Episode 86: Class of 2024 - Ben, MChemPhys Chemical Physics

Ben Tan shares his experience of working life after his industrial placement at Pfizer in Canterbury. Matt nods his head as Ben sheds light on the cutting-edge research in computational chemistry he will continue with as he looks forward to starting his PhD back in Edinburgh.

Multi Story Edinburgh is a student-produced podcast that features snapshots of life as a new graduate. Each episode features a different path and a different story. In this season Matt speaks to five recent graduates from the Class of 2024 about the ins and outs of post-graduation life.

Multi Story Edinburgh has been created and produced by the Alumni Relations team at the University of Edinburgh. If you are interested in telling your story, please get in touch and let’s talk!

All opinions expressed are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Edinburgh.

Music
Detective Begining Adventures by KonovalovMusic. Sourced from Tribe of Noise.

Transcript

[Theme Music]

Matt  00:04

Is that something that the university is quite on the forefront of that particular field of cancer treatment?

Ben  00:10

Uh, yeah, yeah, absolutely. So the group I'm I'm joining, which is the the Michelle research group, the supervisor of the group, Julie Michelle, is the leading expert in the field of protein dynamics and free energy simulations in within the field of drug discovery. So yes, I think it's definitely a great experience to be have this opportunity to work with you know, a leader in this in this field, for sure.

Matt  00:39

I'm Matt O'Malley, your hosts for season six of multi-story Edinburgh, the podcast which tells the stories of our recent graduates as they begin to navigate life post-graduation. These are really unique and insightful conversations for those who are going through or anticipating the plunge that is graduating. So whatever your path may be, however sure or unsure you are about your next steps. This is the place for you, and today we speak to Ben.

Ben  01:05

My name is Ben, and I'm a recent graduate from the integrated master's programme in chemical physics. I actually grew up in Edinburgh, a little bit outside the city, in the suburban area, so went to school here, and then came to the uni in 2019. My first four years, I was based here in Edinburgh, and then in my my final year, I was actually down in Kent. I was living in Canterbury for a good part of that as part of my industrial placement, which is something that's offered by the School of Chemistry as part of the integrated master's programme, you have the opportunity to go and do an exchange here, either at different partner university, doing research or also in industry. So I was down in Kent working for Pfizer for a year. So yeah, that was a really cool experience as well. And I think some, you know, one of the best parts about, you know, studying chemistry in Edinburgh, having this, this opportunity.

Matt  02:08

And just to get my head around that, have you just come back from that?

Ben  02:11

Yeah. So, yeah, I've, so I was down in Canterbury between September to January, so September 23 to January of this year, 24 and then since then, I've still been on placement, but I've been working remotely here from Edinburgh. I work mostly on the computational side of things in my research. So you can kind of kind of do that from anywhere.

Matt  02:35

So maybe a difficult question, but if you could describe your graduation in one word, and why that word?

Ben  02:44

Oh that is a that is a tricky one. Um, I'm

Matt  02:50

Might be a bit of a bloated question. Can you describe it in one.

Ben  02:53

One word? Um, I guess, I guess I'd go with satisfying. I don't know if that's, I don't know that's quite the best word to go with, but I think it was just, it just felt very, you know, felt very rewarding and fulfilling to kind of have just this day to mark the end of, you know, of your journey in Edinburgh. Yeah, especially, yeah, especially with covid. I feel there's been so many, so many ups and downs and, yeah, definitely a lot of changes throughout the five years. I think, you know, just personally, we've, you know, we've, we've gone through a lot of changes, I know. So I think society has changed a lot over that time. So, yes, it's really nice to get this, this event, to kind of mark the the end of end of that. So yeah.

Matt  03:43

That was maybe a bit of an unfair question, purposely so just to get you to unpick it all for us there, yeah, so that, mostly from what I hear from other recent graduates, it's that sense of Yeah, relief and satisfaction. Can you tell us what your placement was, what was your role?

Ben  04:04

Yeah, yeah. So I was so at the company, I was doing research into computational chemistry. So what I was doing here was developing several digital tools that would improve analysis of drug products. Most specifically, I was focusing on running simulations of drug impurities. So we're trying to gather information through simulations that will eventually make drugs, hopefully safer, and also being able to get that out to the out to consumers, or patients who need it more quickly.

Matt  04:43

And did that feel like pretty did it feel kind of fulfilling doing that? Because that sounds like something really important.

Ben  04:49

Yeah, yeah, absolutely, I think, you know, I think sometimes when you're at uni and you're working through these quite theory heavy courses, and. And sometimes you can kind of lose sight into the wider relevance of what you're learning. But then I thought it was really cool experience to, you know, go to the industry and actually start applying everything I'd learned in my in my courses, in applications that, you know, actually, actually directly benefit people. So yeah, that was that was really cool, for sure.

Matt  05:21

So obviously you've already had that flavor of working life, and with that work life balance kind of question that buzzword we always hear, so yeah, was that the reality was there a different work pattern to what you were used to with your studies?

Ben  05:37

Yeah, yeah it is is so. So actually, I found that when I was down in Canterbury, the work life balance did come quite naturally, and that's because when I was down there, I was essentially just working for the company full time, meaning office hours were nine to five, and outside of that, you know, I would, I would leave my work laptop at the office. So outside the nine to five, I didn't really feel any pressure to do anything else. My supervisor at the placement was also really good about letting me work on my my uni deadlines during company time, which I think made things a lot easier. So for me, the kind of daily routine, routine I had was just being in the office nine to five, and then after that, having time to, you know, just play. I was still playing badminton. I was training the county team there. And, you know, or, or doing, just doing things I enjoy, nice, yeah.

