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How I fled bombed Aleppo to continue my career in science

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A man walks past a destroyed Syrian forces tank in northern Aleppo

A member of the rebel Free Syrian Army walks past a burnt-out Syrian army tank in northern Aleppo province in 2012.Credit: Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty

Working scientist profiles

This article is part of an occasional Nature series in which we profile scientists with unusual career histories or outside interests.

Aref Kyyaly has a guiding principle: don’t give up. That might sound clichéd or trite, but in his journey to find a stable job and a safe place to live, he and his wife have been stretched and tested to the extremes. He’s been separated from his family, seen his workplace blown up, sustained physical injuries and been forced into an asylum-seeker system that he was desperate to avoid.

Kyyaly was born in 1978 in Aleppo — a city in Syria then famed for its bazaars and historic citadel, rather than for being war-torn. He studied applied chemistry at the University of Aleppo, and met his wife, Razan, in 2006 before they went to Egypt, where he pursued a PhD in biochemistry at Cairo University.

When they returned to Syria in 2009, he soon found work as a researcher in a factory that was one of the country’s biggest producers of yeast, while also lecturing part-time at his alma mater. Things were looking good. But the Syrian revolution broke out in 2011, and the ensuing civil war saw armed groups with differing world views — ranging from the Free Syrian Army to ISIS — take over large swathes of the country. The Syrian regime’s army had a base close to the factory, and militias opposed to it began to use the factory grounds to launch rockets at the base, which in turn made the factory a target.

“We were commuting during the clashes. If we stopped [operating the factory] there’d have been no bread, so we worked seven or eight months under these conditions and it was really hard, because you’d see people dying in the streets and you couldn’t do anything,” he remembers. “We kept doing that until the factory was completely bombed by airplanes.”

Then came money problems. “I had no real work; I was only part-time at the university and the value of the currency dropped at the same time.” His monthly salary, which had been worth around US$400, went down to the equivalent of around $50. “I couldn’t afford to buy anything,” he says. Despite the financial stresses, Kyyaly was still trying to remain in Syria. “I’m my parents’ only son,” he explains. But when he was seriously hurt in an explosion, he finally resolved to get himself, his wife and their two children out. He and his wife had a third child once they left Syria.

He started to send e-mails to everyone he knew who worked at universities abroad. He also contacted many people he didn’t know. At one point he got an offer to work in Libya, but it fell through before he could travel. “In retrospect, I’m lucky that happened,” he says, because Libya was descending into its second civil war in 2014.

Of the 50 or so e-mails that Kyyaly sent, one landed in the inbox of the Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara), an organization based in the United Kingdom that tries to help scholars around the world who are forced to flee owing to a high risk of imprisonment, injury or death. Cara tries to find positions for researchers such as Kyyaly in safe countries, offering both practical and financial support to make that happen. The majority of people he contacted didn’t reply, so he was surprised when Cara called him in 2014. He moved to the United Kingdom later that year. “It was like a door was opened for me.”

Zeid Al Bayaty, Cara’s deputy director, was behind the call. At the time, Al Bayaty was also in touch with a number of other Syrian scholars. “When Syrian applicants heard about Cara, they were convinced that it was too good to be true and some of them were quite suspicious,” he says. But once the first cohort of Syrians had arrived to join Cara’s fellowship programme, “they told colleagues back in Syria and then the number of applications significantly increased. Aref was in that first early wave,” he says.

At the peak of the war in Syria, Cara was receiving about 20 applications per week, says Al Bayaty. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Al Bayaty and his colleagues expected a similar influx of calls from researchers looking to leave. But it didn’t quite pan out in the same way. “There were a number of situations where we placed Ukrainians at [UK] universities, but they then chose not to come because they had other opportunities on the continent and they chose to go to Germany instead,” he says. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that the visas were more straightforward for Ukrainians and so they had options. We just wish it was like that for more countries in conflict.”

Most applications today are coming from scientists in the Palestinian territories and Sudan, says Al Bayaty.

Within six months of that first call with Al Bayaty, Kyyaly was on a one-way flight to the United Kingdom. Cara had helped him to secure a visa and find a job as a research associate in the International Centre for Brewing Science at the University of Nottingham. But it was another eight months before the paperwork for his wife and children could be sorted out. Leaving them behind was incredibly tough, he says. “You can imagine what it was like when you listen to the news,” he says. “It was very, very horrible at times.”

After spending a year in Nottingham, he moved to the University of Southampton’s faculty of medicine, where he spent a couple of years as a research fellow before helping to set up a laboratory for the Isle of Wight Birth Cohort, a longitudinal study that investigates allergies. “I changed field again to asthma and allergy,” he says.

Caption: Portrait of Aref Kyyaly

Aref Kyyaly appreciates the inclusivity of UK society.Credit: Sami Sultan

None of this chopping and changing of jobs and locations was for CV-building purposes. Kyyaly says he hasn’t really had the luxury of thinking about his career trajectory. If there was a gap in his employment, he would run the risk of having his visa revoked, in which case he’d need to either return to Syria or apply for asylum. So, he was often forced to jump from one post to another when academic funding ran out or looked unstable.

Eventually, things caught up with him: his Syrian passport was about to expire and, to keep his UK work visa, he would have had to return to Syria to renew his passport. This forced Kyyaly’s hand, and he applied for asylum in the United Kingdom.

It took two-and-a-half years for the UK government to reach a decision to allow him to stay as an asylum seeker, he says. That’s fairly typical of the UK asylum system; a 2021 report from the Refugee Council, a UK charity, found that the number of people waiting more than a year for an initial decision on their asylum claim rose from 3,588 in 2010 to 33,016 in 2020.

Kyyaly is now a lecturer in biomedical science at Solent University in Southampton, UK. He spends most of his time teaching, but he is also investigating molecular biomarkers for complicated and difficult-to-diagnose diseases and conditions, such as cancers and allergies.

It’s a job he enjoys and most importantly, he says, it’s a permanent role. But when he looks back at his career history, he sees how his immigration status and the geopolitics of the Middle East severely limited his options. If he had been able to secure a permanent job when he arrived in the United Kingdom, he thinks his current salary would have reached at least £70,000 (US$87,000). “I’m on half of that now,” he says. “I have friends who started four or five years after me and now they’re way ahead of me.”

