Interview with Matteo: An Italian postdoc in New York

by Matteo Tardelli and PostdocInUSA

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Matteo Tardelli

Postdoctoral Researcher

Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City, USA

Experience Timeline

  • 2013 - 2017

    Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Endocrinology and Metabolism

    Medical University of Vienna, Austria

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  • Postdoctoral Researcher

    Medical University of Vienna, Austria

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    2017 - 2019

  • 2019 - Present

    Postdoctoral Associate

    Weill Cornell Medicine, USA

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Table of Content

1 – Tell us about yourself

2 – How long have you been in USA?

3 – Why did you decide to move to USA for your postdoc?

4 – What difficulties (if any) have you encountered when moving to USA (Visa, Housing…)?

5 – Was it hard to get a visa?

6 – Where are you living now?

7 – How did you find the transition to living in USA?

8 – Did you experience any culture shock?

9 – Was it easy meeting new people / making friends?

10 – What do you enjoy most about living in USA?

11 – What do you enjoy least about living in USA?

12 – What is the most striking experience or best moment you have had in USA so far?

13 – How did you pick your postdoc research laboratory?

14 – How would you describe the work culture/environment in research labs in USA? Is it different from your home country or others you had experience in?

15 – How does research in USA compare to your home country or other experiences you may have from other countries?

16 – What do you miss the most from your home country or last country you lived in?

17 – What custom/habits do you find most surprising about USA?

18 – Has anything funny happened to you due to cultural differences?

19 – What are the biggest differences between everyday life in your home country and USA?

20 – Tell us about anything in USA that you wished exist/be more implemented in your home country, and vice versa?

21 – Are there any stereotypes/cliché you may have heard about your home country?

22 – What advice/tips would you give to international PhD students thinking to move to USA for a postdoc?

23 – Is there something that you wish you’d known before moving to USA?

24 – How beneficial you think a postdoc in USA is for your career?

25 – What are your future plans?

Interview – Questions and Answers

1 – Tell us about yourself

I am Matteo, a Post-doctoral fellow originally from Italy.

After my graduation from the University of Florence, I moved to London to work in the Royal Family’s Pharmacy John Bell & Croyden.

After 2 years there, I decided to pursue a PhD in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. I studied adipose tissue inflammation and immunity in clinical and pre-clinical obese models.

Afterwards I moved to a Gastroenterology lab within the Medical University of Vienna and studied the impact of Monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL) in cholestatic liver disease and NAFLD.

I relocated 1 year ago to NYC and started working at Weill Cornell Medicine for my second Postdoc in Metabolism and Liver disease.

Moving to USA

2 – How long have you been in USA?

1 year

3 – Why did you decide to move to USA for your postdoc?

After my first Postdoc in Austria, I felt I wanted to expand my technical knowledge and was keen on working with some of the top names in my field. Moreover, I was also looking for a personal change after about 5 years spent in the same country and university (Austria, ndlr).

4 – What difficulties (if any) have you encountered when moving to USA (Visa, Housing…)?

Housing was difficult to get as I did not want to live in the options offered by the University, as a personal choice. Why? Because I wanted to experience and embrace the real life in NYC, and not just living in an academic bubble where for example I’d meet my colleagues on the elevators etc.

Outside market is rather wild and fast, and getting an apartment is not easy if you are not connected and/or integrated in the local credit system (need to build a solid credit score first, but in order to do that you need to be eligible for a credit card, which is not always easy).

I’d recommend for incoming Postdocs to look into Queens, especially Long Island City (as an easy commute alternative to Weill Cornell), or into Greenpoint but just if you are into cycling! 😉

5 – Was it hard to get a visa?

No, I received a J1 visa prior moving here, and I had that renewed after the 1st year for additional 2 years. This is normally the case for everyone and it’s rather seamless procedure.

 
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6 – Where are you living now?

I am living in New York City (NYC).

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US States
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New York City

The most famous and populous city in the United States, with 8.5 million residents.

New York City is composed of five boroughs:

Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island

Living in USA

7 – How did you find the transition to living in USA?

Quite interesting, lifestyle is completely different in comparison to European (EU) countries (where/how people meet and live, how they buy/consume..), life is overall fast paced and expensive.

I find that in Vienna for instance, there is less pressure to perform overall – i.e. colleagues are always taking short Fridays (leaving work at 2 pm), labmeetings and therefore data presentations are not as frequent as here in the US.

8 – Did you experience any culture shock?

