Early career researchers

We are committed to career development, support and training to develop the research leaders of the future. We foster an agile, vibrant research commmunity through mentoring, peer support, tailored workshops and enable our talented Early Career Researchers to gain doctoral supervision experience.

Our Concordat to support the career development of researchers provides a robust framework for career development and we have retained our HR Excellence in Research Award, recognising our continued and innovative work to enhance research environment and culture, employment and professional development.

The early career researcher network (ECRN) includes a wide range of staff at the university, from post-doctoral researchers to senior staff engaging in research for the first time. Led by our Early Career Researcher Ambassador, it has been set up to provide a forum for support, networking and collaborations.

More specifically to:

provide a supportive virtual space for early career researchers across the university to meet up and share their experiences
offer information on a range of funding and opportunities in one space, saving time and effort
deliver a space to establish shared interests and facilitate inter and intra departmental collaborations
ensure effective representation of Early Career Researcher interests.

Annie Ockelford

Dr Annie Ockelford
Early Career Researcher Ambassador

We pride ourselves on supporting the aspirations of the next generation of research leaders. Find out more about the experiences of some of our own Early Career Researchers (ECRs) below.

Dr Aakanksha Virkar Yates

I am a literary scholar working on late 19th-century and 20th-century British literature. I have always worked in interdisciplinary ways, looking at intersections between literature and visual culture, music, philosophy and aesthetics. I was attracted to Brighton particularly because of its reputation for interdisciplinary work of this kind. Since joining, I have found my work increasingly shifting in a more political direction, influenced by the research culture and Centres of Research and Enterprise Excellence here. I am a member of the Centre for Memory, Narrative and Histories (CMNH) and my most recent work looks at the idea of Beethoven in British modernism, in the context of inter-war politics.

Read our feature on Dr Aakanksha Virkar Yates in our Research and Enterprise Newsletter, Issue 9 on page 26.

Dr Katherine Staines

My research focuses on understanding what happens to our skeleton in disease and in ageing. I am particularly interested in the disease osteoarthritis which causes significant pain and disability and yet, there is still no effective personalised treatment. I was attracted to Brighton for the growing musculoskeletal research taking place here and have been awarded internal Rising Stars funding to enable me to investigate new mechanisms which may contribute to osteoarthritis pre-disposition.

Read our feature on Dr Katherine Staines in our Research and Enterprise Newsletter, Issue 10 on page 44.

Dr Samantha Lynch

The main focus of my research has been on the role of time and prediction in architecture drawing. In practice, drawing is key to conjuring the future; sets of plans and sections describe what a building is to become. Many architects use drawing as the way to imagine out a future architecture, and to make connections with the future site. Yet this intimate relationship between drawing and prediction is often overlooked. My research intensifies this very rich temporal territory, offering new perspectives on future thinking. As part of an architecture programme that is innovative in re-imagining notions of site in contemporary practice, the University of Brighton has been the perfect place to pursue this creative research.

Read our feature on Dr Samantha Lynch in our Research and Enterprise Newsletter, Issue 11 on page 34.

Podcasts

Our regular podcasts often feature our researchers from across the university. With interesting insights into current projects and interesting topics, do listen in. There are over 100 podcasts in the back catalogue. Here is a small selection of some featuring our Early Career Researchers.