Matt  06:35

So what's next for Ben? Yeah, what's next

Ben  06:39

Yeah so I'll actually be coming back to the uni in in September. I'll be starting a PhD in in the School of Chemistry. So yeah, right, right, right, back into it. I guess

Matt  06:49

Crawling back.

Ben  06:54

But yeah, there'll be so in my PhD, I'll be working also in in the field of drug discovery. So you're wanting to stay, stay in the area of pharmaceuticals, I guess, inspired mostly by my experience on my placement. So again, I'll be looking at some looking at developing computational methodologies for designing new drugs, I think mostly with a, mostly with a focus on, on cancer treatments, which I think is, you know, still, still such a major area of of research, and, you know, still the potential to develop, develop research that will help, you know, a lot of People out there. So, yeah, that's, that's definitely exciting.

Matt  07:43

Is that something that the university's quite on the forefront of that particular field of cancer treatment?

Ben  07:48

Yeah? Yeah, absolutely. So the group I'm, I'm joining, which is the Michelle research group. The supervisor of the group, Julie Michelle, is leading expert in the field of protein dynamics and free energy simulations in within the field of drug discovery. So, yeah, it's, I think it's definitely a great experience to be have this opportunity to work with, you know, a leader in this in this field, for sure.

Matt  08:12

And do you think, because obviously, you're pursuing the academic and research career, I suppose you could have gone into another job, maybe a corporate job or something. Why the PhD? What was the pull for it?

Ben 08:25

Yeah so I think, long term, I think industry probably is still the goal for me. But I think the PhD was still attractive for for several reasons. First of all, I definitely had a had a great experience here in Edinburgh, the School of Chemistry. So, you know, I was quite happy to come back for for a few more years. Yeah, I think the second reason is just having this, this opportunity to to further specialise. I think sometimes in the industry, if there's a very particular area you want to specialise in. It may not necessarily align with the company goals, yeah, which, at the end of the day is going to be your priority in when you're when you're working for a company, whereas when you're in a PhD, I think you really have this freedom to follow this very specific research area that's, you know, that's interesting to you. So I think the goal is kind of specialised through the PhD in this, this field I want to go into, and then kind of use that to get the the specialist knowledge that I need to apply for jobs a bit further, a bit further down the line.

Matt  09:39

Sounds like a plan. And you get a, you get a doctor in front of your name right?

Ben 09:43

Yeah, that's, that's always nice, yeah, yeah.

Matt  09:47 

So I suppose, in a way, you've been quite fortunate, really, to have been inspired by that industrial placement and find it quite a natural step to stay here and pursue that research route. So that's, that's all. Fantastic. So we're going to turn back the clock here to little, little baby Ben, well, not too baby, but cognitive Ben, who can think and dream about his future. What did little Ben want to do as a dream job?

Ben  10:17

I'd say there's, there's always two. There's always there's those maybe two dreams here. The first is, I guess, similar, similar to what I'm what I'm doing now, and that's I did. I did always like science. You know, even from from being young. I remember one of the first science experiments I did when I was eight or nine was we, we melted chocolate with a bunsen burner and then made, like, chocolate covered strawberries. So we were learning about, like, liquid, liquid and solids.

Matt  10:43

Transition, yeah.

Ben  10:44

Yeah, yeah. So I'd say doing science is definitely something that I could always see, always see myself doing. I think maybe the second, the second one I second dream I had was, was playing badminton professionally. I've you know, I grew up watching, you know, I grew up watching every, every major tournament. I grew up playing, you know, playing, playing a lot when I was younger. So I'd say maybe professional badminton, not, maybe not quite in my future at this point. But I think being in Edinburgh, which is also a big uni for sports, has allowed me to do is still played a very high level. So I think hopefully got a kind of best, best of both worlds.

Matt  11:26 

And for people in your position transitioning to graduate life, obviously, everyone's probably going down different paths, but yeah, what would you what would you say to your peers? I don't know, perhaps they don't have a PhD down the line, or, or maybe they're really missing undergraduate life.

Ben  11:45

Yeah, it's, I guess, a tricky one, because, as you said, everyone has, I think, a very different, very different path here. Maybe, maybe what I'd say is just from personal experience, the best opportunities are opened up through personal connections. So I'd say, where possible, you know, get out there and network in person. I think, you know, the people will generally be more willing to give you an opportunity if they if you're able to connect with them face to face, on a on a personal level, rather than you just being, you know, text on a screen for them. So, yeah, I think that's, that's maybe what I'd say based on, based on personal experience.

Matt  12:30

Any final words for us?

Ben  12:34

Yeah, overall, I think it's, it's been, it's been a great five years, no regrets, and a lot of, a lot of really, really great opportunities during my time.

Matt 12:49 

Of course, I couldn't just let my graduates go without them telling me their favorite spots and things to do in Edinburgh.

Ben  12:57
Yeah, it might be, it might be a cliche, but I think for me, you can't beat Meadows on a sunny day, you know, get some food and food and drinks, just you set yourself down the meadows. I like to, I like to kick a ball. Kick a ball around my friends. Yeah. I really don't think you can beat that in Edinburgh.

Matt  13:14

Maybe a bit too windy for badminton in Edinburgh.

Ben  13:18

Yeah. We mostly, mostly, mostly stick to indoors to that one. But I think, yeah, volleyball, football might be, might be doable. 

[Theme music]

Matt  16:19

So we've reached the end of this story, but fear not we have more to tell. To hear our other graduates from the class of 24 head to our website www.ed.ac.uk/alumni/new-graduates. Or just search Multi Story Edinburgh, wherever you get your podcasts. But for now, that's goodbye from me, and I'll catch you in our next story.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai