Take 10 with... Catriona Miller

1. Describe your research topic to us in 10 words or less.

I study the genetics of autism and co-occurring traits.

2. Now describe it in everyday terms!

Past research has found that around 70% of autistic individuals have at least one co-occurring condition. Because of this, it’s suggested that there might be some genetic similarities between the different conditions that make them more likely to occur together in some individuals. My research has been looking into trying to understand where and what these similarities and overlaps are. I also have access to a lot of genetic data. Currently, I am trying to see if I can use that data to predict whether an individual is autistic or neurotypical in order to find interesting genetic patterns or differences.

3. What are some of the day-to-day research activities you carry out?

Most mornings I start by having a quick flick through the latest publications and save any that might be of interest to my reading list. I believe it’s important as a scientist to be aware of what’s going on in fields outside of your own research too, so I enjoy spending ~15 minutes each morning reading a daily briefing of some of the current big stories in science and academia.

Often I will have left code running overnight so my next task is to check if it is still running, broken, or has finished. Assuming everything is going to plan, I usually spend the next hour or two doing any writing tasks required. This could be writing up part of a paper I’m working on, taking notes on someone else's paper that I’ve found interesting, or creating figures about my results or methods. I’m a computational researcher which ultimately means I deal with a lot of data. Currently, the rest of my day is usually filled with brainstorming and attempting new ways of finding patterns in the data using a mixture of machine learning and statistics.

4. What do you enjoy most about your research?

I have always loved problem solving and research gives me the pleasure of not only solving problems, but also knowing that every problem solved creates a new problem waiting to be tackled. Different problems often require different toolkits and I always enjoy reading how others have approached similar questions before brainstorming and learning the methods I’m going to try.

I also surprised myself in finding the process of disseminating my research enjoyable too. After diving so deep into the data, it’s nice to take a step back and work out the best way to display the results to tell the desired story. This can change depending on whether I’m sharing my findings with my research team, presenting to a wider audience, or publishing a paper, so it’s always a fun challenge to work out how best to bring everyone along on the journey.

Overall though, it is the variety of the work and the ability to swap between the different tasks that I enjoy most.

5. Tell us something that has surprised or amused you in the course of your research.

I have found it surprising and heartening how interested people outside of academia are to talk about my research with me. When I first started my PhD, I often gave abbreviated answers when someone asked me what I was studying as I was worried they weren’t actually interested. Over time though, I have been pleasantly surprised by the questions I’ve been asked and the information or anecdotes that people have been eager to share with me. I have found it easier than I expected to discuss my research with people and now always look forward to these conversations.

6. How have you approached any challenges you’ve faced in your research?

Challenges are a norm in research, and I would be sceptical to hear of a scientist who hasn’t faced their fair share of challenges. As I am still in the early stages of my research career (I am a second year PhD student), my challenges are probably quite different to those further on. These challenges usually involve questions that I had wrongly assumed to be straightforward, only to later realise that I am not getting any results or have reached what feels like a dead-end in my line of questioning. At this point I usually retrace my steps and make sure I understand how and why I’ve done everything that I’ve done. I’ll check the literature to see if anyone else has come across something similar and speak to other members of my research team for advice. I’ve found it helps to treat it as an opportunity instead of a challenge. It’s an opportunity to learn something new and potentially take the research in a new direction.

7. What questions have emerged as a result?

Whenever I have come to a conclusion that’s different than expected or reached a dead-end, the main question that arises is ‘why?’. No result is still a result, especially if you can explain why. One of the recent challenges I have faced has been the difference in autism predictability from my genetic data for males vs females. This has opened many interesting questions as to why this is the case and what my data can show about it.

8. What impact is your research having or what impact do you hope it will have?

It is still early days in my research journey but if my research was able to play even a small role in increasing the understanding of the role that genetics plays in autism that would be great. Diagnostics have progressed over the years, but they still have a long way to go, particularly for females. Hopefully as a community we can improve this.

9. If you collaborate across the University, or outside the University, who do you work with and how does it benefit your research?

Whilst I don’t currently collaborate with anyone outside of the University, I have had the opportunity to discuss my research with scientists across the world, including through domestic and international conferences and a visit to Boston Children's Hospital. These experiences have been an invaluable opportunity to hear different perspectives from individuals with differing academic and personal backgrounds. In research it can be easy to get stuck in your own bubble, but these opportunities have allowed me to see my research as part of the bigger picture.

10. What one piece of advice would you give your younger, less experienced research self?

Worry less about where you’ll end up. It’s good to have plans and ideas for the future, but also make sure to enjoy the journey, including any ‘side quests’ that pop up along the way.