Full Description
How to Complete a PhD in the Medical and Clinical Sciences provides fresh insight into the PhD process and a concise framework to aid current and prospective students undertaking research in the medical and clinical sciences.
Filled with useful hints, tips, and practical guidance, the book covers key topics relevant to a PhD researcher such as publishing and presenting, core principles and techniques in medical science, dealing with common pitfalls, and how to write up and move on.
Featuring contributions from authors with experience across the PhD research career spectrum, How to Complete a PhD in the Medical and Clinical Sciences is an invaluable resource for those undertaking their doctoral studies.
Contents
List of Contributors xi
About the editors xv
Foreword xvii
Preface xix
Acknowledgements xxi
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Ashton Barnett-Vanes and Rachel Allen
A PhD 1
Perspective 2
Why a book? How to use it 5
References 6
Chapter 2: Deciding on and finding a PhD 7
Jonathan C.H. Lau and Ming He
Background 7
Routes of entry 8
How to find one 11
Choosing a project 13
Making an application 16
Interviews 17
How to fund one 18
Reference 22
Further reading 22
Chapter 3: Anatomy of a PhD: Where you fit in the academic world 23
Laura Lambert and John Tregoning
Background: Welcome to the new you 23
You are here: PhD research versus undergraduate studies 24
Lab types: A field guide 25
It's tricky: The student-supervisor interaction 27
Check out my massive organogram 28
Other dull, but important stuff 29
Conclusion 31
Reference 32
Chapter 4: Core techniques principles and statistics 33
Andrew John Walley, Kyrillos N Adesina-Georgiadis, Adel Benlahrech and Fiona Reid
Genomics 33
Metabolomics 38
Flow cytometry 40
Statistics 45
References 49
Further reading 49
Chapter 5: Take off: Year 1 51
Ashton Barnett-Vanes and Rachel Allen
Background 51
Understanding your team and project 52
The literature 53
The research proposal 55
Starting experiments 56
Data management and record keeping 57
The 'transfer' 58
Conclusion 59
Common pitfalls 59
Chapter 6: Dealing with problems 63
Rachel Allen and David Salman
Background 63
General problems 64
Academic problems 66
Common PhD problems 69
Conclusions 72
References 73
Further reading 73
Chapter 7: Breaking ground: Year 2 75
Ashton Barnett-Vanes, and Rebecca Ingram
Background 75
Taking ownership of your project 75
Shaping the research direction 76
From preliminary to publishable data 77
Supervising junior students 79
The end of Year 2 review/assessment 80
Conclusion 82
Common pitfalls 82
Chapter 8: Presenting and publishing as a PhD student 85
Ashton Barnett-Vanes and Henry D.I. De 'Ath
Background 85
Presentations 85
How to present 87
Publications 89
Writing an original research article 90
Writing a review article 93
Narrative reviews 95
Final steps 95
Managing the process 96
Other considerations 98
Conclusion 98
References 98
Further reading 98
Chapter 9: Landing and writing up: Year 3 99
Manu Chhabra and E. Allison Green
Background 99
An exit strategy 99
The X Factor results 100
Before you start writing 101
Writing your thesis: Part 1 102
Writing your thesis: Part 2 105
Conclusion 111
Common pitfalls 111
Further reading 112
Chapter 10: The viva and moving on 113
Rachel Allen and Kate Gowers
Background 113
An examiner's perspective (Rachel) 113
The viva 115
Corrections 117
Career routes 119
Conclusion 123
Further reading 123
Chapter 11: PhDs in veterinary science and medicine 125
Fiona Cunningham, Jonathan Elliott, Fiona Tomley and Kristien Verheyen
Background 125
Is it for me? 126
Your project 128
Presenting and publishing your findings 130
Post-PhD what's next for me? 131
Conclusion 133
Possible concerns 133
Acknowledgements 134
Reference 134
Chapter 12: International perspectives on medical and clinical science PhDs 135
Célia A. Soares and Paul Langford
Background 135
Choosing a country 135
Finding a department 136
'Full' PhDs versus 'dual-PhDs' 137
Interviewing in a lab abroad 139
Funding 140
Administrative issues 140
Conclusion 143
Common pitfalls 143
Further reading 144
Chapter 13: What I'm really thinking: The post-doc 145
Adel Benlahrech
Background 145
It is great to be a post-doc! 145
Is it really that great? 146
A post-doc's advice 146
Conclusion 149
Further reading 149
Chapter 14: What I'm really thinking: The Professor 151
Michael Dustin
Index 153
