Reaxys Prize Winners Share Their Research Experiences and Advice

Posted on April 13th, 2021 by Ann-Marie Roche in Chemistry

If there is one thing we at Elsevier have learned over the last 10 years of hosting the Reaxys PhD Prize, it’s that there are many different paths to research success. We have seen incredible work from scientists coming from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, and that was again evident with our three winning finalists for the 2020 Reaxys PhD Prize.

When Jianchun
Wang, PhD, first began studying polymer chemistry at Peking University, he might
not have guessed that he would eventually win the Reaxys prize for his work in
organic chemistry. But his open-mindedness and willingness to pursue different
areas of chemistry led him from one discipline to the other. And he advises
other researchers to consider new opportunities as well.

“I’d encourage
anyone to explore a new area,” he says. “Current science is extremely
multidisciplinary, and succeeding means learning new skills and learning from
others.”

Change for an
early-career researcher can be more than focusing on a new discipline – it can
also mean moving into a new sector. After doing his PhD at the University of
Tokyo and his postdoc at the University of Michigan Biointerfaces Institute,
Reaxys prize winner Keiichi Yano went to work for building firm Shimizu
Corporation’s Institute of Technology.

He was excited by
the prospect of connecting his research in academia to “real-world industry
applications.” Currently he is working on the environmental analysis of toxic
gasses, which is allowing him to combine knowledge of chemistry, computer
science and optics.

“My future goal
is to work in collaborations with different companies,” he shares. “For
example, if a company is operating in the field of biomedicine or machine
learning robotics and they have a problem in the field of chemistry or optics,
then I can contribute to the task they’re working on. That kind of bridging
between different industries is really interesting to me.”

Some early-career researchers might find the prospect of charging into new sectors or areas of focus intimidating, but it’s important to remember that there are a lot of people in the scientific community who are eager to offer support and guidance. Simply asking for help can often open doors.

Prize winner Rupert
Proctor, who got his PhD at the University of Cambridge and did postdoc
work in chemical biology, found that just asking helped him land a spot in
Professor Christopher Chang’s lab at the University of California, Berkeley. He
sent an email asking Prof. Chang to support him for a fellowship in the lab,
and the professor agreed to work with him to find fellowships to apply
for—which eventually led to a successful application.

“It can be
nerve-wracking,” he admits, “Especially because I was changing field and moving
somewhere with a very strong reputation.” But he believes it’s worth it to
reach out and make the effort. “People are really friendly and very happy to
help. You just have to overcome the fact that it’s a bit daunting.”

You can learn more about all of the 2020 Reaxys PhD Prize finalists and their research here.

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