Profile
Hannah Marshall
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About Me:
Hi everyone, I’m Hannah! I’m originally from near Burnley in England but I’m now training to treat cancer using radiation in Belfast, Northern Ireland!
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Last summer I was given a fantastic opportunity to complete a small research placement at Cedars Sinai (LOS ANGELES!!) which was a great way to see how hospitals across the world differ from the UK and of course, to experience living in Los Angeles for 5 weeks!
I love travel and photography and am learning Japanese and Korean. I have a pen pal (we’ve exchanged letters since we were 16!) in Japan who I’ve met travelling several times since I was 17, I hope to visit her in Japan again this year!
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My pronouns are:
she/her
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My Work:
I’m a trainee clinical scientist in Radiotherapy (training to work as a physicist in the treatment of cancer with radiation).
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I am currently a (Route 2) trainee clinical scientist, working towards registration to work as a physicist in treating cancer with radiation (similar to how doctors/nurses need to be registered to work in their profession; so do physicists!). In my role I am completing clinical rotations in brachytherapy (treating cancer with radiation from small radioactive seeds which are placed inside/ close to the body), dosimetry (measuring radiation which includes what devices we use, do these devices work properly, how can we test the radiation we deliver is safe and as planned?), treatment planning (this is where we learn to plan people’s treatment, of course, each treatment is unique to each person with different parts of the body being treated and the anatomy of each person being different!) and research.
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My Typical Day:
I wake up around 7.30am, so that I have plenty of time to have a warm croissant and a coffee before heading to work. I work from 9am. Usually in the morning I will have prepared myself some scientific papers to read, I will take some time to read through a paper which is relevant to my current area of focus. After this, I’m usually properly awake to start my day, where I will complete different tasks such as learning to plan someone’s cancer treatment using a special technique, or measuring radiation using two different detectors to compare them. For each task I do it’s really important that I try and write a small summary of what I have done and what I have learned, this is a key part of being a trainee physicist! I finish work around 5pm and so have plenty of me-time every evening!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would use the prize money to produce 3D-printed tools for outreach these might be organ-like structures so that imaging modalities can be demonstrated or models of equipment (for example a CT scanner). These 3D-printed tools could be used at open days or school visits, potentially even for patient communication! At previous events I had 3D-printed badges and keyrings as prizes for getting involved in a radiation quiz, having prizes/freebies at events like this is a really great way to draw people in and initiate conversation about your work! I would be keen to travel back to my home-town and promote medical physics at my old high-school and college and also focus on non-grammar schools here in Northern Ireland!
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Education:
I completed my GCSEs at Colne Primet Academy (Lancashire) before doing A-Levels at Nelson and Colne College.
I studied my undergraduate degree at Queen’s University of Belfast and my Master’s degree at University College London (UCL).
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Qualifications:
GCSES: 6 A’s, 6A*s ( Apart from maths, all of my A-stars were actually humanities based subjects such as art, English and RE).
A-levels: A,A,B,B (Mathematics, Physics, Further Mathematics, Computer Science)
BSc Physics with Medical Applications: First Class Honours (Queen’s University Belfast)
MSc Physics and Engineering in Medicine (UCL)
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Work History:
Whilst I was at college I worked at McDonalds, to save some money for life at university! I actually worked my Christmas and summer holidays as well for the first two years of university.
In the 2-3rd year of my degree I worked at IKEA (in the restaurant with all the meatballs!)
Whilst completing my MSc I worked part-time for Disney theatrical group at Frozen the Musical (in the gift shop- definitely not on stage!!)
My first post-graduate job was as a research assistant for Queen’s University Belfast, I worked in this post for just over a year and assisted in various research projects at the Northern Ireland Cancer Centre.
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Current Job:
Since November 2023, I have began my role as a trainee Clinical Scientist in radiotherapy.
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Employer:
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
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My Interview
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What did you want to be after you left school?
For the longest time I actually wanted to be a fashion designer!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No, never!
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Likely something research-related!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Arctic Monkeys
What's your favourite food?
Sticky-toffee pudding (yum!)
Tell us a joke.
Did you know that dogs can't operate a CT machine? But catscan.
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