Kerri Bailey won the EPS Student Poster Prize at the January 2019 EPS Meeting in London. Kerri is currently writing her thesis and plans to submit around Christmas 2019, with a view of a viva early in 2020. As of 1st October 2019, Kerri has taken up a temporary Research Associate position at the University of East Anglia until the end of December 2019. We wish you the best of luck for the both of these endeavours!
Why did you become an experimental psychologist?
When I completed my undergraduate degree, I realised that I wanted to continue in academia because I was very passionate about conducting research and I really enjoyed learning about the function of the human brain. I realised that this was not possible without continuing down the route of Masters and PhD, because nearly all other options for me involved going in to industry, which I did not want to do.
What did you enjoy about presenting your poster?
I enjoyed the interactions I had with the people who attended my poster for a number of reasons. First, I had read a very relevant paper surrounding my topic only about one week prior to attending this conference, and I was very pleased to find out that the first author of this paper came to my poster. We had a very interesting discussion about my work and the networking side of this poster session was particularly beneficial for me. Second, I included a part of my analysis that I was stuck with on my poster. I explained the problem to people who came up to my poster and I had one person offer some very useful ideas for how I could overcome this problem. Therefore, I enjoyed the session both for the contacts I gained and for the advice I was given regarding how to overcome an analysis problem which I had not previously thought of.
How does your poster project fit into your current work or plans for the future?
The work I was presenting on my poster was part of my PhD project. I am extremely passionate about the area I study and I wish to continue in a similar area in a post-doctoral position once I have submitted my PhD. Therefore, it is very relevant for my future plans.
As an early career researcher, what did you get out of the EPS meeting you attended (apart from the prize!)?
Networking was the main benefit for me at this meeting, which happened during the poster session. I met some extremely relevant people in my field of study and gained contacts through this. Also, by attending this meeting, I was happy to realise that EPS could offer me additional funding for an external conference. Therefore, I was able to attend another conference and present a follow up to the work I presented at EPS, which I would not have been able to do had EPS not had this grant scheme in place.
How do you think the EPS could support you with your career plans or plans for projects in the future?
I think any grants which the EPS can offer would help me profusely, as I am in the final stages of my PhD and am about to start applying for post-doctoral positions. Depending on where I end up next, the Small Grants offered by EPS may be beneficial for me if I have a research idea which needs funding. I also plan to attend more EPS conferences in the future, therefore receiving a Grindley Grant would help me with my attendance to this. I am also very interested in the Study Visit Grants that EPS offer, as this could be very helpful for me to develop my skill set at another research institution and gain contacts who I could potentially work with after the study visit.
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