Profile
Nicola Morrice
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About Me:
My name is Nicola and I work a university researching diabetes.
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I live in Fife and have 2 cats. I play the piano and the ukulele. My pronouns are she/ her.
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I work in the School of Medicine at the University of Dundee. I use a range of systems that mimic how the human body works to understand how diabetes develops and to test different medicines that we think will be able to treat it. I use a lot of biochemistry techniques including PCR, western blotting and cloning. This is my lab bench:
Here are some of the cells I work on (called 3T3-L1, which are a type of fat cell) under the microscope- the red blobs are fat droplets:
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My Typical Day:
I get up early and drive to my lab. The first thing I do is check that my cells are all OK. I then spend the day at my bench doing experiments.
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Due to ongoing COVID restrictions, my time in the lab is limited and I am currently spending more time working at home analysing data, writing up experiments and planning future work. In the days that I am allowed in to the lab, I usually arrive around 8am. I’ll check my cells and then set-up equipment for the experiments that I have planned for the day. I’ll spend most of the day working at my lab bench.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would like to put together an online interactive resource with our local science centre on diabetes medicine.
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Education:
Viewforth High School (2000 – 2006)
University of Dundee (2006 – 2009 and 2009 – 2013)
University of Aberdeen (2013 – 2017) -
Qualifications:
At high school I got 8 Standard Grades (English, Maths, Music, Biology, Chemistry, German, Computing Science, Modern Studies), 6 Highers (Biology, Chemistry, Music, Maths, Geography, English) and 3 Advanced Highers (Biology, Chemistry and Music)- all of my science qualifications here have really helped for my current job.
I then did a degree in History and Politics and the University of Dundee as I had planned on being a teacher, but then I really missed science so I went on and did a BSc in Biochemistry. That degree allowed me to do my PhD in Medicine. The skills and knowledge from my BSc and PhD have really helped to allow me to do my current job. -
Work History:
I worked in a fast-food restaurant through-out the last year of high school and all through my undergraduate degrees (from September 2015- July 2013).
I then worked for my PhD (August 2013- January 2017).
I spent 4 months as a part-time Research Assistant at the University of Aberdeen (February- May 2017).
I moved to the University of Dundee and my current job in June 2017. -
Current Job:
Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Diabetes research.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Piano-loving Biochemist
What did you want to be after you left school?
Originally a teacher, then a scientist.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Depends on the mood I am in
What's your favourite food?
Anything Italian
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
1. To have a house by the sea. 2. To run my own lab. 3. To get to see my friends again (not just in a Zoom call).
Tell us a joke.
What is a pirate's favourite element? Aaaaargon!
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