But it’s about more than money. “If you are doing research in one topic for eight years, then you’re an expert,” he says. “But if you’re changing every two years, yes, you have a broader range of skills and things, but if you’re applying for funding or for jobs, then you’re not that attractive.”

But this is where Kyyaly’s “guiding principle” comes into play.

“If you’re passionate about research, about science, I think my advice is to never give up. I was about to give up in 2013 before I reached out to Cara because everything felt closed to me,” he says. Now he has a job he loves; his children are enjoying school in the United Kingdom; and he and his wife feel accepted into British society. It’s been years since he last saw his parents but he’s hoping in the near future to be able to meet them once again.

“If you have to change fields, change fields. Change jobs if you must. Keep moving. Keep your dream in your mind until you have the chance to get it out into the real world.”

That mentality, Kyyaly says, has allowed him to keep his dignity and a sense of agency through very tough times. “You can’t change life to follow you. You need to follow life. It’s very similar to sailing. You cannot control the wind, but you can control the sail.”

Quick-fire questions

Do you have a favourite quote?

“Whoever saves a life, it is as if he saved all of humanity.” It’s my favourite verse from the Koran and it shows the importance of human life in Islam. You don’t need to be a Muslim to see the beauty of that phrase. I think it also takes the pressure off you when you feel overwhelmed by the world’s huge problems, such as war. You don’t need to solve the whole thing by yourself; just try to improve things if you can, where you can.

If you weren’t a scientist, what would you have been?

I would have loved to be a medical doctor or a pharmacist because I’m passionate about helping people to fight different diseases. I think that’s why I’ve worked on allergies in the past and I’m now focused on disease biomarkers.

What do you miss most about Syria?

My parents, sister and friends. It’s hard to be so far apart and know it’s not like we can just hop on a flight to see each other.

What do you like most about living in the United Kingdom?

The inclusivity of most of the people here, both in terms of the general public but also the institutions. After living through a civil war, you really appreciate that.

If you could go back and time and meet yourself as a recent PhD graduate, what advice would you give yourself?

Honestly, I’d have told myself not to go back to Syria from Cairo. I’d have said, get you and your family out of Syria. I waited too long to do that.

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the $400-million grant setback that shaped the Smithsonian lead scientist’s career

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Ellen Stofan speaking at a podium at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, U.S.

Losing a funding competition didn’t set Ellen Stofan back — instead, she did a career pivot, and came across new opportunities.Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

In 2021, planetary scientist Ellen Stofan was appointed undersecretary of science and research at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, the US national research and museum complex. There, she oversees its scientific research centres as well as the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of Natural History and the National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Before this, she was director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, where she launched a 7-year restoration of the building and oversaw celebrations marking 50 years since the first Moon landing. Stofan’s doctoral research at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, focused on the geology of Venus.

Before joining the Smithsonian, she spent some 25 years working in space-related organizations — including NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and as the agency’s chief scientist. She helped to develop NASA’s plan to get humans to Mars and worked on the Magellan mission to Venus and the 13-year Cassini mission that documented Saturn and its moons.

Describe a typical day.

My portfolio is really broad, so there’s no typical day. I might be having a meeting about bringing pandas back to the zoo in Washington DC, or discussing how to dispose of the Smithsonian’s collection of human remains in an ethical way. Or talking about the budget — it’s always the budget.

Is discussing the budget what you thought you would be doing at the start of your career?

Probably not, but the budget reflects the organization’s strategy and priorities, so you have to understand why you are putting money in certain areas. Speaking of priorities, over the past few years, I’ve been working on the Our Shared Future: Life on a Sustainable Planet research initiative, which we announced at the United Nations climate conference COP 27 two years ago. What’s amazing is the amount of science we were already doing along those lines. For example, in Montana, we have been recreating the ecosystem of an American prairie — we’ve reintroduced bison, and all of a sudden birds and insects have started coming back.

Did you plan to work in the museum sector?

I interned at the Air and Space Museum when I was an undergraduate, but at that time I just wanted to be a geologist, write papers and maybe work at a university. A thread through my career is working in great teams — that was why I enjoyed NASA so much. To explore Venus or the moons of Saturn, you have to put together an engaged team by bringing together people with different skills and ideas. At NASA, I led a team that was bidding for a Discovery Program grant, which can be used to fund smaller planetary missions using fewer resources and with shorter development times. Our proposed mission, the Titan Mare Explorer vessel, would explore the seas of liquid hydrocarbons, such as methane and ethane, on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. Working with the fun, smart, creative and innovative people on the team did not feel like work at all. Our project was one of the three finalists in 2012, but another one was chosen.

How did that feel?

Not getting the grant was devastating — not just for me, but for the team. I felt like I had let them down. For a while, I couldn’t talk about the project without crying. I thought about leaving science, because I didn’t see how anything could ever match that.

It took me months to process it all. Before our bid, NASA had concluded that no research projects could reach the outer Solar System for less than a billion dollars. We were bidding for around US$400 million, and our proposal helped to pioneer the idea that, through innovation and judicious use of technology, these projects could be done more cheaply. Our mission created this small paradigm shift — and, all of a sudden, we saw people proposing projects that would go to the outer Solar System at much lower costs than before.

Amelia Earhart's plane is seen at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in the "Pioneers of Flight" exhibit.

The display of Amelia Earhart’s plane at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo/Alamy

What is your approach to career setbacks?

You want to be the kind of person who shrugs off failure — but it’s hard. Everyone goes through it. When I was still processing losing the grant, I was invited to interview to be chief scientist of NASA. I got the job and held that position for three years. My career went a whole different way — I left NASA in 2016, and then the Smithsonian job came up.

Is the Titan Mare project still ongoing?

