Bettina Lier (she/her) is a PhD student in Computational (Bio)Chemistry at the Institute of Molecular Modeling and Simulation, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna. She is enrolled at the international doctoral school for biomolecular technology of proteins. She is passionate about biomolecular simulations to study the behaviour of biomolecules and investigate their physicochemical properties. Her PhD project deals with the development and application of a neural network based hybrid simulation technique to study metalloproteins at the quantum level of theory. With her project, she is recipient of the DOC fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Follow her on Twitter: @BettinaLier

PhD Scholarship Proposal: Why I Would Write It Again!

In this article, Bettina Lier shares her experience of applying for a PhD scholarship and how she initially found the application process overwhelming. With the support of her supervisor she overcame her doubts, and successfully completed the proposal. Her story is a great example of how with the right mindset and support, we can overcome any challenge.

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Navigating Reflexivity: A Guided Example to Move Beyond Reflection

Need guidance writing the reflexivity section of your thesis (or indeed writing reflexively throughout the thesis)? This article defines reflexivity as going beyond reflection to consider the influence of our positionality on our work. It covers three main types of reflexivity – personal reflexivity, methodological reflexivity and philosophical reflexivity – and includes some working examples to illustrate the thought processes and questions that facilitate transparency and rigor in research.

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My PhD Journey As An International Student

Marika Strano, a first-year PhD student in English Literature at Swansea University, shares her journey as an international student in her PhD program. Despite the difficulties and rejections she faced before being accepted at Swansea, Marika was thrilled when she finally received her offer to study in the UK, but she also shares the challenges of being an international student and how it affects her mental health.

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