Postdoc Spotlight: Mifuyu Akasaki

Please could you give us an overview of what you do and what you’re working on?

I am currently based in the cardiovascular unit as a postdoc and my main work is around blood donors. The project I'm involved in is to develop a prediction model for vasovagal reactions, which is fainting, among blood donors during and after blood donation. This is so that we can get an idea of what kind of factors are associated with fainting among blood donors and then think about how we can prevent it.
 

What led you to explore the Postdoc Academy and the Postdoc Centre facilities?

Firstly, I moved into Eddington, so it was very natural for me to come across to the centre as I was living just there. Also, I work from home a couple of times a week, so I was looking for somewhere I can work that is also separate from my personal space.
So this was perfect for me, and I can work quietly without any distraction.  

What are some of the main benefits of hot-desking at Eddington for you? Have you tried the other two centres?

The close physical distance from my house is great. I haven't used the other two centres, mainly because I live in Eddington. I know there's another centre near Addenbrookes, but as I have my office nearby, I don’t really need to use it.

What would you say to encourage other postdocs to use the Eddington space?

I think working from home sometimes makes us a bit isolated. Sometimes, when writing codes or analysis, for example, or something where I need full concentration, I prefer to do it at home. But, if it's some work which requires not that much concentration, I like to do this kind of work at the centre, and that helps me to make progress.

It's also not just a place to work, I've got to know a few postdocs here, or from nearby University sites, so that was quite a good thing. We recognise each other around and have talked about research and what we're doing through our work. It also makes me feel like more a part of a community. So it's been helpful for me.

Also, the Postdoc Academy staff are based here, so there are opportunities to meet people who might be able to help you, depending on what you need, so that’s also good.

Are there any programmes, training or workshops you found particularly helpful through PdA?

I usually check the Postdoc Bulletin every week when it goes out and it's really informative for me. I check one by one what kind of training is available, and what kind of calls there are. I participated in RisingWISE through it.

Another thing that I'm using is the mentoring scheme, that is quite helpful. I’ve met my mentor twice so far. I’ve had a few issues in my work that I wasn't sure how to fix, but I’m receiving practical support, advice and encouragement. I’m able to think through issues more carefully, and so it’s been a really good relationship so far.

What were your main takeaways from the RisingWISE programme?

Initially, I made an application because I was quite interested in learning business skills, but I wasn't sure what they were, so I decided to just give it a go and joined the programme.

I found that business skills are not only for business. I think some people think that business skills are completely different from researcher skills, but if we want to be an independent researcher, business skills are really very applicable to researchers as well. They teach things like leadership, collaboration, networking skills and pitching.

In the programme, we did a test that showed us what kind of skills or values we have and what we don’t. That made it clear what I'm good and not good at. If we want to have a good team as a researcher, we need to think "Okay, I don't have these skills, I need to find someone who does." That helped me to think about how to work with other people. I think it's the collaboration part that was quite helpful.

We also had lots of female scientist speakers in the programme and that was really, really inspiring. After I started my post here, I started having mixed feelings about my squiggly career path. I used to feel proud of it, but also in a way, each one is a very short period in your career. This is because some of the positions that I held were short-term and in different sectors, which may make the links between them seem unclear. 

But a lot of speakers on the programme had a similar career path, so that reassured me that I'm at least developing some skills and gaining some experience in different fields, which will support my career path. It was really encouraging as well as inspiring.
 

Why should women postdocs consider participating in the RisingWISE programme?

This programme is only for women, and this means it feels quite safe to talk about anything and I felt in a really safe environment.
It was very interesting to recognise and discuss what kind of differences exist between men and women and then from that what we can change. For example, women don’t always enter into negotiation, while men are more likely to.

Another thing I would say is that I got to know people from different departments in Cambridge but also, from Oxford, so it was a really good opportunity to get to know people from Oxford as well. It was really positive, and I had a good time in the programme.