Transcript Document

Walk of life*
Sir Michael Brady FRS FREng FMedSci
Professor of Oncological Imaging
Department of Oncology
University of Oxford
*You do the walk, the walk of life
Mark Knopfler
Outline
1. Who I am
2. Walk of Life
9 policies I have adopted
3. The opportunity afforded by Athena Swan
“Retired”
Deputy Chairman, 1994-present
Co-Director Oxford Cancer Imaging Centre
50% Prof Oncological Imaging, Oncology
Founder & Chairman:
1992-now
Chairman
Founder, Director
1999-2003; 2008-now
Chairman
2013-now
Founder, Director:
2008-now
Chairman
Former companies for which I was a Director
Chairman
1. Identify a major goal
Formulate a 5-10 year plan to attack a major goal
Don’t be a perennial puzzle solver, generating a
string of incremental advances, published at minor
conferences, and which are instantly forgotten
Ask yourself: “10 years from now, what will be the
foo* effect, the foo process, ….?”
Be bold, think long term, and then start putting the
pieces together
Theory-only advances are admired for a while; many practical advances lack
theoretical foundations**
Aim to solve an important practical problem based on a sound theoretical base
*you are foo, if you see what I mean…
**i.e. they are hacks
2. Be patient – a case study
• 1989-93: a bold idea that challenged the orthodoxy (a physics model of
mammogram formation)
 Avoid puzzle-solving incremental-step research. Identify an important problem and use it
to make your name
The need for quantitative analysis in mammography
0.4cm
Intensity 3401
SMF 4.3cm
0.4cm
Intensity 1728
SMF 4.3cm
Two of the UK’s most experienced
breast radiologists each examined the
two mammograms shown, to estimate
the percentage of dense tissue – a key
risk factor for breast cancer.
A (left) estimated L – 50%, R – 25%
B (right) estimated L – 35%, R – 40%
In fact, the two mammograms are of the same breast; but the pair shown left was
exposed for twice as long as the right. The two numbers 25, 40 should be the same!
Image intensity relates to anatomy in a very complex way, making quantitative
image analysis a hard problem.
During the 1990s, with Ralph Highnam, I invented a solution to this problem: SMF –
developed an algorithm based on modelling the physics of image acquisition to give
a quantitative representation of the image – assigning to each pixel x the amount
of non-fat tissue SMF(x) at that pixel location.
* SMF = Standard Mammogram Form
We needed a bit of physics....
Radiation incident on
upper plate
Radiation incident
upon upper surface
of breast
Output of a typical
mammography x-ray
tube
Radiation incident on
upper plate is
Radiation exiting the
breast

plate 
E
(r )   (Vt , r ) Ap t s
 max
rel
N
 0 (Vt ,  )d
0
Image to quantitative measurement
Imaging
Physics
2cm, fibroglandular
4cm, fat
Volumetric Breast Density 
cm
Volume of "interesting" tissue
Volume of the breast
2. Be patient – a case study
• 1989-93: a bold idea that challenged the orthodoxy (a physics model of
mammogram formation)
 Avoid puzzle-solving incremental-step research. Identify an important problem and use it
to make your name
• 1993-6: it was too much for peer review
 New kid trampling on their territory. I took a chance on another grant…
 My experience is that peer review generally favours incremental advances, despite the
encouragement of the research councils. Make your proposal a judicious mix of solid
technical stuff and the bold stuff that you really want to do
• (1985-now) Research Council support & encouragement
 They are friendly, supportive, and incredibly helpful; don’t be afraid to ask
 Being awarded a Senior Research Fellowship was career changing for me – and scarey
• It took 8 years for our stuff to be accepted by the academic community
(2000), and 12-15 (2005) by industry (book in 1999)
 This is normal on both counts. Unfortunately, academics are intrinsically conservative;
happily, so is industry – it has to deliver systems that work every time, all the time….
