Profile
Catherine Heath
My CV
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Education:
Brookmans Park Primary School, Dame Alice Owen’s Secondary School, University of Sheffield
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Qualifications:
10 GCSEs, A levels in Biology, Chemistry, History, undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology, PhD in Molecular Biology
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Work History:
Bar staff for an events company in London, teaching assistant at the University of Sheffield
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Current Job:
I am currently a research scientist
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About Me:
I’m Cath and I love learning new things, being outdoors and playing hockey 🙂
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Read more
I recently moved to Edinburgh from Sheffield, where I have a job as a scientist. I love playing and watching sports and I enjoy exploring the Scottish countryside!
I like to travel and see new places as well as relaxing in front of the TV with some tasty food!
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Read more
I am a molecular biologist which means that I study the smallest parts of our bodies, the cell, and the even smaller bits inside the cell! I do this to try and understand how our bodies work so we can try and fix them when they go wrong.
Here is a picture of a cell, it is made up of all these tiny bits which all do really important things to keep us alive!
I am especially interested in how our cells use tiny molecules, called RNA, to communicate with the mitochondria, which are the bits of the cell that make energy (the yellow and orange blobs in the picture above). Some people call the mitochondria the POWERHOUSE OF THE CELL! Without these messages we can’t power our bodies properly, so understanding this process will help to keep us healthy.
As a scientist I get to carry out lots of experiments using human cells to try and answer some of the questions we have about our bodies.
This means that I work in a laboratory, in a white lab coat, carrying out different experiments every day. I then have to write about what I have found to share with other scientists so we can work together to answer these questions more quickly!
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My Typical Day:
I get up and cycle to work after a big cup of coffee! I check that my cells are alive and then I plan and carry out my experiments for the day. I also talk to other scientists to come up with new ideas and discuss the results of my experiments.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Positive, relaxed, friendly
What did you want to be after you left school?
A sports woman!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
.....
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Arcade Fire
What's your favourite food?
Pasta
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To be happy, to help people and to be able to travel the world!
Tell us a joke.
What do you call a fish without an eye? A fsh.
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