Tamika Heiden is the founder and director of impact consultancy Research Impact Academy. Her company works with researchers around the globe and also runs the Research Impact Summit.

Sarah and Tamika talk about

• How her career and business evolved from research to knowledge translation to impact
• The language and practice of impact around the world
• Overcoming the mindset challenges that came with starting her own business
• How the current funding systems are holding back progress

Find out more

• Read the show notes and transcript on the podcast website
• Connect with Tamika on LinkedIn
• Sign up for the Research Impact Summit
• Find Research Impact Academy on the web, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, BlueSky, YouTube and Instagram

About Research Adjacent

• Fill out the research-adjacent careers quiz
• Sign up to the Research Adjacent newsletter
• Follow Research Adjacent on LinkedIn Instagram and BlueSky
• Email a comment, question or suggestion
• Leave Sarah a voice message

Anji Miller is Senior Partner for Academic Engagement at healthcare charity LifeArc. LifeArc help turn great research into real-world healthcare products – from bench to bedside.

Sarah and Anji talk about

• Trusting her instincts, even when others didn’t understand her career choice
• Embracing opportunities and making the next best move
• Why she is a passionate advocate for mentoring, EDI and STEM initiatives
• Seeing the impact of her work on patients and the people she has supported

Find out more

• Read the show notes and transcript on the podcast website
• Connect with Anji on LinkedIn
• Find out about LifeArc

About Research Adjacent

• Fill out the research-adjacent careers quiz
• Sign up to the Research Adjacent newsletter
• Follow Research Adjacent on LinkedIn Instagram and BlueSky
• Email a comment, question or suggestion
• Leave Sarah a voice message

Sarah's guest is impact consultant, Chris Pahlow. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Chris runs the consultancy business Amplifying Research and hosts the podcast of the same name.

Sarah and Chris talk about

• Blagging his way into a university teaching position whilst an indie filmmaker
• Why impact is really all about relationships
• Being honest – even when it’s not what people want to hear
• The often-invisible work of research professional staff

Find out more

• Read the show notes and transcript on the podcast website
• Connect with Chris on LinkedIn
• Listen to the Amplifying Research podcast
• Find out about Chris’s business Amplifying Research

About Research Adjacent

• Fill out the research-adjacent careers quiz
• Sign up to the Research Adjacent newsletter
• Follow Research Adjacent on LinkedIn Instagram and BlueSky
• Email a comment, question or suggestion
• Leave Sarah a voice message

Louise Jopling is the Chief Scientific and Innovation Officer at the Babraham Research Campus and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Babraham Institute.

Sarah and Louise talk about

• Her career journey from immunology research to business leader and mentor
• Why hearing about the real-world impact of health innovations still gives her goosebumps
• The Babraham Research Campus ‘melting pot’ which creates a unique environment for research commercialisation and collaboration

Find out more

• Read the show notes and transcript on the podcast website
• Connect to Louise on LinkedIn
• Find out about the Babraham Research Campus and Babraham Institute

About Research Adjacent

• Fill out the research-adjacent careers quiz
• Sign up to the Research Adjacent newsletter
• Follow Research Adjacent on LinkedIn Instagram and BlueSky
• Email a comment, question or suggestion
• Leave Sarah a voice message

Sarah’s guest for this episode is Andy Tattersall. Andy is a communications specialist who embraces using technology to help share research.  

Sarah and Andy talk about 

• Making himself so useful that a job was created especially for him
• Using technology to solve problems and always trying to make things better
• How he evolved from bedroom radio host to pirate station DJ to podcaster
• Being a lifelong learner and why more CPD time would benefit everyone

Find out more

• Read the show notes and transcript on the podcast website
• Check out Andy’s Linktree for all his podcasts and articles
• Connect to Andy on BlueSky
• Visit Andy’s website

About Research Adjacent

• Fill out the research-adjacent careers quiz
• Sign up to the Research Adjacent newsletter
• Follow Research Adjacent on LinkedIn Instagram and BlueSky
• Email a comment, question or suggestion
• Leave Sarah a voice message

Stephen Britton, Health & Safety Officer (Episode 70)

Sarah’s guest for this episode is Stephen Britton. Stephen is currently a Biological Safety Officer at Durham University. Prior to that he spent over 20 years working for the UK Government’s Health & Safety Executive.

