Profile
Qi Yi Zhan Wang
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About Me:
Hello! I moved to the UK from sunny Spain 8 years ago to study my undergrad. I went to uni in Sheffield, where I studied Biomedical Science and later on moved to Glasgow to study my masters. I now live in Oxford and I work as a research assistant at the Mary Lyon Centre 👩🔬.
I like being crafty, so I spend my free time embroidering, crocheting and recently picked up pottery as a new hobby!
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My pronouns are:
She/her
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My Work:
I work as a research assistant at a stem cell and CRISPR laboratory. My main role is to culture mouse embryonic stem cells and carry out lots of PCRs to genotype CRISPR projects.
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My Typical Day:
I get to work at 8am and have a cup of coffee while I catch up on all of my emails. I then go into the cell culture lab where I look at all of the cells and make decisions on what I need to do with them based on how well they are growing. My mornings are usually taken up by cell culture work. I then have a lunch break at 12 pm with my colleagues. I would then spend my afternoon in the CRISPR lab setting up PCRs, gel electrophoresis and DNA extraction. I go home at 4pm and spend the rest of the day indulging in my arts and craft hobbies!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
If I could, I would sponsor STEM influencers/youtubers to make an ad for I’m a Scientist!
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Education:
I went to a British school in Spain, where I got my GCSEs and A Levels. I studied Biomedical Science for my undergraduate degree at the University of Sheffield. I completed my Masters in Precision Medicine at the University of Glasgow.
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Qualifications:
GCSEs: English language, History, Geography, Art and Design, ICT, French, Spanish, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics.
A-Levels: Biology, Chemistry, Applied ICT, Mathematics.
BSc Biomedical Science
MSc Precision Medicine.
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Work History:
I graduated from my BSc in 2019 and found it difficult to get a job in science without a lot of practical lab experience. So I worked as a sales assistant at a department store in the mean time. Things got even more difficult when the pandemic started in early 2020. I had to move back home with my parents for a couple of years. During this time I brushed up on my lab skills by studying a biomedical science lab course which led to a summer placement at a COVID testing clinic in Madrid, where I worked as a medical clinic assistant. It was not much of a lab-based role but I made the most out of it to build my personal statement and it helped me get onto my Masters degree! A year later, after many applications and rejections, I finally landed my current job at the Mary Lyon Centre!
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Current Job:
Research Assistant
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Employer:
Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell
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My Interview
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What did you want to be after you left school?
Become a biomedical scientist!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No, I was always the quiet one.
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
I would have a small art business.
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Queen
What's your favourite food?
I love food too much so I can't choose.
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Have as many cats as I can. Have an art studio to myself. Be able to teleport.
Tell us a joke.
Dogs can't operate MRI machines. But catscan.
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