This week's PhDetails is with Siri Birkeland, a PhD student at the University of Oslo in Norway. I met Siri on the Triple A Winter School 2017, a genome assembly workshop run by the Centre for Adaptation to a Changing Environment - ETH Zurich. This will hopefully be the first of many more international interviews and will show the similarities and differences of PhDs in different countries (like the possibility to see a polar bear on a field trip). Here's one for the cold lovers, cryptic species fanatics and the plant people...
Well let’s start off by talking about completely unscientific stuff. What's your favourite band/musical artist pre 1980?
When I was a kid, I used to steal two records from my parents: One by Billie Holiday and one by Simon & Garfunkel. I think they still are among my favourite artists. Also, there is this great jazz album by the Norwegian singer Karin Krogh and the American saxophonist Dexter Gordon that I never get tired of. My dad, who is a musician, recommended it to me many years ago.
Favourite band/musical artist post 1980?
So hard to choose, but I have listened a lot to Coldplay’s first albums, First Aid Kit and The Smiths.
Favourite movie?
Little Miss Sunshine, Lost in Translation and Into the Wild.
Where do you study and who is/are your supervisor(s)?
I study at the Natural History Museum in Oslo, which is a part of the University of Oslo in Norway. My main supervisor is Michael Nowak (University of Oslo) and my co-supervisors are Lovisa Gustafsson (University of Oslo), Anne Krag Brysting (University of Oslo) and Tanja Slotte (Stockholm University).
What year of your PhD are you in?
I’m in year three of four. In Norway it is common to have a four-year PhD, but 25 % of the time is used for teaching and various other work for the university.
Who’s giving you the money – and for how long?
My salary comes from the Natural History Museum in Oslo, but the Norwegian Research Council finances my research through the research project “SpArc – High Speciation Rates in the Arctic Flora”.
Do you have any publications – if so where?
I have four publications so far: One as a first-author and three as a co-author. The results from my master project were published in two different articles in AoB PLANTS. The main results went into an article about conservation genetics of rare Arctic plants, but some results were also included in an article about long-distance plant dispersal to North-Atlantic islands. Last year, I was a part of a discussion group about cryptic species, which resulted in an opinion piece published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution. Finally, I have also worked as a scientific assistant on a very interesting study on the ethnolinguistic structuring of Sorghum genetic diversity in Africa that was published in PNAS.
Did you do a masters - was it about?
I did my masters partly at the University Centre in Svalbard and partly at the University of Oslo. My master project was about the conservation genetics of four rare plant species in the Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard.
What is the best fieldwork you have ever done and what made it great?
I have so many great field memories, but some of the best are probably a helicopter ride to the hot springs in Svalbard, seeing a polar bear from a few meters distance, and a field trip to East Greenland with one of my best friends. I guess what all of these memories have in common is spectacular nature and great people.
What is the most bodged piece of equipment you have had to use during fieldwork – did it work?
A rifle from World War 2? In Svalbard we always carry a rifle for polar bear protection, but luckily I never had to use it.
What one piece of advice would you give to a masters student applying to PhDs now?
Find a project that triggers your curiosity and that gives you the chance to learn some valuable skills.
What supervisor traits are important to you?
I think the most important is to find a supervisor that cares about you and your project. I feel very lucky in that sense. I really appreciate that I get a lot of advice, not only on my project, but also on how I can best build a career in science.
What do you think are the worst supervisor traits?
Maybe not caring at all? I have seen quite a lot of PhD students that get very little supervision and that are treated more as a tool to generate data.
In one sentence what is your PhD about?
I want to test for convergent evolution in Arctic plants.
What has been your academic highlight of the last year?
Publishing the results from my master thesis about conservation genetics of rare plant species in Svalbard. The final article was actually based on two different master projects and it took us quite a lot of time to write all of the results into one article. I am also quite proud of our opinion piece on cryptic species that was published in TREE recently. It was the result of a series of discussions between biologists from very different fields at the Natural History Museum in Oslo. In the start we had very different views on the topic, but I think we all learned a lot from each other and that we found common understanding of the issue.
Which academic idol/scientist have you met?
