Profile

I am a student living in Cambridge, where I have recently finished my undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences. At home I have two rescue dogs Frodo and Gwen who I love to go and visit often 🐕

I have always  been a big Harry Potter fan since I was little, and also have a weak spot for reality TV! My other weaknesses include chocolate, listening to music 24/7, and quoting Shrek 2. 🍫  🎵  🍿

During my first year as a PhD student, I have worked in both experimental and computational biology. This has included studying how we can use combinations of drugs to tackle cancer, to the computational analysis of how people respond differently to infection.

My PhD project will focus on cancer, and the alterations to DNA (mutations) which might cause different cancer types. I also am interested in why some cancers respond better to therapies than others.

In order to tackle these questions, you need to use experiments in the laboratory, as well as computational techniques to analyse the data you collect. Experiments include editing the DNA of cancer cells to see how this changes their behaviour; as well as treating them with drugs  to see which might be the best fit for treatment.

We can now sequence DNA at relatively low cost, which means that we can see what mutations are common to cancer patients, and look for patterns. This has been done now for many patients, meaning there is a lot of data to analyse!

Normally, each day I wake up at 7.30am and take a bus to work to arrive at 9am. ☀️
When I arrive at my desk I will make a plan for any experiments I have planned for that day and make a timetable so that I can keep track. For each experiment I do I will write down everything I did and record all my results, this means I won’t forget what has been done, and I am able to analyse all the data I collect later. 📝

There are different types of science labs where I work (see pictures), and the one I use will depend on what type of experiment I need to do. We need to wear protective equipment including lab coats and gloves so that we don’t come into contact with any harmful substances.

Often I will have meetings with other members of my lab group, where we will update each other on the work we are doing and give advice. It’s also nice to chat to members of the group over lunch or coffee!

At 5pm I finish off any experiments for that day and head back home on the bus

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