building things. However, I was pretty naive as to what it would actually involve!

During the second year I took a module in Biomedical Materials. This opened my eyes to the concept of engineers helping to solve healthcare-related problems. Suddenly the idea of using my skills in this area sounded way more interesting and noble than typical engineering problems.

In hindsight I’d have loved to have studied bioengineering as an undergraduate, but it wasn’t even on my radar. From there I went on to take projects in my third and fourth years which were focused on biomedical issues. It was at this point that I got interested in doing a PhD, although I wasn’t completely convinced. I was also terrified of choosing the wrong project!

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Why did you choose to do a PhD?

I really enjoyed the research projects in my undergrad degree. Sometimes undergrad courses can feel like a conveyor belt, where everyone learns the same content and the academic staff know all of the answers. Research projects on the other hand help to answer questions which push the field forwards, whilst having some autonomy and picking up skills.

It was really fun to actually contribute. Plus I really enjoy hands-on things, making stuff and running physical experiments.

I find experiments far more interesting than theory and typical coursework! It was a breath of fresh air to work on interesting questions and have the freedom to explore a research area. A PhD is basically a longer version of this! I’ve also written a post covering my main reasons for choosing to do a PhD here.

If you’re considering going in to a PhD straight from your undergraduate (or masters), it might feel off putting when your friends are talking about going in to high paying grad jobs. It can even feel like you’re being left behind. But the following factors helped me to realise that doing a PhD wouldn’t be a bad idea:

1. The difference in earnings between current PhD students and grad salaries really isn’t as high as you’d think. I’ve written about this here.
2. If you’re at all tempted to do a PhD, it makes a lot more sense to do it now than later in your career where there really would be a big drop in earnings, which many would find difficult to deal with.
3. There is more to life than money. The opportunity to explore a topic you’re interested in with loads of freedom and getting paid to do it, is amazing. If you’re worried about money, read my posts about PhD funding in the UK, the cost of living in London and ways of making extra money. I live very comfortably as a PhD student in one of the most expensive cities in the world. If you can get your expenses figured out it doesn’t need to be a struggle.

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How did you decide on a PhD project?

This can be really difficult decision to make. In my case I didn’t even apply for any PhDs until I’d finished my undergraduate degree for two reasons:

1) I hadn’t worked too hard in the first few years of my degree and so my predicted grade wouldn’t have been as good. Committing myself in the final year brought up my marks.

2) I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do a PhD in. I thought it would be a good idea to get a taste of working in a few different research areas. From the research projects in my undergrad course I knew I wanted to do some kind of medical engineering project, but didn’t know the specifics.

Rather than pursue a research masters course I worked in a few different academic departments for almost four years. After my undergraduate degree I worked in Haematology at Cambridge for about six months, did a short stint at an engineering consultancy (again working on healthcare products) and finally spent three years in Anaesthetics at Cardiff.

I actually began applying for PhDs as soon as I began working. It wasn’t my intention to spend quite so long working before starting a PhD, but in hindsight it provided me with the right mindset to treat my PhD like a job. In addition I got some nice CV-enhancing experience which I would not have had otherwise. I try not to dwell on the fact that starting straight after my degree would have allowed me to have completed my PhD before I even started it!

On the flip side while the experience was useful, it wasn’t ideal way to exposed to lots of different potential projects. I would suggest trying to make the most of opportunities during your undergraduate course to gain a variety of experience. This includes working on research projects over the summer.

Ultimately, no matter how long you spend deciding on a project, it may go differently to how you expect. Unless you have really specific expectations for what you want to get out from it, I’d suggest applying for a variety of projects with funding and see how they go. Meet the research group, tour the facilities and chat with your potential supervisor: this should all give you a good idea of whether it’s a good fit for you.

Be sure to speak candidly with your potential supervisor about your interests to get a sense of how flexible they are at tailoring projects.

Other posts on this topic that you may find useful include tips for how to choose a supervisor and a project and how to find projects with funding.

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What made your application stand out?

1. Subject interest and relevant experience

I was mostly applying to areas I already had some experience in. This made it easier to sincerely sell myself whilst showing the academic staff I was committed.

Potential supervisors won’t expect for you to have in depth knowledge of a topic, but there will likely be some crossover in terms of your skill set or certain experimental and analytical techniques.

