Profile
Charlene Kay
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About Me:
Hello! My name is Charlene and I work in a breast cancer research lab. We study why some patients with breast cancer stop responding to their medication. I live in Edinburgh with my partner and our three kids, ages 7, 9 and 11. I enjoy reading, running, playing football and cycling.
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I am from Seattle, USA originally and came to Edinburgh in 2005 to study at the University of Edinburgh. I’ve stayed since then (apart from two years back in the United States) and feel like Scotland is my home. I really enjoy working in a lab and, more specifically, on breast cancer research. I would like to improve treatments for patients so those with breast cancer can live longer, happier lives.
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My pronouns are:
she/her
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My Work:
I work on breast cancer and study why some patients with breast cancer stop responding to their treatment. I am also doing my PhD and studying breast cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes.
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Most of my days are spent looking at breast cancer tissue. When a patient with breast cancer gets a biopsy or surgery to remove the cancer, some of the tissue is given to us in the lab to study. We can look at the cancer tissue under the microscope, or scan images of it onto a computer to get a closer look. We are able to see individual cancer cells and determine how much of the sample is cancer and how much is normal tissue.
Then, I do an experiment where I take out the DNA and RNA from the cancer tissue. We are currently looking closer at the DNA to see if we can find mutations in it that might explain why the patient didn’t respond well to their cancer treatment. If we can find mutations in the DNA that caused the patient to stop responding to their treatment then in the future we will be able to identify these patients and treat them with a different cancer therapy.
In my PhD work, I am studying certain genes in the RNA of breast cancer samples to try to find out why some patients respond better to treatment and some don’t.
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My Typical Day:
A typical day for me:
I wake up at about 6am, have breakfast with my family and walk my kids to school. Then, I take the bus, walk or cycle into work. A typical day for me means I am looking closer at breast cancer tissue in some way or another.
The breast cancer tissue comes to the lab in a wax block. Then, we slice it very thinly on what looks like a mini meat slicer. The tissue slice is then put onto a microscope slide and stained with some chemicals to see the individual cells better.
I take pictures of the slides with a scanner and look at them on a computer. I decide which samples are best to use. We want to use samples that have enough tumour (cancer) cells in them – if the tissue doesn’t have any cancer cells in it or has very few, we exclude it.
I then have a lunch break for a half hour or so. I usually bring my lunch and eat with friends from my research group and other groups that work alongside us.
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In the afternoon, I remove the DNA and RNA from the tissue slices that had enough tumour cells in them. This involves using a lot of small sample tubes, many different buffers (solutions) and pipettes, which are tools we use to process liquid samples. I then use a wee machine to measure how much DNA or RNA is in the sample.
We will sequence the DNA and RNA later to see if there are any changes or mutations that might be causing the patient to stop responding to their treatment.
I leave at about 4 or 5pm and take the bus, run or cycle home.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
If I win the prize money, I would like to welcome a group of primary or secondary students to the lab for a visit. I firmly believe you get a lot more from something if you can see it first-hand, so I would love to show some students around our lab and talk about what we do.
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Education:
I went to primary school, high school and university in America. In high school my favourite subjects were Biology and Chemistry and English. I went to Gonzaga University in Washington State and studied Biology. After completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, I came to Edinburgh to do a Master’s degree in Genetics and Cancer. It was a Research Master’s so almost all of the time was spent in a laboratory. I also just started a PhD, which I will complete whilst I continue to work as a Research Assistant part time.
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Qualifications:
The education system in the United States is pretty different to the U.K. however I got what would have been the equivalent of a 2:1 for my BSc degree at Gonzaga University. For my MSc from the University of Edinburgh I also got a 2:1. I am now currently working on my PhD, which I will finish in 2026.
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Work History:
I’ve had many different jobs! In junior high school (ages 12-14), I babysat. In high school, I worked at a burrito restaurant and the front desk at a gym. I also had a short stint working on a Christmas train, handing out teas and coffees and boxed lunches. I also volunteered (unpaid) once a week at a children’s hospital emergency room department.
In university, I worked at a bagel shop, a pizza restaurant, the law school front desk, and the university gym (making smoothies). In the summer breaks from uni I worked as an admin assistant at the Genetics Counselling department at the University of Washington.
After I moved to Edinburgh and finished my Master’s, I got a job as a Research Technician in a breast cancer research lab. I worked in two different groups as a technician, mostly studying breast and ovarian cancer, and then left to start a family. For 3 years I worked as a freelance writer and wrote copy for websites, many in the healthcare field. Then I joined my sisters’ content marketing company for the next 4 years and again, wrote for websites, social media and newsletters. Then, in 2019 I went back to the lab in my current position.
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Current Job:
I am a Research Assistant in a breast cancer research lab 1 day each week and the other days of the week I work on my PhD.
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Employer:
University of Edinburgh
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Breast cancer researcher
What did you want to be after you left school?
A scientist
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Yes - got caught skipping school in high school and had detention. Oops!
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Teacher at an outdoor school
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Zac Brown Band
What's your favourite food?
Pizza
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
I wish I could live until I am over 100, be healthy my whole life and that I could fly.
Tell us a joke.
Why did the girl bring a ladder to school? She wanted to get to high school.
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