Profile
Gráinne Daly
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About Me:
I live in between Edinburgh & Glasgow. I work as a scientist in a hospital during the day and in my free time I like to explore Scotland and play rugby 🙂
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I grew up in London and moved to Scotland for the Scientist Training Programme I’m on now. In between, I’ve lived in York and Cambridge! I love animals, having spent all my summers when I was growing up on my Grandad’s Dairy farm in Ireland.
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My pronouns are:
She/Her
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My Work:
I am currently a trainee Clinical Scientist, which means I’m training to work in hospitals as a scientist that helps doctors to interpret the results of tests to figure out the cause of patient’s illnesses.
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Clinical Scientists work with both biomedical scientists (who run tests in the lab) and doctors (who look after patients) to make sure tests are being carried out and used in ways that make sure patients will get the right treatment as quickly as possible.
We need to have specialist knowledge of the science behind the tests and of all the diseases doctors study with the tests.
Clinical Scientists also help to run the labs in hospitals and develop new tests for doctors to use.
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My Typical Day:
As a trainee, I don’t really have a typical day as I’m constantly visiting different labs within my Health Board (called an NHS Trust in England) and in other Health Boards in order to learn as much as I can about all the different tests performed in Biochemistry labs in hospitals all over Scotland! When I’m not visiting other labs I typically start at 8am, work on writing up the tests I saw and helping with the jobs of qualified scientists and leave at 4pm.
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As a trainee we have a curriculum set by a National School in charge of the training of all the scientists working in the NHS. When I visit a lab to see what tests they do I have to do specific pieces of work they set out and get them marked by the people at the labs I visit in order to prove that I understand what they do!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would use the prize money to host a stall at my base hospital for Healthcare Science Week to help patients understand what Healthcare Scientists do in hospitals!
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Education:
I went to Primary and Secondary School in London, then I moved to York for 4 years to get my degree from the Uni of York and now I’m working on getting a Master’s from the Uni of Manchester as part of the training programme I’m on.
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Qualifications:
GCSEs, A-Levels, A Biology degree with an integrated Master’s and now I’m getting a Master’s in Blood Sciences with a specialty in Clinical Biochemistry.
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Work History:
Before and whilst I was at uni I worked in a pub and then a cafe. After uni I got a job in scientific publishing at SpringerNature in London. Then I got a job as a Medical Lab Assistant in the Metabolic Lab at the hospital in Cambridge. I then moved to a job as a Biomedical Scientist in Genetics until I got the job I have now.
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Current Job:
Trainee Clinical Scientist
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Employer:
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Animal-loving Biochemist
What did you want to be after you left school?
A Vet!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Yes
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Maybe farming?!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Beyoncé
What's your favourite food?
Gyoza
Tell us a joke.
What do you call a French man wearing sandals? Phillipe Fallop!
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