Hi all,

I am currently applying for biological science/medical research based phds. I graduated in 2010 with a mixed science degree and have been working as a research scientist in a small biotech since. I have a reference sorted from my company but cannot contact my old personal tutor (who i had the most contact with due to the mixed departments of my degree) as he has left the university. Most positions i see advertised recommend an academic reference.

I could contact my final year project supervisor but the project did not go well (2.2 mark but have a 2.1 degree grade) or I could contact my placement supervisor (but not an academic reference) or try and chase up my old tutor via the university's HR department (who was my personal tutor for all 4 years of my undergrad). Which of these would be the best option for my 2nd reference? Any advice would be most appreciated thanks!

I'd chase up your old personal tutor. Assuming s/he's still in academia, you might not need to contact HR - Google might do it.

Thanks for responding, that would be my ideal option but HR aren't getting back to me at all and Google is a dead end :(

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Maybe check your personal tutor's recent publications and see what his current institutional affiliations are?

Academics are rarely completely unGooglable if they're still active. Maybe try different combinations of relevant key words along with his name. Send me a DM if you want a hand.