“I’m a Group Leader at the Quadram Institute where I investigate role of bacteriophages in the gut microbiome and how we can use them to promote health and prevent disease.

Being a Group Leader at the Quadram Institute is a whole bunch of jobs together.

One of these jobs is being a people manager. I really enjoy managing people in my group.

Another one of your jobs as a Group Leader is being a thinker. You need to think about your next big idea.

It’s also about being a team player. One of the things that is specific to being a Group Leader here at the Quadram Institute is that there are a lot of people working together towards a common goal.

Our mission at the Quadram Institute is to deliver healthier lives through innovation in gut health, microbiology and food. As a Group Leader it’s important to talk to other group leaders, designing and performing research that fits our mission.

Our mission at the Quadram Institute is to deliver healthier lives through innovation in gut health, microbiology and food. As a Group Leader it’s important to talk to other group leaders, designing and performing research that fits our mission.

A passion for science and path to being a Group Leader

I first started thinking about the idea of being a Group Leader a couple of years into my first Postdoctoral position.

My career in science started when I was working on my Masters project at the University of Leuven studying bioscience engineering. This is when I got my first contact with project research working in a lab and I realised I was actually quite good at research and it was something I wanted to pursue.

After my masters I stayed in the same lab group for my PhD and this is when I got involved with bacteriophage research. I really enjoyed working with bacteriophages, in terms of their science, their genomes, their applicability and their diversity. This shaped the rest of my career.

At first during my postdoc, I didn’t feel mature enough as a scientist and as a person to lead a group of people. I applied for a couple of things but with less passion and confidence behind it. As I became a postdoc for longer and I observed different research groups in different locations, I realised being a Group Leader was something I wanted to do, and I thought I would be good at it. This is when I got more serious about applying for fellowships and jobs.

Leading a research group takes a lot of maturity because there is always something going on with somebody, you have to manage both the science and people. My advice is to take this career step when you’re ready. Take your time being postdoc and take time to build up your research niche so you know what you’re doing and have the emotional maturity to lead other people.

I was lucky in my career that I could start mentoring early on. When I was a PhD student, I mentored two master’s students and I was also a teaching assistant for a course for both undergraduate and masters students. Through my PhD I got some experience of mentoring people and then in my postdocs I continued mentoring and supervising PhD and masters students. These experiences prepared me well for my future career being a Group Leader.

Applying to be a Group Leader

I had never been to the Quadram Institute before I applied to be a Group Leader here.

I saw the job advert for the Group Leader position, and I started researching more about the institute. The research here really appealed to me so I decided to apply. At the time I was applying, the new Quadram Institute building was being built and we are here now.

For me the process of being a Group Leader starts with thinking about what you want to do because it needs to be something that you enjoy doing. That’s the first step.
Then it’s formulating a five-year plan including what grants you want to apply for and then basically presenting that to the people that end up being your peers at the institute.

I made a five-year plan that I presented to lots of Group Leaders and senior management at the institute during my interview. They liked my plan and then I got invited for another interview where I gave a seminar here and talked to lots of people here. I had talks with bioinformaticians and other group leaders about potential synergies.

I was investigating whether this place would be a good fit for me. You need to interview the institute as well because it needs to be a good fit for you.

I really enjoyed my first couple of visits to Norwich. It is a really cool city with beautiful old churches, the cathedral and winding streets. There’s great pubs and a lot of good restaurants too. Plus, there’s a lot of culture and a lot of good things to do.

I made the decision during the interview process that I would like to be a Group Leader at the Quadram Institute.

The hiring committee decided they were interested too, so it was a two-way street.

Support being a new Group Leader at the Quadram Institute

When I was hired, I was hired on a tenure track system which we call a Career Track Group Leader. This really allows you to focus your first five years of research on developing your ideas and building your group.

When I started as a new Group Leader at the Quadram Institute I got a lot of support. I got support with having a budget, a Postdoctoral Research Associate, having the support of mentors both internal and external and a committee that looked out for my progress. There’s a lot of people to talk to, financial support and moral support.

Plus there’s access to good facilities which makes life a lot easier. There’s great access to bioinformatics infrastructure, support groups and good lab facilities. I didn’t need to set up a lab from scratch because I had access and support to everything from the moment I started.

It’s really special to have that level of support and it has helped me progress my career.

At the end of the five years, you go through a tenure review promotion process, and I have been through that in early 2023. Now my first five-year goals are met, so I’m thinking about my next five-year goals.

Norwich Research Park and future research

Being here at the Quadram Institute you have access to everyone else on the Norwich Research Park.

I have collaborations with people at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH), the local hospital, but also people at the University of East Anglia and across the research park. I’m sure there will be future collaborations with people at the Earlham Institute and the John Innes Centre because bacteriophages are everywhere so we can look for them in every single environment.

One of the things I’m really excited about over the next couple of years is that we are getting into bacteriophage therapy and applications in human health.

We’ve just got a small grant together with NNUH to look at the potential of using bacteriophages to treat infections of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the respiratory system of people with chronic lung infections. The project is at the first stage, connecting with patients and collecting samples. I

It’s exciting to start to look at a long-term vision to develop bacteriophage applications to benefit patients.”

• We are currently recruiting for early-career and senior Group Leaders