Profile

Photo:

Olga Stepanova

My CV

  • Education:

    I went to school in Lithuania and then moved to Aberdeen to do a degree in Molecular Biology and Biobusiness. Now I am doing a PhD in Genetics at the University of Edinburgh.

  • Qualifications:

    I had a lot of subjects in high school (10 or 11!?) and sat 4 exams: Biology, Maths, English and Lithuanian.

  • Work History:

    When I was at school I was selling clothes online and worked in a cinema for a while during my 2nd and 3rd year at university.

    I also did a lot of internships! Two bioinformatics internships in Cambridge and Aberdeen during spring and summer holidays. Then I went to Copenhagen for a year to work in the Epigenetics & Cancer lab as a part of my degree. After graduation I worked in a small biotech company during the summer before I started my PhD

  • Current Job:

    I just started a PhD and will spend the next 3-4 years at the University of Edinburgh

  • About Me:

    I am doing a PhD in Genetics at the University of Edinburgh. I have lived, studied and worked in Lithuania, Denmark and Scotland, thanks to my science degree!

  • Read more

    I am working in a research area which has a fancy name “Epigenetics”. All of our cells have the same DNA (instruction manual), so how is our body managing to make over 200 types of different cells and change as we grow older!?

    Epigenetics is trying to answer these questions. Our DNA is wrapped around the “beads” called histones. Different molecules can attach to these “beads” and our DNA to turn genes “ON” and “OFF”. If you are an eye cell you don’t want to start growing hair so better have those genes off!

    There are a lot of different epigenetic “switches”. Sometimes they stop working properly when we get sick and old. I am studying these “switches” in mouse cells because we need to understand how something works before we try to fix it!

     

     

  • My Typical Day:

    I wake up, have breakfast with my massive mug of tea and take a bus to the lab. I spent most of my day in the lab but also do some work on a computer in the office while drinking tea 🙂

  • Read more

    I come to the lab between 9 at 10 in the morning and finish at 5-6. My days can be very different depending on the experiments I’m doing.

    Usually I spend mornings working in a lab with DNA. Then I have lunch and can go to a research talk or a lab meeting. In the middle of the day I do more labwork and while I’m waiting for my experiments I go to the office to read papers, update lab book, check Instagram and, of course, drink more tea 🙂 I like to leave the last hour or two to do experiments with cells or just take care of them when I don’t have any experiments planned.

    In the evenings I meet with friends in the city or just go home to cook and relax 🙂

  • My Interview

    • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

      Curious, organised, quiet

      What did you want to be after you left school?

      Not hard to guess... A biologist! :)

      What's your favourite food?

      Sushi

Questions answered by Olga

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