Sarah and Stephen talk about 

• Our changing appetite for risk and what life might be like without health and safety regulations
• Some of the major incidents he has investigated
• Why the constant churn of university research projects creates safety challenges
• The far-reaching impact of his chosen career compared to staying in research

Find out more

• Read the show notes and transcript on the podcast website
• Connect to Stephen on LinkedIn

About Research Adjacent

• Fill out the research-adjacent careers quiz
• Sign up to the Research Adjacent newsletter
• Follow Research Adjacent on LinkedIn Instagram and BlueSky
• Email a comment, question or suggestion
• Leave Sarah a voice message

Laura Evans-Hill, Visual Storyteller (Episode 69)

Sarah’s guest for this episode is Laura Evans-Hill. Laura is a visual storyteller and director of research communications agency Nifty-Fox Creative.

Sarah and Laura talk about 

• Why combining visuals and storytelling can be such a powerful communication tool
• How she works with researchers to turn illustrations into impact
• Her journey from accidental freelancer to agency director
• What AI might mean for the future of research communication

Find out more

• Read the show notes and transcript on the podcast website
• Connect to Laura on LinkedIn
• Find out more about Nifty Fox Creative on their website, LinkedIn or BlueSky
• Check out the More Than Medals online exhibition

About Research Adjacent

• Fill out the research-adjacent careers quiz
• Sign up to the Research Adjacent newsletter
• Follow Research Adjacent on LinkedIn Instagram and BlueSky
• Email a comment, question or suggestion
• Leave Sarah a voice message

This is a special double episode. First up Sarah meets David Mendes, aka Papa PhD, medical writer/translator and host of the Beyond the Thesis podcast. Then the tables are turned and David interviews Sarah for the Beyond the Thesis podcast.

Sarah and David talk about 

• How networking led to both the career and podcast he has now 
• The origin story of the Papa PhD podcast
• Why creating the podcast has helped him feel more confident
• The emotional and practical challenges of the post-PhD journey

Then David and Sarah have a conversation about

• How Sarah transitioned from research to research-adjacent post-PhD 
• Advocating for research-adjacent professionals
• Research-adjacent jobs and where to find them
• Why PhD graduates who want to become research-adjacent need to reframe both their skills and their expectations 

Find out more

• Read the transcript on the podcast website
• Connect to David on LinkedIn
• Visit the Papa PhD podcast website
• Follow the Papa PhD podcast on Instagram or X
• Connect to Sarah on LinkedIn

About Research Adjacent

• Fill out the research-adjacent careers quiz
• Sign up to the Research Adjacent newsletter
• Follow Research Adjacent on LinkedIn Instagram and BlueSky
• Email a comment, question or suggestion
• Leave Sarah a voice message

It’s the Easter holidays in the UK so this is a behind the scenes update with just Sarah.

Sarah talks about 

• The recent Challenges miniseries
• Upcoming episodes and future guests, including a special collaboration with Papa PhD
• The Research Adjacent Community for freelancers and the Research Adjacent Directory
• What she does when she's not podcasting and her Gathering with Purpose research events newsletter

Find out more

• Read the transcript on the podcast website
• Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
• Find out more about the Research Adjacent Community
• Sign up for Gathering with Purpose, Sarah’s research events newsletter

About Research Adjacent

• Fill out the research-adjacent careers quiz
• Sign up to the Research Adjacent newsletter
• Follow Research Adjacent on LinkedIn Instagram and BlueSky
• Email a comment, question or suggestion
• Leave Sarah a voice message

Rosalind Gill is Head of Policy and Engagement at the National Centre for Universities and Businesses (NCUB). 

Sarah and Rosalind talk about 

• bringing people together to respond to big sector challenges
• the realities of working in the sometimes-volatile political realm
• the huge contribution universities make to the UK economy
• why changing how people think often has more impact than any individual policy

Find out more

• Read the show notes and transcript on the podcast website
• Connect to Rosalind on LinkedIn or X
• Find out more about NCUB their website  or LinkedIn  or X

About Research Adjacent

• Fill out the research-adjacent careers quiz
• Sign up to the Research Adjacent newsletter
• Follow Research Adjacent on LinkedIn Instagram and BlueSky
• Email a comment, question or suggestion
• Leave Sarah a voice message

IsGqsQ99nci7ahvx91Ve