Profile

Photo:

Jennifer Leggat

My CV

  • Education:

    I went to a lot of schools! Holy Family in Glasgow, Lowes Wong in Nottingham, The International School of Milan, St. George’s in Rome, The Minster in Nottingham, Runnymede College in Madrid and The British School of the Netherlands in The Hague! After school, I went to the University of Cambridge to study Natural Sciences, then to Newcastle University to study a Masters in Clinical Sciences, then back to the University of Cambridge to study a Masters in Medical Sciences, and I’m still at Cambridge now doing my PhD!

  • Qualifications:

    I’ve got 11 iGCSEs from Runnymede College in Madrid in Maths, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, History, Geography, English Language, English Literature, Spanish, French and Drama. I then got 5 A Levels from the BSN in The Hague in Maths, Further Maths, Geography, Chemistry and Spanish. I also have an MA in Natural Sciences, an MSc in Clinical Sciences and an MRes in Medical Sciences, and I’m now studying for my PhD in Clinical Biochemistry.

  • Work History:

    I’ve had a few jobs around the world. I was a Clinical Cardiac Scientist at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, then a Clinical Cardiac Scientist at the Heart of Australia in Queensland. I’ve also been a Research Scientist at the Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research in Reading, and a Research Scientist at the Genome Institute of Singapore. Outside of science, I’ve also been a Dance Teacher at Allenova School of Dance, Berkshire, and a Professional Dancer with 4All2Envy Entertainment Company in London.

  • Current Job:

    PhD student in Clinical Biochemistry

  • About Me:

    I’m a dancer and a second year PhD student in Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge.

  • Read more

    I’m 27 and live in Cambridge with my boyfriend who is an amazing cook (and an engineer but for me the cooking is more important!). I love dancing and am a member of the Cambridge University Dance Team so I spend about as much time dancing as I do in the lab! My favourite foods are cheese, peanut butter, hummus, veggie curries, chocolate… (I’m allergic to bread, otherwise that would definitely be on that list!). I’m trying to learn Spanish and I love hanging out with my friends whenever I have time to 🙂

  • Read more

    I work in a lab in Cambridge, and I’m researching how non-alcoholic fatty liver disease affects the pathogenesis of diastolic cardiac dysfunction – there’s a lot of long words in there, but it basically means that I’m looking at how fat in the liver affects the way that your heart relaxes between heartbeats. It’s really interesting and could help a lot of people with these conditions, so I really like what I do. I spend a lot of time looking after little heart cells and liver cells in plastic petri dishes, and pipetting strange chemicals onto them and then waiting for things to happen.

  • My Typical Day:

    I wake up quite late because I live next door to my lab! I walk to work for 9am and head up to the lab where I have a chat with my colleagues while I pipette.

  • Read more

    There isn’t really a typical day for me to be honest! Sometimes I’m in the lab, analysing tissues like the liver or the heart from experiments I’ve done. Sometimes I’m in the tissue culture room, looking after or treating my little heart and liver cells. Sometimes I’m in at my computer, analysing results from things I’ve done before or writing project grants or reports. And sometimes I’m in town, teaching other people about the work I’m doing!

  • What I'd do with the prize money:

    I’d run a programme to teach kids and adults the health problems you can get from eating junk food, and how to cook to avoid them!

  • My Interview

    • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

      nerdy, positive, dancer

      What did you want to be after you left school?

      Not sure!

      Were you ever in trouble at school?

      Sometimes! I even got suspended once but it all turned out okay in the end

      Who is your favourite singer or band?

      Will Smith

      What's your favourite food?

      Peanut butter

      If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

      To win the lottery, to have an endless supply of peanut butter, and to never have to clean my house ever again!

      Tell us a joke.

      What kind of bee makes milk? Boo-bees!

Questions answered by Jennifer

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