By Dr Niamh McCartan, Zoology PhD graduate
Hi, I’m Niamh! It’s been 11 months since I defended my PhD, and that time has absolutely flown. After almost ten years of studying, I knew I needed a proper break, even if I wasn’t quite sure what would come next.
During my PhD, supervised by Pepijn Luijckx, I investigated how extreme thermal variation (specifically heatwaves and cold snaps) affects host–parasite interactions. In the lab, we used the freshwater invertebrate Daphnia magna and its parasite Ordospora colligata. This system allowed me to run large-scale experimental work without lengthy ethics approval, which was a huge practical advantage.
So, what did I find?
Overall, my work showed that short-term temperature extremes can have effects that are very different from changes in average temperature alone. In particular:
- Thermal variation can produce infection outcomes that would not be predicted from mean temperature alone
- Heatwaves and cold snaps are not equivalent; they generate distinct effects on infection
- The amplitude and duration of a thermal pulse both influence disease outcomes
- The timing of a thermal event relative to infection is critical in shaping parasite success
So, what have I been doing since finishing?
I was very lucky to work as a Teaching Fellow in the Zoology Department at Trinity College Dublin during the first semester of the academic year. I took over Ian Donohue’s role in Fundamentals of Ecology, delivering lectures, running practicals, and grading (a lot of) coursework. My first lecture was just three days after my viva, so I really jumped straight in, but it was an incredibly rewarding experience. I got to really appreciate how much work goes into coordinating a module!
I still remember sitting in that same lecture theatre as a student back in 2017, so teaching the module felt like a real full-circle moment. That experience made me realise that academia is a career path I’d genuinely love to pursue.
Since Christmas, I’ve been trying to take things a bit more slowly, though switching my brain off has never been my strong suit. I’ve been channelling that energy into revising and submitting the final unpublished chapters from my thesis. As anyone who’s been through it knows, preparing a manuscript for submission involves a lot of editing, especially when every journal has its own formatting rules. Alongside this, I’m also planning to write new papers based on other projects I’ve been involved in.
Looking ahead, I’m hoping to apply for postdoctoral positions later this year, so getting these papers out feels like an important step. In the meantime, I find myself newly unemployed and occasionally bored, so if anyone has a short-term project or needs an extra pair of hands, feel free to get in touch!