This week’s PhDetails is with James Bradley who, after completing his undergraduate degree in Sheffield, stayed on to do a PhD in plant molecular biology and genomics. Currently, James is studying the molecular genetics of a parasitic plant and its interaction with a host plant. Parasitic plants are plants that attach to and rely upon other plants to survive and reproduce. He is primarily interested in how parasitic plants are able to overcome host resistance mechanisms to successfully parasitize their hosts. James is also interested in the related question of how crop plants (particularly rice) are able to mount a resistance response against parasitic plants. More broadly James’ interests also include applying new genomics and bioinformatics approaches to answer questions related to biological interactions between plants and other organisms. James is due to finish his PhD in September 2019 and is keeping an eye out for a post doc in plant science research - you can find James on Twitter @JamesBradley002!
What is your favourite band/musical artist pre 1980?
Bob Marley.
Favourite band/musical artist post 1980?
Arctic Monkeys.
Favourite movie?
Original Jurassic Park (1993) – not a fan of the new films so much.
Where do you study and who is your supervisor?
At the University of Sheffield in the group of Prof. Julie Scholes.
What year of your PhD are you in?
I’ve just started my fourth and final year!
Who’s giving you the money – and for how long?
I’m funded by a BBSCR White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership.
Do you have any publications?
Not yet but one’s in the pipeline (although it’s been in the pipeline for some time).
Did you do a masters – where was it and was it about?
Yes, kind of - I did a 4-year integrated bachelor/master degree, also at the University of Sheffield. The 4th year of this degree was kind of the equivalent to the typical masters year.
Do you do fieldwork?
No, not really relevant for me, I do a roughly 50 : 50 split lab work (mainly molecular biology) : bioinformatics (mainly genomics analyses). I did get to do a pretty cool internship though – where I worked on rice genetics for 3 months at CIAT (international centre for tropical agriculture) in Colombia.
What are the best and worst bits about your labwork?
By definition, in molecular biology you cannot directly see what you are working with most of the time. So, for me, one of the best things about lab work is getting to the end of an experiment and seeing a band in a gel or a correct DNA sequence on my monitor; which signifies the experiment actually worked. Of course, when you don’t see what you’re expecting it can be super frustrating.
How many PhDs did you apply for – what were you looking for?
At the time of applying for a PhD, I was interested in investigating questions related to the interactions of plants with other organisms, particularly if these questions were, more or less, aimed at addressing agricultural problems in developing counties. I applied for 3 PhDs and received offers from 2 of those.
What is the most bodged piece of equipment you have had to use during field/labwork – did it work?
Nothing too bad really – a leaky gel tank that was sealed up with silicon was probably the extent of it.
What one piece of advice would you give to a masters student applying to PhDs now?
I would suggest putting a good chunk of time aside to look at lots of different available positions. Consider the positive and negatives of each project from all aspects –funding, location, learning opportunities, supervisor’s publication history etc. But ultimately, let your decision be led first and foremost by the project itself. After all, you will be spending 3-4 years deeply invested in your study, so it’s worth making sure you choose a project that will keep you engaged throughout that time.
How often do you meet with your supervisor?
Once every 1-2 weeks in the ‘formal’ sense but usually much more, as corridor conversations often turn into mini meetings.
What supervisor traits are important to you?
For me, a good supervisor is someone who has your best interests in mind when it comes to all aspects of a PhD; from designing & conducting experiments, managing your workload, and looking after your physical and mental health.
What do you think are the worst supervisor traits?
Supervisors vary hugely in the level of support they offer to their students, in particular in regard to their academic input. In my opinion, either a supervisor who tries to micromanage a project or a supervisor who does not give any input, are not particularly ideal – the best is somewhere in between.
In one sentence what is your PhD about?
My project aims to investigate genes that contribute towards the ability of a parasitic plant to attach to the roots of other plants, which includes agronomically important crop plants such as rice and maize.
What has been your academic highlight of the last year?
