genetics
I'm not entirely sure what started it, but from an early age, I have had an interest in genetics. Many members of my family suffer from familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic disease, including my dad and my sister, so it could be to do with that. It's not a very dangerous disease, as nowadays it can be treated with statins, but it definitely left its mark on my family in previous generations- my grandfather died from a heart attack at the age of 49 due to the disease.
Whatever the reason, I have always been fascinated by genetic inheritance and how certain traits are passed from one generation to the next. I come from a huge family myself, with a very complicated family tree. Do have a look at it below! Luckily have grown up knowing most of the people on it and enjoyed working out exacly how I am related to them all.
I did my undergraduate degree in Cell Biology at Durham University, and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially a lab project I did on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus ((MRSA). After University, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I knew that further study was an option, but I didn't want to be an academic, and I thought there was no point doing a second degree unless it was something I was 100% comitted to.
During the summer, I did some work experience in a pathology lab, and one afternoon I was sent to the Genetics department to see what they do. I watched people doing genetic tests, carrier screening, identity studies and pre- and neo- natal tests, all using methods I had learned about at university.
I loved seeing how the techniques I was familiar with had a practical application, and that the research I'd learned about could be used to help patients right now, as opposed to some distant time in the future- something that you don't often experience if you're an academic researcher. I decided that I wanted to be a cytogeneticist or molecular geneticist.
The road to becoming one of these is not simple or easy, there is a three year training program with the NHS that is notoriously difficult to get a place on. My first step in my journey is completing my master's course in Medical Genetics, and any help I could possibly get along the way would be greatly appreciated.
Over the next few months, I will be updating my blog with entries about things that interest me in the world of genetics.