No, but I’m a co-investigator on a mission called Dragonfly. This drone will launch in late 2026 and will land on Titan in the 2030s. It’s going to fly around the equatorial region, where we think standing pools of liquid methane and liquid ethane might exist. There’s a lot of debate in the scientific community right now about whether life could ever exist on a body like Titan. What we will be able to learn about ‘prebiotic chemistry’ — the study of how chemical compounds assembled to form the precursors to life — from the mission is really exciting.

Did you always dream of a career in space exploration?

Not when I was younger, because my father was an engineer at NASA and the only people he worked with were men — so I just didn’t think it was a place for me. It was only by reading in National Geographic about primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall and palaeoanthropoligst Mary Leakey, who studied human origins in Africa, that I realized that not only could women do science, but they could be famous scientists.

When I began my career in the 1980s, I was often either the only woman in the room, or one of the few. And some people thought that I didn’t belong in the room, because I was a woman. I had enough confidence to think, “What’s your problem?”

Things have changed a lot, but women are still under-represented in physics, engineering and computer science, and we’re not tapping into the talent. Hiring people from groups that are under-represented in science is not about achieving diversity for diversity’s sake. We know from scientific research that diverse teams perform better.

At NASA, I looked at our workforce and thought about whether we were tapping into the best talent. People often talk about diversity, but they forget about inclusion. NASA was sensitive to this after the Challenger accident — the space shuttle broke apart seconds after take off in 1986, killing all seven members of the crew. One of the findings was that managers were not listening to their teams. It’s important to create an environment in which everyone can contribute and participate. Even if you have a diverse workforce, if you don’t make people feel included, they’re not going to stay.

What is a key priority for you at the Smithsonian?

When we were redoing the museum, one important part of our mission was to inspire the next generation of innovators and explorers. Are we telling stories so that every kid who comes into the museum, no matter their race, gender or other aspect of their life, is going to find someone who looks like them?

In the past, the story of space centered charismatic figures, such as astronaut Neil Armstrong — but look at the success of the 2016 movie Hidden Figures, which is about a team of Black female mathematicians working for NASA during its early years. Visitors might notice that, at the museum, we’re telling a much broader range of stories. In February, the first private company, in partnership with NASA, touched down on the Moon; there are now many more countries involved in space exploration, and private individuals are going into space. The story of space is changing.

Do you have a favourite museum exhibit?

We have an X-wing fighter from the Star Wars films, which I absolutely love. We’ve also had the Starship Enterprise from the Star Trek series.

But my absolute favourite is aviator Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Vega aeroplane. It’s this cheeky red colour that, to me, symbolizes her saying, ‘I’m going to fly despite what anyone thinks.’

Would you ever like to go into space?

When I went to my first launch, the rocket blew up. It was uncrewed, but it’s seared into my memory. I’m not terribly adventurous. I’m happy to be an armchair explorer.

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How I harnessed media engagement to supercharge my research career

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Two people with a microphone in the foreground, recording a podcast during an interview in a studio.

Podcasts and radio appearance can disseminate your science and raise your profile.Credit: Mixetto/Getty

Eighteen months ago, I had zero media experience. I’m a physical-activity researcher in the school of Allied Health and Human Performance at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. In the three years since completing my PhD, I hadn’t written articles for anyone outside my scientific community, courted mentions in a newspaper or even thought about speaking on the radio or on podcasts. I was content to spend my days head-down in research, analysing data and aiming to publish papers. Media publicity was nowhere on my radar.

At the start of 2023, along with my colleagues, I published a major systematic review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine1 that summarized much of the research on how exercise can help to reduce depression and anxiety. It was unusual for two main reasons. First, we synthesized all the evidence in the field, which involved collating the results of nearly 100 systematic reviews. Second, we analysed the most effective exercise types, along with varying intensities and durations of exercise and the effects across diverse clinical and non-clinical populations.

We found overwhelming evidence that exercise improves mental health across numerous healthy and clinical populations. Higher-intensity physical activity was linked to more substantial improvements in symptoms, but the effectiveness of interventions decreased with longer programmes of training.

The findings stuck a chord with many people, so the review ended up getting a lot of attention. I received requests from around the world to do radio interviews and go on podcasts. I was also invited to give talks and presentations in-person across Australia and virtually for international events.

Researchers should court media attention responsibly, with the ultimate goal of informing the public about scientific breakthroughs. But I’ve found that it can also raise your personal profile and advance your career.

Spreading the message

Over the past year, my media exposure has continued, with my research being featured in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, CNN, the Daily Mail, Yahoo, Times Higher Education, Cosmos magazine, Medical News Today and Science Daily. This has opened up unexpected opportunities. It has resulted in researchers from around Australia reaching out to me to collaborate on further reviews and meta-analyses on topics related to physical activity and lifestyle behaviours, allowing me to expand my research into different domains.

My media exposure has also led to industry collaborations. One Australian start-up company, which runs an app that aims to help office workers to exercise, reached out and provided funding for me to evaluate the effectiveness of their tool. The results are being prepared for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The opportunity not only enabled valuable research examining an intervention in a real-world setting, but also laid the groundwork for potential collaborations with industry partners.

Furthermore, media exposure has helped me to develop valuable transferable skills. I had to hone my presentation skills to prepare simplified explanations of my research and communicate across fields. Giving media interviews enhanced my skills in translating complex findings into everyday terms, using relatable analogies, being concise and staying composed under pressure. These have all proved invaluable for me in research, public speaking and collaborations beyond academia.

Portrait of Ben Singh sitting on a bench in a park.

Ben Singh learnt valuable skills through media exposure.Credit: Ben Singh

Although the media interest was serendipitous at first, I’ve learnt to be pro-active in boosting media engagement. I now pitch my published papers to relevant journalists and outlets, highlighting what’s new, useful and surprising about my research.

I also regularly write for the website The Conversation to practise communicating research to broad audiences accessibly. I use social media to showcase my work, build authority in my field, share updates, promote publications and connect with peers and the public. And I’ve attended media training offered by my institution, learning skills such as: crafting compelling narratives and soundbites; developing an engaging presentation style; preparing for different interview formats; and translating complex concepts into useful and easily understood analogies.

