{"id":2776,"date":"2021-04-14T08:50:01","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T08:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/?p=2776"},"modified":"2021-04-14T08:50:01","modified_gmt":"2021-04-14T08:50:01","slug":"what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/","title":{"rendered":"What is it like to\u2026be a research manager?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"222\" height=\"300\" class=\"wp-image-2778  alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2021\/04\/PXL_20210413_141825895.PORTRAIT2-222x300.jpg\" alt=\"Woman standing with folded arms\" \/><em>By <strong>In\u00eas Baptista<\/strong>, Research Manager to Professor Ara Darzi, IGHI<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Growing up, I was a typical nerd with straight As and a passion for science. So much so that at times, many thought my sister was an only child as I spent most of my time indoors reading.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>It came as no surprise that I decided to pursue a degree in Biology, and then a PhD in Developmental Biology where I studied the establishment of asymmetry in the heart of zebrafish. I fondly remember glimpses of success throughout, like when my cloning efforts finally worked and created the most beautiful embryos. However, these were the rare moments as most of my time as a scientist involved many unsuccessful experiments and frustration.<\/p>\n<p>Although I wanted to pursue a career in science, conducting research in a lab was not the right path for me. I decided to put my skills to use in a way that would still allow me to do this while having gratification more at hand. As such, I moved from the spotlight to backstage and became a research manager.<\/p>\n<p>I have held several posts as a manager in science, including being an operations manager at a biotech company, laboratory manager and senior scientific operations manager in different academic settings. No post is the same neither does it stay the same. Management in science involves a plethora of ever-changing functions. The exciting thing about it is knowing that in one way or another it will inevitably help pave the way to success and for things to move forward. I could be working on obtaining funding, setting up a facility, acquiring a new major piece of equipment or organising the next seminar series.<\/p>\n<p>As a research manager at IGHI, I am involved in the management of our co-director, Professor Ara Darzi\u2019s research programmes. This ranges from supporting grant applications, advising on resource availability and funder strategy, ensuring institutional compliance and liaising with internal and external stakeholders. Another aspect of the role I very much enjoy is supporting the postgraduate research students in their journey to obtain a PhD. I do all this while integrated in a close-knit team with my colleagues Steve McAteer, Hendy Maheswaran and Rachel Davies. It is an absolute pleasure.<\/p>\n<p>Acting as the first point of contact for all research-related activities is a privilege. It allows me to interact with the amazing people that make up the fabric of IGHI and Imperial College London daily. I\u2019m exposed to all the exciting work, in what feels like a constant flow of learning opportunities. I also deal with a lot of problem-solving and stressful deadlines. As challenging as this might be at times, it contributes to my professional growth and means there\u2019s never a dull moment in the role.<\/p>\n<p>I feel fortunate to be a research manager at the world-leading Institute that is IGHI. I\u2019ve been lucky to have worked in world-renowned institutions in the past and could not be happier for continuing to work in this field, learning from truly inspirational leaders and people.<\/p>\n<p>As a research manager. I found the right place and the right way for me to be in science. And now that I think of it, I end up standing not at backstage, but having a front-row seat instead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By In\u00eas Baptista, Research Manager to Professor Ara Darzi, IGHI Growing up, I was a typical nerd with straight As and a passion for science. So much so that at times, many thought my sister was an only child as I spent most of my time indoors reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1013,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[273211],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ighi-people"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is it like to\u2026be a research manager? - Institute of Global Health Innovation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"IGHI&#039;s In\u00eas Baptista tells us her experience of working as a research manager.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is it like to\u2026be a research manager? - Institute of Global Health Innovation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"IGHI&#039;s In\u00eas Baptista tells us her experience of working as a research manager.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Institute of Global Health Innovation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-14T08:50:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2021\/04\/PXL_20210413_141825895.PORTRAIT2-222x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nikita Rathod\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Imperial_IGHI\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Imperial_IGHI\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nikita Rathod\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nikita Rathod\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#\/schema\/person\/aae48e611bc1c386cbe15b4c63d23ced\"},\"headline\":\"What is it like to\u2026be a research manager?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-14T08:50:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/\"},\"wordCount\":559,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2021\/04\/PXL_20210413_141825895.PORTRAIT2-222x300.