Sarah
Hello, welcome to a new episode of our STEMterviews. As you know, you’ve probably seen a few of our episodes so far and in our STEMterviews series I usually talk to scientists about their research projects but also about their communication projects that is usually outside of the research. And today I have with me Jerusha from Australia. She’s currently a PhD student at Victoria University. And I’m really excited to talk to you today because we’re going to have a really new topic on our STEMterview series because it’s going to be about neurobiology. So, welcome Jerusha. Can we just start by or could you just start by summarizing your research project for our audience please.
Jerusha
Hello, my name is Jerusha and I am from Victoria University. I am studying strength training and brain stimulations and how we can use it to treat people with cerebral palsy. I have cerebral palsy myself and I am really passionate about finding better treatments of suitable quality because I really want to improve the quality of life and I think it’s really important that we understand what’s going on in the brain.
Sarah
Yes.
Jerusha
And then we find ways to improve the strength of the brain. So that’s what I am doing. I love doing strength training. I do a lot of it myself. So I kind of understand the benefits to strength training and it is really important for people with cerebral palsy to do physical exercise.
Sarah
Okay.
Jerusha
Which is really, really important for the muscle wellbeing and the health. So I think it’s really important that the research is continually developing knowledge about strength training and how we can make it better. And there’s always room for improvement in almost everything. So I think we are doing quite a good job at the moment.
Sarah
Okay. I’m glad you say that, yes.
Jerusha
But research sometimes is not very practical in the real world and that’s where it gets tricky sometimes. So I think we need to start thinking about research that is practical and reliable in the real world.
Sarah
Yeah.
Jerusha
And I think we are slowly, slowly getting there but I think we have a long way to go.
Sarah
Yes. I agree. Yes. Okay. So, you mentioned strength training. Could you maybe explain what you mean by that. What is strength training for you?
Jerusha
Strength training is like weight based exercises that we do. We use weights to make them flex the elbow, or, we do all kinds of exercises that focus on building someone’s strength and I think strength is really important. For anyone really, for like physical functioning and being available to do stuff like learning or dancing, cooking or cleaning.
Sarah
Ok.
Jerusha
We all need to do it. And in cerebral palsy this is more important because we are trying to build this strength with the brain stimulation. We are trying to stimulate the muscles. So, when we stimulate the muscles, the muscles will get working more.
Sarah
Okay.
Jerusha
And then we think that it could improve strength in the body.
Sarah
Okay. So how does that work? Because you mentioned non-invasive brain stimulation. What is that and how does it work together with your research?
Jerusha
So, we put little wires on the front of the head. Then we let the wire going down the head. There’ll be a current, a small, little tiny current straight through the brain. The particular brain area we are looking and stimulating is the primary motor cortex.
Sarah
Okay. Which part of the brain is that, though? Motor cortex. Where does it sit? I have no idea. It’s in the back. Okay.
Jerusha
So I think, there are different lobes: parietal lobe, frontal lobe and the one for the motor cortex. So the primary motor cortex is the one that’s involved in voluntary movements. So you have like, we think that if we stimulate the primary motor cortex with the stimulator we will get more muscle fibers moving. And yeah, that’s why we think that it could improve strength. And there are many, many either brain stimulations, like, there is a lot coming out now. There is a lot coming out in this area but like I said before the research is lagging – I think – in turning it into practical terms. But we’re slowly getting there.
Sarah
That is good. I’m glad to hear that things are about to happen and so what do you do outside of your research. Because you mentioned that you’re involved in science communication as well. I guess you want to raise awareness about your research project. Well, how do you do that? What is your main activity?
Jerusha
I am a speaker so I speak on science and I also did a bit of teaching. I also share my story (and my research) with students and groups and sometimes I get invitations to speak randomly where I just think about my research and what I’m doing and who I’m talking about. I love cooking and I love thinking about things in a very deep way. And I think my life journey has given me quite a bit of reveals in the way I think. So, I think I am quite blessed in that area that I can think about wisdom and I like to write poetry.