Prepare to push back

Not all media interactions are perfect. I’ve encountered overly simplified coverage, misinterpretation of my work and pressured timelines. For instance, in the discussion section of our review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, we compared our findings with those from past reviews on how medications affect depression. On average, our results showed that exercise was 1.5 times better than medication at improving symptoms of depression, in terms of effect sizes. This comparison was not the main purpose of our review, but several media outlets portrayed our study as a head-to-head analysis pitting exercise against medication. This oversimplifies the complexity of treatment options and leads to misconceptions about the role of exercise in comprehensive mental health care. The comparison failed to account for the interplay of various factors and individual differences, and could lead people to make inappropriate generalized decisions about their treatment without consulting medical professionals.

To prevent this kind of misrepresentation, I learnt to articulate the actual objectives and limitations clearly up front during interviews, conferences and seminars. I also realized that I needed to be prepared to correct any inaccurate portrayals rapidly by providing proper context and caveats.

The potential rewards have made proactively seeking media opportunities worthwhile, even if it felt daunting at first. Rather than leaving it to chance, I’ve been strategic in promoting my own research through media engagement as an early-career academic. The visibility, credibility and skills I have gained have amplified my findings and fuelled my career advancement. I’m glad I stepped out of my comfort zone to embrace media exposure.

This is an article from the Nature Careers Community, a place for Nature readers to share their professional experiences and advice. Guest posts are encouraged.

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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How AI could make or break your career

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These are already turbulent times for employees in the technology sector. Depressingly we’ve seen a fall in advertised vacancies and several mass layoffs initiated by both major companies and smaller startups. Yet, on the plus side we’ve also witnessed inflation-busting salary rises tough to fill positions.

Now, in its predictions for 2024, the research and advisory firm Forrester has warned that heavy use of AI tools in recruitment will lead to further “misconnections, mischief and mayhem”. It believes at least one well-known company will hire a candidate who doesn’t actually exist and at least one business will employ a real candidate for a non-existent job.

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Cybersecurity training: Prep for IT career with 169-hour bundle

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A computer screen with code on it to illustrate a sale for the Ultimate Cybersecurity & IT Career Certification Pathway Training Bundle.
This is the perfect time of year to consider a new career.
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  • CompTIA IT Fundamentals ITF+ FC0-U61: A prerequisite before moving on to more complicated exams, this course teaches you security, safety and preventative maintenance, as well as the basics of databases and programming.
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the career costs for scientists battling long COVID

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Protesters hold placards calling for more research and support for people struggling with long COVID

People with long COVID often struggle to get sufficient support in the workplace; researchers are no exception.Credit: Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

Abby Koppes got COVID-19 in March 2020, just as the world was waking up to the unprecedented scale on which the virus was spreading. Her symptoms weren’t bad at first. She spent the early lockdown period in Boston, Massachusetts, preparing her tenure application.

During that summer of frenzied writing, Koppes’s symptoms worsened. She often awoke in the night with her heart racing. She was constantly gripped by fatigue, but she brushed off the symptoms as due to work stress. “You gaslight yourself a little bit, I guess,” she says.

Soon after Koppes submitted her tenure application in July, she began experiencing migraines for the first time, which left her bedridden. Her face felt as if it was on fire, a condition called trigeminal neuralgia that’s also known as suicide disease because of the debilitating pain it causes. Specialists took months to diagnose her with a series of grim-sounding disorders: Sjögren’s syndrome, small-fibre polyneuropathy and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. To make time for the litany of doctors’ appointments, Koppes took a six-month “self-care sabbatical”.

It’s a bit of a blur, she says, but Koppes, a biochemical engineer at Northeastern University in Boston, describes September 2021 to April 2023 as a dark period in her life. Fortunately, she was buoyed by one monumental victory that preceded it: she was granted tenure in summer 2021.

Portrait of Abigail Koppes

Abby Koppes changed her research focus to study her own experience of long COVID.Credit: Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

However, other academic researchers with long COVID might not count themselves so lucky. Koppes’s experience has compelled her to speak up for other researchers with the condition. It needn’t spell the end of an academic career, provided institutions step up to help. Nature spoke to researchers living with long COVID to find out how they manage the illness amid the pressures of academic research. (Many requested anonymity for privacy or for fear of repercussions on their careers and reputations.) They describe new realities that include budgeting for periods of fatigue and negotiating adjustments such as flexible working arrangements — an area, they say, in which academia can do better.

When academia meets long COVID

Koppes is one of at least 65 million people worldwide to develop long-term health problems after contracting the virus SARS-CoV-2. The World Health Organization defines long COVID as a suite of symptoms lasting two months or longer, continuing or occurring three months after the initial infection.

Common symptoms of long COVID include cognitive impairment, fatigue and immune dysregulation. Weak or overburdened health-care systems in some nations mean many people who have the condition are left without appropriate care.

Moreover, in the cut-throat world of academia, in which it is the norm to push oneself through graduate training and the postdoctoral stage, and as an early-career academic, long COVID throws up barriers for those seeking permanent positions, such as the promised land of tenure.

It could also squeeze diversity out of the talent pool — studies have shown that long COVID tends to disproportionately affect women and people of colour. “Women are already under-represented in higher roles,” says Natalie Holroyd, a computational medicine researcher with long COVID at University College London. “Is this going to exacerbate existing inequality?”

“Getting tenure was so profoundly destructive to my health that it prepared my body for severe long COVID,” one Latina researcher in the humanities tells Nature. “I feel like my academic job demands my death.”

Researchers with long COVID often face extra administrative burdens: dealing with the mountains of paperwork for disability claims and workplace-accommodation requests. These tasks can feel like a part-time job in their own right. “Not only are we trying to get all the same work done with many fewer functional hours, but we also have more work to do,” one US-based biology researcher says. “That doesn’t even count all of the extra hours that we have to spend dealing with getting health care.”

There’s also financial pressure. Researchers might feel the need to soldier on to continue to receive a steady income and, in many cases, employer-provided health insurance. The most vulnerable individuals are graduate students and postdoctoral scholars on temporary contracts. International early-career researchers’ visa status can be contingent on working full-time.

