The article tells Rachel's story of returning to Academia on a part-time fellowship after leaving it when her children were young. Image Dr Rachel James of CDBS this month has a feature article on her story of coming back into academia after her children had reached School age: Read Rachel's full story here: 'How a part-time fellowship enticed a scientist back to academia'. nature: career column, article, 11 January 2022 Deciding to have children meant I had to become agile in dealing with the balance between family life and a career in science. Sixteen years later, I’m back in academia, and maintaining that balance has taught me a lot about myself and my attitudes to work. I had the first of my three children towards the end of my first postdoctoral position, in 2005. After a year of maternity leave, I returned to complete this postdoc in 2006, choosing to work part-time. I then secured a contract for a second postdoc in a different laboratory, also part-time, and despite another ten months of maternity leave after the arrival of my second child in 2008, I was able to keep up my research and eventually published this work. But with two small children at home and a partner who worked away during the week, I couldn’t maintain any of the extra activities that are needed for an academic career: attending seminars, conferences and social events; undertaking professional development or CV-boosting activities; collaborating with other researchers and developing research ideas.... Dr Rachel James Gillingwater Lab This article was published on 2022-10-17