Sarah
Poetry, that is interesting.
Jerusha
Yeah, I have a book published called “Burnt Bones and Beautiful Butterflies”.
Sarah
Okay.
Jerusha
Yeah.
Sarah
What does your poetry look like? Is it like short poems or longer ones? What do you talk about in your poetry?
Jerusha
Some are long ones, some are short ones. I talk about life, faith, love, luck, wisdom, brokenness, loneliness. I try and talk about those topics and recently I’ve been talking more about myself and my beliefs and you know, how I go about things, having a bad day, or staying in bed, how I’m feeling. And I love talking about life like how to live your life, how to bring more happiness to your life. And I love writing about the things. Yeah, I think.
Sarah
Nice, so what is your approach for more happiness in your life? How do you do that? How do you achieve that?
Jerusha
I think it’s all about giving things a go, and don’t be so close-minded, be open-minded.
Sarah
Open mindedness, exactly, yes, I could not agree more.
Jerusha
And do things that make you happy but sometimes you have to do things that seem a little bit boring or a little bit tedious. But we have a choice, still, to be happy, and you can feel a push through that and make it your day and you can still make something out of the situation. And I think that’s the beauty of the world we live in, like, it’s so hopeful and there are many possibilities. And that’s also beautiful about research, like, you are giving someone hope and you are giving someone knowledge and you are creating something that no one else had done before.
Sarah
Yes, I agree. It’s nice to be a researcher and see something.
Jerusha
Yeah, your knowledge is something that could make a very big difference in someone else’s life.
Sarah
Exactly.
Jerusha
I think that’s the beauty of it.
Sarah
Nice, I like it. I could not agree more, yes. Okay. So do you have any tips for other PhD students in a similar situation as you as to how could they better cope with the academic life and maybe with a PhD project because we know how difficult it just is? Any tips for these people?
Jerusha
Yeah. It is very challenging, it is always challenging. And what I like to do is, I like to plan my day out. So, I have a checklist of what I need to do and I write down what I need to do step by step. And then what I do is, I’ll put a time on every task that I do and I time myself. So saying that I need to work on a literature review and a lab report, I would give my lab report about two hours and then my literature review two hours. And then I would see if there is anything else I need to do and I go about it the same way. And I think PhD life can be really lonely.
Sarah
Yes, especially as a PhD student, yes. I do agree.
Jerusha
Yeah, it can be really lonely, and I feel it’s sometimes depressing as well. But I think you need to balance to make your life happy, talk to your friends and your family and your loved ones. And that will really make you more happy at the end of the day and I think it’s really important to have a supportive network around you to push you. And what else? Also do a lot of writing in your spare time. And also if you’re on a bus or a train, take some time to read through your diary, do work, or your little journal or your books, and utilize the time that you have.
Also, sometimes feedback can be really, really hard. Sometimes you do get feedback and so much feedback that you can’t take everything. So what I do is I usually make a table of my feedback, and I have a checklist and I write little notes if I have any doubts or any question and I usually go back to my supervisor and I say, here is my question, can you answer. And make sure you meet your supervisor quite regularly because some of them are very hard to meet. I completely understand because sometimes supervisors have their own family and things to deal with. But still, I think it’s better to meet them at least once a month, or, even better, you meet them once a week.
Sarah
Yeah. I guess that depends on the stage of your PhD because you might need a bit more support in the beginning. And then once you’re in your project, I guess it’s a bit less and at least that’s what it was for me, and then towards the end, you will need a lot more support again, but then it’s a completely different kind of support from your supervisor that is needed. So it’s an interesting journey.
Jerusha
When you’re in the lab, you don’t need much support. But when you’re doing your writing, it can be a bit hard to stay motivated. And it is so hard to stay motivated. It is, quite like, mentally draining.
