Profile

After my A-level studies at school, I undertook a university degree in Biochemistry, which is the study combining chemistry and biology to understand the chemical processes within living things. Forever stuck in education, I completed a PhD in cancer biology where I study a specific research question. I worked in a laboratory during my PhD (where I wore white lab coats) but I also used computers a lot for my analysis. As I loved using computers during my PhD, I now only do computer work and do not work in the laboratory.

I handle big data which is why I use computers to help with my analysis as it would take a long time (or be almost impossible) to do manually. By understanding the biology of diseases and linking them to the clinic, we can develop medicine that is more targeted and suited to an individual. This is especially important as not everyone is the same so the same disease may develop differently and people will respond differently to treatment. For instance, it’s like how different shoppers get different t-shirts – you certainly will not get the same style/size as your parents! I used to work on cancer research but I now work on autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, which is wear your immune system goes wrong and attacks your body.

My days are varied because of the many research projects I am involved with. I work with doctors, students and other scientists so a range of people work together to find answers to our different research projects. Doctors run trials to see whether certain medicines are suitable for specific types of people. Students are learning how to become independent researchers so I help them with their analysis. We work as teams so we have meetings to discuss results.

I use computers for my analysis by writing instructions (code) for the computer. The instructions have to be specific and carefully created to answer the question correctly so I spend a lot of time making sure the data is fine and the instructions are clear with no mistakes.