Academia and the World Beyond, Volume 2

Dr. Christopher Madan is Assistant Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham. He studies memory using a combination of cognitive psychology, neuroimaging, and computational modeling methods, with a particular interest in what factors makes some experiences more memorable than others (such as emotion, reward, and motor processing) and how these influences can manifest in future behavior, such as decision making. He also specializes in characterizing inter-individual differences in brain morphology, particularly with respect to aging, dementia, and cognitive abilities. Dr. Madan received a 2021 Early Career Award from the Psychonomic Society and a 2017 Rising Star award from the Association for Psychological Science. He is a Fellow of the Psychonomic Society and AdvanceHE and has been elected to the membership of the Memory Disorders Research Society.

• Post-PhD Possibilities: Discovering academic-adjacent and skill-transfer career paths.- I love that something I design can become a real product that could be used to find new treatments or new biomarkers.- I’m not a researcher anymore, I'll be a scientist forever.- Make a prioritised ‘life list’ of all the things you desire from life – independent of any single job or career.- It was really inspiring to find companies carrying out really impressive missions.- I can see team members grow and can help them reach the next step in their career.- Being good at question-asking is a transferable skill”.- Ask yourself–does this role fulfill the aspects I enjoy in my current career path?.- It’s healthy to evaluate your situation and it might lead to staying where you are or finding new challenges.- My work-life balance has clearly separated boundaries.- The process of doing a PhD isn’t about the outcome of the research or getting the qualification - it’s about developing yourself.- I love helping people communicate their ideas and maximize the impact of their work.- Working in academia was great but I missed the work-life balance.- A PhD is a substantial training opportunity, not just a sprint to the finish.- My PhD shaped the way I think and solve problems.- Leaving academia doesn’t permanently close doors.- Looking back now, I wish I’d been more honest with myself at the time and looked at alternative careers.- At NIH, there are many tasks and operations that need to be done or grants would not be reviewed and funded.- I am more passionate about supporting researchers than with any research I did during my PhD.- Look for internship or placement roles in areas that support research.- The idea of a more immediate impact of my work was very appealing.- Find something that is worthwhile to you.- The title of Dr holds significant weight when you enter the world of industry.- Being nearfamily and friends felt more important to me than continuing to pursue an academic career.- In academia, recruiters care about what you’ve done, outside they care about what you would be able to do next.- Having a PhD doesn’t mean you’ll impress people with your education, it means you have to impress them with how you apply it.- People are more often willing to connect and have a conversation than you might think.- Your PhD could serve as the most potent intellectual exercise, fuelling your entire career's journey.- I enjoy reading books before they are published and getting them polished for publication.- One of the big values of a PhD to an industry role is the proven ability to tackle a substantial project largely independently.- I like thinking about the best way to word something so that it is clear and concise.- Having a broad set of responsibilities is energizing because I hardly ever get bored.