Dr Alan Garny
Meet one of our members from ABI and their experiences of Equity and Diversity.
Originally from France, Dr Alan Garny had been collaborating on and off with ABI since 1998, including a long-term consultancy contract from 2013 to 2018.
He officially joined the ABI family as a software engineer on March 1, 2018.
Alan’s field of research for his PhD was in cardiac electrophysiological modelling and reproducible science (CellML and COR, and now OpenCOR).
As a French person, he is glad to be part of a team with such a range of nationalities and backgrounds.
“I would say that the Auckland Bioengineering Institute has supported me by making me very welcome,” he says.
The ABI is a very welcoming place. It doesn’t judge you based on your origins or who you are as a person – your beliefs, sexuality, etc.
Alan has a great philosophy when it comes to working in a diverse organization.
“I believe in being true to oneself and in respecting others the way we would like to be respected,” he says.
He also has some good advice for young scientists starting out: experience as many different academic environments as you can.
“There are too many things you might take for granted when staying in the same academic place,” he says.
“As a potential future group leader, it’s in your interest to be exposed to as many academic environments as possible – for example, through a postdoc or a long-term visit. This will help you to compare the way students are supervised, the way people do research, their approach to publication, etc.”
“I was lucky enough to have that kind of experience and I can honestly say that it has opened my mind on many things!”