A levels:  Biology, Chemistry, Maths, French 

Degree course: BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science with Industrial Experience

Ceri studies the properties of mucus in the airways to try and figure out what goes on in respiratory diseases. Loves tearing up trails on her mountain bike!

My job is….
Working in a research centre at The University of Manchester where I study changes in the airways due to respiratory diseases like asthma. Hopefully we can figure out what is going wrong and develop new treatments for people.

Home is…..
My lovely little house in Gresford, just over the border from Chester into North Wales.  I live there with my boyfriend and our  adopted dog, Molly. I grew up near Chester and having moved away for a while, have ended up back there as I love being ten minutes from the city, an hour from the mountains and an hour from the sea…I can pick and choose exactly what I want to do and when!

The story so far….
I am very inquisitive by nature, and always found science helped to explain the what, why, where, when and how of all kinds of things. So I studied science through school, and thought I’d choose science A-levels because I knew that science would give me lots of opportunities in the future. I couldn’t decide what to do for my degree, but I knew I wanted to go to University and study something medical-based, so I chose Biomedical Science which gave me experience in lots of different areas of medical science…including anatomy and dissection which I wasn’t so keen on!  For the 3^rd Year of my degree, I lived and worked for a research company in the south of Germany, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I returned to England to finish my degree and then decided I would like to stay in research so I opted for a PhD. Having grown up with a cousin who suffers terribly with asthma and having learnt that there is still very little out there to help people with breathing problems lead normal and active lives, I decided that this was an area I would like to work in. Working towards a PhD wasn’t something I ever thought I’d do, and I have never had any great plan for my life. I take opportunities as they come up, and follow my instincts, and so far so good!

Day in the life...
I am a bit of an early bird and am up by 6am every day. I live about an hour away from work, so have an hour every morning in my car, thinking about what I will do that day and having a sing-along to the radio! I am even trying to learn Italian in the car every morning! I am usually in work by 8am, and I check my emails and write a plan for that day. Research tends to be very flexible, and we all manage our own time to fit in what we need to do.  I then set up any experiments I am doing that day, as well as making sure the cells I am growing in the lab are healthy and have enough nutrients to grow and do what they are meant to! We have a group meeting every Monday where we take it in turns to report back to our team on what has (and hasn’t!) worked and where we plan to go from there. Discussions with friends and colleagues are an important part of my job, and it is great to have so many opportunities to learn new skills and meet lots of people. I usually have lunch with friends about 12.30 in our coffee area at work (the building I work in is new and all open-plan, so it’s a nice place to be). I then tend to be in the lab most of the afternoon, finishing off things from the morning and setting up any overnight experiments to run while I am at home. I usually finish work by 5pm unless something comes up. Most Fridays we all sneak off to the pub for a drink before the weekend. I try to go out on my bike one or two evenings a week when the weather is reasonable, and work on Saturday nights behind the bar or waiting-on in my local restaurant. Then usually one night a week, I have friends round for dinner. Weeks fly by as I am so busy, but no two days are the same and I thoroughly enjoy what I do.

Pet project
Everybody has a layer of slime in the airways, called mucus. This mucus stops harmful bugs and chemicals from damaging our lungs. In the UK, 10% of people suffer with asthma, and 1 in 2000 babies born have an inherited disease called cystic fibrosis. People born with cystic fibrosis often die before they finish high school, so it is a very serious illness. One of the main problems is that people make too much mucus that is very thick and sticky. This thick, sticky mucus can block the airways, prevent breathing and can cause death! My research is to find out why mucus changes in people with asthma and cystic fibrosis, and hopefully we can find new medicines to help people live longer, healthier lives.

Freetime
Having grown up on a farm, I have always enjoyed being outdoors, and my weekends are often spent hill-walking, mountain biking, kayaking and horse riding. I am a season ticket holder and huge fan of Sale Sharks rugby union club, and most Friday evenings during the winter months are spent cheering them on! Travel is another passion of mine, and having spent a year living in the south of Germany as part of my degree, I had the opportunity to see many places in Europe, including Rome and Paris, where I even caught some of the Six Nations! So on the odd occasion as a treat, I will book some cheap flights and head off with friends or family to explore somewhere new. Closer to home, there is nothing better than cooking a great meal for friends, lighting the BBQ and having everyone round for a glass of wine and good old gossip!

What are your burning ambitions?
My immediate goals concern primarily my research, so successfully completing my PhD is top priority. I am also very keen on teaching and science communications. And I hope to continue with this and develop it further, including writing articles and possibly some radio work too.

Long term I aim to pursue a career that encompasses science and the public, ideally in a communications role. I especially want to work with young people, educating them on the importance of science. As well as this, I feel strongly about training scientists to communicate their work, and hope to incorporate this into my future work.

The best thing is…..
Working in research has proved to be a great opportunity that is rewarding in so many ways…what other jobs can you work in a state-of-the-art environment, manage all your own projects and time, meet 100’s of new people, travel around the country (and even the world!), take some time off to see friends and family, get a highly regarded qualification AND get paid! 

Any regret(s)?
No, not at all. I grab opportunities with both hands, some work out, others don’t, but it shapes the person you are and mistakes are always are great way to learn! Someone once told me, “You are only as big as the dreams you dare to live, so go for it!”

What do you love most about science and engineering?
We will never fully understand everything, which means there is always a lot to learn, it is forever changing and no two days are ever the same.

Name quirky/crazy fact about you or your job
The clever and compact design of the human lungs means that over 1500 miles of airways are neatly folded to fit into our chests! ONE