Profile

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Karen Crawford

My CV

  • Education:

    I did my GCSEs at Peers School, Oxford before having to move to sixth form at Cheney School which is also in Oxford. I attended University College London, studying Chemistry with French but left after the first year as I didn’t enjoy the course.

    I finished my degree with the Open University instead so I could work and gain my degree at the same time, which was challenging but suited me much better. I later did an MSc and I’m now working on my PhD.

  • Qualifications:

    At school I gained 13 GCSEs with the grades: 4A*s, 7As, 1B and 1C. I did a wide range of subjects such as Maths, English, Science, French, Spanish, Art and even Business and Communication Systems.

    After GCSEs, I left for sixth form as my school didn’t have one that offered A-levels. Here I gained 1 AS Level in Physics and 3 A Levels in Psychology, Maths, and Chemistry and I achieved ABB at A-Level.

    My next completed qualification was my degree which was a BSc in Natural Sciences which I studied for at the Open University.

    Later on I studied for an MSc in Neuroscience at King’s College London and I’m now studying for my PhD in Bioinformatics at Cardiff University.

  • Work History:

    I started off as a dinner lady (or catering assistant) at Oxford Brookes University, initially part-time during my A-Levels, but then worked there for four years once I had dropped out of my first degree.

    Once I had started my new degree with the Open University, I started working as a Genetic Technologist in the NHS where I was helping with processing samples to diagnose people with genetic disorders.

    After completing my degree I left and became a Scientific Officer processing samples and day-to-day management of cancer drug clinical trials at the University of Oxford.

    I left this job to undertake my MSc degree and during this I worked part-time as a Data Assistant at an academic publishers.

    Once I had completed my MSc I found a job working as a research assistant at Oxford University which I left to start my PhD in Cardiff.

  • Current Job:

    PhD researcher in Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics and Cardiff University

  • About Me:

    I’m quite a playful person who likes playing games including board games and solving puzzles and going out for food.

  • Read more

    I currently live in Cardiff with my fiancé which I enjoy as it’s near the beach and the Brecon Beacons so lots of opportunities for day trips. I love spending time in the garden and having BBQs when it is sunny and trying to grow lots of flowers and plants. I’m quite playful and love playing games such as different board games or solving puzzles, which is why I love science as it feels like solving one big puzzle! I’m also currently trying to learn German but this isn’t going very well and looking forward to the next series of Dark on Netflix!

  • Read more

    I’m currently doing my PhD and trying to apply mathematical methods to help us understand more about Alzheimer’s disease using computers. So it means that I use techniques such as machine learning to look for patterns in genetic and gene expression data to see if we can predict certain aspects of Alzheimer’s disease such as different types of brain pathology seen in disease. The reason why we do this is to help us learn more about the different ways Alzheimer’s disease develops in comparison to people that do not develop the disease. If we can understand more about why things go wrong, then hopefully it can lead to a treatment.

    I spend my days mainly working on a computer (so no lab!) and spend a lot of time writing code to analyse my datasets. My datasets are often too large to analyse by myself so I get the computer to do it for me! I usually work by myself on certain projects but work as part of a small team which is working on similar projects so it isn’t as isolating as it sounds. We often come together and share ideas and collaborate.

  • My Typical Day:

    I work a typical 9-5 in an office. My typical day is spent at a computer writing code, attending meetings and going to seminars where I learn more about the exciting science some other people are doing.

  • Read more

    So my typical day is spent in an office setting which might sound a bit boring but I have a lot of flexibility in how I spend my time.

    A typical day might be spent:

    9-11am : Teaching

    11am-12:30pm: Checking e-mails, writing code, data analysis, writing papers

    12:30pm – 1pm: Lunch

    1pm-2pm: A seminar from a guest speaker or someone in the department

    2pm-3pm: Meeting with colleagues/supervisors to discuss progress

    3pm-4:30pm: Checking e-mails, writing code, data analysis, writing papers

    4:30pm-5pm: Writing code, submitting jobs to the supercomputer to run overnight.

    I’m very lucky in that I can attend a lot of courses and conferences too. I have been to London, Glasgow and Colorado and California in the US and I’m hoping for more trips in the future too!

  • My Interview

    • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

      Indecisive about food

      What did you want to be after you left school?

      I didn't know what I wanted to be when I left school and still kind of don't!

      Were you ever in trouble at school?

      Only for doing the YMCA during a French lesson

      Who is your favourite singer or band?

      Caribou

      What's your favourite food?

      Garlic Chilli Tofu with Green Beans

Questions answered by Karen

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