Profile
Barak Gilboa
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About Me:
I live and work in Oxford.
I’m an imaging expert by day and an avid parent of two children ages 7 and 9 the rest of the time.
I love travelling, hiking and meeting new people and new cultures.
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Read more
I was born in Kibutz Beit Hashita (pop. 1200 at the time) in Israel, 20 km away from the Jordan river.
A Kibutz is a unique combination of direct democracy and a communist society, where important decisions are made by voting by members of the Kibutz, while wages are determined communally based solely on needs.
I studied Physics as an undergrad in the Technion – Israel’s institute of Technology in Haifa, followed by Master’s and PhD in biophysics in Ben Gurion University in the south of Israel.
My research involved using lasers to hold and manipulate tiny glass beads (~ 100 times smaller than the width of human hair) that had proteins attached to, in order to try and understand how the proteins that make muscles work together. This technique is known as optical tweezers and won Arthur Ashkin the Nobel prize in physics in 2018.
I continued to several post doctoral positions using different techniques in optical microscopy to manipulate cells and improve our ability to see those.
I then moved with my family to Oxford to do a postdoctoral research in studying how the process of transcription, Where DNA is translated into messenger RNA, is working on the molecular level.
I really like travelling and have visited many countries across the world covering 5 continents. Some of which include: Australia and New Zeland, The Galapagos, Peru, Nepal, Thailand, France, Czech Republic, Italy and the US among others.
I enjoy exploring different geographies and cultures than my own, and hiking in beautiful
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My pronouns are:
he/him
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My Work:
In my work I help other scientists understand biological processes and the effects of manipulating specific genes using an optical microscope, mostly through the use of fluorescent stains, which emit light at one colour when illuminated by another, e.g. by emitting green light when illuminated by blue light.
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My Typical Day:
In a typical day I wake up in the morning, make breakfast for my kids, eat breakfast myself and arrive at the office around 9. I go through my mails and then meet with scientists to either plan future experiments or analyse results. I have my lunch around 12 where I catch up with my colleagues about their day, and then will attend to either analysing images from previous experiments or image samples in the microscope. I go home around 5-6 pm.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I will spend the money to get some models of the cells and diseases we deal with in Novo Nordisk so I can better explain why what we do is important.
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Education:
Primary school – Beit Hashita, Israel
secondary school- Beit Hashits, Israel
high school- Ironi 5, Haifa, Israel
BA in Physics, Technion, Haifa, Israel
MA and PhD, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
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Qualifications:
GCSE equivalent
A levels equivalent in Physics, Chemistry, English (as 2nd language), Maths.
BA in Physics
MA in biophysics
PhD in biophysics
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Work History:
Teen jobs- Gardening, farming (attending to weeds, picking grapefruits and water mellons).
age 17-18- Working at a dairy factory.
age 19-22 Army service, Paratroopers division.
age 22-23 security guard, Haifa sea port
2013-2016 postdoctoral researcher, Tel Aviv University
2016-2020 postdoctoral researcher, University of Oxford
2020-present imaging specialist NNRCO, Oxford.
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Employer:
Novo Nordisk
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
human cells examiner
What did you want to be after you left school?
I was not sure!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
one time in primary school where I took a doughnut for Hanukah when I wasn't allowed.
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
It would have been cool to be a linguist or maybe an ant researcher, but I can't see myself without science in my life.
Who is your favourite singer or band?
tough question! Besides Israeli artists I would probably go with Queen.
What's your favourite food?
I enjoy lots of different foods really! If you twist my arm then maybe Plov, which is a dish of mutton, beef, rice and carrots in slow cooking.
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
for me and my family to stay healthy, to not worry about money (which is different to just being rich!), and to be happy with what I have
Tell us a joke.
They have just found the gene for shyness. They would have found it earlier, but it was hiding behind two other genes
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