Marc Sze
What are your main responsibilities or activities in your current position?
At the moment I am mostly involved with investigating the bacterial microbiome within families and how this may affect chronic disease. I am still working in the academic research sector and have an interest in data analysis, coding, and using these skills to analyze bacterial sequencing data.
How does your current work relate to your graduate degree?
The work that I do is still in the bacterial microbiome field, but I do not study the lung anymore. Some of the useful skills that have helped me so far in my current job are maintaining my curiosity and willingness to ask questions. These attributes have helped open a few interesting new avenues of research.
What motivated you to pursue graduate work at UBC?
My supervisors were really the motivating factor. Their energy and enthusiasm for their research was very contagious.
What key things did you do, or what attitudes or approaches did you have, that contributed to your success?
Make mistakes, and never be afraid to fail. Most of my greatest learning moments came from making mistakes. Although it is not absolutely key to my success it has been an important aspect of it.
What is your best piece of advice for current graduate students preparing for their future careers?
Don't just do a postdoc because that is just what you do next. Take a risk, and do something that you love doing. The PhD degree itself is pretty versatile, and if you are willing to learn new things you can pivot towards a non-academically oriented career.
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