Helen O'Neill

Supervising Biomedical Science Students

Professor, School of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science
Recipient of the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Supervision in 2004

Reflections

My strength as a supervisor probably stems from my own enjoyment of research and scientific achievement. I worked in research at Stanford University and JCSMR for 10 years before I supervised PhD students. The transfer of focus towards supporting student research marked a period of personal growth. Prior to that my focus was on doing something novel and creative - on my own. This transition also coincided with an expansion in the number of projects I was able to manage simultaneously. Now I prefer to work with PhD students more than with research assistants, and student supervision is the most rewarding aspect of my teaching role. I empathise with their total commitment to research.

Medical research is a rapidly moving and very exciting field. For students, the pace of progress and the rate of publication can be daunting. It is important therefore while supervising PhD students to maintain a high level of research and to remain competitive in terms of publication. In my area it is essential to have modern facilities and equipment to train students in the latest experimental procedures. Adoption of new technology is critical for training the next generation of researchers.

As a supervisor I find myself continually challenged with having to adapt my practice to the needs of individual students, each with unique strengths, needs and pace of learning. PhD students impose high expectations on themselves and many maintain high levels of stress. I can recall many student issues that I have had to resolve. Each of these required some level of creative problem-solving on my part to achieve a positive outcome from what seemed initially to be a dilemma (see presentation).

If I reflect on my experience over 20 years of working with PhD students, several things stand out as being the most important elements of supervision.

1. My personal involvement in the student's project - both its planning and management
2. Establishing effective one-on-one interactions with each student

Involvement in planning and management of student projects

Scientists live with a contradiction that research is a process of investigation, experimentation and unplanned outcomes, while project completion involves planning, design and expected outcomes. Both the student and I have to be prepared for the unexpected finding while remaining aware of the need for timely thesis completion. I find it essential therefore to build flexibility into the planning and management of student research projects.

There are major advantages in assigning projects to students which are central to my own research activities and interest. Keeping up with the literature and current thinking then becomes an automatic part of my own endeavour. This places me in the best position to provide intellectual guidance to students.

Student's thesis topics are central to my own conceptual and intellectual work

My practice is to give each student a main project and one or two related but distinct smaller projects. I encourage students to explore these projects independently and to acquire the necessary experimental skills. I then work with students to determine which lines of investigation are more successful for them. This approach fosters a significant level of independence.

I set a time plan for the project which is reviewed regularly. I hold weekly meetings with each student to which they bring anything they want to discuss, including experimental data, papers they have read, experimental outlines, details of interesting conferences and eventually thesis chapters. At these meetings I provide input without intrusive supervision.

Establishing effective one-on-one interactions with each student

From my experience, it is essential to tailor the supervisory relationship to suit individual students and to determine the problems faced by each at an early stage in their program. Since effective communication requires a high level of trust, it is important to find ways to break down the hierarchical barriers between supervisor and student to achieve an effective one-on-one interaction. For me the best projects have been those where both the student and supervisor are focused on where the project is going. If there is weak communication, as a supervisor I may have unrealistic expectations of both the project and the student.

Interpersonal issues need to be resolved to establish a good student-supervisor relationship

I like to establish a professional working relationship with each student. Students want to see how I work, think, reach conclusions and handle problems. This is only possible with regular, open interaction. Being superior or judgmental will stress relationships with most students. It is far better to remain considerate of their work and ideas and to direct these to a successful conclusion. A supervisor's involvement in creative, active problem-solving is needed continuously until students learn to take on this role themselves.

Dilemmas for supervisors: a powerpoint presentation - (283KB)

Dilemmas for supervisors: the pdf version - (258KB)