Profile

People and animals are not the only ones that can get infections – bacteria can too!  Bacteria can become infected with viruses called bacteriophages. I am looking into how one type of bacteriophage can infect its bacterial host. Many different components of bacteriophages could potentially be very useful. They could be used to kill bad bacteria, to deliver drugs to a sick part of your body or even be used to make important chemicals/fuels. I am a scientist who wears a white coat and lights a bunsen burner on a regular basis –  my work can be a lot of fun!

Doing research is like unraveling a story and  each day can be very different.  But one thing that is very important is to have an objective and to know what you are trying to find out.  I try to get one step closer to finding out what that story is.  My work involves working with bacterial cells. I often have to grow the cells in dishes, or on media to turn them blue so that I can see if they are right. I also work with DNA and proteins – extracting them from cells, altering their sequence and testing them in experiments.

It’s very important to record the work in research so you can check what you’ve done. This is very much like keeping a diary where I write and put in  pictures I’ve taken.