Profile
Saadia Karim
My CV
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Education:
Queen’s Park Secondary School
University of Glasgow for BSc, Masters and my PhD.
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Qualifications:
Standard Grade Maths, Standard Grade English, Standard Grade Chemistry, Standard Grade Physics, Standard Grade Geography, Standard Grade Art, Standard Grade Home Economics, GCSE Urdu (14-15 years old)
Higher Maths, Higher English, Higher Chemistry, Higher Physics, Higher Geography (16-17 years old)
Higher Art, Six Year Studies Chemistry, Higher Biology (17-18 years old)
BSc (Hons): Genetics
MSc: Medical Genetics
PhD: The Effects of Increased Plp1 Gene Dosage on Expression and Processing of Myelin Proteins
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Work History:
Checkout Staff – local supermarket (Fine Foods/Safeway) – 17-18 years old
Home support and Day care worker (Social work Dept) – 18-22 years old
BT faults operator – 22-24 years old
Research Assistant – 24-30 years old Unversity of Glasgow
Research Assistant – 30-32 years old Beatson Institute for Cancer Research
Senior Scientific Officer – 32-43 years old Beatson Institute for Cancer Research
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About Me:
I live in Glasgow with my family. I am a researcher in cancer biology here is Glasgow. I have a wee cat and in my spare time I like to sew my own clothes and clothes for my niece. I love Star Wars, Harry Potter and books by Terry Pratchett.
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Read more
I have worked in cancer research for the last 15 years. I currently work on pancreatic cancer research. The pancreas is near the stomach and spleen in your body and produces insulin and enzymes that help food digestion. Pancreatic cancer is a pretty bad cancer and there has been very little improvement in treatment or patient survival (how long a person lives after getting cancer). Our work involves investigating new drugs or treatments and their effectiveness in killing cancer cells. We also look at how to get the patient’s own immune system to remove the cancer cells but not affect normal healthy cells.
Before this I worked in biological research in the neurobiology field (the brain and spinal cord). A lot of the techniques used in biological research can be applied in any research field/area so the skills I learned at univeristy and in the neurobiology work are still useful in my current job.
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My Typical Day:
I wake up and get ready for work. I get to work around 9.30am and start my day with some computer work. I have my breakfast at work at 10.30am in the canteen. After my breakfast I start new experiments or continue with some from the day before. Then I have lunch with friends after which it is back to the lab to do more experiments. I go home at 6pm.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would like to go to local primary schools in Glasgow and talk to the children about STEM research especially in less well off areas.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
friendly geeky biologist
What did you want to be after you left school?
A Scientist
Were you ever in trouble at school?
once in first year the whole class got lines
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Travis
What's your favourite food?
mac and cheese or veggie pakora
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
That i could teleport places, that my children stayed little for a bit longer and that i had met my favourite author.
Tell us a joke.
knock knock, who's there, doctor, doctor who?
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