In some cases, seeking accommodations can feel out of reach. “I did not go up to anybody and say, ‘Hey, I’ve been dealing with this the entire two years. Can we do something about it?’” says Priya (not her real name), a master’s student with chronic post-COVID-19 health problems at one of the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research. Organizing a community to advocate for a better learning and research environment takes time, effort and money. Convinced that the university can’t do much, Priya is resigned to bearing her poor health alone. “There are definitely other people here that have similar issues, but I don’t think there’s been a dialogue about it.”

Academics with long COVID also face societal ignorance about the condition, with several of those Nature spoke to reporting that they were mainly left to fend for themselves or to navigate workplace accommodation policies that aren’t tailored for long COVID. Many researchers conceal their illness for fear of stigma. Even with understanding colleagues, people with long COVID say they’re exhausted from constantly advocating for their needs and educating others about the condition.

Because some symptoms can be invisible, colleagues might negatively judge a co-worker’s performance or ability to participate. When Sarah (not her real name) started her assistant professorship at a US university, colleagues who were aware of her condition would occasionally tell her that she “looked good” during a meeting. “But it’s because I had very carefully managed my day,” she says. To be able to attend an hour-long meeting at the height of her symptoms, Sarah says she would sleep for two hours beforehand, then for another two afterwards to recuperate. “They don’t realize that there are four hours on either side that were devoted to making it possible.”

The need for extra rest can leave those with long COVID little time for pursuing career-advancing opportunities, especially travel. And because reinfection can exacerbate symptoms, crowd-facing activities aren’t safe, either, when masking is not required.

Portrait of Kerstin Sailer

Sociologist Kerstin Sailer had to redefine what it meant to be a researcher living with the disabilities that come with long COVID.Credit: Beatrix Fuhrmann

Many high-achieving researchers with long COVID say that one of their biggest struggles is the loss of their identities that had been pegged to their cognitive abilities and productivity. Often, they learnt the hard way that pushing themselves beyond their limits would only cause them to crash later. “It took me a while to recognize that I am now a disabled academic,” says Kerstin Sailer, a sociology researcher at University College London. She had “to gather around and find my own kind of inner strength and redefine what it means to be me”.

But Sailer and others are a testament to the fact that long COVID need not signal a career dead end. With the right support, affected academics can still thrive.

Accommodations and flexibility

Researchers living with long COVID have found ways to adapt, often relying on assistance from peers. Koppes co-advises all of her students with her husband, an academic at the same university, which is helpful for the days she’s off sick. Other long-haulers have formed online support groups or leaned on collaborators to help them to cross project finishing lines. Kathleen Banks, a public-health doctoral student with long COVID at Boston University in Massachusetts, has an informal dissertation coach who holds her accountable for meeting graduation milestones without pushing her too hard.

Researchers say that the most important form of support is that offered by a compassionate supervisor, be it a department chair or a research adviser. They advise looking for someone who prioritizes your health and doesn’t put undue pressure on you to perform.

Holroyd says she’s grateful for having had the same supportive adviser since her PhD days. “He kept reassuring me that the work that [I’m] putting out is fine, it’s enough,” she says of her now-postdoctoral supervisor. “I’m unlikely to find that level of support elsewhere.”

Ideally, supervisors will also fight for needed accommodations. These can include having a private office, being able to work from home, teaching remotely and having a flexible schedule to deal with an unpredictable ailment.

Employers should also recognize that accommodations, such as virtual working, aren’t one-size-fits-all. Jane (not her real name) is a US-based researcher in the social sciences who developed mast-cell activation syndrome after a COVID-19 infection. In her case, this causes life-threatening allergic reactions to synthetic chemicals in scented products. She requested a high-efficiency particulate air filter for her classroom, but her institution recommended that she teach remotely instead.

However, as other classes at her institution returned to in-person formats, Jane says she noticed that students preferred those to virtual courses such as hers. She’s nervous about the impact this might have on the teaching evaluations that count towards tenure. She has proposed that her institution establish a fragrance-free policy for her office building, but her employers, although receptive, have declined to help her enforce the rules. “It felt like they threw everything at me to advocate for myself,” Jane says. “They basically proposed the remote option as an alternative to all the things that I had requested.”

In many countries, disability laws require employers to make reasonable allowances for disabled workers. Of course, the word ‘reasonable’ is open to interpretation. Not everyone has found workarounds for their job. One mathematics PhD student in the Netherlands quit his programme in his final year after contracting long COVID. And some scholars have pivoted to focus on less physically demanding and more remote-friendly research fields, choosing computational over experimental work, for example, to allow them to sidestep significant hands-on labour.

Many institutions have offered employees with long COVID tenure-clock pauses, deadline extensions and emergency health-related funding. Advocates welcome these short-term support measures, but say more needs to be done. Medical experts don’t know how long the condition might last, so academia needs to formulate long-term policies.

Without such policies, informal arrangements can signal to those with long COVID that they’re a burden. “My experience with the accommodation system has been [that] it just comes down so much to having a supportive principal investigator” to back you up, says one graduate student at a major US university who has long COVID. “That’s just not how it should be.”

Culture shift

Some advocates are calling for a culture that champions workplace accessibility for all: universal design. The concept aims to shift the onus of advocating for particular needs away from the individual. Universal design measures include — by default — live captioning for video-call events and the taking of meeting notes to share with absentees. Researchers with long COVID also advocate for those organizing seminars and conferences to enable remote attendance options.

Brainstorming for these initiatives needs to be a community-wide process, says Emily Shryock, the director of the University of Texas at Austin’s Disability Cultural Center, a community hub for those who identify as disabled and their allies. She recognizes that there will always be tricky situations that have no easy answer. Nevertheless, the broader goal is to reach a middle ground between measures that aren’t required by law any more, such as mask mandates, and individual preferences. “That would be the hope — that every person would feel like they can ask for what they need and be supported in that request, even if, ultimately, they don’t get exactly what they want,” she says.

