Elevate ECR Series: Navigating Academic Systems Across Countries and Career Stages (52:19)

Series Description

The Elevate seminar series is co-led by Fatemeh Torabi and Elliot McClenaghan.

The Elevate seminar series, co-led by Fatemeh Torabi and Elliot McClenaghan and co-designed with early career researchers (ECRs), helps researchers develop the skills, insights and connections they need to thrive as independent researchers. Through a series of free events, Elevate explores what drives successful health data research collaborations—from building effective relationships and developing leadership skills to navigating career transitions and broadening professional networks.

Session Description

This seminar explores Dr Safoora Gharibzadeh’s compelling career journey – one shaped by international transition, resilience, and strategic reinvention.

Safoora is a medical statistician at the University of Leicester’s Real World Evidence Unit. Upon completing her PhD in biostatistics at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2016, she worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Pasteur Institute of Iran where her research focused on categorical and longitudinal data analysis. She is interested in modelling high-dimensional real-world data, such as CPRD, using causal inference and machine learning methods.

Safoora shares how she responded to these challenges and is actively building the experience, leadership, and research profile needed for progression, including pursuing an NIHR award and taking on Co-PI roles to strengthen her independence and impact. Her story speaks to the realities many researchers face: non linear careers, structural barriers, rejection, and the additional complexity of working across international systems.

Recorded on 19 Feb 2026