Profile

I make software that supports the scientists and helps them do their jobs. The type of program we make is called a LIMS – that stands for “Laboratory Information Management System”. The scientists we support work in the DNA sequencing department. They get samples in, some human, some animal, some microbe, and they sequence them to find out their genetic code. So much stuff goes on in the lab, it all needs to be written down – that’s where the LIMS comes in. It helps the scientists know what any given sample is, where it came from, where it is and what’s already been done to it. We also send information about the sequencing after it’s finished to a database, which anyone in the organisation can look at to find out about the samples.

Normally it would take me an hour to get to work, but these days I just have to make it downstairs to switch on my computer in time for work to start at 9. My whole team is working from home, so we’re having lots of video calls to keep in touch (like everybody else!). We start the day with a meeting we call a ‘stand up’, where everyone says what they’re doing that day. Then I’ll work on a programming task. I might be adding a new feature to an existing app, or designing a new app, or fixing a bug that someone found. Sometimes we work together on a single task – we call that ‘pair programming’. If we’re designing something new, we might get together and draw diagrams of how we want it to look. I often chat to one of the scientists to make sure I understand exactly what they need the software to do for them. When I’m done with a task,  I’ll update the app with the changes and ask the scientists to test it to check it’s what they wanted.