Sandra R. Schachat sits on the grass holding an award

Postdoctoral fellow Sandra Schachat says being vulnerable to contracting long COVID means she is likely to seek remote-working opportunities next.Credit: Andrés Baresch

Universal design is just the first step; academic culture has a long way to go to becoming more inclusive. People like Holroyd choose to stay with trusted advisers so as not to risk working with someone less empathetic. Others are leaving academia altogether. “Why would I want to spend my entire career begging for safety measures that are essential to my survival?” asks Sandra Schachat, a postdoctoral researcher and Schmidt Science Fellow at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She has dodged COVID-19 so far, but she has an autoimmune disease and knows it makes her vulnerable to the infection’s chronic fallout. Although she says her current lab is “perfect”, she doesn’t trust the larger academic world to protect people like her. So, when her fellowship ends, she plans to explore a career in industry that will allow her to work remotely.

In academia’s rigid research-assessment system, which is based on the quantity of publications and invited talks a person clocks up, people with chronic illnesses find it incredibly hard to compete. Jane, the social scientist, says her university refuses to make exceptions to the tenure policy for those with long COVID. Other affected researchers call for academic success to be reimagined.

Portrait of Chris Maddison

Chris Maddison says long COVID bolsters calls for more flexible research assessments.Credit: Dan Komoda/Institute for Advanced Study

“I do think that [universities] should broaden what they consider to be impact,” says Chris Maddison, a machine-learning researcher with long COVID at the University of Toronto, Canada. That could mean acknowledging different contributions towards society as being equally valuable. For example, in addition to papers published, his field could also count contributions such as releases of scalable, machine-learning prototypes. Nevertheless, Maddison admits that finding the solution to equitable academic assessment isn’t simple. “Maybe long COVID is just one other impetus to say we need to really solve this problem.”

On an individual level, long COVID has also served as a wake-up call to some researchers in relation to their taxing lifestyles. “It’s really forced me to re-evaluate my relationship with stress and my work–life balance,” says one postdoc in the United Kingdom. Now, she is diligent about pacing herself and feels much less guilty for taking breaks. “This experience has helped me develop healthier habits and skills that I’ll carry with me even after I recover.”

On the flip side, the rigours of academic research have also helped to prepare these scholars for the ups and downs of long COVID. “Science has also trained me [to have] resilience, persistence, patience,” says Sarah. “These are helpful qualities when dealing with chronic conditions.”

Koppes agrees. Inspired by her own conditions, she has shifted her research towards the autoimmunity and neurology of long COVID symptoms to interrogate her experience.

For now, Koppes is celebrating the small victories in her slow recovery: being able to walk the dog or take public transport instead of relying on car rides. On her wall at home hangs a reproduction of a painting by the impressionist artist Edward Henry Potthast titled Wild Surf, Ogunquit, Maine. It depicts a beach that she and her husband frequented pre-COVID-19 — a reminder, she says, not of everything she’s lost, but of what she might one day return to.

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How sacked whistle-blower Susanne Täuber’s career fared after she spoke out

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Portrait of Susanne Täuber in front of a university building.

A district court judge ruled on Susanne Täuber’s dismissal on International Women’s Day last year.Credit: Susanne Täuber

I began a position as a gender-equality researcher at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands in 2009, achieving tenure in 2015. I was studying factors that undermine the effective implementation of policy into practice. In 2018, after being passed over for promotion, I lodged an official complaint about gender bias. The following year, I argued that the university’s gender-equity policy jarred with my actual experiences at work1.

I was dismissed on 7 October 2022. On 8 March last year — International Women’s Day — a district court judge ruled that my dismissal was justified. The ruling referred to a “permanently disturbed working relationship”, but also stated that the university “played an important, if not a decisive role” in creating it.

My Court of Appeal hearing was in November 2023, and I found out in January that I had lost. For me, the appeal was important in getting clarity, for thousands of academics in the Netherlands, as to whether or not they can safely publish their research, especially if it is critical of their institutions.

Sadly, the verdict provides no closure on the protection of academic freedom. But, because my case drew so much attention at the time — including a sit-in by students and a petition signed by more than 3,600 academics around the world calling for my reinstatement — I can now draw on a global network of colleagues who have gone through similar experiences. A fundraiser organized on my behalf by Stichting Inclusive Action North, a Groningen-based social-justice alliance, was an immense relief. I wish that every person affected by bullying had access to such a financial lifeline.

Raising awareness

I have worked with academics from around the world to conceive of ways to tackle the censorship and related problems that are increasingly faced by academics. I participated in the Academic Freedom Under Attack webinar series last September, organized by higher-education researcher Carlos Azevedo at the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK, and critical-management scholar Ronald Hartz at Ilmenau University of Technology, Germany. Hartz was among a group of academics made redundant in 2021 by the University of Leicester, UK. I have also been invited by the Radboud Gender & Diversity Studies and the Radboud Women Professors Network in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, to deliver the keynote speech for International Women’s Day this year. Alongside such public events, I regularly meet with people who have been targets of discrimination, harassment and power abuse in academia, and I try to support others who are going through similar experiences.

Academia is a system that desperately clings onto preserving the power and privilege of a happy few. Since my dismissal, I have not done paid work. I doubt that moving to another European country to seek employment would do the trick. All over Europe, academics face the same problems. The factors that undermine academic freedom are present everywhere: the steep hierarchy and power differentials, the dearth of tenured positions, the structural workload being handed down to precariously employed, underpaid and undervalued academics, the intellectual and labour exploitation of the most-vulnerable academics and the push by universities to silence criticism.

Some movements over the past few years reflect the widespread nature of these problems. The German #IchBinHanna (‘I am Hanna’) movement fought against precarious-employment laws for scientists. The Danish #PleaseDontStealMyWork initiative exposed the intellectual extractivism faced by scholars, especially younger and dependent ones. And the 21 Group in the United Kingdom fights widespread bullying in academia.

The aftermath

At the time of my Court of Appeal hearing, I was recognized as an official whistle-blower by the Dutch Whistleblowers Authority, an independent administrative body based in The Hague. Questions concerning my case have already been raised by members of the Dutch House of Representatives, and I expect more to come. At the hearing, I was given a round of applause by supporters. It made me realize that I feel weirdly liberated by my experiences. What happened to me taught me more about my area of expertise than any amount of books and articles could ever have. My case was also mentioned last month when the European Parliament published its 2023 Academic Freedom Monitor of European Union Member States. The monitor notes “concerns for a potential chilling effect on academics wishing to address issues of management or other controversial issues”.

