Hi all,

Well I've just returned from the third of three scientific conferences in the last month and I am back to the lab now. Met some really fascinating people, and lots of super-star scientists in the respiratory field too. My brain is so full of information I think it'll take me a week to recover! Conferences are a great way to meet new people and chat not only about research, but get ideas from others and make lots of friends from all across the world. It has to be a highlight of my job, for sure!

I have a date for my PhD viva too, so hopefully by the start of September I'll be a fully-fledged Doctor of Philosophy (ironically a word I'm struggling to spell!). In the meantime, I have lots of experiements to do and a paper to put together, so that should keep me busy.

Look out for a new TV show on Teachers TV in September, all about Asthma and Athletics, and you might see a familar face!

Bye for now!

Ceri.

I can't believe how fast the last 12 months has gone! My thesis is ready for submission at the end of April, and I am fully installed in a "proper" job..working as a Research Assistant on a really exciting tissue engineering project to try and capture the biology of the human airways in a dish, effectively! This will help us to understand how diseases such as asthma vary between individuals and tailor therapeutics towards individual conditions. I have not long returned from a conference in London where I met lots of like-minded individuals attempting to create models of all different parts of the human body. Super interesting, with lots of potential to replace the use of animals in research in the near future.

Closer to home, we have adopted a beautiful dog called Molly, who has settled in and is proving a lot of fun! Although she has a sneaky habit of trying to steal food from picnics and the like! Cheeky!!

Anyway, I need to get back to the lab now, so will close.

Bye for now!

In true research style, results are either all or nothing, and at the moment I have so many experiments to do, I hardly know where to start! I am enjoying it though, even if there is the impending doom of putting all the work together coherently to write my thesis. I'm off down to Horsham to work with my industrial sponsors, hopefully getting lots of pretty pictures for my thesis.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the February sunshine, and have sneaked out with friends on several weekends, biking and walking, with the inevitable pub lunch!

National Science and Engineering Week starts on March 8th, so if you are in the Sheffield area, pop into the Winter Gardens on Saturday 8th March to "Family Science Saturday in the Garden" and "Meet the Scientist". They'll be lots of fun actvities to get messy with! Failing that, check your local museums, schools and learning centres for the activities that are going on.

Enjoy yourselves!

Ceri x

Well it has been a good few months since I last wrote, for which I could make feeble excuses, but will not bother! I hopefully saw some of you at the Manchester Science Festival in October, or maybe in York in September. Both events went really well, and it was great to meet so many enthusiastic and fun people.

Back at work I am super-busy as this is the final year of my PhD. Pressure is on for experiments to work, and slowly but surely I am building up my results towards writing my thesis. But for now, I am concentrating on my lab work, and slightly distracted by Christmas coming up! Shopping almost done, and heading to the coast for Christmas, and maybe a spot of winter surf...brrrr!

Merry Chrsitmas to you all.

Ceri x

Hello!

Now summer is fading and September is here, I have to face up to the reality that is the final year of my PhD! Scary! Lots of my friends have been working ever-so-hard to get theses finished and submitted, and this time next year, that'll be me! All good intentions to get ahead of the game and be super-organised this year...only hope I can stick to it!

I had a great day at the York Science Festival making slime with loads of great people, so thanks to you all who took part. It was good to see so many enthusiastic and fun people giving science a chance to inspire and prove that it is fun!

Bye for now!

Ceri x

Hi everyone!

Well I'm currently at a conference in sunny Cambridge discussing with some of the good and the great scientists of the world the implications of mucins (proteins found in mucus) in health and disease. It really is amazing what people have discovered, and even more what there is still left to fathom out! I think my brain has a serious case of information overload! Met some great people though, and tomorrow we are all off to Cambridge itself to try our hand at punting...sure to be amusing!

Hope everyone has finally seen some blue sky and sunshine.

Bye for now,

Ceri x

Hello!

Well what a week so far! Having far too much fun to even call it work at the moment! Spent Saturday at the Cheltenham Science Festival with NOISE and had a great day...making multi-coloured slime and talking to people about my work and why it's important...also had some good ideas and feedback from some of the lovely people I met. So I do hope everyone enjoyed the festival, weather was great and there was literally tonnes of stuff to see/do/make/play with!

Many congratulations to Nic too, one of my fellow NOISEmakers, who won FAMElab on Saturday night! Fantastic! And a big well done to Phil too, also in the grand final. Good effort guys!

Been busy at work this week, with lots of new things happening. So it's all go! Biking this weekend in North Wales, then off to the coast for some surfing (surf permitting!) so looking forward to that.

