Meet the Team: Abbie
Hello there! I’m Abbie and I am a postdoctoral research associate at Keele University who’s been lucky enough to work on Dimitra’s team for “Progressive Prosthetics’”.
I’m looking forward to going to the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition with Progressive Prosthetics because it is everything I love about working with science –it’s exciting, it’s smart and it’s new!
I currently carry out research across lots of different areas so I’m a multidisciplinary scientist. Part of my job involves growing different parts of the human body to create models to experiment on, such as cancer tumours, lungs, blood cells, bladder cells — you name it I’ll try to grow it!
I also try to improve the way we can diagnose problems at the hospital. I use a machine that can smell volatiles (chemicals in the gas phase) and I’m hoping that in the future we will be able to smell some diseases early without the use of painful needles!
I also like to try and help support our pathologists. Some of the samples taken at the hospital can be tricky (if there is only a little sample or if other cells are getting in the way of the diagnosis). To help overcome this I use light to look at the very small differences between healthy and unhealthy samples.
Sometimes I use very small instruments that can sit on a table and sometimes I use particle accelerators the size of five football pitches (synchrotrons).
How did I get here? I’ve always had lots of enthusiasm for science but didn’t know what kind of scientist I wanted to be! I just knew that I liked all things medical.
I started off studying my undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and Psychology — I wanted to learn all about the brain and our behavior. I then did a Master’s degree in Cell and Tissue Engineering — I wanted to be able to grow the nervous system! At this point I met an oncologist and I realised I wasn’t ready to stop studying yet. I wanted to explore growing cancer cells and learn how to translate scientific research into hospitals. So I undertook a PhD in Cancer Studies and Diagnostic Techniques. I grew healthy cells and cancer tumour models, using different diagnostic techniques to see if I could see small differences in their smell or interaction with light. I also used patient’s breath as an alternative sample — can we use breath to diagnose our illnesses?
Since graduating in 2016 I continue in my work here at Keele, working towards making these techniques the best they can be by growing samples and measuring all kinds of urine, breath and pleural fluids.
I’m also passionate about helping new scientists find their place in the exciting and vast scientific world and getting involved with exciting projects like Dimitra’s Progressive Prosthetics.
Looking forward to meeting everyone at the exhibit in July 2018 to celebrate all things wonderful, scientific and progressively prosthetic!
Abbie
