Meet the team: Catherine Dawson
Introducing Catherine, advisor to the DeNovocastrians iGEM team.
Catherine is currently studying a PhD in Biological Sciences, looking at polymicrobial biofilm interactions between two clinically relevant bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae. When asked why she chose this field Catherine said, “I love the problem solving aspect of science, planning experiments and fitting all of the results together is like a giant mental puzzle.”
Catherine has had many amazing mentors who have helped her throughout her own career so far, and she saw iGEM as the perfect opportunity to do that for someone else. She said, “I really want to give back and be that same positive influence for other students.”
Catherine’s role in the team is as an advisor, which involves helping the students design and plan experiments, and also teaching them practical lab skills. When asked what she has been working on with the students, Catherine said, “I’ve mostly been working with Ruby on the benE gene, which we believe is a transporter of benzene/benzoate into the cell.”
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see the members of the team learning and becoming more and more independent in the lab.” — Catherine Dawson
When Catherine isn’t designing and planning experiments, she loves to be outdoors. She said, “My partner and I are quite adventurous, so we’re usually either mountain biking, rock climbing or when the weather permits, back country skiing.”
Catherine recently got back into reading fiction and is currently making her way through the ‘Dune’ series by Frank Herbert, which has made her realise how much she’s missed the way a good book can submerge you in another world.
