ResourcefulHDR

The ResourcefulHDR podcast guest for March is Shivani Sachdev. Shivani was awarded a Master of Research (Biomedical Science) in 2017 from Macquarie University and recently submitted her PhD thesis. Shivani’s research project was entitled “Molecular Pharmacology of Cannabinoids: beyond THC” which she completed in the laboratory under the supervision of Professor Mark Connor, Asociate Dean, HDR, Macquarie University.

Shivani loved juggling many different things alongside her PhD including taking on the role of Vice-President of MedSoc, Creative Producer of TEDx MQ, Participant in the Future STEM Leader program and IMNIS Mentee. Aside from her fascination with research and work in academia, Shivani likes to swim, cook, watch TV and is also planning on taking guitar classes. 

Shivani has accepted a Postdoc position at Indiana University with Professor Ken Mackie and will be relocating to the USA in the next couple of months. 

Follow Shivani on Twitter @GrrrlInScience

The latest guest on the ResourcefulHDR podcast is Isaac Roberts who is a Master of Research candidate in Indigenous Studies at Macquarie. Isaac is a proud Aboriginal man with ties along the east coast of Queensland and New South Wales. After losing his hearing to illness in 2013, he studied a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Ancient and Modern History at Macquarie in 2015. He is currently completing his Master of Research in the Department of Indigenous Studies. His research looks at the History and Archaeology of the Ngiyampaa  people of Western New South Wales, and the bridging of Indigenous and Western knowledges in the field of archaeology.

Isaac speaks about the challenges of completing his HSC following his illness and his subsequent hearing loss and the impact that has had on his choice of tertiary study. Isaac was originally going to follow a path in Music and changed his plans as a result of his acquired disability. With characteristic modesty and humour, Isaac gives credit to a number of people in his life -  family, Teachers, academics and support staff for his success.  Isaac speaks about his interest in Ancient History and Archaeology and how he ended up doing a Master of Research in Indigenous Studies. He provides valuable insights into Indigenous Archaeology and the challenges faced by a young Indigenous man in conducting research within Indigenous communities.

The winner of the 2019 Macquarie University 3MT Gillian Smith, PhD candidate in the department of Ancient History, is the latest guest on the ResourcefulHDR podcast.

Gillian went on to win the Asia Pacific 3MT Peoples' Choice awared and in this episode she talks about how she decided to enter the competition after a 'pep talk' from her Supervisor, Dr Susanne Binder when she was feeling deflated after being in the 3MT audience as a new PhD candidate – wondering whether her research was worthy.

She speaks about how she decided to become an Egyptologist and her plan to undertake a PhD to achieve this goal, while still at school. In this episode we discuss the value of studying Ancient History and how it provides the capacity to gain perspective, particularly in relation to the constant complexity of societies.

She talks about how the love of the PhD project needs to be there from the beginning because interest needs to be sustained over time and to recognise the privilege of being surrounded by researchers who are deeply focussed on their topics.

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 Associate Professor Tracy Rushmer, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Associate Dean (Higher Degree Research), Faculty of Science and Engineering Macquarie University.

 Tracy's academic background is as an Experimental Petrologist plus Rock Mechanics. She overseas several experimental laboratories which can induce both hydrostatic and deformation conditions in which to investigate mineral/melt interactions under pressure and temperature. Her work focuses on the evolution of planetary bodies, particularly on differentiation, which is the fundamental mechanism by which the terrestrial planets evolve through time. Recently, her work has explored the origin of Earth’s first continental crust through a combination of phase equilibria studies, rock deformation experiments and numerical modelling. The far-reaching applications of her research have been recognised by funding from NSF in the United States, NASA and in Australia by the Australian Research Council. She has led and been involved in 4 funded ARC projects since 2011. I was made a Fellow of the Mineralogical Association of America in 2012.

Tracy’s academic career has spanned the USA, Switzerland and Australia academic background with her research taking her to many different countries. In this episode of the Resourceful HDR podcast, Tracy speaks about her own career as well as the people and chance events that influenced her decisions along the way.

Tracy also speaks about her experiences as the Associate Dean Higher Degree Research for the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Tracy also talks about what a privilege it is to mentor students from different backgrounds, the value of research qualifications and the need for a broader view of graduate outcomes for Master of Research and PhD candidates.

Belinda Fabian is a PhD candidate in the Department of Molecular Sciences at Macquarie University where she’s using cutting edge molecular biology and sequencing techniques to study the genes of beneficial bacteria that colonise plant roots. Belinda is in her 3rdyear and is supervised by Distinguished Professor Ian Paulsen and Dr Sasha Tetu.

