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
Dr Ashton Barnett-Vanes, MB-PhD Candidate, St George's, University of London and Imperial College London, UK.
Dr Rachel Allen, Reader in Immunology of Infection and Head of Graduate School, St George's, University of London, UK.
‘Intended as a step-by-step guide, the book is a good summary of
the major steps, pitfalls along the way, and advice on how to be
successful as a student … There are not many books that attempt to
do what this one does, and there is not much written about this
topic in general, so students should find this a useful resource.
Doing a PhD is often fraught with uncertainty, and a written guide
to the steps would be helpful for most students, especially as they
begin the program.’ Doody’s, November 2017
'How to Complete a PhD in the Medical and Clinical Sciences aims
(and succeeds) in remaining concise, it examines every aspect of
the PhD journey in a comprehensive and precise manner. I would
strongly recommend the book to anyone doing or planning to do a PhD
in Medical, Clinical, Biomedical or Life Sciences. As well as,
frankly, any other subject.' Kristine Bagdassarian, FindAPhD.com
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