My job is….
Awesome. I’m a Biophysics research scientist at the University of St. Andrews. Biophysics sounds like a mouthful but it just means scientists using physical techniques to explore biological systems. In particular I use lasers to study the evolution of cancer with the aim of being able to detect it earlier and increase cancer survival rates; I also study the potential use of lasers in Gene therapy to hopefully treat genetic disorders and also use lasers to understand more about the underlying causes of Alzheimer’s disease.

Home is…..
I’m originally from a village just outside Belfast called Annahilt but now I live in St. Andrews in an apartment with a friend who’s also a student. St. Andrews is a town on the east Scottish coast, just north of Edinburgh, one third of the population of the town are students so it’s a lively place with lots going on from sports and activities to great bars. It is also very close to Edinburgh and Dundee and perhaps most importantly it’s only one and a half hours’ drive from the Scottish ski resorts.

The story so far….
I have to say I never thought I would end up being a scientist and having such an interesting job, although I should have realised I was destined for a scientific career when at the age of 10 I immediately took apart a remote control car I was given for my birthday just to see how it worked. When I was younger I was, and still am, fascinated by flying and aircraft and wanted to be a fighter pilot, so for my A-levels I chose subjects that would help me onto this career path, although I have to say it wasn’t a hard choice as I always enjoyed science at school. At university I was torn between studying aeronautical engineering and physics but decided to study physics, at the University of St. Andrews, in the end as I had enjoyed it so much at school. At university I did quite a lot of flying with the University Air Squadron but unfortunately discovered I have a medical condition that meant I couldn’t fly in the Air Force or as a commercial pilot so I was really left not knowing what to do. As the end of my degree approached I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, I thought about law or banking but I didn’t really want to do a lot of paper pushing and at the time I was sure I didn’t want a career in physics as the pure theoretical work and labs just didn’t inspire me. So with a pretty average grade in my degree I left uni with no job and no idea what I wanted to do so I enrolled for an extra year in university doing a masters course at Heriot Watt University largely because it was funded and it would give me more time to think about what I wanted to do. It was during this course that things really turned round as the course was about how science is used in the real world in communications systems, this course culminated in a three month period working at British Aerospace where I worked on the fibre optic communication system for the new Airbus A380. I was from then on hooked on research; it was great to be able to contribute to such an awesome project and be part of something so useful. Although I had really enjoyed my work at British Aerospace I had become very interested in the new area of Biophysics and when a PhD became available in cancer diagnosis using laser spectroscopy I jumped at the chance and have never looked back.

Day in the life
The time that I start my day depends on what’s going on, if I have a meeting I go in early, around 8:30, but normally I stroll into the lab around 10:30. I am not really a nine-to-five person but science is such a flexible career you can really work when you want. In the morning I catch up on my emails and web surfing and will check my cells; most of the work we do is in cell biology so we grow our own cells in the lab. Cells are like really small pets they need feeding and attention to keep them going. If I am going to do an experiment I go to the lab, flick the radio on, and prepare the experimental rig and make sure it’s working properly. I work closely with the medical school as well so I might go over there to discuss some research or pick up some samples. At lunchtime I usually go to pick up some food with lab mates or if I’m busy I might have a working lunch at my desk.  A couple of afternoons a week I often do some teaching in the university labs, take tutorials and on a rare occasion give a lecture. On afternoons when I am not teaching I usually run my experiments, although as with pets, cells don’t always want to play so I could end up working late into the night or sitting at home by 2pm. The experiments I normally run don’t require a lot of supervision so I often head back to our open office where I can sit and chat with friends or maybe work on designs for the next evolution of my experiment or even process some data from previous experiments. I usually pack up and finish around 6:30 and might head out for dinner with friends or head home to do something else. Describing a typical day in science is always tough as it varies from day to day; I might work for only two hours one day and then fourteen the next but no matter what it is always interesting and enjoyable.   

Pet project
My main research project is based around the application of optical tweezers and Raman spectroscopy to the early diagnosis of cancer. One in three people will develop cancer in their lifetime but the good news is that if it is found early it can be easily treated. We use Optical tweezers, a technique that uses light to control and manipulate biological cells. It’s a bit like a tractor beam for very small particles, to hold and immobilise cells whilst simultaneously taking a Raman signature. Raman is a laser based spectroscopy technique that examines the chemical composition of any sample. It works by sending the very pure single frequency laser light, or you can think of it as a light beam of a very pure shade of colour on to a sample which interacts with the light and changes it. We then collect the altered light and examine it. Each molecule in the substance changes the light in a different way so that we can build up a chemical fingerprint. The great thing with Raman is that there are no chemical markers required and because it probes the chemistry it has the potential to pick up the earliest biochemical changes in cells associated with Cancer. We have been studying cervical cancer initially, in cooperation with the medical school. Most cervical cancers are caused by an infection of the Human Papillomavirus and we have been studying cultures in the lab that we have manually infected with the cancer causing virus. We are really excited with the work as we are able to pick up and detect the very earliest signs of cancerous changes up to a mere three days after infection and with it the very initial stages of cancer with an accuracy above what a pathologist could even normally achieve at a much later stage in development. We are not aiming to replace pathologists but rather give them a tool to help them make important and informed decisions. We have ethical permission to start work on cervical smears so this technique is not a long way off impacting peoples’ lives in a real positive fashion. Another aim in this project is differentiating between dangerous cancerous legions and benign lesions that won’t develop into anything dangerous. These are quite hard to tell apart and patients can often undergo unnecessary painful procedures. By using this laser spectroscopy method we will hopefully be able to tell the difference and make life easier for patients and doctors.

Freetime
After work ends I tend to do a verity of different things. During the winter I try to get up to the Scottish ski resorts whenever there’s snow and if I can, try to get over to Europe for a week skiing. During the summer I play a lot of cricket around Fife, there are some great grounds there. Throughout the year I do quite a bit of target rifle. I’ve been lucky enough to represent my country on a few occasions and although I haven’t entered any major competitions recently I practice two or three times a week to keep my eye in. When I can I also like to play golf and snooker despite being a bit of a hacker at both. Outside sport I like to meet up with friends for a few drinks and a laugh and watching ruby and football from the comfort of a bar stool during the cold Scottish winter. I hope to get back into flying when my new job starts, I’m particularly interested in paragliding, it just looks so much fun. One major perk of science is the travel to overseas conferences; I managed to get a trip driving a convertible from San Diego to San Francisco on the back of a conference so hopefully the future will bring a few more conferences my way. If I get a moment to myself I also like to listen to music and I’m desperately trying to learn how to play guitar. Sadly I seem to be utterly talent less but it doesn’t stop me.

What are your burning ambitions?
The fantastic thing about science is it is a career you can take anywhere in the world so I would like to work abroad for a while, possibly in Australia or New Zealand but most of all I think I would just like to make a difference. Outside work I’d love to represent my country at the Commonwealth Games one day and get my private pilot’s licence.

The best thing is…..
The best thing is I don’t really have a job, just a really interesting hobby people pay me to come into the lab and do.

Any regret(s)?
Several pints of Guinness - £30; mistaking a glass of vinegar for a double vodka – Free; ensuing carnage - Priceless. I’m not saying anymore than that.

What do you love most about science and engineering?
I think the best thing is that it’s just so interesting and it’s not a chore to have to come into work in the morning, plus you can choose when you want to work it’s just such a flexible and varied career.

Name ONE quirky/crazy fact about your or your job
To look at the world of the very small (cells), you need a machine that’s very very big.