Dr. Clare McFadden is a palaeodemographer from the Australian National University who specialises in novel approaches to assessing fertility and mortality rates, and population growth in the past.
Tell us a bit about your research
My research over the last few years has focussed on refining and expanding palaeodemographic tools, with an emphasis on application to bioarchaeological samples from Southeast Asia and the Pacific region. My current research seeks to expand the palaeodemographic toolkit further, build a palaeoepidemiological framework, and apply both palaeodemographic and palaeoepidemiological techniques to questions relating to population growth, adaptation and resilience, social stratification, and maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. I am expanding my research area geographically into the UK and Europe.
What are some achievements from the last few years you are really proud of?
I am very proud of the methodological advancements I have contributed to palaeodemography, in terms of fertility, rate of natural population increase and maternal mortality, and am excited to see what insights they may provide into population dynamics through time and space. I am also ecstatic to have been awarded my PhD and appointed Lecturer in Biological Anthropology in July 2019.
What is it that drew you to your research topic?
This research area allowed me to combine my interests in statistical analyses, population dynamics and bioarchaeology. It plays to some of my strengths whilst also challenging me to develop in new areas.
How do you balance work and social life and do you have any tips for achieving this?
It is hard work! I try to compartmentalise my time by scheduling commitments with friends and family, and time for myself, and trying not to cancel or reschedule these. But as my research is a huge part of my life and something I’m very passionate about, it inevitably sometimes takes over. I think as long as you are keeping healthy, mentally well and socially fulfilled, it is okay to be a bit dynamic and responsive to the peaks and troughs of academia.
How do you stay passionate and focused on your goals as your career progresses?
I try to think in short, mid and long term at all times. This means that if I am doing something that isn’t my core focus or passion in the short term, I can contextualise it within longer term goals to make it more meaningful. I see administrative duties as an essential part of an academic career. They may not be as exciting as research, but they contribute to the student experience and a positive and collegiate work environment. It helps to see such activities as broadly beneficial and contributing to my long term goals, even if indirectly.
Do you have any advice for students who might be pursuing a career in the same field as you? Is there anything you know now that you wished you’d been told as a student?
My advice would be to be driven by your passion for research, try to take up as many opportunities as you reasonably can – you never know which ones will prove to benefit your career, and be good and kind to peers, colleagues, students, staff, regardless of seniority! Be the kind of researcher you want to be from the very start – this is how we cultivate a positive culture.
Grant or job failures are commonplace in science. How do you deal with rejection and do you think there are ways as a scientific community we can help each other through this inevitable part of our work?
I try to be as objective as possible, though it still usually stings. I reflect on the motivations behind the feedback, take on board the critical components, and try to improve for next time. It is essential that in providing feedback we are also objective and I don’t think we need to lose our compassion in doing so – we can still be kind when delivering confronting and potentially challenging criticisms.
Career paths have their twists and turns. Is there anything unique about the way you got to where you are? Are you doing what you imagined yourself to be doing as a student?
My career path was very unique because it was so linear! I have been extremely fortunate in that regard, but am not expecting it to remain that way. I think being flexible and dynamic is very important to maintain resilience through those twists and turns. We have to leverage the opportunities we have as best we can and be prepared to take on a new or different challenge to what we expected. I am doing exactly what I imagined I would as a student – which is hard to believe sometimes! I pinch myself a lot and try to make the most of the opportunity I have.
How has the academic field changed since you were a student?
Not at all since it has only been a few months! But I think we are seeing a push towards better work-life balance and more collegiate behaviour, which is fantastic.
Are you actively involved in science communication? If so, what efforts do you pursue to get the public engaged with your science?
I try to do a media release on most of my work to get it out to the public. I also use social media to communicate my research. Both are really great platforms to not only share research more widely, but also to reflect on whether that research is interesting/topical/useful/etc to the broader public. I think that is really important.
