Dr Richard Tuxworth
University of Birmingham

Contact Details

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Who is your scientific inspiration and why?

Prof Martin Raff. He was a senior member of the faculty where I did my PhD. He was a brilliant scientist who could see the key question that needed to be answered better than anyone I have met. He was also a brilliant communicator and was always available to discuss the PhD students projects.

In three words or phrases how would you describe your supervision style?

Supportive and relatively relaxed with the aim of fostering independent thinking in the PhD student.

In one or two sentences please describe your strategies regarding the following.

Provision of training:

You training will primarily be led by me, with some help and input from senior PhD students. You will be expected to master techniques and become technically independent quite quickly. However, I will always be around for help.

Progression monitoring and management:

I will expect you to take ownership of your project with time. We will set monthly plans and aims together and I will encourage you to lead these discussions. I am always around for discussion, advice and training. I will expect you to be able to plan experiments (with help when required), to be efficient and to always to think properly about controls but I will not leave you to fail and will always help with troubleshooting.

Communication:

Different members of the group like to communicate with me in different ways. Some prefer emails, others prefer WhatsApp messages. The team has a WhatsApp group chat with which we use for regularly communication during the week and at weekends, with a mix of work-related and social messages. So, while out of hours communications are commonplace in our group, as they are in most WA groups, they are usually informal. You I will expect and encouraged to keep a healthy work/life balance. Therefore, I do not expect you to answer emails or messages in the evenings or weekends, but you may want to. In return you should not expect me to always answer messages, although I often do.

How often do your PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting?

Once per week.

In year 1 of PhD study, how often do your PhD students have a scheduled >30 minute 1:1 meeting with you?

Once per week formally, plus ad hoc discussions most days in the laboratory.

In year 2 of PhD study, how often do your PhD students have a scheduled >30 minute 1:1 meeting with you?

Once per week formally, plus ad hoc discussions most days in the laboratory.

In year 3 of PhD study, how often do your PhD students have a scheduled >30 minute 1:1 meeting with you?

Once per week formally, plus ad hoc discussions most days in the laboratory.

What form do your 1:1 meetings with PhD students take?

Face to face usually but zoom if needed occasionally.

Open door policy?

Yes, I am usually contactable for an instant response if required on every working day, other when in meetings.

My expectation of PhD student working patterns?

The timing of work in my lab is generally flexible, and other than attending pre-arranged meetings, I expect students to manage their own time. However, certain tasks (primarily Drosophila work) in my lab need to occur at set times or require shared equipment. Students would be expected to be able to commit to a rota/timetable shared with other members of the team for these tasks, if necessary.

Notice for feedback (e.g. on reports, manuscript drafts, thesis chapters)?

I need at least 1 week’s notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5000 words.