Violet O’Brien

Current Employer/Organisation Name

University College Dublin

What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?

I worked for a year as a school lab technician before starting my PhD. Now I am researching marine neurobiology. My PhD is funded by the UCD School of Medicine as I also work as an Anatomy demonstrator. This means I aid med students in their dissection and anatomy classes.

Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?

I choose my PhD based off my Masters project as I loved both the topic and the research environment. I applied for my position mainly due to the research but having worked in a school prior I knew I would like to do some level of teaching. However, I have really enjoyed my teaching and it has changed how I go about communicating my research and general ‘soft skills’. Coming from a non-Anatomy background, I enjoy helping students understand tough structures in a simpler way.

Please tell us if you were a member of any societies, groups or sports clubs?

I was part of the Fashion society and Biology society.

What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?

I enjoyed my dissertation projects the most as I thoroughly enjoyed finding out new things. Also the ability to tour different facilities during my Masters and understand the research taking place throughout the sciences.

What did you most enjoy about studying here?

I loved studying in Exeter mainly because of the people and the area! I met friends for life and loved being in a city with the countryside only 15 mins away.

Why did you choose to study at Exeter?

I choose to study at Exeter because I wanted to be at a campus university but still be in a city. I also loved the area and how I felt like I was in Europe during the summer.

What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?

I would say my experiences during teaching labs and research projects have been most helpful to me given I have stayed in research. Ultimately working in a research lab and understanding the day to day jobs of a researcher not often seeing during teaching labs was what convinced me to stay in research.

What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?

Network! It is hard to do but I met my current supervisor through another PhD interview but ended up liking him more and ended up with a different position! So my career came mainly from previous contacts I had. Speaking to PhD students also helped. And trying out loads of different research areas to find out what I liked!

What are your plans for the future?

My plans are to stay in academia I think!