Dashboard – I'm a Scientist 2024

About Me:

I work in London but live in Kent with my husband. I love science, which is reflected in my job as an embryologist, but my other hobbies including running, playing netball and trying out new restaurants!
My pronouns are:

She/Her
My Work:

I am a Clinical Embryologist in an IVF clinic in London. This means I am a scientist in laboratory in a fertility clinic – so I help individuals build their families or preserve their fertility.
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My work is centered around 4 different areas: embryology, andrology, quality control and admin. Embryology is the work we do with eggs and embryos – this could be collecting eggs from patients undergoing IVF, performing embryo transfers to help get people pregnant or freezing and thawing eggs or embryos we store on site for example. Andrology is the work we do with sperm – this could be looking at sperm under the microscope to help assess male infertility or freezing sperm for cancer patients. Working in an IVF laboratory involves a lot of quality control tasks, such as checking incubators are functioning properly and checking alarm systems are functioning. We also do a lot of paperwork and phone calls (like most jobs), but I am also involved in the sperm storage team so I keep regularly contact with all patients with sperm in storage to sort any issues with consents or finances. My day-to-day is different every single day I am at work and I love that. I also love the amount of time I get to spend talking to our incredible patients and learning about their fertility journeys.
My Typical Day:

I wake up at 6:30am and have breakfast before walking to the train station for my hour-long train ride to work to start at 9am. My allocated task for the day changes every day at work, so I could be working in theatre or I could be working in the laboratory. I finish work at 5:30pm and then begin my travel back home!
What I'd do with the prize money:

If I was to win the prize money, I would love to help set up a fertility education initiative in local schools. Schools often have sex education in their curriculum but this doesn’t stretch to cover the importance of understanding our own fertility and how this can be impacted by our lifestyles and age.

Candidate CV questions (extra)

Education:

Primary school: Hilltop Primary School until Year 5, then moved to Fairview Primary School.

Secondary school: Rainham Mark Grammar School

Universities: University of Leicester for my undergraduate, University of Kent for my Masters, and Manchester Metropolitan University for my embryology training/Masters.

My Interview
- How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
  
  Sport-loving embryologist
  
  What did you want to be after you left school?
  
  A genetic counsellor
  
  Were you ever in trouble at school?
  
  Mostly no - occasionally I got told off for chatting, but generally I was pretty well behaved!
  
  If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
  
  A medical ethics lawyer
  
  Who is your favourite singer or band?
  
  Busted
  
  What's your favourite food?
  
  Bacon cheeseburger
  
  If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
  
  1) To be able to teleport (save commute time and gets me to hot countries when I want!); 2) To have the house of my dreams; 3) To live and long and happy life with all of my family
  
  Tell us a joke.
  
  What’s orange and sounds like a carrot? A parrot