Imaging Scientist Gets to Apply His PhD Knowledge

Name: Jack Breen (he/him)

PhD: Artificial Intelligence, University of Leeds, 2025

What is your current job?

I am an Imaging Scientist for Perspectum Ltd, based in Oxford, UK.

My job is still focused on R&D for diagnosis from pathology samples, with this focused on liver diseases rather than cancer (as in my PhD). This primarily includes AI model development, as well as some data curation, software development, and dissemination (writing documentation and academic papers).

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I get to directly apply the knowledge I gained during my PhD, making me an expert straight away.

What is the most important skill you developed or experience you had during your PhD that now helps you in your current position?

Academic independence - the ability to make reasonable and timely decisions about what to research and how to do it

How did you build the skills necessary for your current role?

Attending conferences during my PhD was important to developing my confidence and communication skills. Technical skills were built up during the PhD with lots of practice and many small courses, either available online or arranged by the university.

How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?

LinkedIn

PhD graduate ➡️ Imaging Scientist

If someone is interested in a similar role, what would you recommend they start doing now to prepare?

Ensure sufficient technical skills (programming) and attend events where you can discuss your research.

Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?

I applied to options from both academia and industry, and it became clear that in industry I could continue doing research work that I found interesting and important but at a much higher salary and without the ongoing short-term contracts on offer in academic roles.

I had not expected to leave academia, but when I received my job offer it became the sensible choice.

What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?

1. Keep an open mind when considering which jobs to apply to - you can always withdraw an application if you change your mind.

2. Build your confidence in talking about your research.

And for those interested, what was your main area of research?

My PhD was focused on developing and validating AI models for the diagnosis of ovarian cancer in pathology (human tissue) samples.