For some reason I am not so fond of the word idol, but of course there are many great scientists I look up to! Loren Rieseberg is for instance a collaborator on the research project I’m hired on. He has done some really important work on plant speciation. I also find my co-supervisor, Tanja Slotte, very inspiring. She is doing some really interesting work on plant mating systems.
Which academic idol/scientist would you most like to meet?
I just read the book “Lab girl” by Anne Hope Jahren. It was really motivating to read about her passion for plants and her life as a scientist. However, I’m usually not the person who seeks out famous people in meetings and conferences.
Do you have a favourite paper?
I think my favourite paper right now is “The genetic causes of convergent evolution” by David Stern (it was published in Nature Reviews Genetics in 2013). I find the exact genetic mechanisms leading to convergent evolution very fascinating and the topic is also highly relevant for my PhD project.
What has been your favourite conference so far – why?
In 2016 I went to the Evolution conference in Austin, Texas. It was my first big conference and there were so many parallel sessions and relevant talks. Austin is also a very cool city and I was lucky to be there with two of my supervisors. We had a lot of fun going to the conference events and exploring the city.
What hours do you typically work?
I want to be one of those people who comes super early to work, but I often come around 09:30. I’m there for at least eight hours, but often longer. Being a PhD student is definitely not a nine-to-five job, but it is a lot of fun!
What do you do when you’re not working – how do you balance it with your phd?
Watching Netflix and drinking wine? Haha! But I also like to hang out with my family and friends, go to the gym, go for a run outside, and to travel. My family has a cabin in the mountains in Norway where we go cross-country skiing and hiking in vacations. I find filling my life with other things than just my PhD also makes me more creative and more effective when I’m working.
If a genie could grant you one wish to help with your phd what would you wish for?
Some really interesting results!
What would be your dream job?
A job where I have the freedom and resources to pursue interesting research questions together with good colleagues.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Maybe back in Norway after doing a post-doc in another country.
One word to sum up your future in academia:
Curiosity-driven. (That’s only one word according to the word count in Word…)
What do you want to achieve outside of academia in the coming year?
I have several small goals. My new years resolution is for instance to do one new hike or outdoors activity for every month. Another small goal is to get a scientific illustration club up and running together with a fellow PhD student. Finally, I also want to get a bit further on a children’s book project I have together with a friend.
Well let’s start off by talking about completely unscientific stuff. What's your favourite band/musical artist pre 1980?When I was a kid, I used to steal two records from my parents: One by Billie Holiday and one by Simon & Garfunkel. I think they still are among my favourite artists. Also, there is this great jazz album by the Norwegian singer Karin Krogh and the American saxophonist Dexter Gordon that I never get tired of. My dad, who is a musician, recommended it to me many years ago.
Favourite band/musical artist post 1980?
So hard to choose, but I have listened a lot to Coldplay’s first albums, First Aid Kit and The Smiths.
Favourite movie?
Little Miss Sunshine, Lost in Translation and Into the Wild.
Where do you study and who is/are your supervisor(s)?
I study at the Natural History Museum in Oslo, which is a part of the University of Oslo in Norway. My main supervisor is Michael Nowak (University of Oslo) and my co-supervisors are Lovisa Gustafsson (University of Oslo), Anne Krag Brysting (University of Oslo) and Tanja Slotte (Stockholm University).
What year of your PhD are you in?
I’m in year three of four. In Norway it is common to have a four-year PhD, but 25 % of the time is used for teaching and various other work for the university.
Who’s giving you the money – and for how long?
My salary comes from the Natural History Museum in Oslo, but the Norwegian Research Council finances my research through the research project “SpArc – High Speciation Rates in the Arctic Flora”.
Do you have any publications – if so where?
I have four publications so far: One as a first-author and three as a co-author. The results from my master project were published in two different articles in AoB PLANTS. The main results went into an article about conservation genetics of rare Arctic plants, but some results were also included in an article about long-distance plant dispersal to North-Atlantic islands. Last year, I was a part of a discussion group about cryptic species, which resulted in an opinion piece published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution. Finally, I have also worked as a scientific assistant on a very interesting study on the ethnolinguistic structuring of Sorghum genetic diversity in Africa that was published in PNAS.
