Profile
Anna Dickson
My CV
-
Education:
I went to Wolstanton High School before studying for my A levels at Stoke on Trent sixth form college. I did my undergraduate degree at the University of Manchester (Biomedical Sciences), carried out a 1 year masters at the University of Cambridge and I stayed in Cambridge to do aPhD in medical sciences.
-
Qualifications:
GCSEs.
A levels – 4 – Biology, Chemistry, Geography and Psychology
BSc Biomedical Sciences.
MRes Medical Sciences. -
Work History:
The Royal Society – Science policy intern (I spent 3 months working here as part of my PhD to experience how the science we do in the laboratory can impact society as a whole!).
AstraZeneca – Placement student (1 year, as part of my degree in Manchester). -
Current Job:
PhD student
-
About Me:
I am a final year PhD student in Cambridge studying the biology of human cells. As well as biology, I love travelling, the countryside and Harry Potter!
-
Read more
I live in Cambridge with my boyfriend and we cycle everywhere – which is great as long as it’s not raining! I have been in Cambridge for 4 years and it’s lovely, it’s quite a small city, but very pretty and has some lovely areas surrounding it. I love travelling, the countryside and Harry Potter! My favorite holiday was to Japan, I love going to the Lake district and have read the Harry Potter books more times than I can count…!
-
My Typical Day:
After my breakfast, I do my 10 minutes morning cycle into my lab. Most of my work is done using cells which I always have growing in the lab (they’re my lab babies), so the first thing I do is check on them and get on with my experiments. Of course, we have the occasional meeting, and tea and cake breaks!
-
Read more
I am lucky that I live quite close to my lab, so I generally leave the house at 8:30 am and cycle to the lab in about 10 minutes (everyone cycles in Cambridge, and luckily its a very flat city!). I try to make a to do list before I leave the lab every evening so that I don’t need to think too much in the morning, but the first thing I tend to do is check on my cells to see if they are alive and check for any unwanted infections (fingers crossed there isn’t any!). I then chat to my colleagues and get on with my experiments, analyse any results I get and try and read some scientific papers.
My day usually involves one or two meetings. I either have a meeting with my supervisor to chat over my project, a meeting with the whole lab to discuss each others projects together (these usually involve cake!), or a seminar by a scientist – either a local one or one vising the University.
We also have lunch and plenty of tea breaks throughout the day which is great to chat to other people in the building. I try to leave the lab by 6 pm most days so that I can go home, cook and relax :).Although right now I am working from home, spending all day writing my thesis!
-
My Interview
-
How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Determined, caring and indecisive
What did you want to be after you left school?
I had absolutely no idea - so chose A levels I enjoyed.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Not really
What's your favourite food?
Thai food - I love noodles!
Tell us a joke.
What do you call an acid with attitude? A-mean-oh acid!
-