Sarah Geiger
Nationality:
United States
Faculty and Department:
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
Year of Study:
4
Undergraduate University:
Miami University of Ohio, United States
Why did you choose to do a PhD?
I wasn’t sure I wanted to do a PhD until I first came to Singapore under an undergraduate internship scheme, where I worked at the Genome Institute of Singapore for a summer. Until that time, I had been buried in my studies and was too focused on the next exam and not the future. At GIS, I felt myself pushed like never before, and I realized just how much I loved the process of inquiry, and I saw that a PhD wasn’t only a degree- it was a process for reshaping your worldview. That’s when I decided it was my next step.
Why did you choose to do graduate education at NUS? If you received offers from other universities, why did you pick NUS?
While I was here for that internship, I worked for Dr. Swaine Chen, and it was in his lab and through his instruction that I realized the true benefit of pursuing a PhD. In the end, I did what we’re all told not to- I put all my eggs in one basket. I only applied to one graduate program- PhD at NUS, in that same lab.
How does graduate school compare to your undergraduate experience?
Graduate school is different from undergrad in that you have more intellectual freedom. You’re not tied down anymore, studying for exams day in and day out for courses for which you may or may not have an affinity. In graduate school, the onus for learning is squarely on your shoulders, but you are given the tools and challenged to rebuild your thinking process so that instead of cycling through test after test, the learning process feels much more like a journey of discovery.
Briefly share about your research or thesis (i.e. dissertation topic for Masters by Coursework students).
My thesis centers around the application of population genetic statistics to bacterial populations to better understand the evolutionary pressures acting differently across their entire genome. These statistics were originally developed to study eukaryotic (and specifically, human) evolution, but here we can use them to identify candidate genes associated with a population expansion in bacteria. Our case study is Escherichia coli ST131, which has been spreading rapidly around the globe for the past 20 years, without a clear, proven explanation for its success.
What impact do you hope to have with your research?
This research is aimed to be useful to researchers and studies that looks at disease from a big data, public health perspective. The better we can understand why certain bacteria spread successfully, the better we can change behaviours to mitigate their spread (or, if pathogenicity is related to their success in dissemination, develop treatments).
If you have won any academic prize/competition or been invited to speak at an international conference—share what it is, its significance, and how you worked towards achieving it.
I’ve attended a handful of conferences prior to the current state of the world. The most memorable was the Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Adhesion and Signal Transduction in Rhode Island. The GRCs are a prestigious set of conferences that last for a marathon of a week, but they draw key names from the field and emphasize trainee growth and cutting edge research. Honestly I worked toward attending this conference the same way I worked toward my PhD in general- keeping the eye on the prize, and moving forward one step at a time.
Share something fun from your graduate journey at NUS.
While the PhD is about research, it’s also incredibly important to make connections and network with those around you. Whether you plan on staying in your field, or pivoting into a new one when you graduate, networking will not only help you on your path, but it will make the journey so much richer. Most of the smiles and memories I’ve made during my PhD are from the friends and colleagues along the way.
Briefly share a highlight from your graduate school journey.
I can’t really pinpoint a singular moment that is a highlight to my grad school journey- but I’d have to say all the times that our lab used to go out and spend time together away from the office. Not only do they make a great learning community, but they are all excellent people as well. I’m really hoping a semblance of normalcy will return soon, so that we can make these memories again.
Share a challenge you faced in graduate school and how you overcame it.
A key challenge I’ve faced in graduate school was sort of a mid degree crisis. It happened during the spring, summer, and early fall of 2020. The general chaos of the world, and the feeling that all consistency- of the world, the degree program I was in, everything- was out the window. It made me question not only my research and project, but also my path in life and what I wanted to do afterwards. I overcame this by quite a bit of self reflection, and also really digging down to what I valued in the process of getting a degree: the process itself and the beauty of clean logic. Then, I figured out what I valued as a career, which will involve me pivoting my skills over the next few years. Strengthening this core of identity helped me to find my way again.
Share something about campus life at NUS that new students would be interested to hear about.
I didn’t spend much time on NUS campus (only the first few months), but the sense of community at UTown made me feel like I was coming home whenever I came back from the lab.
Do you have any interesting personal stories to share? For example, about your journey to get into graduate school, personal hobbies/interests.
After my second year of PhD, I realized it was time to try and find a semblance of work-life balance. I’ve picked up painting again, for the first time in years, as a way to destress and appreciate the beautiful inspiration present in this country.
What message would you like to give to students interested in graduate studies in NUS?
Regardless of your graduate program, know that it won’t be easy. Anticipate it. Much like a bootcamp is designed to tear you down and rebuild you for a designated purpose, a PhD is a degree in Philosophy- of thought. You will have to break down your thought process and build it up again. That can and will be difficult. The most important thing is to remember the why (why did you start down this path?), forgive yourself for failures (experiments rarely succeed on the first couple tries, and then some), and take care of yourself at the end of the day.