Profile – Medical Research Zone

Education:

I went to a comprehensive school in Wigan and did my GSCEs here. I then went to a college close by and studied chemistry, maths, biology and philosophy. After college I went to the University of Liverpool where I studied Maths and Philosophy for a year and then changed courses and graduated with a degree in Pharmacology. After I got my degree I did a masters in Translational Medicine and am now at the Uni of Cambridge doing my PhD.
Qualifications:

At high school I got 10 GCSEs including maths, English and triple science. At college I got a B in AS level Biology and an A* in Philosophy, A in Chemistry and a B in Maths.
At the Uni of Liverpool I got a First Class degree in Pharmacology and a Distinction in my Masters.
Work History:

Throughout university I worked in a Fish and Chip shop just to make some money and also worked for my dad part-time.
Current Job:

I am currently a PhD student at Cambridge in Roger Barker’s group. I look at how we can use stem cells to model Parkinson’s disease.

About Me:

I am a PhD student using stem cells to research Parkinson’s disease
My Typical Day:

On an average day I spend most of my time in a laboratory. I make cells become a different type of cell by adding certain chemicals to them. This is a process called differentiation.
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I get to work at around 9am. Some days my lab has a meeting where we all get to discuss what work we have done that week. I spend most of my time in a special type of laboratory called cell culture. These are special laboratory’s that are dedicated to keeping cells alive so that we can study them. These labs have to be very clean so that no bacteria or viruses can get onto your cells. Therefore I have to be extra careful when I am working with my cells. When I want to look at my cells in more detail I can take pictures of them and look for certain proteins inside of them.

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Sophie Skidmore