Researchers discuss some of the transitions that take place in and out of postdoc study - understanding what it's like to move into a fledgling independent research career; or establishing your identity in the postdoctoral role, and some stories in-between in video recordings from the Researcher Realities launch event in March 2025. Pushpi Bagchi, Principal Designer, Edinburgh Futures InstituteDr Pushpi Bagchi is a visual communication designer and researcher dedicated to leveraging design as a tool for social innovation. As the Principal Designer of Innovation Services, she champions co-creation through design and futures-focused methodologies to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations with partners across EFI’s ecosystem.Pushpi holds a PhD in Design and an MA in Graphic Design from the University of Edinburgh. Her expertise spans visual communication, human-centred design, participatory methodologies, and critical theory. She has worked in various roles in the education, creative, and third sectors across Sri Lanka, India, and the United Kingdom. Her research explores participatory and systems design, pluriversality and transnationalism. She is particularly interested in how the nuances of cultural context create frictions that challenge notions of universality. Dr Shipra Bhatia, Research Fellow / Investigator Scientist, Institute of Genetics and CancerDr. Shipra Bhatia is a Research Fellow/ Investigator Scientist at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer. Following on from a doctoral degree obtained at the University of Delhi in India, Shipra joined the MRC Human Genetic Unit for her postdoctoral work. Her research focusses on understanding how disease-associated changes in the noncoding ‘junk’ DNA lead to human genetic disorders. She champions the use of zebrafish as a model organism in her research. Shipra is passionate about supporting career development of early career researchers. She is the research staff champion for the IGC, and a member of the Research Cultures Collaboration committee, helping to support and guide researcher careers and issues related to research culture, and serves on the IGC postdoctoral society committee. Dr Luke Daines, GP and Clinical Lecturer, Usher InstituteDr Luke Daines is a GP and data scientist specialising in prediction modelling, primary care informatics, respiratory diseases and long COVID. Dr Caitlin McDonald, Researcher, Edinburgh College of ArtsCaitlin is an award-winning researcher, an artist whose work has been featured in international digital art exhibitions, and a strategist with 10+ years’ experience across the private and public sectors researching and advising on sociotechnical impacts. Caitlin’s PhD (2011, University of Exeter) examined how information flows for cultural bodies of knowledge like dance are impacted by technoscapes (the digital world around us.) This article was published on 2025-06-13
