Paula Croal
Postdoctoral Research Scientist at University of Oxford
Don't be put off by seemingly impossible challenges...it's so much more satisfying once you succeed. That applies to both scientific puzzles and thriving in a male-dominated field!
About Paula...
Who am I?
"Coordinator and Manager reflect the organisational and collaboration aspects of research, while the Influencer type reflects much of the practical components and the need to communicate ideas beyond the lab."
What do I do?
"I am a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Physiological MRI. In theory this is a transitional job (or extended training period) between PhD student and Professor. I carry out technical research in brain imaging in cancer with view to developing new techniques which can be used in clinical practice. The goals are to develop new useable techniques, test them through clinical trials and share the results with the wider scientific community through publishing with a view to getting them used in everyday practice. My personal goal is to establish my own research team and achieve Professor status. There's a large degree of independence and I enjoy choosing what to do each day depending on my mood. There's a clear career pathway to independent research. "
How did I get here?
"I did my PhD in the Nobel Prize winning department of Sir Peter Mansfield. The amount of lives changed due to the invention of magnetic resonance imaging is very inspirational. This inspires me to do my job!"
The life I live
"In my spare time, I enjoy baking/cooking, travelling to new places and keeping fit."
My typical day
"A typical day will be checking emails, writing and testing code, perhaps scanning a patient and analysing their data, reading scientific papers and perhaps working on one of my own. I co-supervise some students, so depending on the day, I may need to meet them and troubleshoot any problems. We also often have team meetings, where a member of the group will present their work and we will discuss how to move their project forward."
My qualifications
"Secondary education (GCSE/O-Levels) GCSEs (including Triple Science and Drama, 4 A*s, 6As Post secondary education (College, A-levels, NVQ3 or equivalent) AS Chemistry (A), A Levels Biology (A), Maths (A), Further Maths (B) Undergraduate degree (BSc, BA, etc.) BSc Hons Psychology (2:1) Post-graduate degree (MSc, MA, etc.) MSc Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience (Distinction) Doctorate (PhD) PhD Physics "