2. Research outputs

From my undergraduate degree I had two research projects I’d worked on which were relevant, but I’d not published them in an academic journal. This is where my experience working as a research assistant helped. Having three academic papers in decent journals (even though I was first author on none of them) definitely helped. As was being linked to abstracts, posters and presentations which had won awards.

All of these show that you work well in a team and that you have a track record of research outputs: which academic departments want PhD students to produce.

Most of the PhD students I currently work with went straight into PhD from studying another degree. Some even without a Masters. A minority of these students published papers from their undergraduate degrees but it’s not completely necessary.

If you’re fortunate to be a in a position where you can publish some work then do try to, but nobody is expecting you to be able to magic a paper out of nowhere. If you can demonstrate your interest in a subject, and preferably back it up with some experience, that is the main thing.

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What advice do you have for people applying?

Firstly: apply! If you’re interested in the topic don’t be put off applying, even if you don’t think you’ll get it. You don’t need to be a genius, just prove that you’re hardworking and interested in the field. No matter how far you get through the process, it’ll be useful. If you get an offer but realise either the topic or the supervisor aren’t a good fit, you can always turn it down.

Don’t feel under pressure to apply while you’re finishing off your degree. If you have too much already going on I can completely understand wanting to concentrate on your finals. I did this myself and didn’t apply to anything until after I left. You may even find any experiences you gain in the meantime can add an interesting perspective to your application.

As mentioned above, put yourself out there to try different potential projects. Look at UROP schemes which you could spend the summer on. Alternatively, if you can afford to support yourself, you can simply cold-call or email academics in areas you’re interested in to get some voluntary experience.

This could be particularly good if you’re living back at home with your family. You’d be surprised at how well received your email may be and I’ve hosted work experience students through this route. Having even a few weeks research experience demonstrates your drive.

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Life as a PhD Student

What have been the highlights of your PhD?

1. Collaborations

Yes, it’s likely that for the main part of your PhD you’ll be working independently, but there are usually opportunities to collaborate. Working together with other people motivated to reach the same goal is really rewarding: certainly it can be a lot more fun and productive than working on your own.

My project has involved formal collaboration with other universities and research institutions, but I’ve had the most fun working with fellow PhD students at Imperial. Sometimes we have contributed to parts of each others PhD topics and on other occasions it’s been on completely separate side projects.

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2. Outreach & mentoring

One of the highlights of my PhD has been getting involved with activities to engage the public with science. I’d never done any outreach beforehand and it can be challenging at first if you’re an introvert (like me). But you’ll quickly get into the swing of things and it’s really fun speaking to different people and hearing their points of view.

Busy afternoon chatting slug slime science @royalsociety‘s Summer Science 2018 with @celizlab & @NHM_London. Team are there again 10-6 tomorrow, drop by! pic.twitter.com/frFEYLjJm0

— Jeff Clark (@savvy_scientist) July 7, 2018

In the same category I’m including hosting work experience students and helping to guide undergraduate projects. I’ve found both really rewarding. Not only can you hope to inspire potential future scientists but you can also learn from the students yourself.
It’s great how speaking to people from a different perspective can help you to understand the problem better yourself and improve your confidence and communication skills.

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3. Conferences

Conferences are fun! Of course giving an oral presentation can be daunting but it’s certainly worth doing if you get the opportunity. I’ve been to a mix of conferences, some of them with friends from the research group and others on my own.

The majority of the conferences I’ve been to have been on my own but that’s no reason to put you off. In fact in many ways I’ve found these conferences more interesting because you’re forced to speak to people outside of your research group which is surely the point of going to a conference in the first place.

Alternatively, going with people you know strengthens friendships and can help you to get to know people better.

JRJ group reunion at amazing conference #interfaces2018 in Santiago de Compostela fantastic work presented from around the world well done organising team of Francesca, Amy, Gil, Annalisa, Will, Alba and Jaime @ImpMaterials @CASC_Imperial pic.twitter.com/UMc1Mq7Qkp

— Julian Jones (@julianrjones) April 18, 2018

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What do you wish you’d known when you started your PhD?

It goes without saying that time goes quickly, so make the most if it.

It’s easy to get caught up in day to day work without looking at the bigger picture. You may also feel like you’re getting behind. This is natural but don’t let this consume you: do make time for other things. If you want to gain some experience at another research group or take a secondment, go for it!

