What do you do when you’re not working at the Lighthouse Labs?
I am a PhD student in the Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology at the University of Liverpool.
How many years of scientific experience do you have?
6 years of scientific study as well as 2 years working in an NHS pathology lab.
What is your role in the Lighthouse Lab?
At the Lighthouse Lab I work unpacking samples and preparing them for nucleic acid extraction by deactivating the virus.
What is the key experience you bring to that role?
My experience of handling patient samples, as well as molecular biology experience is key for working safely to process the samples.
How is it different to your regular role?
My work usually involves working alongside clinicians from Alder Hey Children’s Hospital to look for stem cell therapies for Hirschsprung’s disease. Although I am used to working with patient samples and as part of a multidisciplinary team, working with virology is very new to me.
Why did you want to get involved?
These are extremely tough and uncertain times for everyone, but I wanted to be able to help even in a small way.
What does it mean to you to be involved?
Working in the testing facility brings me a lot of pride, to know that I am part of something that is helping so many people. It is extremely rewarding to put my knowledge and education to good use.
What is it like working alongside a host of new colleagues from both industry and academia?
It is amazing to experience working with so many great scientists from both academia and industry, and seeing how easily both worlds have integrated to work on such an important project.
What is the best thing about working in the Lighthouse Lab?
The best thing about working in the Lighthouse Lab is seeing how quickly everyone has come together to upscale the testing facilities. Seeing more and more people join the team to do their bit to help is really uplifting in these difficult times!
“Working in the testing facility brings me a lot of pride, to know that I am part of something that is helping so many people. It is extremely rewarding to put my knowledge and education to good use.”
