Sara Bartels

Hi everyone, in this episode my guest is Dr. Sara Bartels. She is a post-doctoral researcher at Karolinska Institute, Sweden. Her work focuses on the development, evaluation, and implementation of a digital behavioral health treatment for individuals with chronic pain. She is also currently a part of the HOMEDEM consortium which aims to support people with dementia and their caregivers using digital interventions. It was enjoyable to interview a researcher who appreciates all aspects of her job from designing and evaluating interventions to mentoring students.  If you're interested in specific parts, you can directly skip to them: 01:00 – How long have you been in academia? 01:55 – Before choosing research what were the other options you were considering? What drew you to research? 05:14 – Journey in research field: Digital interventions for individuals with chronic pain and dementia 06:20 – Digital interventions using Acceptance Commitment Therapy 09:26 – What research questions are you currently trying to answer?  HOMEDEM Consortium: supporting people with dementia and their caregivers using blended care 18:00 – Is there anyone that you look up to in academia? 20:07 – How is postdoc life different from PhD life? 23:10 – Typical day of a postdoc 24:30 – What do you most enjoy and find it challenging about your job? 25:40 – Learning from students 27:46 – A paper for people interested in complex interventions: A new framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions: update of Medical Research Council guidance 30:40 – Advice for PhD students: Being proactive