ARC Future Fellow Dr Bill Söderström leads the Microbial Super-Resolution Microscopy Lab at the Australian Institute for Microbiology and Infection, where he also serves as the Institute Lead for ECR Development and Inclusion. His closest international collaborator currently is Dr. Molly Ingersoll from the Inst. Pasteur and Cochin in Paris.
Microbiology and physics meet immunology
“We work together on various aspects of better understanding the pathogenesis of urinary tract infections and currently share a PhD student between our labs,” Bill explained, adding that the diverse expertise in each of their labs complement each other well.
“Dr. Ingersoll is an immunologist, while I am a trained physicist, working in infection microbiology, so my knowledge of B and T cells (part of the immune system) is very limited!”
To sustain their collaboration and support travel expenses, the pair has been able to raise financial support from the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs in France.
Bill also works with researchers in Sweden, Spain, France and the US, and began planning for international collaboration during a post doc experience in Japan.
“In Japan I initiated various international collaborations, which led to a number of positive outcomes (both grants and publications). This experience also resulted in me being invited to a few meetings around the world.”
Establishing an international network
By the time he started his own group in Australia at UTS, Bill had already developed a strong, international collaboration network in his research area.
“My network helps me stay connected to my field, despite Australia sometimes feeling a bit isolating due to its geographical location,” said Bill, who is originally from Sweden.
Bill believes international collaboration opens interesting conversations with people outside your immediate field.
My network helps me stay connected to my field, despite Australia sometimes feeling a bit isolating due to its geographical location.
“Such conversations can spark new ideas and enable you to get help in areas where you are not an expert. My view is that it is better (and more fun!) to play together than to compete, there are certainly enough unanswered questions around so that we don’t need to compete for the same ones,” Bill said.
The value of attending international conferences
For those interested in collaborating internationally, Bill recommends attending conferences.
“Go to conferences and network. Pop out of your (shy?) research shell and be open to explore what’s out there,” he said.
While he says you can to some extent leverage you supervisors’ connections, it is important to make your own connections and build on those as you advance your career as an independent researcher.
Go to conferences and network. Pop out of your (shy?) research shell and be open to explore what’s out there.
Stay connected with your collaborators
Bill is currently in France visiting his collaborators who also travel to Sydney to spend time with the group at UTS each year.
“I think our collaboration will continue over many years with many more students going between our institutions,” Bill said.
“I realise that I’m probably quite lucky, but most, if not all, my collaborations have been good experiences so far. I believe that it is important to choose carefully who you work with: you have to ‘click’ so to speak, you can’t force a good collab.”