I’ve hit puberty.
Hi guys, after Lily Rose left me a comment on one of my videos asking what sort of hours I work during my PhD, I thought I would just make a video about the whole experience. So let me begin by saying everyone’s PhD is different depending on what field you’re in, what type of person you are, what support network you have, what supervisor you have. So what did I work on? My PhD was developing a bioartificial kidney device for drug testing.
Quick story. I went to a conference in my third year to present my work. And I had to pause halfway through saying my title, because I had to take a breath, and then finish saying the rest of the title. It’s like four lines long. It’s ridiculous. So roll up first year. I had never worked in a mammalian cell culture lab before, so I was pretty nervous. And unlike your undergraduate course, where you have loads of friends and people doing the same sort of thing as you, with your PhD it’s your own project. But I was really lucky because I was aligned with the DTC Regenerative Medicine at Loughborough.
So quickly in the DTC, the DTC stands for Doctoral Training Centre, or it’s now known as the CDT, which is the Centres for Doctoral Training, but you get my drift. And it’s funded by the EPSRC and basically it spans different universities. So for Regenerative Medicine, it was Loughborough, Nottingham and Keele, and it gets inlet of students every year, and takes them through the process for research in that field. And it basically gives you a sort of structure to your PhD. So in your first year, if you’re a DTC student, you do a lit review, and some other exercise. We had Dragon’s Den.
And then in the second and third term of that year, you do mini projects at the Associated Universities. You get a feel for what they’re doing, and then you pick your project, which you do for the next three years. Because I was aligned, I did the first term and then moved on to looking at the project that I’ve been funded for. But being aligned with the DTC was amazing because not only did I have this huge network of people in this really exciting field, which is newly emerging, but I also had a support network of friends in my year, and also the years before, and the years after. So it was amazing not to be by yourself, which sometimes a PhD can be if you just enter a department and you’re getting the project.
So, first term’s done. I’m psyched to get into the lab. But over winter, the labs flooded, which basically meant the labs were out of action for four months. So not quite a great start to my PhD. But I try not to twiddle my thumbs too much. We got into some other labs. I started on making my cell bank and working with cells and getting practiced in that and also doing some background reading. But my hours here weren’t really kind of work hours, kind of eight hours in the day. I worked from home a lot. But after the four months, I finally got into the labs, and was able to start doing my work. And the rest of my first term was focused on working with my cells a bit more and also work on a test, which would look at the function of the cells I was growing up at the moment. And then later on look at the function of the cells that I wanted to use in my eventual bioreactor. And aside from work, I also got involved with loads of social stuff at Loughborough, including checking out loads of sports as part of the Intra-Mural League for my halls of accommodation (John Phillips, shout out). There are international halls and I met people from all over the world. And it’s really interesting to get to learn different cultures, and just make a ton of friends.
So then roll on to second year. And I was pretty much finding my feet in this year, as a lot of people have said that they’ve done in their PhDs. So I kept working with my cells, working on this test that I was developing, reading, always reading, constantly reading and also getting used to having an industrial sponsor.
So my project was largely funded by the BBSRC, but it was sponsored by AstraZeneca who are a pharmaceutical company, which is where the drug testing element of the project kind of came in. And while this was amazing, having an industrial sponsor, you can learn loads from them, see what’s actually like on the dark side. But it also means that there’s a lot more communication that needs to happen.
So my work hours in the second year were more kind of eight hours a day, here and there. The great thing about academia is it’s flexible. And luckily, I didn’t have to come in on weekends that much, although if the cells need dealing with, they need dealing with. So you come in whenever. So things are going well in the second year. I’m learning loads of techniques, getting more comfortable in the lab, working on this test that I’m working on. And then I find out that this test isn’t actually going to work and I feel like a woolly. I’ve spent like a year on this test and it’s just not working. But that’s one of the things about doing a PhD. 99% times, things aren’t gonna work and you’ve just gotta pick yourself up and move on. So after talking with AstraZeneca, we set a new game plan, and I start working on different tests, which can hopefully do the same thing as my original tests needed to do.
