OXFORD

ACADEMIA + HIGHER EDUCATION
Dr. Christian Bottomley
Senior Lecturer in Medical
Statistics and Epidemiology,
London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine
Somerville College,
Biology, 1997
WHAT: I work on the evaluation
of vaccines against Streptococcus
pneumoniae - a bacteria that
causes blood infection, meningitis and
pneumonia. I travel regularly to the
Gambia and Kenya where the vaccines
have been introduced to see how well
they are working.
Most of my working days involve
statistical analysis and writing papers on
mathematical modelling and statistical
methodology. Because LSHTM is a
postgraduate training centre, only about
a fifth of my time is devoted to teaching
and supervision – much less than in most
universities.
WHY: I love the variety of roles and places
in which I work, as well as being able
to meet many interesting people doing
cutting-edge research. Being in a leading
academic institution provides a highly
stimulating work environment and ample
opportunity to attend seminars in my own
and related fields.
MAIN CHALLENGES: Medical research
is done through collaboration in
large groups of people from diverse
backgrounds. Navigating the politics
that come with these groups is part
and parcel of the job. It also means
periods of intense work to meet grant
deadlines, submit drafts of papers to
colleagues or deliver student marks.
CAREER PATH: I began in biology
and was inspired by a course in the
mathematical modelling of epidemics
that I did during my time at Oxford.
This led me into a Masters in medical
statistics at Berkeley, and a PhD in
mathematical modelling at UCL.
Looking back I can see how these
paved the way to my current role but
it wasn’t always clear to me at the
time.
TOP TIPS: Do what you love to
do and be strategic. If you have
identified an area that really grips
you, stick with it. Then work hard
to find a niche that defines your
particular contribution, and wherever
possible create opportunities to
design and lead your own work.
ACADEMIA + HIGHER EDUCATION
Dr. Lucie Cluver
Professor of Child and Family
Social Work, University of
Oxford
DPhil in Social Policy,
Oxford, 2008
WHAT: I work with a team of student
researchers in Oxford, academics and
governments in southern Africa and
international organisations like the WHO,
UNICEF and PEPFAR/USAID. Together
we are trying to understand the needs
of orphans and vulnerable children in
Africa, then test programmes to help
them and their families. Most of my
time is spent writing funding proposals,
responding to crises in the fieldwork sites
and trying to stop my team working too
hard. I fly to the USA and government
meetings in Africa regularly because
working alongside policy makers can
ensure our research has impact..
WHY: Sometimes I cannot believe I am
being paid to do exactly what I want. In
academia you have enormous freedom
as long as you can raise the money and
produce high quality work.
MAIN CHALLENGES: Doing fieldwork in
very poor areas presents lots of practical
challenges. Right now we are dealing
with daily violence and riots relating
to the elections. Managing complex
projects is very challenging because we
don’t learn this at university.
EARLY CAREER AND ARRIVING IN THIS
ROLE: After my first degree (Classics
at Cambridge) I trained as a social
worker and during my Social Work
Masters I did a small study of the
mental health of orphans in South
Africa. When the Minister of Social
Development requested a bigger
study, I chose to combine this with a
DPhil. I had no intention to become
an academic until I realised that
South Africa needed good research
on AIDS-affected children.
TOP TIPS FOR THRIVING IN
ACADEMIA: I see a lot of young
women drop out of academia
because they lack confidence. I think
you have to be able to say to your
funders and to your department that
you’ll do something ambitious when
you yourself have no idea whether
it is even possible. It also helps to
be honest and tell people about the
mistakes you made and what they
have taught you.
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