This week's short PhDetails is a bit special since I grabbed my friend and colleague Marvin Moosmann in a coffee break at the Biology19 conference in Zurich to discuss his project face to face!
RDK: So I normally ask people about themselves before delving into their PhD do you have a favourite TV show so people can get an idea of what kind of person you are?
MM: Sure...my favourite TV show is Scrubs
RDK: Excellent choice, do you listen to podcasts? What are some that you like?
MM: Yeah, at the moment I like 'The skeptics guide to the universe'. There's also a german podcast I listen to called Zeit Verbrechen which is about old, solved crime cases.
RDK: Great, now we can get into the academic stuff a bit more, where did you do your BSc and Masters?
MM: I did my BSc at University of Zurich in Biology and then did my Masters in Animal Ecology at Lund University in Sweden.
RDK: What was your masters thesis about?
MM: It was about sexual conflict in hermaphroditic flatworms. Since they are both male and female at the same time there might be trade-offs between male and female fitness components within individuals. I did an experiment testing for the phenotypic and genetic correlation between male and female fitness in different environmental condition. My results suggested a resource trade-off between the fitness components, but no negative genetic correlation.
RDK: How did you find moving to Sweden for your masters?
MM: It was great! Everything changes when you move to a new country and I think that was a good experience for me.
RDK: And now your back in Switzerland where you're from for your PhD, was that always the plan?
MM: Not necessarily no, I was also looking for PhD positions in Sweden. But I think Sweden or Switzerland were the two options I would have preferred most!
RDK: Any particular reason?
MM: I liked living in Sweden a lot so would have stayed there. My sister also had a baby here in Switzerland and so I felt like being closer them would have been ideal too.
RDK: Did you do any fieldwork as part of your masters?
MM: Yes, the Swedish masters was not so focussed on a thesis but in taking courses so although I didn't do any fieldwork for my final project I went on multiple field courses, many of them were quite local in Sweden.
RDK: Could you sum up your current PhD in one sentence?
MM: I study the ecological causes and consequences of functional trait variation in stickleback.
RDK: And what made you apply to this specific PhD?
MM: First of all I was in contact with EAWAG since my undergrad and was keeping an eye out for projects there. I was intrigued by the project because although I have focused on ecology in my studies I have always been interested in the evolutionary side of things too. I'm able to now explore both.
RDK: Who are your supervisors and where does your funding come from - how long do you have have a job for?
MM: Blake Matthews and Ole Seehausen are my supervisors. I'm funded by the SNF for four years.
RDK: How often do you meet with Blake and Ole?
MM: Blake's office is right across mine, so we run into each other and discuss small things almost daily. But we also sit down together every other week or so. I meet Ole mainly during our weekly graduate discussion seminar, in which I present 3-4 times per semester.
RDK: How far into your project are you?
MM: A few days into my second year...
RDK: It's maybe a dangerous question but how's it going?
MM: I think its going really well, there was some uncertainty about what we would find in the fieldwork part of my project but we have already found some really interesting things to focus on so I'm now really excited about what the future brings for the project.
RDK: That sounds a lot more productive than my first year! What has been your highlight of the last year doing your PhD?
MM: Definitely doing fieldwork in Greenland.
RDK: How long was that for?
MM: A month!
RDK: Lucky - was there anything you would have changed about it?
MM: I would have liked to be a bit better prepared, there were loads of things we had to figure out in the field but luckily it still worked out well in the end! Simple things like filling tubes with ethanol before we left would have been better than filling them at the kitchen table in the evenings!
RDK: Were there any bodged pieces of equipment you had to use in Greenland?
MM: Not long into the fieldwork, we lost the lids for the valves of the inflatable boat we used to sample lakes with. We fixed the problem using bottle corks and falcon tubes. Not very trustworthy… I was glad the lakes weren’t too large.
RDK: Has there been an academic low point of your last year?
MM: I think it's actually steadily been getting better as the ideas for the project have developed!
RDK: Tell me about a typical day of your PhD, what hours do you work?
MM: I normally work from 8:30 to 5:30
RDK: And how do you stop yourself from procrastinating?
MM: I don't...
RDK: What has kept you motivated throughout the first year of your PhD?
MM: The fact that interesting results are coming in!
RDK: Thats excellent! What do you do when you're not working - do you have any hobbies?
MM: I'm a birder, I also try to spend plenty of time with my wife and broader family.
RDK: You once told me that asking a birder what their favourite bird is is frowned upon...but really, whats you're favourite bird?
MM: I don't know if that qualifies them as my favourites, but whenever I hear a blackbird or a coot it reminds of summer.
RDK: Your boss is downstairs right now... maybe we should skip questions about supervision? Jokes aside are you happy with the supervision that you have?
MM: Yeah I actually am. I really value Blake's feedback I feel like I learn something every time we chat about the project.
RDK: I feel that way with my boss too and I think we're both pretty lucky. Are there any supervisor traits you have seen from other people you could never tolerate?
MM: I have seen some supervisors being very overbearing and neurotic - I think I would find working for them hard.
RDK: So we're here at Biology19 how are you enjoying the conference have you been able to relax more after your talk yesterday?
MM: Yes, this is my second time at Biology19 and my first time giving a talk. . I was nervous to give my talk and was glad to relax once it was over!
RDK: If you were hosting your own conference what would be some things you would add?
MM: Well I went to a smaller meeting where plenary speakers gave an outline of their careers as part of their talks. I thought this was really inspiring for young researchers.
RDK: That sounds like a really great idea! What are some of your conference bugbears? I always hate not having enough breaks for people to rehydrate/caffeinate and stretch their legs!
MM: I think there could have been some more time for questions here, there was three minutes scheduled but it didn't feel like enough.
RDK: What are your plans for the coming year? What experiments or fieldwork are you hoping to carry out?
MM: We will go back to Greenland this summer! Last year's fieldwork was rather exploratory, so I am excited to do more targeted sampling, that can answer some of the questions that have come up during the first year. We have also started with foraging experiments to better understand the traits underlying different ecosystem effects of stickleback lineages.
RDK: Is there anything outside academia you'd like to achieve this year?
MM: I would like to teach myself to play the guitar. I played a little before I started my PhD but didn't really keep it up.
RDK: What advice would you give to a masters student applying for PhDs now?
MM: Take your time and don't stress out if you don't find something right after finishing your masters. Spend some time thinking about what has excited you during your studies.
RDK: Thanks Marvin! One last question: if a genie could grant you one wish to help with your PhD what would you wish for?
MM: A second brain just for reading!
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