At SAW, we are lucky enough to host interns for three-month placements as part of the Professional Internships for PhD students (PIPS)scheme, that all BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Research Council) funded PhD students complete.
But it’s not often that we get the privilege of working with the same intern twice!
Here we catch up with Dr Tom Mclean from the John Innes Centre, who we first welcomed to SAW in 2017.
Hi Tom, let’s start at the beginning, how did you become a SAW intern?
So, as you know, I was actually a SAW intern twice.
The first was for a few months when I first moved to Norwich in May 2017 after I finished my master’s and before I started my PhD at UEA. I helped bring together the SAW antibiotics book (the green one) which was an amazing experience and really helped me get to know the science and scientists at the research park before I started my PhD.
I enjoyed it so much that I returned in the winter of 2019 for my PhD internship for another three months.
So, what made you come back, what did you particularly enjoy about being part of SAW?
I loved the range of people I got to work with.
So many amazing scientists, artists and writers as well as the teachers and other people who made all the projects I was involved in possible.
I also loved the creative process of coming up with new outreach ideas. How can we teach kids about bumblebees and pollination using a boardgame? How can we make a huge walkthrough gut with lights? Every day was different and so much fun!
Is there anything in particular that you think you gained from your time with SAW?
I learnt so much about science communication.
It’s a completely new skill that can only be learnt by going out there and making a complete idiot of yourself in front of a classroom of 10-year-olds! Often that’s the bit they enjoy so you just try and make sure they learn something at the same time. Never underestimate the mind of a child. It’s so true that they will ask completely unexpected questions that are so unexpectedly insightful.
I also have a completely new respect for teachers. A day of teaching primary school children is absolutely exhausting, I have no idea how they manage it every day!
It’s great that you got so much out of working with SAW, we thoroughly enjoyed having you and would welcome you back with open arms any day. So, what have you been up to since you left SAW HQ?
Well, after I left SAW at the end of 2019, I went back to my PhD which I finished in 2021.
Then I started a postdoc role at the JIC in a completely new field so there was a lot of learning to do. The same month I started that role I also got married to my wonderful wife so that was a pretty busy and special month!
I’ve got a research paper coming out very soon that was a really fun collaboration with some very talented scientists from all over the world so that is also something I am very proud of.
Congratulations on the wedding and the PHD! It sounds like you have had a busy and exciting few years. What lies ahead for you, what will you be up to next?
It’s no secret that I am desperate to move abroad, particularly to Australia. I love travelling and after eight wonderful years in Norfolk it’s time for a new adventure.
So, currently the short-term goal is to find a job over in Australia. Long term goal? I’d like to learn to juggle but I haven’t got very far in the last 31 years so it’s a very long-term goal.
In which case, we wish you all the luck juggling in Australia. And please stay in touch!
Tom’s Top Three
Before you go, let’s hear your answers to SAWs top three questions
1. What is your favourite piece of poetry?
If I Had Three Lives by Sarah Russell
I am a little embarrassed to admit it, but I am not a big poetry fan. However, I adore this particular piece. On the surface its romantic, and I’m a romantic at heart, but more I believe it to speak to our destiny. That we have a route to travel in life and we can intrinsically, subconsciously tell if we are not travelling the route that is best for us.
2. What is your favourite piece of artwork at the moment?
Silosi Beograd murals by various street art artists
I was fortunate enough to visit these huge silos on the Danube riverfront in Belgrade earlier this year and was absolutely captivated by the murals. The size and vibrancy of them contrasting the industrial silos and surrounding area, and the way the area has become a burgeoning hang-out spot along with a cocktail bar and outdoor music, just made them all the more special. One even has a climbing wall incorporated into the mural!
If you are ever in Belgrade, these are a must-visit, especially on a sunny afternoon.
3. Can you tell us your most interesting scientific fact?
As a kid I was full of interesting scientific facts, now I’ve had to fill my head with more boring things like what day the bins get taken! Something I did read recently is that the sun is actually really loud, roughly 100 decibels, so similar to a rock concert.
Luckily the sound can’t travel through the vacuum of space otherwise we’d all be deaf!
