Profile

I’m Irish and moved to the UK 12 years ago to go to University.  I live in the East Midlands with my partner and German Shepherd.  I love travelling to other countries and experiencing all the awesome aspects of those countrys’ cultures and delicious foods.  I love Thai food but have not been to Thailand yet!

My favourite baby animal is the Tapir and baby rhinos are a close second!

I love Sci-Fi movies and TV series and heavy metal music.

My pronouns are she/her

For my research, I looked at how the ladybird communities in woodlands might be affected by an invasive ladybird.  I collected information on the number of ladybirds and what species they were and what tree species they were found on.  I then did some statistics with the data to find out the answer to these questions.  This work was for my PhD which I finished writing in February.  I’m waiting to have a test on this now.

For my other job, I work on a univeristy laboratory as a technician.  I show students how to behave safely in a lab.  I teach them how to use different equipment for different experiments in Chemistry and Biology.  The biology experiments can be on anatomy of different animals or animal organs as well as carrying out tests to show how enzymes work and sometimes going outside to learn how to carry out ecology experiments.  The chemistry experiments are about making precise solutions, learning how to handle and work with chemicals, carrying out titrations and making esters (a process used to make different fruit flavours).

I also show students how to work with statistics which lots of students can be scared of but it is something they need to know.  I try to make it fun and interesting because I used to be scared of it when I learned it first.

I get up, have coffee and make my lunch.  I drive to the woods and spend the morning searching for ladybirds in trees or in the grass.  I have something hot for lunch from my food flask, some more coffee and chocolate or cake.  After lunch I move to a different woodland and look for ladybirds again.  I count all the ladybirds I find and I also take the air temperature and take a note of what tree species I found the ladybirds on.

I put all the information I recorded onto my computer when I get home so it is organised and ready for me to use later.

IN THE LAB:

I get up very early and take my dog for a walk. I have coffee and travel to work.  At work I get the lab ready for students.  When the students are doing their experiments, I teach them how to use the equipment and help them with their questions.  I have more coffee when the students have left. If it is a day for working outside, I teach students how to identify trees, plants and insects.  I show them different habitats and how the animals and plants are different depending on which habitat they are looking at.