By Sneha Das

In this series, meet members of the University of Illinois’ Research Development Community. Gill Snyder is the senior director for research and core development at the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute.

1. What does your day-to-day look like?

One of the things I love about my job is that every day is so different, and it never gets boring! During my work week I typically focus on three things.

Firstly, what do my teams need from me? I have five different teams that report to me, and we meet bi-weekly. But we also go back and forth on Microsoft Teams a lot to chat about ideas, challenges and requests that come in. My No. 1 goal is to make these teams successful!

Secondly, what do the other leaders at IHSI need from me? We have a five-person leadership team that spans our entire institute, and we might chat as little as a few times a week, or multiple times a day, depending on what our priorities are.

Lastly, what does campus need from me? I have been lucky enough to have worked with so many units across campus, as well as sit on various committees, including the Research Development Community Membership Committee. The relationships that I have forged through these experiences have led to a tremendous amount of brainstorming and project development. I typically have at least one idea/project on the go with colleagues from across campus!

2. What do you enjoy about your current position?

The main goal I have set for myself in this current position is to make other people successful. Whether that is my staff, others at IHSI, or faculty and colleagues across campus. I enjoy the challenges that this brings and appreciate seeing when I have made an impact on someone’s time at Illinois, no matter how big or small that is.

3. What was your path to your current role on campus?

It has been a winding road for sure! I never imagined myself in this career, but now I can’t imagine doing anything else. During my first postdoc, I started to have doubts about becoming a faculty member; it seemed like I would have to sacrifice so much of my personal life for my career. I took a second postdoc, which brought me to Illinois, and used this time to decide. While I was interviewing for faculty positions, I was also talking with my PI and others about alternative opportunities.

RD wasn’t really a thing at Illinois at that time, and while I knew that I wanted to stay in academia, I wasn’t sure how to make it work. An opportunity then came up for a 50% senior postdoc role for a large multi-PI, multi-year project. Instead of doing the research and analysis, I was helping to oversee the administration and operations of the grant. This was a game changer for me; I grew more confident in my decision to stop applying for faculty positions and instead started to look for something that was in a support role instead.

About a year later I started at the IHSI, and I haven’t looked back! First, as a research development professional supporting the neuroscience community, before becoming a leader overseeing five research cores. I’m grateful that the campus has really embraced RD and look forward to seeing where we take this!

4. Are there particular experiences or mentors that shaped your career?

I consider myself fortunate to have had several mentors that have helped shape my career and am lucky enough to continue my relationship with them even after they left Illinois. Most recently, my current mentor has said something to me that has really helped shape how I think about and approach my career moving into 2023 and beyond. It is a long game – read that again – it is a long game.

I have often felt that I need to accept every opportunity, apply for every new position that might help me move up in my career, but there is something to be said for slowing down, taking time to really settle into a role, and soaking up everything that you can before moving onto your next position.

5. What are your interests and hobbies? Tell us a little bit about yourself outside of your position!

I love to read, mostly crime/thrillers, and have a very long list of books on my wish list at my local library. In the last year I have also really gotten into podcasts, I find hearing people’s stories captivating. Travel is also high on my list; I only wish I got to do it more.

Finally, advocacy and I am part of a support group for those who have experienced miscarriage, still birth or infant loss. I can’t imagine a more worthwhile way to spend my time than walking beside someone as they experience this kind of loss.