With graduation looming, some postgraduate students may be starting to contemplate a career in academia. To make this potential transition from student to staff member less daunting, the Department of Physiology at the University of Pretoria convened a discussion on 'Performing multidisciplinary research for clinical and industrial application'. 

Postgraduate students engaged with the highly acclaimed international researcher in the field of bioscience,  Prof. Jean-Luc Coll, Director of Research at the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, (INSERM), who gave a personal account of his journey as a scientist working at niche interfaces encompassing biology, medicine, chemistry, and physics for translational research. 

The esteemed speaker explained that it took him around 20 years after receiving his Ph.D. to establish himself as a researcher and find his specialty. He emphasised that it takes dedication, time, and intentional preparation. He urged the students to have patience and be persistent.

After two years of relative isolation, organisers saw this as an opportunity to assist postgraduates in planning their future educational careers. In addition, they wanted to introduce the postgraduate students the highly accomplished scientist with numerous examples of translational research that has impacted both lives and medicine.

Prof Joji Mercier organised the event, and Prof Annie Joubert from the Department of Physiology at the University of Pretoria remarked that having Prof. Jean-Luc Coll as an exceptional professor in the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences is a great privilege because of his unmatched skills, knowledge, and experience.