My advice for others would be to take a long hard look at the academic environment they’re in and to trust their gut feeling. I doubted my experiences and the accounts of other victims for years, always thinking, “it cannot be that bad, it cannot be that biased”. This self-doubt was more taxing than what came after — the crystal-clear realization that this is a rigged system. So, if you can: don’t waste time doubting yourself. Walk away and take your bright mind to a place where it will be valued.

This is an article from the Nature Careers Community, a place for Nature readers to share their professional experiences and advice. Guest posts are encouraged.

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing financial interests.

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Who is Charleston White? Bio, Facts, Career & Networth

Charleston White, a 52-year-old American, is well-known for his work as a YouTuber, motivational speaker, social media influencer, media personality, content creator, and entrepreneur. He hails from Texas, United States. This guy is famous for his awesome YouTube videos. He’s talented! He has over 123,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, The Real Charleston White. In addition, Charleston is a motivational speaker. Media reports say Charleston has a criminal history.

He also spends a few years in prison for murder. Then, he chose to be a better person. Currently, he is well-known as a famous YouTuber and motivational speaker. He is not only a founder and CEO of Hyped about HYPE (Helping Young People Excel) Youth Outreach, but also a founder and CEO. Keep reading to learn more about Charleston White.

Who is Charleston White?

Charleston White is a person whose information can be found on Wikipedia. He’s a popular YouTuber and social media influencer. He is not just that, but also the founder and CEO of Hyped about HYPE Youth Outreach. HYPE stands for Helping Young People Excel, as mentioned on his LinkedIn profile. Additionally, he has made numerous appearances in interviews and podcasts, where he discusses his journey to success. White has a criminal history.

Now, he is a well-known figure with a large following on social media. He is also a motivational speaker. In July 2022, there was a media controversy involving Charleston. It was claimed that Charleston maced Soulja Boy. Reports indicate that this controversy has escalated into a dispute. Additionally, Charleston has worked with numerous renowned rappers and singers.

Charleston was born in Texas, United States, in 1970. He belongs to a Christian family. Unfortunately, we don’t know White’s exact date of birth. According to reports, Charleston is 52 years old as of 2022. He’s talented. Charleston went to a nearby school for his primary education.

White joined Texas Wesleyan University, as stated on his LinkedIn profile. Charleston started committing crimes when he was just 14 years old. He committed a crime and was in prison for several years. But then he chose to be a better person, and he succeeded. Charleston is now a well-known YouTuber.

Charleston White Bio, Education, Net Worth

Charleston White Bio

Real Name Charleston White.
Nickname Baby Blu.
Occupation  Youtuber, Content Creator, Motivational Speaker, Social Media Influencer, Media Face, and Entrepreneur.
Age (as of 2022) 52 Years Old.
Date of Birth
 1970.
Birthplace Texas, United States.
Residence Fort Worth, Texas, United States.
Zodiac Sign Will Update.
Net Worth USD 1.5 million (approx.)
Qualification Graduate.
Alma mater Texas Wesleyan University.
Ethnicity Mixed.
Nationality American.
Religion Christian.

Charleston White Parents, Family and Nationality

Charleston White Parents

Charleston was born into a joint family, as per reports. He has a diverse heritage with African roots. Charleston is a city that practices Christianity. We don’t have any information about the names of Charleston’s family members.

His father is believed to be an entrepreneur. His mom stays at home and takes care of the household. White grew up in Texas with his siblings and cousins. He also shared photos with his mom and said, “Every woman who knows me admires me for who I am as a person, but mostly as a father.” My mom is proud of the person I’ve become, and she sees me as a great dad.

Charleston White’s Family: Wife, Girlfriend, and Children

Charleston is married. He’s happily living with his family in Texas. He has two children, as mentioned on his LinkedIn profile. But he doesn’t share his wife and kids’ names on social media. In addition, he posted pictures with his son on his Facebook.

Charleston White’s Height, Weight, and Physical Stats

Weight In Kilograms: 70 kg
Height Feet Inches: 5′ 8″
Hair Color Black.
Eye Color Black.
Shoe Size 8 US.
Piercing Ears.
Plastic Surgery Not Known.

Career & Profession

Charleston White is a well-known YouTuber and social media influencer. He has a successful career in this field. Charleston gained many fans through his YouTube channel. His YouTube channel has more than 123,000 subscribers (as of July 2022).

As mentioned in the reports, he worked with many famous rappers and singers. He is a motivational speaker, as stated on his LinkedIn profile. He not only founded Hyped but also started HYPE Youth Outreach. Additionally, he promotes different brands on social media. He mainly focuses on his career online.

The Story of Charleston White’s Arrest

Story of Charleston White

He mentioned on his LinkedIn profile that he has twelve years of experience, which he gained while serving a sentence under the Texas Determining Sentence regulation. White was among the first teenagers in his area to be charged with murder. The announcement was significant. He was very active and became a leader in groups. He has faced challenges in life but has never been to jail or had any criminal convictions.

Reports show he and three others stole athletic coats from a Foot Locker store. During their escape, a man confronted them in the parking garage and was fatally shot. After that, he was accused of murder. After leaving the hospital, he decided to become a better person. During a meeting, he mentioned that many of his friends from that time ended up in jail on their eighteenth birthday, and they are just returning home now.

Most of them have spent at least twenty years in detention, starting from when they were thirteen or fourteen years old until now. We were young when stricter rules were imposed on teenagers, but now we are grown men, and it’s our turn to give back. Our statement can have a significant impact on the lives of children. When you are arrested at a young age, society tends to ignore you. He travels across the country to share my insights, experiences, advice, and story of recovery for the betterment of humanity.

Charleston White’s Net Worth, House, and Lifestyle

Charleston White's Net Worth

Charleston makes a good amount of money from his online job. In addition, he started his clothing line. He has a website for his fashion store. Charleston White is estimated to have approximately $1.5 million net worth.

