Alumni

Nathan Dawkins

Career Path: Senior Research Fellow at Born in Bradford (BiB)
Location: Bradford, UK

Initially I had planned to do my undergraduate degree, complete my teaching qualification and become a PE teacher. However throughout my undergraduate study I developed an interest in the idea of research and wanted to explore it as a possible career path. More specifically I wanted to shift from a sports performance perspective to work with health research. Thus, I completed my Clinical Exercise Physiology masters in an attempt to pursue a research career.

I found the employment space very challenging to initially, but was lucky to get a job in higher education (HE) as a laboratory technician. It became clear to me very quickly that if I wanted to be a researcher I would need to do a PhD, thus I left my job to complete a funded PhD at the University of Leicester.After my PhD I moved back into HE a as a Lecturer but found most of my time taken with teaching and not doing research. As such when a research role came up in Bradford it seemed like the perfect opportunity to actually do research as my main occupation and see if this was what I wanted to do long term. Essentially my career to date has been taking steps to see if I want to be a researcher or not.

What are you doing now?

I am a senior research fellow working at Born in Bradford (BiB) part of Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR) at Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust which is a world leading birth cohort study. I am working across multiple projects focused on research physical activity, physical behaviour and lifestyle behaviours and their impact on health, mainly focused on non-communicable conditions. The current projects I am working on are focused on improving physical activity in children and young people, exploring our understanding of Paediatric Type 2 Diabetes and understanding eating disorders in adolescents.

What was it about Northumbria that made you decide to study here?

Firstly the location, I had heard great things about being a student in Newcastle. In addition, it was far away enough from where I group up that I wouldn't be home every weekend, but not too far that getting back was too challenging. At the time of application Northumbria had invested heavily in their sports programs and I was very impressed by their facilities when I attended the open day.

What was it like studying at Northumbria?

Lectures were often large in the number of students who attended them but the seminar sessions and labs were often smaller and this provided a better applied learning environment.

How connected was your course with industry?

There was the opportunity to complete placements alongside the program of study as well as get involved with a range of extra curricular sessions. For example during my course of study I took part in VX sessions as well as blind football sessions. I also volunteered as a coach at a local football team through my course.

If you took on a placement during your course how did you feel this helped you in your career/ with your studies?

At the time of study the placement was interesting and allowed me to continue my interest at the time in sports coaching. However, in truth I found the support around the placement limited at times. It was also at time where I began changing my intended focus from performance sport to health. There could have been more placement opportunities advertised in relation to health based careers.

What was the best thing about your course?

The practical sessions.

How did studying at Northumbria help you achieve your career goals/ give your career an edge?

The qualifications gained as part of my study have been essential to being able to embark on my career in research.

Which skills/ knowledge did you learn on your course that you use most now throughout your career?

Whilst the direct skills I learnt as part of my course were directly relevant and relate to my current role. The elements of my course I use the most are from the coaching modules I undertook in my undergraduate degree, focused around working with others (in this context athletes). These skills around supporting learning and enhancing motivation for tasks to achieve goals have had the greatest influence on the approaches I have used throughout my career.