This week’s PhDetail is with Mattheus Peter (goes by Thijs) Bal who I had the pleasure of meeting at the ESEB2019 meeting this summer in Turku, Finland. Thijs did his bachelors in biology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, where he mostly became interested in evolutionary biology. For this reason he decided to switch universities for his masters degree as Leiden University, also in the Netherlands, offered a specific masters programme called Evolution, Biodiversity and Conservation. Another reason to switch to Leiden University was that Thijs had a close connection with the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, a natural history museum and research center that offered possibilities for him to do an internship and his master thesis there. During Thijs’ first masters internship he worked on the population structure of shelled pteropods, which are holoplanktonic small gastropods. For his second internship Thijs collaborated with Nord University where he moved to on an exchange for a few months. This time the internship was more methodologically focused and he worked on designing a set of target captures probes that could be used to do targeted sequencing in shelled pteropods.
Shortly after finishing his masters the PhD position which he am currently in opened up at Nord University. Thijs said that it was a perfect fit to his interest as it allows him to work on fundamental evolutionary questions with a strong emphasis on using genomics and bioinformatics. Thijs’ project focuses on the evolutionary ecology of coexisting three-spined and nine-spined stickleback. Their evolution is driven by similar spatial and environmental drivers but the question is whether they show the same evolutionary responses. During his PhD project, Thijs wants to dive into to what extent these evolutionary responses differ and if possible would like to answer what factors explain these differences.
Shortly after finishing his masters the PhD position which he am currently in opened up at Nord University. Thijs said that it was a perfect fit to his interest as it allows him to work on fundamental evolutionary questions with a strong emphasis on using genomics and bioinformatics. Thijs’ project focuses on the evolutionary ecology of coexisting three-spined and nine-spined stickleback. Their evolution is driven by similar spatial and environmental drivers but the question is whether they show the same evolutionary responses. During his PhD project, Thijs wants to dive into to what extent these evolutionary responses differ and if possible would like to answer what factors explain these differences.
What is your favourite band/musical artist pre 1980?
If I would have to choose I would go for Supertramp. The band broke up a long time ago, but Roger Hodson still performs regularly. I hope I get the chance to see him perform live at least once before he also decides to retire.
Favourite band/musical artist post 1980?
Rage Against The Machine. There is so much energy in their music and their albums are mixed perfectly.
Favourite movie?
Das Leben der Anderen (“The Lives of Others”).
Do you listen to podcasts?
I enjoy listening to podcasts mostly while commuting to work or when I am working out. Most of those podcasts are about history and two of my favourites are “The Medieval World” by W.J.B. Mattingly and “Tides of History” by Patrick Wyman. I think they do their research well and they give interesting views based on their own interpretations in the case of specific events for which the details are uncertain. In a different genre, there is the podcast “Overdue” by Andrew Cunningham and Craig Getting who discuss “the books you’ve been meaning to read”. Most of the time they take it not too serious and therefore it is quite funny to listen to.
Where do you study and who are your supervisors?
Nord University in Bodø, Norway. My main supervisor is Joost Raeymaekers and my co-supervisor is Christophe Eizaguirre.
What year of your PhD are you in?
I am in the second year of my project.
Who’s giving you the money – and for how long?
Nord University is financing me for four years.
Do you have any publications ?
Not yet. However, there is a finished manuscript that for a large part came forth from my MSc thesis projects and we are trying to get it published soon. I hope to publish the first results of my PhD project somewhere in 2020.
Did you do a masters – where was it and was it about?
Yes, I did a two years research masters in Leiden, the Netherlands. The masters was called “Evolution, Biodiversity and Conservation”. There were only a few compulsory courses that focused on genomics, systematics and ecology. I decided to earn most of my 120 credits by doing two MSc research projects where I chose projects that gave me the chance to get hands-on experience with population genomics and high-throughput sequencing techniques.
If I would have to choose I would go for Supertramp. The band broke up a long time ago, but Roger Hodson still performs regularly. I hope I get the chance to see him perform live at least once before he also decides to retire.
Favourite band/musical artist post 1980?
Rage Against The Machine. There is so much energy in their music and their albums are mixed perfectly.
Favourite movie?
Das Leben der Anderen (“The Lives of Others”).