3. Build partnerships that last
A flow of
people, ideas,
and
intellectual
property
Clinical
collaborators
Research
Industry
Engineers have a key role to
play in this process: we
understand applications and
science-based applied work,
and project work makes us
ready collaborators
Custodians of
the problem:
evaluation that
is positive &
negative
Companies, not universities, sell
systems
Quality systems & regulatory
Need ideas, people, and customers
Face challenges that limit
effectiveness of products
4. Building a group
• Often you don’t need a lot to get started: believe in yourself and just do it!
• It’s much easier if you start “within” an already established group
– Infrastructure is in place, and it is generally infrastructure/set-up that often costs the big
money
– The group doesn’t have to be in this Department, or Oxford University: the internet is a
powerful engine
– However, reporting to a supervisor who does not encourage initiative is a bad place to be
– Students cost a tiny fraction of a postdoc; but they do different things….
• The research councils are (still) supportive of early career researchers




There’s a bewildering set of funding sources: be mentored
On the other hand, most universities are broke (or claim to be)
It’s easier to get industrial funding once you have track record
The best way to get to industry is by the recommendation of a colleague who is already
working with that company
• Maximise your efficiency
 Spread your funding, and if you are spending too much time writing proposals, hire
someone to do it for you
 Remember the history of Lancashire ….
5. Re-invent yourself every 7-8 years
My contribution
The next
phase of
life!!
Becoming
interested;
framing the
problem;
learning what
has been
done, and
what has not.
What can I
contribute?
Beginning to
contribute;
conference
papers; lots of
rejections; the
first journal
article (in a
reasonable
journal)
La dolce vita!! Period of
maximum contribution
to the subject. Work
submitted to REF/Noble
Prize committee;
grants, journal articles,
promotions, prizes,
television interviews,
keynote lectures, …
and a head of
Department who smiles
Either restless
mind takes you
elsewhere or
genuinely original
thoughts are
fewer. Slowing
down. Time to
hand the
problems to
graduate
students, and…
time
My latest re-inventions
• Reinvention 5 (1995-2003) Medical Image Analysis (cancer)
• Reinvention 6 (2003-2010) Molecular imaging of cancer
• Reinvention 7 (2010) “retired”
• Reinvention 8 (2012 – now) Prof of Oncological Imaging
6. Graduate Students
• 115 graduated to date
• Why else would I work in
Oxford?
• Sir Humphrey Davy was
asked “what was your
greatest scientific discovery?”
Graduate students need to be developed
to be better than you are. They are not
cheap labour to help build your career.
Answer:
Michael Faraday
7. Get a mentor
•
•
•
•
Everybody needs advice, support, encouragement
To seek it is a sign of strength, not weakness
You need your mentor at the bad times, not the good
Your mentor should not be your “line manager”
– He/she may be the problem, not the solution
• Don’t just accept an assigned mentor – figure out who
you are comfortable talking to & who might,
occasionally, talk sense
• It doesn’t have to be same sex…
8.
∫ or
?
• Royal Academy of Engineering

contrib(t )dt
career
.. Go to a zillion conferences
.. Doesn’t really matter which
• Royal Society
n2
•
•
•
•
•
.. Stay in the Lab and think
.. Avoid almost all conferences!
What is needed to be appointed to an academic post?
What is needed to be promoted?
What is needed for REF?
Does the optimal strategy change throughout your career?
…
Play the game to maximise your impact, subject to constraints, primarily time
9. Identify your own personal driver
Publishing papers and books is satisfying; but... our
aim has been that the results of our research are used
daily by thousands of people
Science that addresses
fundamental problems of a well
defined practical problem:
• our systems are used by
nonexperts
• have to work 24/7, 365, 99.9%
Universities don’t (and should not) build
systems within quality processes, sell, or
maintain systems
License technology
Everyone at a conference hopes their work will
contribute “eventually” to eng practice/science
Reality
Industry doesn’t download freeware software
systems and use them for routine use
Companies very rarely pick up a published
paper, implement it, & sell it
Start new companies
Why start companies?
1.
Frustration of dealing with large companies, particularly in medical
image analysis, and particularly in the UK
–
99% of Mirada’s sales are in the USA, as are Matakina’s
2. I can’t help it (Guidance, Mirada Solutions, Mirada Medical,
Matakina, ...)
