Esther González-Padilla

My name is Esther González-Padilla. I moved to Sweden after finishing my medical degree from the Canary Islands (Spain). The Öresund Region was particularly attractive to me as it is known to be a strong Life Sciences Hub. The possibility to access digitalised medical records and to learn in English also played an important role on my decision to come to Sweden. After completing a Master’s in Public Health at Lund University, I was offered a PhD position in Nutritional Epidemiology. In April 2022, I defended my Doctoral thesis which looked at sugar intake and cardiovascular disease.

I joined the Medical Doctoral Student Council (Medicinska Doktorandrådet, MDR) as board representative and communication officer, which offered a great opportunity to learn about communication and event planning and management, but also to learn how the university worked from an administrative standpoint. I was also Co-Chair for the Young Researcher Network for the Diabetes Program at Lund University (DPLU), and there I learned organisation and project management as well.

All in all, I think some of the most important skills I have acquired during my PhD are those not included in the scientific curriculum, the so-called “transferable skills”, such as communication, organisation, project management, networking, etc. I can strongly advise future PhD students to invest time and effort in learning beyond their scientific skills. The best way to do that, in my opinion, is by joining activities and committees and going the extra mile. Trust me,  it is these skills that will make a difference when it comes to landing a job post-PhD.