Exploring Research Careers Exploring Research Careers

Dr Liz Elvidge is the Director of the Post Doc & Fellows Centre at Imperial College Dublin.




In this very honest conversations Liz provides insight into her career journey - from PhD in Glacial Geomorphology and Geomorphology to her first couple of post doc positions in magnetostratography, then moving into researcher development. I talk to her about her book “What every post doc needs to know” around areas like getting the most out of your postdoc contracts, career ownership and careers beyond academia for researchers. She adds advice for postdocs and she tells us about her own lessons learned through her career.

Dr Maire Brophy graduated with her PhD in Political Theory in 2006. From there she began a journey that would lead her to a new and growing profession – Research Management & Development. Working in this sphere Dr Brophy realised that the skills and attributes that she possessed and developed were key to her success working with researchers around their funding challenges and proposals.




Having brought in millions of euros into research centres and departments throughout her career we talk to her about her latest role as Dean of Graduate Studies at Athlone Institute of Technology.




She also talks to use about lessons learned and how tenacity and career ownership are requirements for successful post docs and researchers 

Dr Ian Sherwin is a Lecturer in Sports Coaching at the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences and is the Course Director for academic programmes relating to the National Council for Education and Fitness at the University of Limerick.




He highlights his career journey from various jobs after leaving college, returning to college to focus on sports science, then moving into a coveted coaching role with the Irish Rugby Football Union.




After 13 years in that role returned to education and he chats to us about transitions and decisions along this journey. He offers advice to undergrad and postgrad students and highlights how kindness is central to his philosophy.

At the time of recording Dr Emma Gallon was a Commissioning Editor in the Publishing team at Epigeum. She was responsible for commissioning and strategic development of a portfolio of courses,  along with conducting research into trends in higher education and collaborating with experts in the field to develop programme content.


She talks us through her PhD journey studying music, her move into publishing and how through choices and circumstances finds herself currently in her dream role working for the OUP. She emphasises the skills and attributes that PhD researchers possess are valued highly outside Academia and in many different sectors.

Dr Cedric Assambo charts his career journey from a small country in Africa the “Central African Republic” to moving to France where he attended the National Institute of Applied Sciences in Lyon, known in France as INSA Lyon. He then moved to Ireland where he obtained a scholarship to complete his PhD. He is currently CTO at Capri-Medical and a Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin.




He provides insight into his previous academic and R & D roles. He also highlights 3 areas that potential PhD’s should consider when embarking on the doctorate journey, funding, passion for the topic and the supervisor. He also talks to us about his own lessons learned.

Dr Cathelijn Waaijer is currently a Policy advisor working in Human Resources Management and is also Institutional Researcher at Leiden University in the Netherlands where her role focuses on providing policy advice to university leaders on various areas within HR relevant to researchers, such as talent management, diversity, university rankings, bibliometrics and research grants.
 In this episode she talks to us about her own PhD and post doc journey, how the work she focuses on today is transformed into relevant policy for researchers and academics, some of her research papers, lessons learned and the advice she has for others a their own PhD Journey