I wish I’d seeked out these opportunities to go abroad for a bit without feeling guilty. You have to actively pursue these things before your PhD is over. Also, don’t pass up opportunities to socialise with your group, it makes your time a lot more enjoyable!

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Have you found your PhD stressful? If so how did you handle the stress?

I’m currently writing this at the end of my third year and fully expect the next stage, writing up, to be stressful, but I have been really surprised at how little stress I’ve experienced so far. Mitigating risks in advance and being organised with my time have helped me to avoid unnecessary stresses.

Unlike deadlines in undergraduate degrees, typically a PhD is more of a marathon than a sprint so there aren’t the same all-nighters to get a certain piece of work done for a certain date. [Though as I write this I was on campus for 15+ hours yesterday getting work for a paper finished off…]

Being well prepared helps but there’ll still be stressful times. Talk to your supervisor and think about what you can do to avoid it happening again in the future.

In terms of handling stress, I find that going for breaks, doing exercise and having interests outside of the lab are all useful ways to switch off from work. As much as possible I avoid doing PhD work at the weekends, which includes thinking through problems, so that I can switch off and have a break. This is necessary to stop the PhD from taking over your whole existence.

With some good time management I strongly believe that there is no reason you need to be working constantly and it’s an unhealthy lifestyle to promote. I’ve previously written posts about how many hours I work and how much holiday I take.

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How has your PhD differed from your expectations?

My PhD hasn’t differed too much from my expectations. I treat it like a full time job and this seems to be a good approach. I think that spending several years as a research assistant helped me to prepare for it.

There are of course large chunks of my work where I’m working independently, albeit in rooms with other people you can socialise with, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how much collaboration there has been. I have supervisors in two different research groups and actively taking part in both has had a positive impact on my experience.

Most of us took the afternoon off for a game of rounders in #HydePark, of course being London it started raining shortly after this pic! pic.twitter.com/c0RIjCUMDo

— ImperialBiomechanics (@ICBiomechanics) August 7, 2019

In regards to the path of my actual project, the first portion of work took far longer than I expected. It was a high risk strategy because later portions of work depended on getting this technique to work. Thankfully it did, but it’s always good to have a contingency plan just in case.

Keep your eyes open and look at what else you can get involved with to give other potential routes to research.

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Do you have any tips or advice to share?

• Meet regularly with your supervisor(s) to ensure you’re progressing towards a goal you’re both happy with. A reminder that it’s not just about keeping your supervisor happy!

• Start writing your first paper early and iterate with co-authors. I took months longer than I should have done trying to perfect it. Check you’re on the right path before investing too much time.

• Get to know your second supervisor (if you have one) and attend their group meetings;

• Check the literature. Not only is it easier to follow an established process, it’s of course good practice for when you come to publish it;

• During your PhD is the perfect time to try new things out. If you’re interested in learning something, try to pursue it;

• You’re surrounded by motivated people with lots of interesting ideas, make the most of meeting new people;

• Make detailed notes of everything: preparation of samples, every step in an experiment, every processing step during analysis. This is good both for your sanity and is necessary for papers and your thesis.

• Enjoy yourself. You’re in a pretty amazing position where you’re getting paid to learn about something you’re interested in. Don’t let yourself get too stressed by the minutiae, be grateful and let yourself live in the moment.

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PhD Completion and Beyond

What are your future plans?

As I write this I have about six months left until I plan to submit my thesis to my examiners. Scary! I only have a few weeks of lab work left but there are several potential papers I’d like to write before leaving.

My current plan is to try and write as many of these as possible while I’m a student, because I’m not sure for how long I’ll be staying at Imperial after I finish. We’ll see how I get on!

Upon [hopefully] passing my viva and handing in the finalised thesis, I want to try living and working abroad. Getting a job as a post-doc could be a good way to try this but I’ve not decided on whether I want to stay in this research field, move to another field, or leave research altogether. I’m looking for ways to try and have the biggest positive impact and I’m excited to see what opportunities may come in the future.

Update with bonus content: Post-PhD Jeff here, I’ve now written a post all about the things I regret from my PhD. Hopefully sharing these things could help you avoid having any of the same regrets.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed the start of this new series. If you have any feedback, including questions you’d like to see included in future profiles please do let me know.