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"IGHI people\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/\",\"name\":\"What is it like to\u2026be a research manager? - Institute of Global Health Innovation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2021\/04\/PXL_20210413_141825895.PORTRAIT2-222x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-14T08:50:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"IGHI's In\u00eas Baptista tells us her experience of working as a research manager.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2021\/04\/PXL_20210413_141825895.PORTRAIT2-222x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2021\/04\/PXL_20210413_141825895.PORTRAIT2-222x300.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/\",\"name\":\"Institute of Global Health Innovation\",\"description\":\"News and views on global health from staff and students within IGHI and the wider Imperial College London community.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Institute of Global Health Innovation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2020\/11\/Imperial_IGHI_Text-Lock-up_Blue-3.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2020\/11\/Imperial_IGHI_Text-Lock-up_Blue-3.png\",\"width\":724,\"height\":426,\"caption\":\"Institute of Global Health Innovation\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/Imperial_IGHI\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/imperialighi\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/institute-of-global-health-innovation\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC3xahUn8bULYTPEbJS4L4_w\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Institute_of_Global_Health_Innovation\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#\/schema\/person\/aae48e611bc1c386cbe15b4c63d23ced\",\"name\":\"Nikita Rathod\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5279e05dda3c3f39380c4994f5acbf7473ba117e3e36f197b36eca7b8d6f1449?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5279e05dda3c3f39380c4994f5acbf7473ba117e3e36f197b36eca7b8d6f1449?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5279e05dda3c3f39380c4994f5acbf7473ba117e3e36f197b36eca7b8d6f1449?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Nikita Rathod\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/author\/nrathod\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is it like to\u2026be a research manager? - Institute of Global Health Innovation","description":"IGHI's In\u00eas Baptista tells us her experience of working as a research manager.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"What is it like to\u2026be a research manager? - Institute of Global Health Innovation","og_description":"IGHI's In\u00eas Baptista tells us her experience of working as a research manager.","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/","og_site_name":"Institute of Global Health Innovation","article_published_time":"2021-04-14T08:50:01+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2021\/04\/PXL_20210413_141825895.PORTRAIT2-222x300.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Nikita Rathod","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Imperial_IGHI","twitter_site":"@Imperial_IGHI","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nikita Rathod","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/"},"author":{"name":"Nikita Rathod","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#\/schema\/person\/aae48e611bc1c386cbe15b4c63d23ced"},"headline":"What is it like to\u2026be a research manager?","datePublished":"2021-04-14T08:50:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/"},"wordCount":559,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2021\/04\/PXL_20210413_141825895.PORTRAIT2-222x300.jpg","articleSection":["IGHI people"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/","name":"What is it like to\u2026be a research manager? - Institute of Global Health Innovation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2021\/04\/PXL_20210413_141825895.PORTRAIT2-222x300.jpg","datePublished":"2021-04-14T08:50:01+00:00","description":"IGHI's In\u00eas Baptista tells us her experience of working as a research manager.","inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2021\/04\/14\/what-is-it-like-tobe-a-research-manager\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2021\/04\/PXL_20210413_141825895.PORTRAIT2-222x300.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2021\/04\/PXL_20210413_141825895.PORTRAIT2-222x300.jpg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/","name":"Institute of Global Health Innovation","description":"News and views on global health from staff and students within IGHI and the wider Imperial College London community.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#organization","name":"Institute of Global Health Innovation","url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2020\/11\/Imperial_IGHI_Text-Lock-up_Blue-3.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2020\/11\/Imperial_IGHI_Text-Lock-up_Blue-3.png","width":724,"height":426,"caption":"Institute of Global Health Innovation"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/Imperial_IGHI","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/imperialighi\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/institute-of-global-health-innovation\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC3xahUn8bULYTPEbJS4L4_w","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Institute_of_Global_Health_Innovation"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/#\/schema\/person\/aae48e611bc1c386cbe15b4c63d23ced","name":"Nikita Rathod","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5279e05dda3c3f39380c4994f5acbf7473ba117e3e36f197b36eca7b8d6f1449?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5279e05dda3c3f39380c4994f5acbf7473ba117e3e36f197b36eca7b8d6f1449?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5279e05dda3c3f39380c4994f5acbf7473ba117e3e36f197b36eca7b8d6f1449?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Nikita Rathod"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/author\/nrathod\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1013"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2776"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2782,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2776\/revisions\/2782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}