Please note: This story reflects the personal experience and perspective of its contributor. Academic careers vary widely, and others may experience different challenges and opportunities. 

Career Story 

I did my PhD, post doc and academic career up to Associate Professor at the University of Leeds between 2004 and 2022. I then moved institution to take up a professorial role at the University of Sheffield.

The move, particularly as I was effectively being promoted to Professor, generated a lot of imposter syndrome. I was extremely anxious about leaving somewhere I was established and worried that people would not like me coming in at a senior level. I doubted myself more than I expected to.

It turned out that those fears were not real. I genuinely feel that I joined my tribe when I moved. I have been very well supported and have had many opportunities. Looking back, I would tell myself not to judge my worth by other people’s interest in working with me and to try not to doubt myself so much.

Within my new role, I have taken on responsibilities beyond my own research, including being PGR Lead within the School. The development of early career researchers is somewhere I think, and hope, I can make meaningful impact. I mentor early career researchers in my field in the UK and globally and perhaps offer a slightly different perspective from classical academia at times.

In my research, I work across disciplines, bringing clinical and engineering research together. Ensuring that patients and clinicians are at the heart of research plans has been central to the way I approach impact.

I have also had to learn to let go of certain habits. It is very easy to spend your day chasing reassuring small wins, often associated with administration, and to put off the bigger, harder tasks. For a while, I stopped writing grants without deadlines because they felt like something “for me”, and therefore easier to postpone. I now schedule grant writing time robustly in my diary. If I move it, I reschedule it. Otherwise, only I lose out.

One of the things I think I do well is build networks. Sometimes I am not the one leading, or even directly involved in, new research, but I can bring others together to collaborate. I have a wide network across industry, academia and clinical practice. We sometimes just catch up for the sake of it. Not all networking needs to result in an immediate output or grant. There is value in simply keeping in touch.

For a while, I did not think I would be successful in academia because I did not fit what I thought was the “right” way to be an academic. Academics come in all shapes and sizes. I am now very happy, reasonably successful and entirely true to my personal values every day.

Reflections I would offer now 

• Do not judge your worth by how much interest others show in working with you.
• Imposter syndrome can intensify during promotion or institutional moves. It does not mean you do not belong.
• Protect time for the big, important work, especially grant writing and strategic thinking.
• Building networks is not always about outputs. Maintaining genuine connections matters.
• There is no single way to be an academic. Success can be aligned with your own values.