This is a special double episode. First up Sarah meets David Mendes, aka Papa PhD, medical writer/translator and host of the Beyond the Thesis podcast. Then the tables are turned and David interviews Sarah for the Beyond the Thesis podcast.

Sarah and David talk about

• How networking led to both the career and podcast he has now
• The origin story of the Papa PhD podcast
• Why creating the podcast has helped him feel more confident
• The emotional and practical challenges of the post-PhD journey

Then David and Sarah have a conversation about

• How Sarah transitioned from research to research-adjacent post-PhD
• Advocating for research-adjacent professionals
• Research-adjacent jobs and where to find them
• Why PhD graduates who want to become research-adjacent need to reframe both their skills and their expectations

Find out more

• Read the transcript on the podcast website
• Connect to David on LinkedIn
• Visit the Papa PhD podcast website
• Follow the Papa PhD podcast on Instagram or X
• Connect to Sarah on LinkedIn

About Research Adjacent

• Fill out the research-adjacent careers quiz
• Sign up to the Research Adjacent newsletter
• Follow Research Adjacent on LinkedIn Instagram and BlueSky
• Email a comment, question or suggestion
• Leave Sarah a voice message

Mentioned in this episode:

Come along to our Manchester networking event

Join host Sarah McLusky and fellow research-adjacent professionals on Thursday 12 March 2026 at 5.30pm. Find out more and register here https://researchadjacent.circle.so/c/open-events/manchester-research-adjacent-community-networking

Member of the Month: Duncan Yellowlees, DY Training

Let’s put rubbish presentations in the bin – where they belong. Get in touch with Duncan for specialist research presentation skills training www.duncanyellowlees.com