Libby Chapman

What path has your career taken since graduation?  

After my undergraduate degree I went to the University of St Andrews to do a masters by research. I am now doing a PhD at the University of Exeter in animal behaviour, with some research assistant and volunteering roles in between. 

From my experiences of studying biology at Edinburgh, I knew I wanted to do more research and combine working with animals in the wild with data analysis to learn more about animal behaviour and ecology. 

I am currently researching social behaviour using wild rabbits to answer my PhD questions. My work involves splitting my time between carrying out fieldwork around Exeter where I collect data on wild rabbits, mostly focussing on recording their behaviours. 

When I am not outside collecting data, I spend my time using statistical analyses to understand the data and write about my results. As a PhD student I also help with some teaching and marking of undergraduate courses at the university, giving me teaching experience alongside my research. 

What experiences do you feel helped you get to your current position?

The ability to choose courses I was most interested in at Edinburgh helped me narrow down what aspects of biology I wanted to focus on and gave me the skills I needed to pursue research in biology. I particularly enjoyed courses with fieldwork components which gave me experience of collecting data in the field.

My dissertation in my final year was especially important in preparing me for a masters by research and PhD as it gave me experience carrying out a research project and analysing a large dataset.  

After my dissertation I worked with my supervisor to write and publish a research paper from my dissertation work. This gave me experience of publishing in a science journal which is an important aspect of my work now and would not have been possible without a supportive supervisor. I also worked as a field assistant on the same project, which gave me fieldwork experiences that were very helpful in future projects. 

How have you used the skills developed during your degree in your career?

My degree from Edinburgh provided me with a background knowledge of lots of aspects of biology, as well as the research skills to continue learning and developing. I have especially benefited from the statistics training from my degree which I continue to use in my current role. 

What do you think was the most valuable aspect of your time at Edinburgh?

The breadth of biology taught at Edinburgh gave me experiences with lots of different topics which allowed me to narrow down what I was most interested in pursuing. I really benefitted from being able to learn about lots of biology subjects early on and become more specialised in the later years. 

What advice would you give to prospective students who are interested in studying a Biological Sciences degree? 

Try lots of things and say yes to opportunities. Getting involved with lots of different projects helped me learn what I was good at and what I enjoyed. Following projects and opportunities I was interested in and really enjoyed has meant I keep being excited by what I am researching.  

My main advice for applying to masters and PhD programmes is to get in touch with potential supervisors and talk to them before applying. This gives you the opportunity to learn more about the project and what the supervision team is like. 

This content has been created by one of our alumni who has been incentivised to tell their authentic story.