Spotlight on: Jodi Clyde-Smith

Q&A with Jodi Clyde-Smith, IMB Deputy Director (Operations & Strategy)

How long have you been with IMB?

I’ve been with the IMB now for just on 18 months.
 

What does a typical day look like for you and what are you currently working on?

A typical day starts in the early morning with catching up on emails and doing some of my “real job”. I then get to work, do a bunch of meetings, put out fires, do a bunch of University stuff and a bunch of IMB stuff and then I get to go home.
 

If you could switch jobs with someone at IMB, who would it be?

Goodness… I’ve always thought it could be fun to be one of the workshop team. I reckon I’d probably do a lot of damage but it could be fun to tinker for a bit.
 

What aspects of your role do you enjoy the most?

Problem-solving, navigating, making things better.
 

Tell us about some of your talents and interests outside of work? 

I have no talents and a lot of interests. I play the flute, go to the gym, run, spend a lot of time in the garden, sew and play with my kids. That entails cricket, trampoline, swimming, cycling, soccer, hockey, lego, paint and hide-and-seek. 

What can’t you live without?

Wine. 
Air-conditioning in summer.

How did you get started in your area of work?

Bit of a deliberate choice really… love the ethos of research and hate doing it so wanted to find something that gave me the opportunity to help it happen. So did my PhD and then came across to the dark side of administration and management. I worked in coordination and management roles with Maree Smith in in vivo chronic pain research, in clinical trials in Leeds (UK), then to the University of Sheffield then Cambridge University and then back to Australia where I’ve worked in various research management positions at UQ and UTAS. And now here!

Tell us something about yourself that may surprise us

I’m a circus trainer.