Do you listen to podcasts?
I enjoy listening to podcasts mostly while commuting to work or when I am working out. Most of those podcasts are about history and two of my favourites are “The Medieval World” by W.J.B. Mattingly and “Tides of History” by Patrick Wyman. I think they do their research well and they give interesting views based on their own interpretations in the case of specific events for which the details are uncertain. In a different genre, there is the podcast “Overdue” by Andrew Cunningham and Craig Getting who discuss “the books you’ve been meaning to read”. Most of the time they take it not too serious and therefore it is quite funny to listen to.
Where do you study and who are your supervisors?
Nord University in Bodø, Norway. My main supervisor is Joost Raeymaekers and my co-supervisor is Christophe Eizaguirre.
What year of your PhD are you in?
I am in the second year of my project.
Who’s giving you the money – and for how long?
Nord University is financing me for four years.
Do you have any publications ?Not yet. However, there is a finished manuscript that for a large part came forth from my MSc thesis projects and we are trying to get it published soon. I hope to publish the first results of my PhD project somewhere in 2020.
Did you do a masters – where was it and was it about?
Yes, I did a two years research masters in Leiden, the Netherlands. The masters was called “Evolution, Biodiversity and Conservation”. There were only a few compulsory courses that focused on genomics, systematics and ecology. I decided to earn most of my 120 credits by doing two MSc research projects where I chose projects that gave me the chance to get hands-on experience with population genomics and high-throughput sequencing techniques.
Do you do fieldwork?
Yes, in our research we use a river channel landscape system in Belgium and the Netherlands where we collect our stickleback. I have only been there for two spring seasons now and I enjoyed both of them equally. It is nice to have the possibility to do some physical work outside in addition to the regular office and labwork. Some people might prefer to do fieldwork in more exotic and/or more untouched nature areas, but I think there is something charming about sampling in the channels that are close to (or even within) cities or neighbourhoods. Evolution is going on everywhere and not every biologist needs to travel to the tropics or a faraway desert. Belgium of course also has the best beers in the world.
How many PhDs did you apply for – what were you looking for?
I applied to one other PhD position before. At the start of my masters I already knew that I wanted to do research in evolutionary biology. It was during my internships that I also realised that I enjoy using bioinformatics for processing the enormous amounts of data produced by modern sequencing techniques. These two interests both come together in my current PhD project.
What is the most bodged piece of equipment you have had to use during field/labwork – did it work?
In our labs we had a heating plate that I needed to use for the lysis of some tissues. Something was off, because after setting it to just 56 degrees Celsius it felt like it reached a temperature high enough to bake pancakes on. Sticking a thermometer in one of the holes was needed to adjust it to the right temperature.
What one piece of advice would you give to a masters student applying to PhDs now?
Make sure that the PhD project you apply to really interests you and do not just apply to different positions because your main focus is simply to obtain a PhD degree. It is also important that you feel comfortable and at home in the country and city where you will work on your PhD. Your life is now, and working on a PhD project should not be something “I just need to do before I can really start going after the career and life I want”. Three to five years will be a very long time if you are unhappy.
How often do you meet with your supervisor?
It depends on both of our schedules, but we try to meet up one time a week.
It depends on both of our schedules, but we try to meet up one time a week.
What supervisor traits are important to you?
I think a good supervisor shows trust. It is important that young researchers feel comfortable coming up with their own ideas and approaches for addressing scientific questions.
What do you think would be the worst supervisor traits?
Narrow mindedness and not allowing for new input or ideas.
In one sentence what is your PhD about?
Studying the evolutionary trajectories of coexisting three-spined and nine-spined stickleback.
I think a good supervisor shows trust. It is important that young researchers feel comfortable coming up with their own ideas and approaches for addressing scientific questions.
What do you think would be the worst supervisor traits?
Narrow mindedness and not allowing for new input or ideas.
In one sentence what is your PhD about?
Studying the evolutionary trajectories of coexisting three-spined and nine-spined stickleback.
What has been your academic highlight of the last year?
The 2019 Congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology. It is great to learn so many new things in just a few days.
Have you had an academic lowpoint of the last year – if so what happened?
No, I can’t really come up with something right now.
Which academic idol/scientist have you met?
