Annalisa Lanza is a first year PhD student at Rothamsted Research. She graduated from the University of York with a masters degree in biology in 2022, before embarking on a teaching qualification at Cambridge.
She is currently working on identifying and handling outliers in large agricultural datasets. This involves the use of advanced statistics and machine learning. Her research aims to improve outlier handling in the Rothamsted Research data, contribute to Rothamsted Research’s Digital Twins Project, and help the farming community.
Annalisa will be presenting some of her work in CentreMK on Saturday 6th July. We asked her some questions to get to know her before the event.
Q: Annalisa, how did you get to your current position?
I had graduated from university with a masters degree in biology and began a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at Cambridge. Although I enjoyed teaching, I began to realise my path lied elsewhere.
I was fortunate enough to know of Rothamsted Research through my partner who had started working there as a field trials technician that year. It is an agricultural research centre with some very exciting research, so I got onto the website straight away. After finding the advert for the PhD, I knew it was perfect and reached out to the supervisors listed. My skills were well suited, and so were my interests.
The PhD application process was…terrifying. To get funding is competitive and there are a lot of well-suited candidates. Many applicants apply for between 4 and 10 PhD’s. In fact, I know one person who applied to nearly 20. I, bravely or stupidly, applied to just the one.
Nevertheless, a few months later, I graduated from my PGCE and moved to Rothamsted where I began my PhD.
Through this experience, I have learnt that your career journey is fluid. It is very often not straight forward and can be scary at times. I was always someone who wanted to follow a step-by-step plan but that is not quite how life works out, and, truthfully, it would be quite boring if it was.
Q: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?
During my undergraduate degree there was a senior lecturer called Emma Rand that taught me how to code. The modules she taught were by far my favourite. I began to excel in data science because of this and found I had a real passion for it. I looked up to her greatly and am thankful for the knowledge she gave us.
Q: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?
My research involves identifying and handling outliers in large agricultural datasets. Outliers are results that are a bit odd. The most fascinating aspect of my work is being able to explore so much data – over 80 million data points. I get to explore data that others have yet to explore, creating new plots and carrying out useful analyses.
Q: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?
Soapbox Science provides an opportunity to showcase work in science from females around the world and inspire others to explore areas in STEM. This event celebrates female scientists from different backgrounds and who have faced different barriers. Having faced my own barriers in life, and also being a female in a primarily male dominated discipline, I was attracted to this event as a way to share my experiences and inspire others.
Q: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day
Lively. I think there is going to be lots of excitement and lots of interest around the event and activities that are being carried out.
Q: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?
I think it’s quite easy to try to compare yourself to others, especially as a PhD student. However, each project is unique, as is each journey taken. When we begin to compare ourselves, each small achievement we make often goes forgotten. It is easy to become worried that we’re not on track. I feel that this issue is common amongst PhD students, where many of the hoops we jump through are of our own making.
Q: What would be your top recommendation to a woman studying for a PhD and considering pursuing a career in academia?
Pursue research that you are interested in and passionate about. Do not be worried to stand your ground. And, always remember, this is your PhD or career, no one else’s.
Thanks so much for chatting to us Annalisa and we look forward to hearing more on the 6th July in Middleton Hall, CentreMK.
Soapbox Science Milton Keynes 