Successfully growing a huge batch of the parasitic plant, Striga hermonthica, which is the main parasitic plant that I study. The parasitic plants were grown in pots containing rice plants. The rice plants acted as hosts for the Striga plants, which attached to the roots of the rice plants in order to abstract water and nutrients from the xylem of the rice plants.
Have you had an academic low point of the last year – if so what happened?
Yes. A paper was published that claimed to show a new methodology, which was applicable to my work. After attempting to apply their method to my system for a number of months, I recently found out the paper has been heavily criticised and there are suggestions much of the work was falsified. This was particularly depressing on two levels. Firstly, it has been a huge waste of time and money to carry out the work based on this now-questionable paper. Secondly, it is seriously worrying that scientists (albeit a very small subset) are apparently willing falsify data to obtain publications.
Which academic idol/scientist have you met?
There are quite a few scientists for whom I have a lot of admiration, so I wouldn’t want to pick one – but generally they are those who ask simple questions and change the way we think about things.
Do you have a favourite paper?
No, not really, although I have a favourite text book, which has taught me loads about general concepts in bioinformatics: “Bioinformatics data skills” by Vince Buffalo.
What has been your favourite conference so far – why?
The International Conference on Parasitic Plants, Asilomar 2017. This was a relatively small but diverse conference of a close-knit community of scientists, who are extremely committed to their field of research.
What hours do you typically work?
Typically, 8/9am to 5pm. But this is pretty variable.
How do you avoid procrastinating?
I write very extensive lists and stick to them
What motivates you in your day to day PhD life?
Often, day to day PhD work can be monotonous and not particularly rewarding. Therefore, it can be difficult to stay motivated. In these cases, I try to keep in mind the final goal that I am working towards and silently congratulate myself when I make a successful step towards that goal.
What do you do when you’re not working – how do you balance it with your PhD?
I spend quite a bit of my spare time doing some kind of sport – I do taekwondo, play a bit of informal football and do yoga. Apart from this, I enjoy reading, learning Spanish and anything that involves spending time on the beach.
If a genie could grant you one wish to help with your PhD what would you wish for?
An ability to focus my work in a more targeted way, so that I could get more from my experimental work in less time.
What would be your dream job?
Some kind of agricultural or plant science research job that is dynamic and will keep me interested day after day.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Probably doing a post doc – I’d like to try living abroad after my PhD but not sure where yet.
One word to sum up your future in academia:
Intoxicated (in the metaphorical sense of excitement, rather than the literal sense).
What do you want to achieve outside of academia in the coming year?
This is a surprising hard question answer. I think I have been too engrossed in my PhD to really consider working towards any long-term goals outside of this. Maybe this should be my aim – to come up with a goal outside of academia!
What essential tool hardware/software could you not do your PhD without?
Python.
Where is somewhere you would like to work in the future?
In Europe, I would love to work in either France or Spain. I would also consider anywhere in the Americas.
Do you have a favourite organism – what is it and why – is it different from your study organism(s)?
For me, the giant sequoia trees that grow throughout California win hands down.
Are there any social interactions/meetings which have enhanced your PhD experience e.g. social seminars/group meetings?
The department holds regular seminars on a variety of topics, which I usually find interesting to attend, if only to get a bit of a respite from my own work and hear about something completely different.
If you could change one thing about your group/department structure what would it be?
Our department is pretty good as far as I’m concerned – it’s very friendly and welcoming. Although, it would be nice to have a more comfortable suitable office (i.e. with air-conditioning).
What major question in your subject area is yet to be addressed – why is it important and why isn’t anyone addressing it?
There is so much that is not known about parasitic plants, especially when one compares parasitic plants with other plant pathogens, like fungi, oomycetes and nematodes. In particular, very little is known about the genetics of parasitic plants compared to what is known of the genetics of other plants or other plant pathogens – I suspect this is will be the current focus of many labs around the world.
Comments
Post a Comment