Welcome To Papa PhD
with David Mendes, PhD
Career & Life Balance Exploration
for Academics and Graduate Researchers
Latest Episodes
Podcasthon 2023 – Papa PhD présente PhDOOC (Hors-série)
Cette semaine sur Papa PhD, on est hors série avec un spécial Podcasthon 2023, où je te présente une association qui m’inspire – PhDOOC. Si tu veux savoir de...
Building a More Diverse and Inclusive Academia With Shaz Zamore (Rerun)
This week on the show, I’m bringing you yet another treasure from the vault – my Season 2 conversation with Shaz Zamore about their vision for the future of...
How To Stop Burnout In Its Tracks With Özgün Ünver
Burnout. You probably know someone who has gone through it, or you may have burnt out, yourself. Academic burnout is real and often taboo, and this week on the...
Perfectionism With Dr. Isabeau Iqbal – A Self-Compassionate Professor Feed Drop
Last week on Papa PhD, I shared my recent conversation with Danielle De La Mare, creator and host of the Self-Compassionate Professor podcast. This week, I’m over-the-moon happy to...
Trusting the Path to Career Wellness With Danielle De La Mare
How well adjusted do you feel you are to your current career ? This week on Papa PhD, I’m sharing my recent conversation with Danielle De La Mare, creator...
Goal Setting as an Early Career Researcher With Kimberly Duong
It can be difficult projecting yourself into the future and setting goals when you are fully invested physically and emotionally with your PhD. Overwhelm and overwork are terms that...
The State of the Post-PhD Job Market With Ashley Ruba
Are you ready for what comes after getting your degree? Or after your second or third postdoc? How does the job market treat PhDs today? These are questions I...
Time Management During the PhD with Gad Sabbatier
Welcome to another collab episode of the PhD Dojo with The 2nd Lab. VIDEO In this new PhD Dojo episode, Gad Sabbatier and I share our advice on something...
Best Practices When Writing Papers For Publication With Anna Clemens
Are you preparing to write a paper? Do you get anxious, not knowing what the outcome is going to be of this long process? Today, I’m sharing with you...
Featured Guests
Wellbeing And Burnout Coach
Özgün Ünver is a certified life, stress and burnout coach working with academics around wellbeing, mindset, and burnout prevention/recovery.
She has a PhD in social policy, a strong interest in psychosocial wellbeing in the workplace, and a passion for normalising mental health-related conversations in every aspect of our lives.
Her mission is to help academics (and everyone else) to prioritize self-care, work-life balance, and mental (as well as physical) health.
Career Wellness Coach
Danielle De La Mare, founder of Self-Compassionate Professor, focuses on healing academics’ relationship to work, helping them to clear mental and emotional clutter, make space for their own needs and wants, and find the clarity to make sound and meaningful career decisions grounded in wellness.
Career Coach | Civil Engineer
Dr. Kimberly Duong completed her PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Irvine and successfully transitioned to industry. She wants to share lessons learned and help others succeed in their own PhD journey. Kimberly employs a tailored one-on-one approach, drawing on more than ten years of project management, leadership, STEM outreach, and mentorship experience in academia, government, nonprofits, and entrepreneurship. Her diverse background has led her to a variety of experiences, from wetlands field work in Melbourne, Australia to science policy at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, DC. In addition to coaching, Kimberly also enjoys cooking and fitness.
UX Researcher
Dr. Ashley Ruba (PhD in Developmental Psychology) is a UX Researcher at Meta Reality Labs, building the next generation of AR/VR technology. Prior to joining Meta, Dr. Ruba spent over a decade in academic research, studying how young children learn about emotions.
Academic writing Coach
Dr Anna Clemens is an academic writing coach with a PhD in Chemistry. In her online program, the Researchers Writing Academy, Anna helps researchers get their papers published in their target journals without procrastinating on the writing.
Food Industry Consultant
Bryan Quoc Le, Ph.D. is a food scientist, food industry consultant, and author of 150 Food Science Questions Answered. He earned his Ph.D. in Food Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he studied the chemistry of savory flavors from plant-based sources. He is currently a research scholar through the Ronin Institute for Independent Scholarship, an industry expert for Carbon13 (a venture builder based in the UK), and an independent consultant for Mycelium Gastronomy (an industry network of food experts).
Coach And Consultant
Dr. Victoria (Tory) Wobber received her PhD in Human Evolutionary Biology in 2012 and secured a role as a data scientist at Facebook in 2013. She now runs her own business as a career and leadership coach.
Tory has three degrees from Harvard, worked at Facebook and Google, and developed the Academic Exit framework after making the transition from academia to industry herself and coaching more than 50 people through that same transition.
Scientist | Author
Marc Reid completed his Masters and Carnegie Trust-sponsored PhD in Chemistry at the University of Strathclyde. Marc was then a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Edinburgh. During that time, he was inducted into the SciFinder Future Leaders in Chemistry programme.
Marc’s independent academic career has been fuelled by prestigious Leverhulme Trust and UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships. He has held lecturing positions at the University of Bristol and the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship. In 2021, Marc completed the altMBA.
His research interests include physical organic chemistry, computer vision, virtual reality, process safety, and the Imposter Phenomenon.
He lives with his wife, two kids, and border terrier in ‘sunny’ Glasgow.
Testimonials
“In my continued search for new science podcasts, I happened upon Papa PhD, hosted and produced by its creator David Mendes.
This podcast has wonderful interviews with those who’ve completed their PhD’s where they talk about what brought them to the path they are currently on in their career.
When it comes to thinking about networking and thinking outside the box as far as next steps after your PhD program, this is the podcast to subscribe to.” – Read article here.
Suzanne C. Miller – Managing Editor, Integrative & Comparative Biology
« Il y a beaucoup de conseils de carrière judicieux dans chacun des podcasts.
Le parcours des intervenants est diversifié, tant académique que professionnel.
L’intervieweur laisse un bel espace aux intervenants et pose des questions pertinentes aux moments opportuns. »
François T. on Podchaser
“Your podcast series is like a treasure mine for me 🙂 Every time I listen to one episode I find someone I want to connect to.
I don’t know how I will be implementing the feedback and guidance I have received so far from all the connections from your podcast series, but at least I know I really am enjoying connecting with new people.
Especially knowing that someone is involved in a job they are really happy in and that they have carved for themselves is so inspiring.”
Anushka K. – Doctoral Researcher at Okayama University
Podcasthon 2023 – Papa PhD présente PhDOOC (Hors-série)