Rupali Dabas

The RSC membership is one of the best investments that you can make at the start of your career. It's so valuable because it exposes you to so many things. The internship opportunities, the networking opportunities, the conferences, the scientific content, it's so broad in the career paths it can expose you to.

“The most important difference that RSC has made to me is the exposure that it's provided to ideas and perspectives beyond academia and beyond what was possible during my PhD. 

Day to day I basically make tiny nanoscopic nanoparticles. Essentially what I do is I package genetic information inside these tiny particles and by coating their surface with a chemical that allows them to find prostate cancer cells specifically, I can target these cancer cells and change their genetic makeup. In order to make them less aggressive and to reduce tumour growth.

The RSC membership has guided my career trajectory in a very positive sense. From all the career development events and all the career related webinars and also the scientific content itself from the journals. But also through opportunities that it provides to get into let's say industry or experience things that one may not necessarily be able to experience as part of academia.

The opportunities that it offers really allows me to maximise possibilities.

In particular this involved an internship with Chemistry World, which was one of the most fulfilling and rewarding experiences that I've had throughout my career.

The career webinars are particularly useful for me as well. They allow me to explore perspectives that aren't necessarily available to me. A lot of wide range of views from industry and other professionals.

The knowledge-based benefits that the RSC offers are particularly useful.

The sheer breadth of journals that they cover, the breadth of scientific knowledge is really really impressive and that's one of the major things that I've been using especially to guide my research.

Also as part of the networking events at the RSC it's given me access to a very supportive and empowering community and that's really shaped how I think and how the career related decisions that I make and also influenced my science as well.

One of the major ways in which the funding opportunities have helped through the RSC is through the discounted prices that we have for conferences and networking events.

The networking events, in particular, exposed me to people from a very wide range of career paths, in particular industry experts that I would not have had the pleasure of meeting if I was just in the lab all day.

I also have met academics from a very wide range of disciplines that have actually commented and provided feedback on my work, that I would not have had otherwise. All of these opportunities have expanded my view.

If you are considering an RSC professional award, I would say it's one of the best decisions that you can make for your career.

It's allowed me to apply for grants and fellowships. It's allowed me to build my academic portfolio where I can illustrate to people that I'm a well-established scientist.

I've become way more confident in the way I've come across to people, in the way I communicate my work that would not have been possible had I not gone through this process.

Being an RSC member makes me feel connected, supported and inspired.