Profile
Katharine Gibson
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About Me:
I am currently in my third year of my PhD at the University of Glasgow. I am a neuroscientist (someone who researches the brain) and my project is looking at dementia and trying to develop effective treatments. When I’m not in the lab I love going to gigs, hanging out with my friends, and travelling as much as I can!
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My dad is a cancer research scientist and he’s the one that inspired me to also have a career in science. How the human body works has always fascinated me and I knew from a young age that I wanted to work in medicine in some way – either as a doctor or as a medical researcher.
When I’m not at work I love to go to the gym, climbing, or rowing. My favourite hobbies are watching live music, making pottery, and trying new recipes (but not at the same time).
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My pronouns are:
she/her
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My Work:
I am currently in my third year of my PhD studying Alzheimer’s disease (memory loss in older adults). My work focuses on trying to figure out how Alzheimer’s develops and how we can slow it down or stop it completely. I work in a lab and do lots of different experiments – every day is different!
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I am researching a disease called Alzheimer’s disease which can sometimes make older adults lose their memory. My hope is to develop medicines that can treat the disease or can stop the disease from happening at all. This means doing lots of different experiments, and a lot of them don’t work but that’s what science is about!
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My Typical Day:
I wake up and have a quick breakfast and walk to work with my coffee. There is no typical day in the lab and I get to decide what I do every day (which is really fun). Usually I’ll do 1 or 2 experiments, have lunch with my friends, and go home around 5pm. I’ll then make dinner and hang out with my friends, and get ready to do it all again tomorrow.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I’d love to teach young people about brain health and how we can slow down the aging of our brains. I want to try develop a virtual reality brain so that people can literally step inside and explore the brain.
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Education:
I went to high school in northern England to do my GCSEs. I then moved to southern Germany when I was 16 and went to international school and did the International Baccalaureate (which I really didn’t enjoy!). After that I took a gap year and did lots of travelling, before going to Aberdeen for my undergraduate degree (which I loved). I now live in Glasgow because I moved here to do my Masters degree and have stayed to do my PhD!
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Work History:
Summer internship at Boehringer Ingelheim (German pharmaceutical company). I worked in the Translational Pharmacology department (medicines development) and worked with them to find out how to make medicines as efficiently as possible.
Associate scientist at Merck. This job involved preparing samples of medicines for testing to make sure they were safe.
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Current Job:
I am currently working on my PhD at the University of Glasgow. I am researching Alzheimer’s disease (memory loss in older adults) and trying to figure out how the disease occurs. If we can figure out how the disease spreads through the brain we can try to develop medicines to slow it down or stop it! I work in a lab and do loads of different experiments, every day is different!
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Employer:
I am employed by the University of Glasgow, one of the largest and oldest universities in Scotland!
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
music-loving neuroscientist
What did you want to be after you left school?
I wanted to be a doctor or a scientist.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Never!
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
I'd probably be a doctor, a baker, or a photographer!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
I love Lizzy McAlpine and the 1975
What's your favourite food?
Southeast Asian food of all kinds!
Tell us a joke.
What do you call a sleeping T-rex? A dino-snore!
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