3. Secure the kids’ futures yet live with academic poverty
4.
The dream of a swimming pool in Provence …
… but remember that life is a zero-sum game
– any time you spend on companies is life
that is not spent on your research OR –
much worse – not spent with your friends &
family
Personalized Screening With Volpara
Breast
ultrasound
+
Woman has a
mammo
Volpara breast
density score
immediately
available
Woman can decide
on supplementary
screening before
she leaves clinic.
• Screening with ultrasound in dense breasts doubles cancer
detection.
• Volpara allows a 8x increase in up-take of women receiving this
potentially life-saving by being objective and providing the score
to the woman in a convenient fashion.
• Volpara allows the clinic to claim the image is justified, a key new
feature of the US radiology market.
Breast
MRI
Quantifying disease/therapy progression
7 time-point PET/CT of the same patient
RSNA: Radiological Society of
North America
70,000 delegates
Prof as salesperson: 2001,
2002, ... 2009, 2010, 2011,
2012
No way, Haephaestus..
The following draws heavily on work that we have been doing at Oxford
Instruments plc
Key barriers for women's progression to senior
roles
•
•
•
Lack of visible senior female role models
Lack of senior leadership knowledge, skills, focus on the career
development of talented women
Lack of experience in navigating organisational power and politics
traditionally built on ‘male’ gender norms
Sources: Catalyst (USA) Cranfield (UK) & Brook Graham Ltd (UK)
Women in FTSE 100
4* Female
CEOs in FTSE
100 and 1
Female Chair
2
(Angela Ahrendts – Burberry)
(Alison Cooper – Imperial
Tobacco)
6.4% of FTSE 100
Exec Directors
21.6% of FTSE 100 NEDs
c.20 – 25% of senior managers
c. 35 – 45 % of middle managers
Typically (depends on sector) 30% – 60% graduate entry
EU/Finnish women on Boards
Women on Boards: Commission
proposes 40% objective
Date: 14/11/2012 Today the European Commission has taken action to break the glass ceiling that
continues to bar female talent from top positions in Europe’s biggest companies.
The Commission has proposed legislation with the aim of attaining a 40%
objective of the under-represented sex in non-executive board-member positions
in publicly listed companies, with the exception of small and medium enterprises.
Currently, boards are dominated by one gender: 85% of non-executive board
members and 91.1% of executive board members are men, while women make
up 15% and 8.9% respectively.
Women now account for 22 per cent of listed companies’ board members in
Finland, compared with last year’s figure of 18 per cent. In 2008 it was 12 per
cent and in 2003 only 7 per cent.
However, the number of different women on Boards is very much smaller than
these figures suggest … many of the women are on 5+ Boards … and have
given up their executive function to serve on these Boards
In Oxford, each electoral board is supposed to have a woman member. As a result, in
MPLS, women faculty are asked to serve on vastly more boards than male colleagues.
An idea for inclusion that all too easily becomes tokenism and a source of resentment..
Key barriers for women's progression to senior
roles
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lack of visible senior female role models
Lack of senior leadership knowledge, skills, focus on the career
development of talented women
Lack of experience in navigating organisational power and politics
traditionally built on ‘male’ gender norms
An organisational culture (unconsciously built on ‘male cultural’
norms), which can be inadvertently hostile to women e.g. ‘Double
Bind’ expectations of women at the top: ‘Be Tough, Be Nice’
Lack of networking , through exclusion and ‘head down, focus on the
day job’, leading to...
