• Question: what made you choose this topic

    Asked by kirstenmckenzie to Leisha, Anouk, Chris, Judith, Seyyed on 11 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by chloemiles15, clarkey, lanacrow20, isabelle.
    • Photo: Anouk Gouvras

      Anouk Gouvras answered on 11 Jun 2012:

      Perhaps I can start with zoology – the study of animals, every since I was small I was really interested by animals. Where they came from, why they did things, how they lived etc. THe more a learnt about them (from my parents, my family, books, my teachers and friends) the more I knew I wanted to learn more. So I decided to study zoology at university. At uni I learnt about parasites, and they amazed me, they still do. The way they can infect different animals, with such very different bodies, cells, immune systems, life styles etc the way that they adapted different transmission routes based on what their host animal does e.g. the worm I research infects mammals and snails by piercing their skin when they are in water, another worm parasite infects people by being ingested with food and water, and another parasite (not a worm) actually changes the behaviour of one of its hosts, a mouse, so that it gets eaten by its second host (a cat)! That something like that, a life cycle like that exists and has evolved is fascinating!
      The parasite I research has been around for thousands of years, they even found it in ancient egyptian mummies. And its still around today. Its so sad that it causes so much damage to the children that become infected with it. SO I think I also like the fact that I can help with this. By researching this animal that I find so interesting I can also help programs that are trying to control it, stop people getting infected and treat people that are. So I feel that my interest and my work is useful to people. Also it means that I get to travel to a lot of places that I wouldn’t normally go, and I see what its like to live and work in some of the poorest communities in sub-Saharan Africa. I do enjoy my work a lot. Its a fun topic

    • Photo: Judith Sleeman

      Judith Sleeman answered on 11 Jun 2012:

      Just following my interests, really. I chose a degree that was really the medical side of biology (infection, cancer, developmental biology and stuff) just because it interested me the most. At University we had a few lectures on embryonic stem cells which were a fairly new discovery at the time and I just thought they were the coolest thing EVER: a single cell that you can grow trillions of copies of in the lab, but if you put them into an animal they can form every single bit of the animal AND you can use them to put new genes into the animal. So, I applied for a PhD project in Edinburgh working with embryonic stem cells, but it didn’t all go exactly to plan and I ended up looking at how messenger RNA works (this is the molecule that takes the information from the genes in the nucleus into the cytoplasm where the cell needs to use it: more of that in my profile, if you’re interested!). That got me interested in the different structures inside the nucleus of the cell, so I applied for a job in a lab in Germany working on nuclear structure. I got the job, but the lab was about to move to Dundee so I ended up staying in Scotland. I still work on the nucleus and messenger RNA, but also on how cells ‘decide’ to become brain cells, so a little bit back towards the stem cells I was so interested in to begin with.

    • Photo: Chris Kettle

      Chris Kettle answered on 12 Jun 2012:

      A series of events beyond my control. Being in the right place at the right time.

      I chose biology but the genetics chose me. I don’t think you need to be hung up from age 11 that your goal in life is to be a biochemist. Your environment will shape your education more than you realise!!!

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