And then we roll into the third year, which is where the work really takes off. And I never really used to believe people when they said, “Oh, first and second year is just finding your feet, you get most of your data in the third year”. So I was kind of panicking a bit, but it’s actually true for me at least. And the year started with doing an industrial placement at AstraZeneca. So during my six week placement at AstraZeneca, I got most of the work done on the test that I was developing on my first lot of cells, which I could then later take on to look at my proper human cells. So this placement gave me an insight into working in industry. I quite liked it actually, I don’t know if I was still in a honeymoon period. But it was awesome. And everything moves a lot quicker in industry. And obviously working in industry was industry hours, nine to five. I’m not a morning person, as many people who know me will attest to. But I managed to work around that and get in and have that structure and routine in industry, which I’ve quite enjoyed.
So then after kicking off year three with my industrial placement, I came back to Loughborough and started working on my human cells. And because I’d already got the test developed, I could apply them in my human cells with a bit of tweaking and the data started coming in. I also started on the materials, which is kind of new. So that took a bit of time to get used to. But it went quite quickly. I managed to get stuff done and also managed to network with other universities who helped me out making the stuff that I needed for my bioreactor. So the workload was increased, which meant that the hours were increased. I was going in for quite a few hours over an eight hour day, most days. And the weekend period of working also intensified, which wasn’t great, but I still had some weekends and I still had some social time. And in this social time, I was still playing sports for the IMS for John Phillips. But I also dabbled in having a radio show.
***Hey, everybody, my name is Noah …and I ain’t afraid to show it, show it, show it yeaahhhh. I’m sexy and I know it. My pleasure to be on mass in the morning on LCR and I hope you guys enjoy the music.***
So at the end of third year, I’ve done my tests. I’ve put them in my human cells. I’ve got my materials ready for my bioreactor. But I’m not finished yet. Because of the four month period where I wasn’t working at the beginning of my PhD, I managed to get that time in the lab at the end. So we go on to year four.
Oh, year four. I was feeling a bit low already because a lot of my colleagues from the DTC were either going off finishing up or really close to finishing and I was nowhere near. Also, again, a lot of my stuff wasn’t working. And it was a continuous adaption process. And I also had to start working on the bioreactor which was not my area at all. It was chemical engineering and I just didn’t like it. And it was so much to do and so much to learn on top of what I’d already done. So I had to develop this bioreactor, and try and put my cells in it.
And then in my last year, the work really amped up, I was in for like, 10 hours a day, sometimes. I was in pretty much seven days a week. I didn’t even know what a weekend was. I didn’t know what holidays were. I didn’t know what the day was. I didn’t know what the date was. All I knew was that I’d come in every day, do my work, go home, watch an episode or two of something, and fall asleep, and repeat. And all in all, for year four, I had about eight months. For the first four months, I was doing all my lab work. And then for the rest of the four months, I was doing lab work, but I was also writing. A lot of my friends said, “how did you write in the office and do your lab work and you just do it?”
And again, one of the cool things about having industrial supervisor is they know a lot and they can give you loads of help. But one of the bad things is that when you come to writing your thesis and doing corrections, you need to wait for them to get back to you. And it’s totally understandable in industry. They have a lot of other stuff to do, rather than read chapters. But when you’re writing and you’re needing feedback, sometimes it can get a bit frustrating. But once it was done in June, I finished up, I submitted and that was it. Except now I had to wait for my viva. But instead of dwelling on it, I decided to go traveling for a few months. And I had some amazing months around Europe.
One thing however people did obviously ask you what you did. And I said, “Oh, I’m doing a PhD. And oh, you’re a doctor then”, which would really freak me out because I was like, “Don’t jinx it! I still might not do it!” And you have a lot of people saying it’s really hard to fail your viva, don’t worry about it. You just get corrections. But I’m always one of those people who was like, well, there’s a first time for everything.
So fast forward a few months from submission, and I’m getting ready for my viva. And one of the reasons why I was so nervous is because I was a biologist by trade. And that was where my strengths lay. But in my PhD I also had materials engineering and chemical engineering. And as luck would have it, my examiners were materials chemist, and a chemical engineer. So there’s me a week before, reading my thesis, making notes on different concepts about chemical engineering, which I wasn’t really sure of, but thought they might ask me that. And just generally making notes on stuff that I thought they might ask me, although I didn’t really know what they were going to ask me. And then the day before I travel up to Loughborough and stay with my friend, have some dinner, try not to worry about, just try and relax a bit, go to bed nice and early because my viva was in the morning. Surprise, surprise me being a morning person, that was the ideal thing. And no surprise, I got like zero sleep. And then in the morning, I get up, put some smart clothes on, a bit of makeup on, ready to face the day and those pesky examiners.