No, however it was hard to get used to the city at the beginning. For instance, trying to figure out some basic life questions: where to go shopping, how to commute, which area to live in etc. And overall being the city so much bigger and faster than Vienna, it took me some time to adapt.

6th Avenue - Manhattan - New York City

6th Avenue – Manhattan – New York City

9 – Was it easy meeting new people / making friends?

Yes, it was relatively easy to make friends as I got involved in many extracurricular activities such as sports or volunteering – through that I got to know new people also outside work.

10 – What do you enjoy most about living in USA?

The city itself, which is full of interesting events and people. The hustle and bustle culture of things happening anytime and everywhere that is extremely inspiring. In my case for instance, those aspects forced me to venture out of my comfort zone and embrace further social activities and volunteering that I would never think I would ever do just 1 year ago.

11 – What do you enjoy least about living in USA?

Apartments, rents, prices, transportation.

12 – What is the most striking experience or best moment you have had in USA so far?

Exploring this incredible and iconic city and feel like I am in a movie each time I venture outside.

New York City - Manhattan

Manhattan, New York City

Working as a postdoc in USA

13 – How did you pick your postdoc research laboratory?

As I was eager to work with famous names in the field, I was keeping my eyes open to make my move into another lab; as my actual boss came to our university for a talk, I decided to approach him first there and followed up with an email months later. I picked up his lab based on his works and interesting topic that he partially covered during his presentation.

14 – How would you describe the work culture/environment in research labs in USA? Is it different from your home country or others you had experience in?

Yes absolutely. Science is done very well here in the US, everyone is more serious about it and there’s no waste of time – hypothesis always need to be strong and validated before running a test/experiment.

15 – How does research in USA compare to your home country or other experiences you may have from other countries?

I am solely responsible for my project, taking care of all bits and pieces, meaning that I have a lot of bench work to do and little help on everyday lab techniques, so I perform animal studies, cell culture and molecular biology techniques exclusively by myself. This is good and bad of course as I used to have research technicians helping me out back in Europe.

Cultural differences between USA – Home country

16 – What do you miss the most from your home country or last country you lived in?

The work life balance such as short Fridays, plenty of bank holidays and being close to home. Also the seamless bureaucracy, i.e. the fact that I do not need a particular VISA to look into other career opportunities and the tax system that is although complex a bit more transparent.

17 – What custom/habits do you find most surprising about USA?

The fact that everyone is always working with scarce holidays and that’s completely normal for them. Working hours are pretty much the same (average day ranges from 8 to 10h max), and we do not work on weekends, unless there’s some special experiment to be performed.

18 – Has anything funny happened to you due to cultural differences?

Some funny stuff pretty much happens on an everyday basis, due to the fact that I don’t know how things are working around me. For instance, the other day I had to get help to inflate my bikes inner tube as I did not know how to operate a basic pressure pump. Or simply whenever I step into a supposedly Italian restaurant and everything look so weird to me and basically not reflecting at all what authentic Italian food is.

Do you know that Alfredo sauce is very famous here and it is never heard of in Italy?

19 – What are the biggest differences between everyday life in your home country and USA?

The amount of time I spend at work and time that’s left for other activities such as hobbies etc. I used to play the drums before, now with lack of time and space, I cannot anymore.

20 – Tell us about anything in USA that you wished exist/be more implemented in your home country, and vice versa?

A better work-life balance, a cheaper everyday life and better living situations here in the USA.

I’d like to see a better work culture back home, with more respect and professionalism towards scientists.

21 – Are there any stereotypes/cliché you may have heard about your home country?

Yes of course! Everything about good kitchen and bella vita!

Tips to future postdocs in USA

22 – What advice/tips would you give to international PhD students thinking to move to USA for a postdoc?

It is a great experience, and I highly recommend it. I would not extend it for too long if you do not have a clear idea of staying in academia but this applies to any other country really!

23 – Is there something that you wish you’d known before moving to USA?

  • The VISA situation that does not allow to change jobs in a flexible way.
  • The tax system which is complicated and hard to grasp.
  • The expensive housing market, I would have probably negotiated my salary a tiny bit.

24 – How beneficial you think a postdoc in USA is for your career?

Very beneficial, I believe I am learning very much especially in regards of the way of working and thinking in the USA which is completely different to my previous experience.

Collaborations are seamless and everyone is very much up for helping out, and this translates many times in successful outputs such as grant funding or high impact factor publications.

25 – What are your future plans?

Transition into industry roles once back in Europe.

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