Sarah
Yeah, this is when your supportive network comes into play as well. And a good supervisor is important to always keep you motivated and help you when you’re struggling with everything. So yeah, you mentioned there the supporting network as well. And yeah, we talked about supervisors. How is your supervisor supporting you and the rest of your lab group? Do you feel sufficiently supported by them or do you think there’s room for improvement? I guess there’s always room for improvement but…
Jerusha
I think, yeah, I feel supported by them. I think they do their best to give me timely feedback and they support me in the lab with whatever I need. But I think it can be still lonely and isolating because it’s not like an environment where you have like your peers with you and we are working together on a project. It’s not like the kind of thing you do in a bachelor’s degree where you have your peers and you have your classes, and we have discussions and you have more social opportunities. Whereas in a PhD you are pretty much on your own, and while you do have your supervisors and your research assistants or even lab mates, it is hard to tell them things you would say to peers because you have to maintain professionalism and that’s where it gets tricky. But I think it’s not that bad.
Sarah
Okay. I’m glad to hear that it’s not that bad.
Jerusha
Yeah, it’s really good. Yeah. It’s good to be self-motivated a lot and I think we’re too hard on ourselves. Like, sometimes that, we are, to me, sometimes, we are too hard on ourselves.
Sarah
Yes, especially in research it’s all about perfectionism, right?
Jerusha
Yeah. I think it’s important to take care of yourself. Make sure you are doing things to take care of yourself, like eating, drinking water, showering or all the small things that we feel are hard to get sometimes. But when we need to take care of our stuff. How we gonna do the work if we don’t take care of ourselves, and take care of our mental and physical health.
Sarah
Yeah, great. Thank you Jerushua. This has been really inspiring and I think a lot of people will think the same. At the end of our interviews, we always have a couple of random questions that don’t have much to do with your science or your research but more about you. Would you be up to answer these?
Jerusha
Good. Yeah.
Sarah
Okay. So the first question is what was your favorite subject at school?
Jerusha
My favorite subject…hmm. I didn’t like school that much, because…
Sarah
Yes, nice.
Jerusha
When I was younger I wasn’t good at math. But when I got to university, I took it more seriously, but I think my favorite subject would have been humanities.
Sarah
Nice. That’s interesting.
Jerusha
Yes. Really interesting because I love learning about people and social justice and law and you know. But when it comes to science, I think I like more biology but I didn’t really do biology for year 12. So I think I also like psychology. I think psychology was really interesting to learn about the brain, the mind and how we think
Sarah
And this is where you get stuck in the end. Amazing. Nice. Okay. Our next question is: In just one sentence, what are you truly passionate about?
Jerusha
I have to think about that.
Sarah
I guess we kind of talked about this already.
Jerusha
Yeah. I think I just like to live my life and have fun with it.
Sarah
Yes, that’s good.
Jerusha
I would not worry too much about life and about the stuff that are serious. I think more about deeper things, like wisdom and faith and healing and growing as a person and how to be a better human being. I think that’s my passion and I think I also like neuroscience a little bit and I like psychology too because in psychology you learn about how people think and you learn about feelings and the emotions. Yes.
Sarah
That’s good. Nice, I like it. Okay, and the last question for today is what do you do in your free time? If you don’t do your research and if you don’t write about science or talk about science, what do you do?
Jerusha
I like to listen to music a lot. And I like my family. I do a lot with my family and I also like fashion. I like fashion, I like clothing. I like styling things, make them look nice. And what else? I like being creative. I like to think about creative ways to live your life and I think I like spending time with loved ones. And I like living when I have time. And I like working a bit of working really. I like to work a lot. But like, with how to live your life and what else?
Sarah
I guess that’s a lot. That was amazing, nice.
Jerusha
I have so many things I do like because I get bored very easily.
Sarah
The same. Yes. Okay, Jerusha. Thank you so much for your time and for enlightening us.
Jerusha
Thank you.
Sarah
Okay, thank you so much again.
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