Select Publications:
McFadden et al. (2019) Ageing the elderly: A new approach to the estimation of the age‐at‐death distribution from skeletal remains. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. 29(6); 1072-1078. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/oa.2820
McFadden and Oxenham (2019) The Paleodemographic Measure of Maternal Mortality and a Multifaceted Approach to Maternal Health. Current Anthropology. 60(1):141-146. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/701476
Tell us a bit about your research
My research over the last few years has focussed on refining and expanding palaeodemographic tools, with an emphasis on application to bioarchaeological samples from Southeast Asia and the Pacific region. My current research seeks to expand the palaeodemographic toolkit further, build a palaeoepidemiological framework, and apply both palaeodemographic and palaeoepidemiological techniques to questions relating to population growth, adaptation and resilience, social stratification, and maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. I am expanding my research area geographically into the UK and Europe.
What are some achievements from the last few years you are really proud of?
I am very proud of the methodological advancements I have contributed to palaeodemography, in terms of fertility, rate of natural population increase and maternal mortality, and am excited to see what insights they may provide into population dynamics through time and space. I am also ecstatic to have been awarded my PhD and appointed Lecturer in Biological Anthropology in July 2019.
What is it that drew you to your research topic?
This research area allowed me to combine my interests in statistical analyses, population dynamics and bioarchaeology. It plays to some of my strengths whilst also challenging me to develop in new areas.
How do you balance work and social life and do you have any tips for achieving this?
It is hard work! I try to compartmentalise my time by scheduling commitments with friends and family, and time for myself, and trying not to cancel or reschedule these. But as my research is a huge part of my life and something I’m very passionate about, it inevitably sometimes takes over. I think as long as you are keeping healthy, mentally well and socially fulfilled, it is okay to be a bit dynamic and responsive to the peaks and troughs of academia.
How do you stay passionate and focused on your goals as your career progresses?
I try to think in short, mid and long term at all times. This means that if I am doing something that isn’t my core focus or passion in the short term, I can contextualise it within longer term goals to make it more meaningful. I see administrative duties as an essential part of an academic career. They may not be as exciting as research, but they contribute to the student experience and a positive and collegiate work environment. It helps to see such activities as broadly beneficial and contributing to my long term goals, even if indirectly.
Do you have any advice for students who might be pursuing a career in the same field as you? Is there anything you know now that you wished you’d been told as a student?
My advice would be to be driven by your passion for research, try to take up as many opportunities as you reasonably can – you never know which ones will prove to benefit your career, and be good and kind to peers, colleagues, students, staff, regardless of seniority! Be the kind of researcher you want to be from the very start – this is how we cultivate a positive culture.
Grant or job failures are commonplace in science. How do you deal with rejection and do you think there are ways as a scientific community we can help each other through this inevitable part of our work?
I try to be as objective as possible, though it still usually stings. I reflect on the motivations behind the feedback, take on board the critical components, and try to improve for next time. It is essential that in providing feedback we are also objective and I don’t think we need to lose our compassion in doing so – we can still be kind when delivering confronting and potentially challenging criticisms.
Career paths have their twists and turns. Is there anything unique about the way you got to where you are? Are you doing what you imagined yourself to be doing as a student?
My career path was very unique because it was so linear! I have been extremely fortunate in that regard, but am not expecting it to remain that way. I think being flexible and dynamic is very important to maintain resilience through those twists and turns. We have to leverage the opportunities we have as best we can and be prepared to take on a new or different challenge to what we expected. I am doing exactly what I imagined I would as a student – which is hard to believe sometimes! I pinch myself a lot and try to make the most of the opportunity I have.
How has the academic field changed since you were a student?
Not at all since it has only been a few months! But I think we are seeing a push towards better work-life balance and more collegiate behaviour, which is fantastic.
Are you actively involved in science communication? If so, what efforts do you pursue to get the public engaged with your science?
I try to do a media release on most of my work to get it out to the public. I also use social media to communicate my research. Both are really great platforms to not only share research more widely, but also to reflect on whether that research is interesting/topical/useful/etc to the broader public. I think that is really important.
Select Publications:
McFadden et al. (2019) Ageing the elderly: A new approach to the estimation of the age‐at‐death distribution from skeletal remains. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. 29(6); 1072-1078. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/oa.2820
McFadden and Oxenham (2019) The Paleodemographic Measure of Maternal Mortality and a Multifaceted Approach to Maternal Health. Current Anthropology. 60(1):141-146. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/701476