Robert is currently In Norway doing trial testing research from his PhD on improving Salmon Vaccines.
“After leaving school, I did an Undergraduate degree and Masters in Biochemistry. I went on to work in the pharmaceutical industry for a veterinary health company, and this made me realise that I wanted to be involved in aquaculture research.
After three years of working in human health I started my PhD in Atlantic salmon genetics and infectious diseases, focussing on genetics, gene editing and vaccines
The overall goal is to build a more sustainable salmon farming sector by reducing the impact of infectious disease, and having a PhD in infectious diseases and genetics will allow me to become an expert in designing vaccines, gene editing and breeding programmes in order to reduce the mortality rate in farmed salmon.
I love the freedom that my PhD gives me, as I decided what to study (within reason), made a plan of how to study it and then manage my own research. I work with novel scientific technologies like gene editing, mass spectroscopy and sequencing, as well as computational technologies in the field of bioinformatics.
Hearing about new project ideas that could be impactful in aquaculture is exciting too.
My supervisor, Sam Martin has built an excellent reputation in the field as a world-leading researcher, whilst maintaining an easy-going and light-hearted attitude. I would like to emulate that in my career.
The main thing you need to do a PhD is determination. Whilst creativity, outside the box thinking and focus are important skills too, you have to pick a gap and research it for four years. This requires a high degree of commitment to keep going.
Dealing with the competitive nature of academia funding has been challenging. When I first applied for my PhD I got accepted onto the project, but didn’t get awarded the funding to begin. Instead, I waited a year and managed to get an industrial partner to help fund it.
Living in Edinburgh is great. Not only are you in a capital city with exciting events and things to do, but I work at the Roslin Institute and it’s is pretty much in the countryside, so you get the best of both worlds.
To anyone thinking about a career in my area, I’d say, go for it, find something that interests you, find a good supervisor and get started. Building networks is really important for your PhD and your career and I’d also suggest joining the Young Aquaculture Society.