GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 38 - July 2017

GPWA Affiliate Interview Series You used to be a scientist; what kind of scientific work did you do before be- coming an affiliate? How have the skills you developed a scientist helped you in iGaming? I studied for a master’s degree in immunology – the study of the immune system – back in 2006 at Imperial College in London. This is where I met baldidiot (GPWAusername).At the time, baldidiotwas just getting into iGaming affiliatemarketing while studying for hisM.Sc. in immunology. Chasing my dream to be a scientific re- searcher, I continued my studies, complet- ing a Ph.D. in immunology. My research considered techniques of how to train im- mune cells to detect and destroy cancers, and for the first year of my Ph.D., I lived with baldidiot in a flat share. The following year we went our sepa- rate ways, but we stayed good friends. In 2011, I completed my Ph.D., becoming a doctor of immunology, and this led to my first post-doctoral position as a research fellow at world-leading London Univer- sity, where I led research projects into the immunology of vaccination in the U.K. and west Africa. Although I found the work fascinating and hugely rewarding, after a few years I began to become despondent. The world of academic science is heavily political, and frankly, it is an old boys’ club. I found myself spending less time in the lab, plan- ning experiments and teaching – the things I enjoyed – and more time “networking” my way to the top. The whole system of academia is based around who you know, not what you know – and, unfortunately, as science is based on convincing others to give you funding, this means the best ideas do not always get the recognition they deserve. I don’t believe this is a good foundation for science. I respect the fact that all industries are political to a degree, but I feel science, especially publicly and charity-funded science, should be more of a meritocracy. For the first time in my life I was lost. All I had everwanted to dowas become a research doctor and testmy own ideas. I achieved this, perhaps too early in life, and once the realism of working as an academic scientist set in I wanted to leave, but I had no ideawhat to do. I went to see some recruitment consultants and they all gave me the wrong answers, telling me I should retrain as an investment banker or a lawyer. Following my studies, I had avoided going into industries such as banking and consultancy, as many of my This research scientist turned his love of sports betting into a second career Matthew - Mattbar Matthew with John Barnes at the Europartners stand at LAC 2016. 50 w w w . g p w a t i m e s . o r g