Profile

Photo:

Gaby Clarke

My CV

  • Education:

    I am from near Liverpool. I went to school at Merchant Taylor’s in Crosby (not London). I then went to Runshaw College in Leyland. I went to university at Imperial College London where I studied for four years. In my third year, I did an industrial placement at the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. When I finished university, I joined King’s College London to do my Master’s and PhD degree that I am doing now.

  • Qualifications:

    I gained 9 A*s in my GCSEs (English Lang, English Lit, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths, Latin, Spanish, History) and 4 A*s in my A levels (Biology, Chemistry, Maths and English Lang/Lit) I also did Pyschology for AS. I earned bronze, silver and gold CREST awards during my A levels for participating in extra science projects at college. During my bachelor’s degree I was awarded the Rector’s Undergraduate Scholarship for academic excellence, and the Second Year Biology Undergraduate Prize for academic excellence.

  • Work History:

    During secondary school and college I volunteered at my local animal sanctuary to get hands-on experience of animal care. I also did a week of work experience in a local veterinary surgery as I thought I wanted to become a vet.

    In the summer before I started university, I did a 2-month internship at the Blizzard Institute Genomics and Cancer group where I worked alongside researchers in the lab and learnt some basic experimental techniques.

    In the third year of my undergraduate degree, I did a year of work in industry at the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, where I worked in a drug screening laboratory.

  • Current Job:

    I am currently a second year PhD student at King’s College London, doing a lab-based project on a new genetic mutation in motor neuron disease. I mainly do cell culture and imaging, including optogenetics and live calcium imaging.

  • About Me:

    I am an animal-loving, food-loving PhD student

  • Read more

    I live in London with my partner Jack, and my friend Ella. I love animals – I have four cats and would love to adopt lots of cats and dogs in the future.

    I also love food, especially pizza and Thai takeaways. I also go to and review lots of restaurants as a ‘secret diner’, and get my meals for free!

    My hobbies include singing – especially Disney songs and going to music concerts. I enjoy doing archery at a local club and I hope to buy my own bow and arrows soon. Here’s some of my recent shots!

     

    I also love swimming and working out with my personal trainer.

    My pronouns are she/her.

  • Read more

    I use stem cells from patients with motor neuron disease (ALS) and grow these into neurons in a dish. These neurons carry a genetic mutation in the DNA that gives them the disease, but we don’t know how this mutation does that. I look at the neurons under a microscope to look for signs of disease, to try and understand how motor neuron disease is caused by this mutation, and how we can cure it. I am particularly interested in looking at toxic protein aggregation.

    I use some interesting methods to do this – one is ‘optogenetics’ – a method where you can activate a neuron just by shining blue light on it. I also do calcium imaging, where I can view fluorescent calcium ions moving around inside a single cell and take a video of them.

    Here is a picture example of a neuron I grew in a dish.

  • My Typical Day:

    I am a night-owl, which means I prefer to get up late and work until late! I wake up at around 8:45am, and cycle into work for about 10am. I then spend my day both at my computer in the office, or at my lab bench – often I am between the two all day. I am usually planning experiments, running experiments and writing down my results all at once until I go home at about 7pm. I will usually then go to the gym, have dinner and watch some Netflix.

  • Read more

    I wake up at around 8:45am, and cycle into work for about 10am. I usually start my day by feeding the cells that I have ‘in culture’ (in a dish). Sometimes I will have experiments to do on the cells, such as calcium imaging, optogenetics or staining – in these cases I will spend approximately 4 hours on the microscope taking pictures and videos which can be fun to watch. I often also have some other ‘molecular’ lab work to do – this includes PCR, DNA digests and plasmid purifications.

    Here I am in my lab coat and gloves 🙂

    I then go home at about 7pm, go to the gym, have dinner and watch some Netflix.

  • What I'd do with the prize money:

    I would love to put on a ‘science olympics’ for students including quick quizzes, fun science games and prizes!

  • My Interview

    • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

      Compassionate, friendly, conscientious

      What did you want to be after you left school?

      I thought about becoming a vet, but didn't want to see animals suffering. I also thought about being a psychologist - I studied psychology at A level. However I really enjoyed the practical lessons in Biology and wanted to have a career in the lab.

      Were you ever in trouble at school?

      Only a couple of times and always for talking in class!

      Who is your favourite singer or band?

      My favourite band at the moment is the 1975

      What's your favourite food?

      Thai green curry

      If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

      To be happy in my career, to be happy in my relationships, and to be happy in myself.

      Tell us a joke.

      What is E.T. short for? He's only got little legs!

Questions answered by Gaby

View all Gaby's answered questions