Graduate students at McGill come from all over the world. For Elliston, a PhD student in Microbiology originally from Mexico, his academic journey in Montréal started as a intern. As a research intern, Elliston completed a project at the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute. This led him to pursue an MSc in Microbiology but pivoting to Legionella pneumophilia research which he fast-tracked to start his PhD.
After focusing on cancer research for nearly three years, Elliston admitted that it was time for a change. Adding that “Cancer research is important. But I decided that there are other areas which interested me. My current work, under the supervision of , investigates Legionella pneumophilia in cooling tower systems. Essentially, we are trying to understand the microbiome interactions of this pathogen which is harmful to humans. I am doing fieldwork, studying it, searching for it, and seeing how to mitigate it or manage it.”
Like many graduate students, Elliston decided to become a Teaching Assistant. For him, it was back to basics with Biology 101 (AEBI 120: General Biology). Smiling, he recalls “It was funny to see how far I've come. My students were first-year, first semester undergrads. Being able to see the contrast between where I am right now and where I was five years ago. It was very nice being able to help them with any questions that they had and contribute to their learning. I mean learning is just what makes me happy.”
Beyond research and teaching opportunities, pursuing graduate studies can elicit a variety of emotions. Elliston recounts “It's difficult. It's tough. Sometimes it can be disappointing. But it is definitely a nice experience, and you’ll learn more.” Nevertheless, the reality of pursuing graduate studies has not dissuaded him. Experience, for better or worse, creates different opportunities. Elliston advises “If you like it, great! If you don't like it at the end, now you're able to say, ‘I don't like academia’, ‘I don't like researching X topic’, ‘I don’t have this specific skillset’, or ‘I had a bad experience and I don't want to go through it again’. But don't be afraid. Do it. It's good. You're not losing anything. You're going to get a degree and you'll be more qualified than before.”
Reflecting on his time at McGill so far and offering encouragement to those pursuing graduate studies, he concludes “Have different experiences. Discover what you don't want to do so you can start searching for what you really want to do with your life. You can always do less things. Nothing is set in stone, right? You can search again, and you can find something else. You want to do it? Give it a try. Do it. If you have the opportunity, why not?”