Interdisciplinary Research: What is it?
Interdisciplinary research spans multiple academic fields and promotes collaboration between individuals and lab groups worldwide. Such research approaches expose students to a vast range of skills and points of view and are gaining popularity for their utility in investigating complex ideas. For example, up-and-coming degrees, like the Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Program, often allow students to collaborate with professors across multiple departments, including psychology, biology, and ocean sciences. However, it is easy for researchers to put themselves in a box and not think about the value of branching out and exploring new ideas and new ways to approach these ideas!
My Experience as an Interdisciplinary Researcher
During my undergraduate degree at MUN, I experienced this very dilemma. I did my honours thesis on Ring-billed Gull urbanization and its effects on egg content and colour, a project involving extensive fieldwork. When looking for MSc supervisors, I put myself in a box; I wanted to work with birds and focus on field biology, similar to my honours work. However, after working as a research assistant in Ontario doing the work I had thought I wanted, I realized I was wrong. Here, I learned the hard way that fieldwork on songbirds was not for me. Of course, I was still interested in the research concepts, such as stress endocrinology and urbanization, but this sparked an identity crisis because what would I do now? Most of my experience had been on wild birds, and I thought research in this area was my only option.
I took some time to think, and I reflected and realized that this experience was not a failure but another step in figuring out my research passions. This experience led me to return to Newfoundland and broaden the scope of my research interests: behavioural endocrinology. It was with this mindset that I met my current supervisor, Dr. Ashlyn Swift-Gallant, who has taught me the importance of an open mind and how collaboration is critical to success. Over the last two years in the Swift Neuro Lab, I have learned a new repertoire of skills working with a new study species, mice, and performing behavioural tests in controlled environments. Further, I have been exposed to techniques crucial to understanding neuroendocrinological underpinnings of behaviour, concepts fundamental to my broad research interests. Although Ashlyn is a behavioural neuroscientist in the Psychology Department, we have come together to build a collaborative Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology project for my Master’s, as we investigate how different laboratory housing can impact maternal-offspring communication and neuroendocrinology in early life. This project pulls ideas from Ashlyn’s translational neurodevelopmental work and my interests in animal communication, allowing us to spearhead a project with implications in multiple fields. Today, I am continuing my interdisciplinary approach to animal behaviour research as I formulate my PhD project with Ashlyn and our collaborator, Dr. Lindsay Cahill, of the Chemistry Department, where we plan to investigate the impacts of microplastics on mammalian reproduction and development. This collaborative approach has nurtured my love for science, and I encourage others to explore multiple paths and have an open mind when navigating the academic world.
Let’s Learn Together
My advice for students and peers feeling like they are in a box is to sit and think about what they are interested in more generally. For example, I was and will always be interested in animals. So, I have gained experience working or volunteering with different animal species across departments and research groups during undergrad and graduate school. By putting ourselves in new situations across disciplines, we can learn what we are and are not interested in, what methods we like and do not like, what species are most appropriate for specific research, and so on. Moreover, I encourage myself and others to always value unique perspectives, as it is easy to develop tunnel vision when studying novel ideas. Sometimes, it is hard to understand how others view your project. But, by listening to those around us, we can create well-rounded, collaborative research free of disciplinary biases by embracing different perspectives.
As we navigate the academic journey, I encourage everyone to step outside their comfort zone and explore interdisciplinary possibilities. Do not be afraid to seek out collaborations with peers and professors from different fields, as these connections can lead to innovative ideas and groundbreaking discoveries. Remember, the most exciting advancements often occur at the intersection of disciplines!