Spotlight on: Merel Postema
Every other week, the Thematic DCCs and the Data Steward Interest Group (DSIG) put the spotlight on one research data steward working in the Netherlands to stimulate knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer learning.
What drew you towards the research data management field?
My interest in the data management field has gradually emerged. I did my PhD in neurogenetics, and a postdoc in neuropsychology. As a researcher, I was mostly focused on analyzing data and writing up the results in a paper. While data management tasks were also involved, it was not my main concern at the time. However, by experiencing the consequences of insufficient data management first-hand (e.g. looking for files, version confusion, or data inconsistencies), I have come to learn the value of it. Hence, when I decided to leave my career as a researcher, I knew exactly what I wanted to do: supporting researchers in their data management. My current position at Amsterdam UMC allows me to do this from two perspectives: as a data steward and as a research data management developer/consultant.
What is an activity/task of your role that you find yourself looking forward to?
I really enjoy helping researchers with their data management. It's fulfilling to assist them in overcoming challenges and ensuring their data is organized and usable, which ultimately supports research quality.
What is something unexpected that you can offer help with, if a colleague reaches out to you?
I have good knowledge of R programming, which I developed during my research career. While it's not a skill that researchers might typically expect from a data management supporter, I'm always happy to assist colleagues with R-related challenges or analyses if they need help.
What do you think your community of research data professionals is missing?
I believe visibility is something that could be improved in our community of research data professionals. While we do receive a good number of support requests, there may still be researchers who are unaware of how to find or access our services.
What is a topic you would want to collaborate on with others?
I believe collaborations are crucial, as they allow us to learn from each other and avoid reinventing the wheel. One topic I’d love to collaborate on is improving data standardization and thereby contributing to the principles of FAIRness.
Can you share with us a story from your work that was a highlight for you?
A small part of my job involves being a data manager for the TREAT-NL register, which is part of the international TREAT registry. In this role, I recently traveled to London to meet with international collaborators and discuss the future goal of mapping the TREAT-NL database to the OMOP Common Data Model.
Get in touch with Merel on LinkedIn
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