Profile
Rachel Harris
My CV
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Education:
- Notre Dame Senior School
- Esher College Sixth form College
- University of Southampton
- University of Glasgow
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Qualifications:
- GCSE 5Bs, 5As and 1A*
- AS level – Music – C
- A2 level – Biology – B, Chemistry – B, Maths with Statistics – B
- BSc Biochemistry – 2:1
- MRes – Distinction
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Work History:
2011-2014 – Part time lifeguard
2016 – Sales Assistant
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About Me:
I live in Glasgow with my friend Adiba. I’m a cancer scientist during the week, but on the weekends I love to be outside, go swimming in the lakes and climb the hills.
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I grew up in Surrey – near London, but I moved to Glasgow to do my PhD. That’s one of the things that’s quite cool about being a scientist is that you move around a lot, so you get to try out a new city every few years. When I finish working in Glasgow I’m hoping to go to America, for at least a short holiday and possibly to work there.
I really like to do things with my hands like sewing and knitting. When it rains I’ll spend my weekends indoors listening to audio books and working on my latest project. When the weather is nice though I like to challenge myself by climbing the biggest mountain I can find. I really like to set myself a big goal and work on it over a long period of time.
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In my research group, we’re looking at metabolism, which is the chemical reactions that happen in the body to produce energy from our food. What we’ve found so far is that in melanoma patients, the metabolism of the cancer is different from the metabolism of the human. This is really helpful for us as it means we can make chemicals that can starve cancer, without starving a healthy human. In order to do this though, we need to know which metabolic reactions are most different between cancer and the human, so that we have the best chance of only killing cancer cells.
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My Typical Day:
I get up at 7am and have some coffee and toast. I try to go to work for 9am (although it’s sometimes 10!). I usually have 2-6 hours of things to do in the lab. Other days I might have more things to do at my desk though, like writing or maths. I’m usually done by 6pm, but some days I can be in the lab until late into the night. I give myself the next morning off when that happens!
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I get up at 7am and go straight for coffee (yum!). I listen to the news in the morning, while I get dressed and then go into the lab. When I come in I have to check my dishes of cells to make sure they are still alive and have enough nutrients to eat. Sometimes I will also have to go downstairs and look at the mice I have in my care, although I don’t always have these. After I’ve checked everything is alive and healthy, I’ll plan what experiments I need to do which usually involves a lot of maths. Setting the experiments up themselves is much more fun, and depending on the experiment might involve programming a robot, mixing up chemical solutions, or my favorite – using multicolored dyes. and I usually listen to my headphones whilst I do this and maybe sing along with some music. Once that’s all done I might have to analyze or write up some of my results. This is always slow but quite exciting because it shows results that no one else in the world knows yet. I usually end at a different time each day – some weeks are busier than others and go home to relax. I like to go for a run or swim in the evenings, but sometimes if it’s been a long day I’ll just go watch some TV!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I’d like to set up a science fair for school children at my institute.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
outdoorsy cancer scientist
What did you want to be after you left school?
A Doctor
Were you ever in trouble at school?
I once got detention for day dreaming too much in class
Who is your favourite singer or band?
I don't really have a favourite - I like all kinds of music
What's your favourite food?
Pizzaaaa
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
I'd wish to have an unlimited amount of money, to live somewhere where it never rains, and to always be happy
Tell us a joke.
Did you hear about the statistician who invented a device to measure the weight of trees? It's referred to as the log scale.
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