PROFESSIONAL PROFILE -Biomedical Science/ PhD

Name: Angatu

Role: PhD student

A levels: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, French

Undergraduate degree: Biomedical Science

Describe your journey in 3 words: Challenging, captivating, fulfilling.

A brief description of your role : I am studying how an atherosclerosis-associated meat, poultry and dairy metabolite known as TMAO affects the function of vascular cells, using tissue culture and molecular biology techniques.

What motivated you to pursue a career in science: I have always had an interest in human biology, and as I progressed through my schooling I became more and more fascinated by the depth and interweaving complexity of the innumerable processes that keep us alive and well (or not so well). This motivated me to embark on a Biomedical Sciences degree, which paved the way towards pursuing a career in human biology research

What keeps you motivated: A desire to contribute to my community and wider society, to achieve my future career goals, and my family (especially mum).

What advice would you give to someone wanting to follow your career path: Be sure that it is your passion! Studying or pursuing a career in science can be gruelling and oftentimes the main outcome is personal fulfilment and job satisfaction (rather than a huge pay check…), so as long as you enjoy science and don’t mind a bit of hard work, you’ll do great!

How do you manage your work-life balance: Doing a PhD is pretty consuming, and although I may not find as much time for myself as I would like in my day-to-day life, I make sure to give myself time off to do what I love the most, which is to travel. That requires good planning of my work and co-ordination with colleagues, so my project doesn’t suffer.