Profile
Hugo Lewkowicz
My CV
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Education:
I come originally from down south near Southampton. I went to school at Boundary Oak in Fareham, then Sherborne House in Chandlers Ford (it was an all girls school the year before so I was 1 of maybe 8 boys in the whole school). Then I went to King Edward VI school in Southampton and finally Peter Symmonds College in Winchester.
After that, I betrayed the South and headed up North to the Wall to serve my night’s watch. I studied medicine for 5 years at the University of Manchester, worked for 5 years as a doctor (I think. It may have been 4. It was a lot of work) and then returned to the University of Manchester to get a Masters in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology.
I’m now studying for a PhD in Public Health. -
Qualifications:
Ok, here goes:
GCSEs:
Maths a*,
Ad maths a,
Physics a*,
Chemistry a*,
French a*,
Spanish a,
Biology a,
Geography a,
Religious studies a,
English literature a,
English language a,
Drama b.AS levels:
Biology a,
English literature a.A2 levels:
Maths a*,
Further maths a*,
Chemistry a,
Physics a
(As an aside, when I did my A levels, a* wasn’t a possible grade. A few years ago I realised I only had three more modules to do to get my further maths a level, so gave it a go and taught myself. I did my exam at a local college on a day off from working as a doctor. It was bizarre. That’s how I ended up with an a* in maths and further maths though)University Degrees:
Bachelors of Medicine, Bachelors of Surgery,
Masters in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology with Distinction.
Currently studying for a PhD in Public Health -
Work History:
My first job was a babysitter. I was truly terrible and regularly let the children I was looking after stay up past their bedtimes. I also taught them piano, and we managed to get through a few grades together.
While I was at college I helped out with filing at my local GP practice, and whilst I was at university I worked as an assistant at my local hospital’s x-ray department. I got to see loads of broken bones!
I was a doctor for 4-5 years at multiple hospitals in and around Manchester. I worked in surgery, at a GP practice but I think my favourite work was looking after very sick people, and helping them and their families cope through difficult times. If I wasn’t doing the work I’m doing now, I’m sure I would go back to that. -
Current Job:
I am currently studying for a PhD in public health. That means I’m still a student at a university, but instead of learning things that I am taught, I have to go out and research new things to learn.
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About Me:
I am an ex-doctor/play-write who likes to pretend that they understand maths.
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Read more
Hi, I’m Hugo, a PhD student working in Manchester. Nice to meet you! Although admittedly I can’t hear your response right now, so I’m just going to have to imagine your questions.
How long have I been a PhD student, you ask? Little under a year. I was just finishing off a degree in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology (which is basically using computers to help understand living things) when I found out about this cool PhD looking at how diseases spread through communities and thought it sounded like exactly what I wanted to do. Didn’t realise at the time how relevant it would become! Eek!
Before that I worked as a doctor for about five years and before that I studied to become a doctor, which also took five years, or in other words FOREVER!!! That means I’ve lived in Manchester for over a decade. It’s pretty much my home now. I live here with my partner, who is also a doctor (She’s amazing – She helps bring babies into the world!).
My spare time is split between movies, TV, boardgames and eating… A lot of eating. Can your hobby be eating? I’m currently eating a banana bread right now. It’s delicious. Oh, and I write plays, which is really fun, though apparently I’m prone to ramble… I’m not rambling, am I?
Anything else you should know about me? Oh! I’m a terrible dancer. I’m tall and lanky, and me flailing my arms is a health hazard to anyone nearby.
And that’s about all you could ever want to know about me. Except for my unwavering love for the film Hercules, which is provably the best Disney film.
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Read more
In my work, I try and work out exactly how bugs get passed between people and what we can do to stop it. So you’ve probably heard about washing your hands for 20 seconds to stop diseases spreading. Well it’s my job to work out what happens if everyone washed their hands for 20 seconds, or nobody washed their hands at all or if some people washed their hands sometimes but other times licked everyone within reach.
But it’s not just that. We look at things like if we could test everyone quicker for a disease, could we stop it from spreading, or if we could work out exactly who it spread to could we treat them quicker and hopefully stop them from spreading it. I’m particularly interested in people who spend a lot of time together, like people in prisons, cruise ships, care homes and hospitals.
My job is basically just trying to work out the chance of things happening, like rolling dice or tossing a coin, except my dice have been thoroughly washed with antibacterial soap and someone has been licking my coins, making them infectious.
Also, here’s a picture of my work. It’s basically just my spare bedroom at the moment. And yes my desk is always that cluttered, and has been since I was 11. You should see my desk in my normal office. It has had a half completed jigsaw on it since Christmas!
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My Typical Day:
My typical day is mostly sat at my laptop working out the maths behind the times when people get sick. Because we now work from home, I’ll then have multiple webcam calls with people working on similar maths. We’re all working together to try and understand and help prevent the spread of diseases like Corona.
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Read more
My day starts with coffee. This is very important. If I wake up early, my partner and I will have coffee together. It is even more important that she has coffee. You don’t want to see her without coffee…
Then, once the coffee is completely gone, I can begin the grueling task of walking the 10 meters from my bedroom to the spare bedroom, also known as my new lockdown office. It has everything I could possibly need: A chair, a laptop, access to more coffee…
I usually work from 9-5, looking at outbreaks or thinking of new ways people could be spreading their diseases (Is there a sneezing bandit who is running around sneezing on people? There could be!).
Because sitting at a desk is boring, I usually have to take a break in the middle of the day. Because I can’t really go outside, I do yoga… I am very bad at yoga. I can barely touch my knees, let alone my toes. It’s not my fault. I’m tall, so they’re too far away.
After a long day of work, I sit down and chill out in front of the TV. Unless, of course, that’s exactly what the Sneeze Bandit wants me to do. I shall never relax. They’re out there, somewhere, sneezing on people. I shall find you, Sneeze Bandit, and I shall stop you…
Or, you know, I could just binge on some telly…
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I want to write a teaching session for kids to help explain how diseases spread. I think there’s a lot of talk that can be confusing, with phrases like “flatten the curve” which I’d like to help explain and make sense of.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Silly, balding, tall
What did you want to be after you left school?
I wasn't sure, and that's Ok! I went straight into studying medicine and whilst I'm glad I did it, I don't think it was the right choice for me.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
I talked way too much, and was never any good at history or geography. Or sports! I was terrible at sports. I did a whole 100m rolly-polly rather than compete in the actual race
Who is your favourite singer or band?
I listen to an unhealthy amount of Disney songs...
What's your favourite food?
Apples
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
More hair, the ability to teleport and to have someone perform one of my plays in a big theatre
Tell us a joke.
This isn't a joke, but the Mighty Morphing Meowerangers was a real spin off of the Power Rangers except they were all cats, and more people need to know about this. Spread the word!
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