Profile
Sophie Adjalley
My CV
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Education:
Before starting my PhD, I did all of my studies in France, mostly in Paris where I was born and grew up.
I went to High School at the Lycée Maurice Ravel in Paris, France, where the primary focus of my baccalaureate was Maths and Biology. After doing a first year of Medicine, which I found very stressful as it is highly competitive in France, I decided to study biology at the University. I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. I then moved to New York in America to undertake my PhD studies at Columbia University where my research focused on malaria parasites. -
Qualifications:
French baccalaureate, with Maths and Biology majors.
Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.
Master of Science in Molecular and Cellular Engineering.
Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology. -
Work History:
Before my current position, I worked as a postdoctoral Fellow at the EMBL, another great institute in Europe with a focus on basic research in molecular biology.
Before undertaking my PhD studies in America, I worked as a visiting scientist in a research laboratory in the department of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute in Israel.
And earlier in my career, I worked for 6 months in the clinical research department of a big pharmaceutical company in Paris. -
Current Job:
I work as Senior Postdoctoral Fellow at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, on a beautiful campus in the countryside near Cambridge. I work in the Parasites and Microbes Programme, where we use genomics and basic research to tackle infectious diseases.
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About Me:
I am a French molecular biologist and parasitologist, who works at the Wellcome Sanger Institute near Cambridge. I am also the mother of a 3-year old boy, and the owner of two American cats my partner (who is also French) and I adopted when we lived and studied in America.
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I live in London with my partner, our 3 year old son and our 2 cats.
I love traveling, hiking and singing in the shower. My favorite activities outside of the lab are climbing and taking my son on bike rides. Oh and I loved baking too: I have a terribly sweet tooth!
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The malaria parasites are transmitted to humans via bites from infected mosquitoes. The parasites travel through the skin and reach the liver where they infect liver cells (hepatocytes) and silently multiply. These many more parasites then migrate to the blood stream where they enter red blood cells, in which they find the nutrients to grow and multiply. This is this perpetual invasion (and destruction) of red blood cells that will make a person very sick.
A l
ot of what I do involves studying the role of the malaria parasite’s genes, these pieces from the parasite’s genome that encode proteins. How important are those for the parasites to survive? How mutations in those genes can impact the drug treatments we use to treat malaria patients?To answer those questions, I try to remove some of these genes from the parasite’s genome or I modify them and I study whether the parasite can still grow.
I also test various chemical compounds to investigate how those can affect the parasite’s growth, especially if the parasite carries some mutations in its genome, which is the case in many parts of South-East Asia and makes it more difficult for us to treat malaria patients with the current antimalarial drugs.
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My Typical Day:
I usually start my day by going into our cell culture lab and check on my parasites cultures. Did I mention that the parasites are grown in red blood cells? I spend a good amount of my day looking at these creatures inside the red blod cells under the microscope and as scary as they are it is also amazing to observe how much they can do!
Because part of my work involves modifying the parasite’s genome, I spend a lot of time in the molecular biology lab, working with tiny tubes and DNA that is barely visible to the naked eye! -
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After dropping my son at the nursery, I drive off to work.
Once I have parked my car, I stop by the cafeteria to get my usual hot chocolate and walk to the office. I turn on my computer, reply to a few emails or rush to the lab if I have some time-sensitive experiments which happens quite often!
Parasites colored in purple inside red blood cells
The first thought is usually to make sure that the parasites have enough food: they not only require red blood cells, but also nutrients that we provide in culture media for them to grow. Looking at them under the microscope allows me to verify that they are happily growing and multiplying.
In the molecular biology lab, I usually have genetic manipulation work to carry out to modify parasites genes or to confirm that the gene I targeted for deletion has indeed been removed from the parasite genome.
But once in the lab, I also have time to catch up with my colleagues, discuss experiments or chat about our evening or our plans for the week-end.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Curious, enthusiastic, always eager to learn
What did you want to be after you left school?
Medical Doctor
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No, except for chatting too much with my classmates during class!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Arcade Fire
What's your favourite food?
Chocolate
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Travel the world, get a licence to pilot a plane or a helicopter (I'm not too picky!) and learn to play the guitar. Hmm, I think all of these might require a bit of time and money!
Tell us a joke.
What did the science book say to the maths book? Wow, you've got problems!
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