Did you do a masters - was it about?
I did my masters partly at the University Centre in Svalbard and partly at the University of Oslo. My master project was about the conservation genetics of four rare plant species in the Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard.
What is the best fieldwork you have ever done and what made it great?
I have so many great field memories, but some of the best are probably a helicopter ride to the hot springs in Svalbard, seeing a polar bear from a few meters distance, and a field trip to East Greenland with one of my best friends. I guess what all of these memories have in common is spectacular nature and great people.
A rifle from World War 2? In Svalbard we always carry a rifle for polar bear protection, but luckily I never had to use it.
What one piece of advice would you give to a masters student applying to PhDs now?
Find a project that triggers your curiosity and that gives you the chance to learn some valuable skills.
What supervisor traits are important to you?
I think the most important is to find a supervisor that cares about you and your project. I feel very lucky in that sense. I really appreciate that I get a lot of advice, not only on my project, but also on how I can best build a career in science.
What do you think are the worst supervisor traits?
Maybe not caring at all? I have seen quite a lot of PhD students that get very little supervision and that are treated more as a tool to generate data.
In one sentence what is your PhD about?
I want to test for convergent evolution in Arctic plants.
What has been your academic highlight of the last year?
Publishing the results from my master thesis about conservation genetics of rare plant species in Svalbard. The final article was actually based on two different master projects and it took us quite a lot of time to write all of the results into one article. I am also quite proud of our opinion piece on cryptic species that was published in TREE recently. It was the result of a series of discussions between biologists from very different fields at the Natural History Museum in Oslo. In the start we had very different views on the topic, but I think we all learned a lot from each other and that we found common understanding of the issue.
Which academic idol/scientist have you met?
For some reason I am not so fond of the word idol, but of course there are many great scientists I look up to! Loren Rieseberg is for instance a collaborator on the research project I’m hired on. He has done some really important work on plant speciation. I also find my co-supervisor, Tanja Slotte, very inspiring. She is doing some really interesting work on plant mating systems.
Which academic idol/scientist would you most like to meet?
I just read the book “Lab girl” by Anne Hope Jahren. It was really motivating to read about her passion for plants and her life as a scientist. However, I’m usually not the person who seeks out famous people in meetings and conferences.
Do you have a favourite paper?
I think my favourite paper right now is “The genetic causes of convergent evolution” by David Stern (it was published in Nature Reviews Genetics in 2013). I find the exact genetic mechanisms leading to convergent evolution very fascinating and the topic is also highly relevant for my PhD project.
What has been your favourite conference so far – why?
In 2016 I went to the Evolution conference in Austin, Texas. It was my first big conference and there were so many parallel sessions and relevant talks. Austin is also a very cool city and I was lucky to be there with two of my supervisors. We had a lot of fun going to the conference events and exploring the city.
What hours do you typically work?
I want to be one of those people who comes super early to work, but I often come around 09:30. I’m there for at least eight hours, but often longer. Being a PhD student is definitely not a nine-to-five job, but it is a lot of fun!
What do you do when you’re not working – how do you balance it with your phd?
Watching Netflix and drinking wine? Haha! But I also like to hang out with my family and friends, go to the gym, go for a run outside, and to travel. My family has a cabin in the mountains in Norway where we go cross-country skiing and hiking in vacations. I find filling my life with other things than just my PhD also makes me more creative and more effective when I’m working.
If a genie could grant you one wish to help with your phd what would you wish for?
Some really interesting results!
What would be your dream job?A job where I have the freedom and resources to pursue interesting research questions together with good colleagues.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Maybe back in Norway after doing a post-doc in another country.
One word to sum up your future in academia:
Curiosity-driven. (That’s only one word according to the word count in Word…)
What do you want to achieve outside of academia in the coming year?
I have several small goals. My new years resolution is for instance to do one new hike or outdoors activity for every month. Another small goal is to get a scientific illustration club up and running together with a fellow PhD student. Finally, I also want to get a bit further on a children’s book project I have together with a friend.
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