Now, people approach their viva in different ways. So some people will tell everyone about it and be like, “I want people to be there depending on the outcome. I don’t care, I just want people to be there”. And some people are like, “I don’t want to tell anyone because if it’s bad, then you know, just keep it on the DL, you know”. And I was the second of those. But as you also find in academia, secrecy doesn’t really keep. So a lot of people in my lab knew it was my viva through the grapevine. So I went up to the room that was going to have my viva in and met my examiners and my supervisor. He wished me luck beforehand. And then I went in for the dreaded viva.
Now to be honest, I don’t really remember much of the actual thing. I just remember going in, looking at the clock, and it was nine o’clock in the morning. And then looking at the clock again. And it was half nine. And then looking at the clock again afterward it finished, and it was somehow half 12. And all that time had just gone. And in all honesty, it wasn’t actually that bad. It just felt like I was having a chat about my work. And because I’ve done it for four years, I kind of knew it. So the questions they asked me I could answer fairly well. There were some questions, I think, which I wasn’t too hot on. But my examiners were really nice. And it wasn’t really an interrogation. Like I thought it was a spotlight like, “YOU WILL TALK”. And it was more of just like, “Oh, you did this”, “Why did you do this?” So yeah, it was a real surprise that it went that quickly, and I just didn’t feel that bad about it at all, or so I thought, until it came to the point where they were like, ”Okay, can you step outside, because we need to discuss your verdict”. I guess the result of your viva. And because the room that my advisor was in was on one of the corridors where the administration was, that meant that there were a lot of people going to and fro. And as I said, I didn’t really want anyone to know that I was doing my viva. But lo and behold, one of the admin staff, Liz, who was a lovely, lovely lady came up and she was like, “Ooooh, is it your viva?” while I was standing in the corridor with my examiners deliberating just behind the door, whether I’ve passed my PhD. So all I could muster was up, “uh huh”, and just hope she’d go away.
And then after 10 minutes of standing, and I mean, it felt like an hour of standing. But after that time, they invited me in and they said, “Well done, congratulations. You passed your PhD” at which I almost burst into tears. But I didn’t because I was like. “keep it in mask, keep it in, be professional”. I kind of just shook their hands, was like thank you very much, blah, blah, blah. So that was it. I passed my PhD pending minor corrections, which I then did in the next few months. And that was my whole PhD experience.
So some things I’ve learned from my PhD and maybe some tips. And when you first start your PhD, kind of treat it as like a work gig. So do kind of normal office hours to begin with while you’re doing your reading. Ask people for help and bounce ideas off your colleagues and your supervisors. Make sure you have a good relationship with your supervisors if you can, because they will try and help you as much as they can. PhD can get tough so make sure you’ve got other things that you can do either socially. I did sports, radio and zumba. But anything that interests you, have an outlet. And try and get some sort of balance in your first years at least with those. And then make sure you utilize them in your last years when you’re under a bit of pressure. And hopefully you should be fine. And also on a more technical note, try and have a narrative to your PhD and think about that when you start, try and think about the story you want to tell during your PhD. And then look at what work you can do to go alongside that narrative. And obviously it will change depending on your data. But if you have that narrative at the beginning and you have that plan, then your work will just fall into place, hopefully. And last of all, just try to enjoy it. You’ve come into this field for a reason. You’re curious about what this field has to offer. So just try and take all that curiosity and make it come out through your research.
So that was a roundup of my PhD experience. I hoped it helped answer some of the questions that you have if you’re starting a PhD, or if you’re just wondering what it’s like to do a PhD, it’s kind of it. But if you enjoyed this video, give it a like. And if you’re new here, hello, you can subscribe to our channel if you want for more content like this. You’ve got any more questions, leave them in the comments. I love reading the comments. I love doing videos based on the comments as well. So check them down there. And also check out my Facebook and Twitter and all my social media, which links down there as well if you’re interested in keeping up with what I do day to day, and for science news, as well. I post that too. But this is me signing out till the next time. As always, you’ve been great. Thank you for watching and have a wonderful day.
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