Prior to this Belinda completed a Bachelor of Science (part-time while working full-time) and Masters of Research at Macquarie University and was awarded the university medal in Biology for her exceptional results in these programs. Belinda’s Masters project focused on extrafloral nectar production by Australian native plants and this is where her passion for plant biology was ignited.

Before changing to a science pathway, Belinda completed a Bachelor of Commerce – Accounting and Bachelor of Business Administration double degree at Macquarie University and then worked for 11 years in accounting in a private home improvement company.

Belinda has tutored in multiple undergraduate Biology and Molecular Sciences units over 5 years and is passionate about preparing students for the workplace and showing the world that there is a lot of creativity in science.

When she’s not doing science Belinda loves making mixed media art and shares this passion by teaching at a local art & craft store.

Florence is the HDR Learning Advisor for Social Science at Macquarie University and earned her PhD in Sociology at the University of New South Wales. She has published on a broad range of topics, including social theory, educational philosophy, the sociology of neuroscience, new materialist feminism and human–animal relations.

As an HDR Learning Advisor, Florence is also interested in forging supportive mentoring relationships with research candidates in ways that enhance their research experience and sense of belonging and community at the university. Her research training curriculum includes workshops and courses on developing sustainable writing practices, learning to work with critical feedback, and applying creative, interdisciplinary thinking to research questions. As a researcher, with specialisations in medical sociology, feminist theory and science and technology studies, Florence is particularly interested in how empirical data from the life sciences can be used to foster conceptual innovation in the humanities and social sciences

Claire joined the University of South Australia as the Associate Head Graduate Research & Manager Research Training Support in February 2017. This role provides leadership in the development, planning and implementation of initiatives to achieve the University’s strategic research objectives, in the specific area of research education and training.

Before arriving in Australia, Claire had established an international reputation in the field of PhD skills development with a particular focus on building collaborations within and beyond universities. This recognition stemmed from work embedding employability within the PhD structure at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, where she spent over 10 years supporting the development of researchers through training, experiential learning and employer engagement.

In 2011, Claire led a university-wide project to create one of the world’s first parallel academic qualifications designed to empower research students in their employability - the PG Certificate in Researcher Professional Development. Strathclyde's innovative approach received national recognition at the Times Higher Education Awards in 2015, and Claire has presented this to universities globally, including in the UK, Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, who have since adopted or adapted the model locally.

Claire has co-authored papers for organisations including the UK Council for Graduate Research, the Higher Education Academy and Enterprise Educators UK, and led a research project exploring employer perceptions of doctoral skills. Claire completed a part-time MBA in 2016, and is a qualified consultant and project manager

I first made contact with Claire via Skype in 2015 when I started at Macquarie and she was the Researcher Development Manager at Strathclyde University in Glasgow. 

 ResourcefulHDR podcast Episode 6: David Evans PhD candidate Ancient History

My guest today on the ResourcefulHDR podcast is David Evans. David is located in Brisbane and is a PhD candidate in the Department of Ancient History at Macquarie University and his thesis is Paul and the Foundation of the Churches.

Prior to enrolling in a PhD, David completed an MA in Theology, a Bachelor of Ministry at Malyon Theological College and a Grad Dip Ed at ACU. He was employed as a secondary teacher in Catholic and Lutheran schools, and as a Pastor at Singleton Baptist Church in Singleton in NSW for a period of two years.

David was awarded two academic prizes in 2016 - the David Barr Prize from the Australian College of Theology and the L.M. Dart Memorial Prize from Malyon College.

Winning a number of scholarships, the Macquarie/Tyndale Scholarship in 2019 and the Faculty of Arts Candidate Conference Travel Scheme in 2018 gave David the opportunity to travel to the UK to visit Tyndale House, a research institute affiliated with Cambridge University, and to present a paper “Defensive and Constructive Identity Formation in the Lives and Times of the Two Quadratuses of Athens” at the British New Testament Society Conference, held at St. Mary’s University, London in September last year

Luke Mills is a PhD candidate at Macquarie University in Cognitive Science with a strong background in using data to gain novel insights into people and their behaviour. Luke’s PhD topic is Investigating the Role of Attention in Reading and he is currently part of the IMNIS Mentor program for PhD candidates in STEM

Starting out in libraries with a Diploma in Library Services, Luke chose to study Psychology as an undergraduate where he achieved two prizes first place in Cognitive Processes as well as first place in Advanced Research Design and Statistics within the Department of Psychology. 

As an undergraduate Luke completed a PACE unit with the Salvation Army and following his Bachelor of Psychology he volunteered as a Lifeline Counsellor. 

Luke currently works as a Research Officer within the Faculty of Human Sciences and completed a Master of Research in 2017. Luke has also been awarded two Australian Research Training Scholarships and has already published two papers in the Journal of Experimental Psychology and Memory and Cognition