Dashboard – I'm a Scientist 2024

About Me:

I live in Birmingham but I’m originally from Yorkshire. I’m a biochemist and researcher in the day but in the evenings and weekends I love to get outdoors cycling and climbing and taking photos!
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I’ve travelled a lot with my work, and lived in Scotland and France and finally in Birmingham. I’ve been here for ten years now and love the city but also love to get out and explore new places.

I love nature and animals: I’ve had lots of cats in the past but I definitely want more!
My pronouns are:

he/him
My Work:

The research in my lab looks at how cells repair their DNA and how this goes wrong in human disease.

We have 2 aims: to improve diagnosis and to find new treatments for these diseases.
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All our cells have to deal with thousands of types of DNA damage every day. If this is not repaired, then cells either die or become cancer cells. This can cause rare diseases that affect development, or tumours.

We work on understanding how DNA is repaired by cells and how this is altered in rare disease and in cancer. This involves lots of experiments with cells and with toxic chemicals that cause DNA damage, as well as genetic tools to cause mutations in cells.

My lab is made up of several people that have different projects all looking at how DNA is repaired in different types of disease.
My Typical Day:

I usually wake up and cycle to work, and have breakfast at work (yoghurt and coffee!). I have meetings with my team to help them do their experiments, or I get in the lab and do some experiments of my own.

I’ll have some lunch with some friends, and in the afternoon I’ll look at our results. I go home at 6pm for some food and then relax!
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There is no such thing as a typical day!

Once I get to work and have breakfast, my day is very varied. One day I might do some experiments in the lab, or I might have meetings with my team. On other days, I will write applications to get money for my lab. On another day, I will lecture students about DNA repair. Or I might be reading about other peoples experiments in reports called “papers”. Or I could be writing papers about our results…..

I love the variety of my job!
What I'd do with the prize money:

If I won this prize, I’d use it to bring a lot of students like you to the lab and help with our experiments!

Candidate CV questions (extra)

Education:

I went to school at 3 different schools (first school, middle school and high school). the last was a place called Shelley High School in Yorkshire, where I first got interested in Science. My biology teacher was brilliant, and really helped me to develop my interests. I got several GCSEs but I did a broad range of subjects.

I then went to 6th form at the same place, where I did my A-levels. I didn’t really work hard enough, so I came out with OK grades but not very high ones.

I managed to get into university at Stirling, where I did cell biology. I loved it, and it really made me want to pursue research as a career. It was a 4 year degree, but it was brilliant!

After I left university I had a year working in a lab (see below), and then I went back to university in Glasgow to do my PhD in virology.
Qualifications:

I got 9 GCSEs when I left school, including Science and Art (4 As, 4 Bs and a C).

I then went to 6th form and got A-levels in Biology, Chemistry and History (not very good grades: B, B, C, D)

I graduated from university with a BSc in Cell and Molecular Biology (2i).

I then passed my PhD in Virology from Glasgow.
Work History:

When I was a student like you I worked as an odd-job helper at a local mill.

During university I worked at an outdoor centre teaching kayaking and climbing in the summer.

After university I worked as a research technician in a laboratory in Leeds for a year while I decided whether I wanted to do a PhD.

After my PhD I moved to Paris in France as a “post-doc”: basically a researcher with a PhD to do research on viruses and cancer.

After 4 years in France I came back to the UK to Birmingham where I was a post-doc for 4 years.

I then managed to get money to start my lab in Birmingham in 2017, where I have been doing research ever since!
Current Job:

My job now is “Associate Professor”: it is essentially a Senior Lecturer.

It is a mix of research into DNA repair, trying to get money to do research, teaching university students, and helping to run the University.
Employer:

I work at the University of Birmingham, in a department called Cancer and Genomic Sciences.

My Interview
- How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
  
  outdoor-loving biochemist
  
  What did you want to be after you left school?
  
  An architect
  
  Were you ever in trouble at school?
  
  No.... honest!
  
  If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
  
  A wildlife photographer
  
  Who is your favourite singer or band?
  
  Pink Floyd
  
  What's your favourite food?
  
  Cheese!