Hope you're all well,

Ceri

Well I promised I'd let you know how we got on in the competition I mentioned in my last update...we didn't win, but did come in the top 3 out of 100 entries, so pretty pleased with that!

Since then, time has flown by! Lots of Bank Holiday weekends this time of year, and some reasonable weather lately has meant great trips to the coast, and on my bike with my housemate. Got puncture now, needs fixing but my engineering skills aren't quite up to scratch...I'll have to figure it out!

Got a list of experiments to do that is as long as my arm, and hoping to get some decent results out of them. We've had some world-famous scientists in the Centre this week and talking to them puts into perspective what can be achieved. Best crack on!

Bye for now!

Hello!

Just a quick note on the glorious sunny day in Manchester to let you all know that I, along with a few friends, have been nominated for a Teamwork and Innovation prize! How exciting! Awards ceremony, drinks, nibbles etc is tomorrow evening, so I will let you know how we get on. Basically it is all linked to the hugely successful event we conjured up, organised and ran over National Science Week, to get pupils from schools in the North West into the centre where we work and to have a go at creating models and presentations, songs and dances about the research that goes on here in the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Matrix Research. So, regardless of whether we win or not, I'll take this opportunity to thank all the schools and students who took part...a great time was had by all!

Watch this space!

Ceri

P.S. Good luck to all of you who are busy studying for exams and finals too...horrible time, especially when the sun is out! All the best.

Hello one and all...

Well I have just spent one fabulous sun-soaked week on the coast of Pembrokeshire in South Wales. My parents moved down there two weeks ago so I was lending a hand packing/unpacking and the like before heading off for walks on the coastal path, BBQs on the beach, fishing trips...bliss! Nice to get away for a while and come back refreshed and raring to go at work...well almost!!

Busy few weeks ahead, with lots of experiemtns to do. Once I've done that, I'll be able to make some decisions about where to go with my project next...scary stuff!  

Best crack on...

Ceri x

Hello one and all,

Seems like so much had happened since i last blogged on here, but the highlight of the last few weeks has to be a recent trip to see the Prime Minister and Mrs Blair at Number Ten. As a celebration of this week, National Science and Engineering Week, Mr Blair held a reception for young scientists and engineers (and some not-so-young politicians too!). Great atmosphere, loads of enthusiastic and talented people to talk to, and a chance to meet Mr Blair and his wife face-to-face! Getting through security was like getting into the USA through customs, but once inside, the welcome was a warm one and everyone was lovely. They even let us go round the State Rooms and admire the silver...must look trustworthy! Had a chat to Carol Vorderman too, and Ben Fogle and Jon Tickle were also there. Lots of fun and worth the hike from Manchester to London and back in one afternoon/evening.

Thanks Number Ten!

Ahhhh Monday was my turn to host the weekly lab meeting...basically have to present and discuss all my recent data (if I have any!) and see what went well/wrong and where to go from here. But pleased to say that my supervisor and colleagues were all very positive about my work, and even said they enjoyed the discussion, which lasted well over an hour in the end! A turn up for the books given that I had been dreading it! Maybe this is the start of things to come...a more positive me to fit in with my new year's resolutions. Watch this space! Bye for now.

Ceri x

I've been a bit slack in the lab for the last few days, but have been busy none-the-less! Spent Friday in a radio studio getting an insight into how it all works, as I'm hoping to learn more about this type of media as time goes on. Linked to this, and the possibility of getting young scientists on the radio, I spent Monday meeting loads of young scientists across North Wales and getting their views on what they love and hate about science...some of the ideas were simply brilliant. Watch this space to find out more about this project. And yesterday I was with some of my fellow NOISEmakersm, catching up learning the finer points of how media works. After a fun gathering yesterday, it is back to the lab...so best crack on! Hope you're not all freezing to death...Manchester is really frosty today.

Well I've finally got a spare minute to sit and write what will be hopefully the first of many updates. Our entire lab has upped sticks and moved to a new wing of our building, so chaos has been the order of the day since before Christmas. Finally getting back to normality, apart from the heating system has decided that Antartica is our new climate so we are all wearing lab coats and woolly hats and scarfs...hilarious!

So apart from that, things are good. New Year's Resolutions are to

1. Be more patient

2. Be more positive

So taking time to plan work and think things through instead of rushing on and on like I usually do. So far so good, but we will see how it goes!

Last Friday we all finished at 3pm and ate pizzas and had some beers (bought for us by our boss!) as a thank you for all our hard work moving labs and offices etc etc. So not all work in the world of research! That siad, i have a meeting with my supervisor now to "discuss progress" so I have a few things to show him and loads of questions. Should keep me busy for a while...