Less visibility/exposure to senior decision-makers and therefore lack
of (all-important) mentorship and sponsorship
Sources: Catalyst (USA) Cranfield (UK) & Brook Graham Ltd (UK)
Descriptive words: stereotyping
… from the packaging of toys aimed at boys
Descriptive words: stereotyping
… from the packaging of toys aimed at girls
Gender Culture Some Key ‘Typical’ Differences
Childhood Lessons and Experience
•Relating to others
•Relate through ‘flat structures’
•Power even/shared , collaboration/involvement,
narrow band of ‘appropriate’
assertive/aggressive behaviour
•Games and Play
•More 1 to 1 and small group play
•Process focus, maintain relationship
•‘Attacking’ not part of the ‘game’ (and behaviour
admonished)
•Less exposure to win/lose
•Caution, risk and showing emotion
•Encouraged to ‘be careful’/ ‘take care’
•Showing emotion ok
•Relating to others
•Relate through hierarchies
•Power unequal, ‘command and control’, broad
range of ‘appropriate’ assertive/aggressive
behaviour
•Games and Play
•More ‘team’ and large group play
•Goal focus, build place in hierarchy
•‘Attacking’ part of the game; Rules understood
(and behaviour admired?)
•More practice at win/lose
•Caution, risk and showing emotion
•Wider range of ‘risk taking’ encouraged
•‘Stand up for yourself’ ‘Big boys don’t cry’
Gender Culture Some Key ‘Typical’ Differences
Potential Translation to Behaviours as Adults in Work/Careers
•Leadership
•Less experience of/comfort with ‘unwritten rules’ of operating
in hierarchies.
•‘Losing’ and ‘attacks’ taken more personally
•Self-advocacy/self-promotion
•Seek promotion only when ‘fully ready/meeting spec’. (And
‘go into confessional’)
•Success: point outwards to team/circumstances/luck
•Failure: point inwards
•Language
•Longer sentences, use of disclaimers and tag questions
•‘Take turns’, share air-time in meetings
•Talk through process first, then bottom-line
•Facial/Body Language
•Show more emotion
•Attuned to others’ facial language
•‘Face work’
•More face to face when speaking
•Nod to indicate listening, as well as agreement
•Multiple
•Multi-tasking
•Leadership
•Smooth transition to operating in work hierarchies.
•More ‘command/control’ in leadership style
•Broader tolerance of assertive/aggressive behaviours (by
both women and men)
•‘Attacking’ ‘normal’ /not taken personally
•Self-advocacy/self-promotion
•‘Take a risk’ on promotional opportunities (and focus on the
positives)
•Success: point inwards
•Failure: point outwards to others/circumstances/nature of task
•Language
•More declamatory, shorter sentences
•Speak at length in meetings and talk-over/interrupt
•Bottom-line first, then ‘back fill’ process
•Facial/Body Language
•Mask emotion
•Less able to ‘read’ facial language
•Shoulder to shoulder when speaking
•Nod to indicate agreement
•Linear
Key barriers for women's progression to senior
roles
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lack of visible senior female role models
Lack of senior leadership knowledge, skills, focus on the career
development of talented women
Lack of experience in navigating organisational power and politics
traditionally built on ‘male’ gender norms
An organisational culture (unconsciously built on ‘male cultural’
norms), which can be inadvertently hostile to women e.g. ‘Double
Bind’ expectations of women at the top: ‘Be Tough, Be Nice’
Lack of networking , through exclusion and ‘head down, focus on the
day job’, leading to...
Less visibility/exposure to senior decision-makers and therefore lack
of (all-important) mentorship and sponsorship
Having greater share of caring/family responsibilities in most
countries
Sources: Catalyst (USA) Cranfield (UK) & Brook Graham Ltd (UK)
What should we do
What
we are doing at Oxford Instruments plc
Building
blocks
Awareness and Engagement
Hardwiring Accountability
• Vision and business case
• Analysis: quantitative & qualitative
• Top team commitment
- head, heart & hands
• Training: bias, gender as culture
• Communication
•
•
•
•
Career Management &
Navigation – awareness,
strategies & skills
• Career development / ‘navigation’
programmes (drivers , power,
politics, visibility, impact, ‘team you’
etc)
• Mentoring and sponsorship
• Networking
D&I policies
Targets & KPIs
Business action plans
Scorecards: measurement &
reward
Talent Management Processes
•
•
•
•
•
Attraction & recruitment
Leadership development
Identification of high potentials
Performance management
Talent pool review & succession
plans