I do not have a specific person on my mind. During workshops and conferences I have met many academics that were extremely passionate about their work and that were also very nice people to be around.
Which academic idol/scientist would you most like to meet?
Ben Langmead.
Who has been your academic role model/inspiration and why?
I think all supervisors I have had since the start of my bachelor have been a role model as I have learned a lot from all them. They are different people with different styles of doing science, but all of them have contributed in a way to how I carry out my research now.
Do you have a favourite paper?
Barth et al. 2017 – Genome architecture enables local adaptation of Atlantic cod despite high connectivity
What has been your favourite conference so far – why?
The 2019 Congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology. There were a lot of talks that I found very interesting and that gave me fresh ideas for my own research. I presented a poster and it was very useful to discuss my results with other biologists.
What hours do you typically work?
Most of the time I manage to keep up with my planning by doing regular 9:00 – 17:00 days. My working days are a bit longer when there is a deadline coming up (like a conference) or when I am just in a good workflow and just want to finish something before leaving for home. If I do not have specific plans for the weekend, I often read up on some papers, but I often experience this also as just relaxing time.
How do you avoid procrastinating?
I think it is important to plan small subtasks that are not so daunting and that are easy to pick up. As soon as I just start working on something, I will usually get into a good and focused workflow which helps to switch to the bigger and more challenging tasks. It helps to make a weekly planning with big tasks like “population structure analysis 2008 data” that you split up in smaller tasks at the start of each working day like “prepare the population definition file”.
What motivates you in your day to day PhD life?
The fact that basically every analysis that I will perform during my PhD project will be a new and unique one. No one before me has asked this specific question and I will be the first one to answer it.
I think it is important to plan small subtasks that are not so daunting and that are easy to pick up. As soon as I just start working on something, I will usually get into a good and focused workflow which helps to switch to the bigger and more challenging tasks. It helps to make a weekly planning with big tasks like “population structure analysis 2008 data” that you split up in smaller tasks at the start of each working day like “prepare the population definition file”.
What motivates you in your day to day PhD life?
The fact that basically every analysis that I will perform during my PhD project will be a new and unique one. No one before me has asked this specific question and I will be the first one to answer it.
What do you do when you’re not working – how do you balance it with your PhD?I do six to eight hours of strength training per week. Recently, I have decided to do my workouts early in the morning before I go to the office and I have noticed that it actually works great for my concentration and energy throughout the day. In the evenings and weekends I like to spend time with my girlfriend and/or friends. It depends on the weather, but we go for hikes, we visit a concert or we just relax at home and play a boardgame.
If a genie could grant you one wish to help with your PhD what would you wish for?
A computer that performs every task in a split second so that I do not need to wait for hours or days to check if an analysis actually worked. Needless to say; this computer also has unlimited data storage.
What would be your dream job?
A job where I have the chance to combine my interest for both biology and human history, so maybe something in the field of ancient genomics? It is very cool that nowadays we can use our “genome reading tools” to study the spread of ancient civilizations and cultures when written records are scarce or simply not available.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Working as an academic is very satisfying for me so far, so I hope to be working on an interesting post-doc project by that time. I am hesitant about having to move to another country again, so it is likely that I would look for something within Norway or I will move back to the Netherlands.
One word to sum up your future in academia:
Gratifying.
What do you want to achieve outside of academia in the coming year?
I want to achieve a Norwegian language proficiency level of C1 to C2 on the CEFR scale.
What essential tool hardware/software could you not do your PhD without?
There are so many different tools that I require, so therefore I would just choose computers in general.
Do you have a favourite organism?
Dogs, I just love them. I do believe they are quite different from stickleback though.
Are there any social interactions/meetings which have enhanced your PhD experience?
Throughout the academic year, there are quite some events and meetings at our university. These can be 100% science related, like our Friday seminars where we often welcome invited speakers, or they are just social events like Christmas diners or summer parties.
What major question in your subject area is yet to be addressed – why is it important and why isn’t anyone addressing it?
I think there is still a lot of progress to be made in our ability to reliably predict and assess the adaptive potential of different species given their specific population dynamics and habitats. We gain a better understanding of the most important factors with each passing year, but there are often still many uncertainties when we want to apply this knowledge to real life conservation and nature management cases.
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