Profile
Michael Jones
My CV
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Education:
Secondary School (2011-2017): Trinity C of E School, Belvedere
University (2017-2021): University of Southampton
Post-Graduate (2021-Present): University of Manchester/Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute
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Qualifications:
GCSEs: 5 A*s, 11 As
AS-levels: Geography (A)
A-levels: Biology (A), Chemistry (A), Psychology (B)
Degree: Biomedical Sciences MSci (1st Class)
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Work History:
I worked at Schuh for just over 5 years during my A-levels and during University. I would recommend anyone work in retail – it’s great character building!
I did 2 weeks work experience at Lewisham Hospital. This was important in helping me decide if I wanted to apply for medicine (and become a Doctor), or Biomedical sciences and become a researcher.
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About Me:
Hi, I’m Michael – originally from South-East London, but now living in Manchester. I’m a 1st year PhD student at the CRUK Manchester Institute. In my spare time I love to run 🏃♂️ and play the guitar 🎸. Big F1 fan – big up the honey badger!
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I grew up in South-East London, and attended a normal state school after not passing my 11+ exams (I remember being gutted at the time). It was here I discovered I had an interest in sciences, and took up Biology, Chemistry and Psychology for A-levels.
I attended the University of Southampton and studied for a Masters degree in Biomedical Sciences – originally enrolled on the 3-year BSc course, but changing to the 4-year MSci course just before COVID hit!
I have just started my PhD in Manchester, working in a lab dedicated to investigating the causes of leukaemia (a type of blood cancer).
Fitness is a great stress relief for me – whether it be pounding the streets or throwing weights around in the gym. Running is my passion – looking to finish marathon #5 soon! I really enjoy travelling around, and so I am planning to take a gap year following my PhD to see what the world has to offer. I love to play and listen to music – however despite being ginger and playing the guitar, I’m still yet to see the money Ed Sheeran is making.
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My work focusses on a type of blood cancer called Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (or AML for short).
If you imagine a family tree with your oldest relative right at the top and all of your Grandparents, parents, aunties, uncles, cousins and siblings spreading out, you can see how the oldest person eventually leads to the youngest person. This is exactly how our blood cells are formed in our bone marrow – we have special stem cells at the top of this tree, and more common blood cell types at the bottom of the tree.
In conditions like AML, something goes wrong in this ‘family tree’ of blood cells, and we get a blockage. So, we end up losing out on all of the cells we need at the bottom of the family tree. This is bad for us, because without the cells at the bottom of the family tree, we lose important functions – for example, no T cells or B cells means no immune system.
So what causes this? Well, many things…
My research looks into the role a group of proteins called ‘Groucho proteins’ have in AML. These proteins usually work to control the expression of genes by stopping their transcription. However in AML, these Groucho proteins may be responsible for causing the block in the blood cell tree.
My job is to find out just how important these proteins are!
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My Typical Day:
I usually wake up around 5:30am and make my way to the gym for 6:00am. I work out until 7:30am, get home and ready for the lab around 9:00-9:30am. I always take some time to plan my day out – which is usually filled with experiments and the odd meeting. I usually make my way home around 3:00-4:00pm.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
A running ginger
What did you want to be after you left school?
I didn't know - I just did what I found interesting/fun!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
A little - usually talking too much...
Who is your favourite singer or band?
This ranges from Ed Sheeran to Slipknot to Dave to Bo Burnham!
What's your favourite food?
Honey
Tell us a joke.
Why are elephants wrinkled? Because they don't fit on the ironing board.
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