This year we are looking back on some of our MSc graduates who have excelled in scientific research, ecology and conservation around the world since studying with us.
Today we meet Siobhán who graduated from MSc Evolutionary & Behavioural Ecology in 2011 and is now a Tenure Track Fellow at the University of Liverpool.
Siobhán, it’s been 10 years since you studied with us, why don’t you tell us a bit about your career in that time that led you to where you are now?
On finishing my MSc I couldn’t bring myself to leave Cornwall after just one year, so I stayed for a further three years to carry out a PhD in Evolutionary Microbiology. After four years I decided that I couldn’t live any longer without Pret-a-Manger and Greggs, so moved up North to the University of York to carry out a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship (funded by Wellcome Trust). I then spent two years on another fellowship at ETH Zurich, followed by a brief stint at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, before taking up my current Tenure-track position in Liverpool in 2019.
That is great! What did you enjoy most about studying in Penryn?
I fell in love with Cornwall after about 24 hours. I grew up next to lots of beaches in Dublin, but nothing prepared me for those breathtaking crystal-clear waters only a five-minute walk from my house in Falmouth. The campus itself was very relaxed, with lots of green spaces and a hive of activity in the summer. Being surrounded by people from all walks of life with hugely different career aspirations. We had wildlife filmmakers, ecological consultants, teachers, academic researchers, park rangers, to name a few. It broadened my view of the world and allowed me to understand that a research career could be far from a narrow academic bubble.
How do you think the MSc helped to prepare you for your career?
I was interested in animal behaviour and evolution yet was unsure exactly what I wanted to focus on. The University of Exeter Penryn campus was a hub for world-leading scientists in social evolution, sexual selection, anthropology etc. The MSc is structured so that the knowledge and skills you obtain in the first half of the year are implemented in the second half of the year (the research project). These are crucial for any job application in academic research: a deep understanding of evolutionary biology, field research experience, experimental design, statistical analysis, making scientific posters and presentations, writing scientific reports and press releases. These new skills I could add to my CV really strengthened my applications for a PhD position. Furthermore, Exeter is globally recognised as a hub for evolutionary biology, so their MSc course was always well-regarded on my CV. Training in statistics and using R was a real highlight. Ok, highlight is the wrong word, BUT it was an incredibly useful skill to learn. I still refer back to my lecture notes occasionally, almost 10 years later.
We are so pleased your MSc has helped you throughout your career so far – what made you choose your career path?
I love the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge sake. It’s pure indulgent at times, I get to read interesting papers and books “just because” they are fascinating. The work is so varied, I could be teaching, working in the lab (less so now than I used to be!), supervising students, designing experiments, writing papers, preparing grant proposals, analysing data, giving presentations, working with industrial partners, attending conferences and even giving talks in Liverpool’s local pubs e.g. https://blogandlog.wordpress.com/tag/siobhan-obrien/
Do you have any plans for the future?
In the future I aim to hopefully get tenured, build up my lab group and try to get enough funding to continue to do lots of interesting science!
And finally, do you have advice for anyone thinking of applying to the University of Exeter?
Feel the fear and do it anyway! An old supervisor once told me I just need to accept the self-doubt because it never goes away. Acknowledge it – and ignore it. Oh, and get a good wetsuit!
Thank you!
If you want to read more profiles from MSc Evolutionary & Behavioural Ecology graduates follow this link or explore our Graduate in Focus homepage to learn more about the degree programmes we have on offer!