• Question: what made you get into science?

    Asked by anon-252745 to Anabel, Soudi, Bill on 2 May 2020. This question was also asked by anon-253151, anon-256714.
    • Photo: Anabel Martinez Lyons

      Anabel Martinez Lyons answered on 2 May 2020:

      Hi Bethan- I think it was finding science in school to be fascinating, particularly when we learnt about DNA and how many human diseases can be caused or influenced by the genetic information we inherit from our mothers and fathers. I then went to a 3-week summer program at a university in America when I was 16 during my summer holidays where I got to clone a gene from jellyfish that makes them glow (called GFP) into some bacteria, which made them glow, and other experiments like that. I knew I wanted to be a scientist who worked in a lab (we call them ‘wet lab scientists’) from then on. I went on to study human genetics at university, followed by looking at a rare group of genetic disorders called mitochondrial disorders for my post-graduate degree, and now I’m something called a research fellow, and I study the genetic causes of liver cancers. Thanks for your question!

    • Photo: Soudabeh Imanikia

      Soudabeh Imanikia answered on 5 May 2020:

      Hi Bethan,
      I always loved science at school. It was the cool and not-boring topic for me. However, it was the day that I first heard about the cloned sheep, Dolly, that my jaw just dropped and I went “wow, I want to become a scientist and do similar things”. Well spoiler alert: I don’t clone sheep but I do clone different genes into bacteria and then then use the construct that I have made to introduce into the C. elegans worms that I use. I make the worms glow (flurescent proteins) or I switch on/off some genes at specific times and under specific conditions. So my overall dream has come true.
      My non-science reason for becomin a scientist is my grandpa, who always encoureged me to study, to study what I enjoy. And with that I was so focused to achieve what I dreamt of.

    • Photo: Bill Carton

      Bill Carton answered on 18 Jun 2020:

      Hi Bethan, Fantastic question! Sorry for the delayed response! I always loved biology in school and it was the only subject I enjoyed! I didn’t really like plant biology though and was much more interested in studying diseases and how they work and how scientists were trying to cure them! Then when my own grandfather got diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and I started reading up on it, I decided I wanted to study biomedical science and go into research to try make a difference! Thanks for your great question!

Comments

  • Photo: Natasha

    Natasha commented on :

    I think what made me get into science wasn’t what I learnt at secondary school, but getting some experience at a research institute.
    I always enjoyed science at school, but I also enjoyed many other subjects, so science didn’t really stand out to me. But as you go through school you have to pick less and less subjects to learn, which I found difficult. I figured biology would be a good choice to pick as I enjoyed it and it was one of my better grades and it went from there.

  • Photo: Eleanor

    Eleanor commented on :

    I liked science and animals when I was at school and wanted to be a vet. Which is absolutely science based, but not ‘being a scientist’ exactly. When I was working as a vet I was really interested by the ability to answer questions about how bodies work and fail using science so I turned my focus as a vet away from clinical work and towards answering those questions (relevant to my patients). I looked for a PhD that would teach me about genetics, which I found particularly interesting because there are lots of genetic diseases in dogs, then got the bug for research and have stuck with that as my focus ever since. I’m still a vet, but working to understand disease rather than treat it most of the time.

  • Photo: Shaline

    Shaline commented on :

    I was always very interested in science generally from when at school particularly as my favourite subjects were Biology and Chemistry. However, I really fueled that passion and desire at the start of university when one of my lecturers (who then became my PhD supervisor) gave us a talk on the importance of Schwann cells in peripheral nerve injury and regeneration. As they say, from that moment the rest was history and I knew that science is what I was interested in and that I wanted to pursue a career in academic research.