Profile
David MacLean
My CV
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Education:
- Linlithgow Academy
- University of Glasgow (Bsc Hons Chemistry)
- University of Glasgow (MSc Cancer Science)
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Qualifications:
Standard-Grades (GCSEs):
- Maths
- English
- Chemistry
- Physics
- History
- Music
- Religious Education
Highers (A-Levels):
- Maths
- English
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Biology
- Music
University:
- Chemistry (2:2 Degree)
- Cancer Science (Merit)
Work:
- Introduction to Clinical Biochemistry (Pass)
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Work History:
Ice Cream Van Worker:
I worked for a couple of months on an ice cream van and sold to people on the streets. It was a lot of good fun (although we didn’t sell all that much because who wants to buy ice cream in Scotland in September??).
Assistant Microbiologist:
Between my two degrees I worked in a microbiology lab, testing supermarket food for bacteria (like salmonella). The people were lovely and it gave me some lab experience which helped later on in my career.
Clinical Trials Lab:
After my Masters degree, I moved down to Oxford and worked in a lab which tested blood samples from clinical trials. I worked on a heart disease trial which tried to reduce the number of heart attacks people around the UK were having. I really enjoyed this one as all the people were so nice. I worked here for around 2 years.
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About Me:
I’m a researcher who’s been living in Oxford for around 3 years now. I am a very sporty person but I mainly turn up for the socialising. I’m originally from a small town in Scotland but spent a large portion of my life in the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
I love to play guitar, do some woodworking (when I can), read books, socialise, play games, more socialising, go to watch ice-hockey and much more!
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I went to a small secondary school in Scotland and I studied Maths, English, Chemistry, Biology and Physics for my Highers (Scottish near equivalent to A Levels). I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life but I enjoyed Maths, Chemistry and Biology so I decided to carry on studying. I went to the University of Glasgow to study Chemistry and then continued at the same University to study my Masters in Cancer Science. I moved down to Oxford with my girlfriend 3 years ago and I have been working at the University of Oxford since then. I have played the Scottish sport of Shinty for 20 years now and I now play Tag Rugby with some friends from work. I have played guitar for the majority of my life and I’ve found a love for reading whilst being down here.
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I work on colorectal cancers (cancer in the intestines) and trying to see if I can change the immune system to make radiotherapy more effective. I use cancer cells in a petri dish and treat them with a drug which changes certain proteins in the immune system, after this, I will then radiate them with gamma rays (like your microwave at home radiates your food with microwaves, we use gamma rays instead!) and see how this affects the cancers.
The drugs can hopefully reduce the growth of cancers and maybe be used in patients later on.
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My Typical Day:
I don’t have a typical day as each day is new and different, which is what I love about the job! I will wake up around 7:30am and plan to get into work between 9am and 10am.
I will often be using pipettes and cancer cells. I also regularly use microscopes, stain cells, add drugs to cells, use radiation and much more.
I usually try and do a couple of experiments in a day. These experiments are always changing so my day can be very long or very short. I will always try and leave between 5-6pm.
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My day usually varies a lot. No two days are the same and it means that each day is new and exciting for me. I get up between 6:30am and 7:30am and it takes me an hour to get into work each day. I will try and arrive anywhere between 9am-10am and immediately get started in the lab. I like to run a couple of different experiments throughout the day, this makes the most of my time in the lab. I will usually work on experiments until around 12-1pm where I will have lunch with friends in the lab. Lunch can be variable however, I will sometimes get lunch at 12pm or I will sometimes have a very long experiment which means I will get lunch around 2:30pm.
After this, I will go back into the lab to carry out any more experiments that need to be done by the end of the day. I will normally leave anywhere between 5pm and 6pm and it takes me an hour to get home after that.
When at home, my girlfriend and I will take turns to cook and we’ll either watch something on TV or we’ll be going out to meet friends.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I don’t really know! I think I would probably gift it to the public engagement committee here in Oxford. The public engagement committee have helped bring some really interesting science into schools. The Big Brain Roadshow recently showed pupils in secondary schools what a career in science and biology really is. We managed to show the pupils how the brain works and let them actually look at a brain under the microscope. It was awesome!
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Sporty Cancer Researcher
What did you want to be after you left school?
Academic
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Only very occasionally
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Fox Stevenson
What's your favourite food?
Pizza (with all the BBQ sauce and Meat that can be bought)
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Get a PhD, Move back to Scotland, Spend more time with my parents.
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