Post-Doc Q&A
Post-Doc Q&A
In the Mind of a Ph.D. Graduate
Meet Emma Fletcher. She is currently a postdoctoral research associate working in the Clinical Muscle Biology Laboratory under Dr. Panagiotis Koutakis. The overall research agenda of their lab is to delineate potential underlying mechanisms involved in the skeletal muscle pathology associated with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Emma’s primary role is to design, conduct and oversee all of their murine model investigations. Elucidating such mechanisms through their pre-clinical models during her postdoctoral training and her onward career is of great interest, as these investigations not only greatly enhance our understanding of the pathophysiology involved PAD myopathy but could also reveal feasible targets to optimize the maintenance of muscle mass, a major determinant of patient morbidity and mortality.
Aside from her lab-specific postdoctoral work, she is also an active member of Baylor’s Institutional Review Board, as well as the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Prior to her postdoctoral training, Emma received her PhD in Kinesiology, Exercise Nutrition, & Health
Promotion (Baylor University). She also has a MVB degree in Veterinary Medicine (University College Dublin, Ireland), two master’s degrees in Exercise Science; one with a clinical focus (Central Michigan University), the other pre-clinical (University of South Carolina), conducted a clinical and research internship in cardiac and bariatric rehabilitation (Henry Ford Hospital, MI) with a strong emphasis on patients with heart failure and PAD, and has a BS in Sports Science and Health (Dublin City University, Ireland).
What do you wish you knew during grad school?
I wish I was less naïve and realized earlier in my training to be less trusting of what is published in research journals, particularly methodologies. The lack of transparency is fueling a replicability crisis in science, which can be hugely wasteful of time, energy, and research money when attempts to reproduce various protocols fail.
How did you decide to stay in academia?
Although I have spent time at various points in my life working in the clinical setting, both with human and animal patients, research always drew me back to academia. Remaining in academia, versus branching out to industry, allows me the opportunity to combine all my academic interests and experiences gained throughout my career to investigate topics of my choosing / topics I am passionate about (providing funding is available to do so), whilst also assisting with training the next generation of researchers (the PhD students in our lab).
How should the academic environment be improved?
Research output is, understandably, central to a university’s reputation. However, the field is currently overpopulated with researchers with little funding opportunities and few tenure job positions, thus creating an immensely hypercompetitive environment. Consequently, I feel the profession would benefit from a change in the metrics regarding what constitutes academic/research success, such as incentivizing collaboration over competition, and publication quality should be rewarded over quantity. There could also be added support and/or mentoring available to secure extramural funding via traditional and/or alternate funding mechanisms.
What kinds of skills are you developing now to reach your next goal?
My current role is affording me the opportunity to develop my research independence while still under the mentorship of Dr. Koutakis. Key examples include my role in the design and implementation of our animal model investigations, gaining additional experience in the communication and dissemination of our research results through publication and/or presentation at national and international conferences, having the opportunity to apply for postdoctoral research funding, as well as honing my bench/technical skills and mentoring ability (of our graduate students).