Profile

When I’m not at work I love to go exploring with Bilbo and discover new places. I enjoy travelling and want to see as many new places as I can, and eat as much new food as possible.

I also live to spend time at home having lazy days, especially playing on my Xbox or watching movies. I love all things Star Wars and even have a themed fish tank with an AT-AT for my fish to live in.

I have recently discovered a love for scuba diving and think it is like being in a giant fish tank, I have seen some amazing fish and even swam with barracuda.

My favourite thing is being around animals and every weekend I volunteer at a dog rescue. I get to meet and play with loads of cute dogs and take them for long walks in the woods. I find this really relaxing and a good break from my work.

I’ve also volunteered at an exotic pet refuge center where we helped animals such as skunks, monkeys, otters and even a wallaby called Ned (He loved to eat broccoli!).

I am a PhD student working in the lab and my research is focused on developing broad-spectrum antivirals from natural extracts. Natural products have been used in medicines for thousands of years and are a great source of antiviral compounds.

I work mainly with coronaviruses but also other viruses. Two of the coronaviruses I work on cause the common cold! I am trying to develop drugs that will work against more than one virus type to help prevent pandemics.

In the lab I have learnt a lot of new techniques and I am always trying new things – its very interesting. I do a wide range of things working with cells, viruses, bacteria and even some chemistry. Even though viruses are so tiny there are microscopes which are powerful for use to see them which I find really exciting.  I’m using these to see if my antivirals change the structure of the viruses.

One of the things I most enjoy about my work is mentoring and helping students in the lab. I love to encourage people who are interested in science and help them do experiments and grow their skills.

I have also had the opportunity to help make outreach activities about my work. My lab group runs a Lab themed Escape room and a Lab Challenge where people do activities to “Fight the Virus” and “Find the Antiviral Drug”. These events are so much fun and a great way to share my work. We always have a great time while still showing people how exciting science can be!

I do not like mornings at all so I prefer to do my easier tasks in the morning which don’t need a lot of brain power. I also like to work in the shared office doing these tasks so I can catch up with my friends and make the boring emails more fun!

In the afternoon I like to focus and do my experiments in the lab as this is when I work best. It does mean I tend to work later than most people but I like to take the mornings easy so I don’t really mind.

My brain  works the best in the evening so I will quite often work when I get home after I have made some dinner. I can really focus and spend a lot of time doing my more difficult tasks such as writing – there are a lot less distractions at this time.

I do spend most of my days working in the lab but I do try to work at home sometimes so that I can play with my dog and wear comfy clothes!