Facts You Should Know About Charleston White

Here are some essential facts about Charleston White;

  1. Charleston is nicknamed Baby Blu.
  2. He uses social media to advertise his clothing products.
  3. White has been a guest on numerous podcasts.
  4. He thanked the Texas prison system for saving his life, as reported by the Sun.
  5. He also volunteers as a chaplain at Welcome Back Tarrant County.
  6. He also volunteers at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
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Willie Gary Net Worth, Age, Biography, Career, Income, Family, Twitter

Willie E. Gary rose from a common sharecropper son to become one of America’s most popular and influential attorneys. Gary’s rise from poverty to $50 million in net worth is nothing short of inspiring. His tenacity and skills are matched by his extraordinary determination. The movie “The Burial”, starring Jamie Foxx, immortalizes his story as a testament to the American Dream.

Willie E. Gary: Who is he?

Willie Edward Gary was born on July 12, 1947 in Eastman, Georgia. He experienced hardships at a young age. Gary grew up with ten siblings in a sharecropper family. They faced many challenges and slept in tents at times because they did not have a permanent residence. Willie was determined to overcome his situation and earned a law diploma from North Carolina Central University School of Law.

Why is he known as “The Giant Killer?”

Gary’s nickname “The Giant Killer”, is more than just a clever moniker. It’s also a testament to his skill in the courtroom. Gary has won 150 settlements worth millions of dollars for his clients. The Law Firm of Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson, Gary & Gillespie, P.L.L.C., with over 30 attorneys, is synonymous with landmark verdicts.

What was the $500 million Judgement about?

Gary’s biggest accomplishment is his lawsuit against Loewen Group. This massive funeral home company. Gary obtained a $500 million verdict for a funeral home owner, Jeremiah Joseph O’Keefe. The Burial, the film that details Gary’s amazing victory, is based on this David vs. Goliath battle.

How Does Gary’s Contingency Lawsuit Model Work?

Gary’s firm operates on a contingent basis, which is a unique way to approach legal cases. The firm is only paid if it wins a case. Their cut could range between 30% and 50%, depending on the case. Gary’s confidence and commitment to his clients is reflected in this model.

What financial challenges has Gary faced?

Success is not without obstacles. Gary’s law firm relies on specialized financial companies, like LawFinance Group, to fund the high operational costs of contingency suits. Gary was faced with legal issues in 2012 when LawFinance filed a lawsuit against him for an alleged $10,000,000 high-interest loan.

In 2013, IberiaBank filed a lawsuit and seized $3.2 million in personal property from Gary’s mansion in Sewall Point. The bank claimed Gary and his spouse owed $3.3million in relation to three properties located in Fort Pierce, Florida. Gary is undeterred by these setbacks and remains a force in the legal field.

What is the impact of Willie E. Gary on popular culture?

Gary’s influence extends far beyond the courtroom. Gary has appeared on numerous talk shows, including “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” He was also named to “Ebony’s” “100 Most Important Black Americans” List for 2002. His incredible journey, filled with challenges and victories, is an inspiration to many and a shining example for perseverance and backbone.

Willie E. Gary is a living testament to the spirit of hard work and determination. His journey from the Georgia fields to the elite legal circles in Florida underscores his belief that passion and dedication can help one overcome the most impossible odds.

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Kailyn Lowry Net Worth, Age, Career, Family, Bio, Nationality and Personal Life

Kailyn Lowry is an American reality TV persona, a creator and a public speaker. She has become a household name and thought for many. She has overcome many challenges in her life and continues to inspire thousands of women around the world. This article explores her life, career and achievements.

What is Kailyn lowry?

Kailyn gained national recognition first as a cast member on MTV’s 16 and Pregnant, which featured the lives of teenage mothers. She continued her journey with the spinoff series “Teen Mom 2”, sharing the trials and tribulations she faced as a young mom. Her candor has made her a beacon for desire and advice to many.

What will Kailyn Lowry be worth in 2023?

Kailyn’s net worth in 2023 is estimated at $25,000. This may seem modest for a TV character but it’s important to remember that net worth includes assets and liabilities. Kailyn is still a mother and focuses on her children, advocacy work, and career despite the challenges.

What was Kailyn like in her early years?

Kailyn was born on March 14, 1992 in Honesdale Pennsylvania. Her early years were marred by hardships. She was a young girl who battled depression and anxiety. Her family environment was turbulent. She became pregnant with Isaac at the age of 17. Instead of giving up, she chose to use these demanding situations as motivation and earned her high college diploma or even attended Delaware State University briefly.

What about Kailyn and her family?

Kailyn has four children, Isaac, Lincoln and Lux. She has experienced first-hand all the trials and tribulations of motherhood as a young woman – whether co-parenting with another parent, being single parented herself, or simply loving and raising her own kids on her own. Her love and dedication towards raising them sets an excellent example for all parents everywhere.

Kailyn is proud of her heritage?

Kailyn is proud of her mixed race. She has addressed her challenges and prejudices as an African-American with Puerto Rican roots; but did not allow these to stop her from using her platform to promote diversity and inclusion.

What makes Kailyn a recognized figure in the US

Kailyn was born in Honesdale Pennsylvania but her influence is felt throughout the entire state. From “16 and Pregnant”, to “Teen Mom 2”, her journey has made her a unique figure. Kailyn has also written several works, including “Pride Over Pity”, “A Letter of Love”, and other reality TV shows.

What has Kailyn done with her platform beyond television?

Kailyn’s influence extends beyond reality television. She has written multiple books and spoken at numerous public speaking engagements on mental health, LGBTQ+ rights and women’s empowerment issues.

What are some of the notable achievements in Kailyn’s career?

Although Kailyn is yet to win any awards, the achievements of her large fan base are evident. Her advocacy work, her books’ inspiration, and her unwavering spirit in overcoming personal challenges are all testaments to her achievements.

Kailyn’s life is an example of resilience, determination and the ability to overcome adversity. She is a beacon for hope to many, from her struggles as a young mom to her advocacy of important societal issues. Kailyn’s journey continues to inspire, empower and remind us of our own strength.