Profile
Amelia Gilio
My CV
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Education:
Matthew Arnold Secondary School and Sixth Form near Oxford
University of York -
Qualifications:
Matthew Arnold School:
GCSEs in English, Maths, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Geography, Spanish, Music, Textiles
AS Level in Physics
A Levels in Chemistry, Biology, Maths
University of York:
Integrated Masters Degree in Biological and Medicinal Chemistry (MChem) -
Work History:
Lab Technicians Assistant at my Secondary School (I washed glassware during free periods)
Waitressing during university holidays
Student Ambassador at University (I help with outreach events and school visits) -
Current Job:
Second Year PhD Student
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About Me:
I am a PhD Student at the University of York. I grow crystals and find ways to make green medicines. Feel free to ask me anything!!
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I live in York in a bungalow by the River Ouse. I own 11 and a half plants (the half plant is a baby spider plant still attached to its parent!)
And when I am not doing science I love doing yoga, playing the piano and sewing. I recently made my first quilt (I am very proud of myself!!).
My pronouns are she/her.
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I am a Structural Biologist and the University of York. I engineer enzymes by changing parts of their structure to make them better at their job. I find out information about the enzymes by growing crystals.
These are sent to the Diamond Lightsource in Oxford where they shoot high energy X-rays at them to get information called a diffraction pattern. I then build structures of the enzyme from this information.
The engineered enzymes can then be used to make medicines for drug companies (like Pfizer, who fund my work). This is a more environmentally friendly way to make medicines than currently used and is called biocatalysis.
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My Typical Day:
I usually wake up at 7am and aim to get to the lab for 9am. I spend my day planning and running experiments, reading research papers and attending meetings. I will go home at 6pm and may go swimming, to a yoga class or just relax at home.
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Every day can be different! And the experiments that I run can vary a lot day to day. This is something I love about my work. Some days I grow my enzymes in E.coli bacteria and other days I crystallise my enzymes or look at chemical reactions by gas chromatography (a big expensive machine!). Here is a photo of where I spend my time.
In addition to these daily activities, sometimes I will teach undergraduate students in the chemistry teaching labs.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I will use the prize money to develop outreach and engagement activities inspired by my research such as 3D models of enzymes and the impacts of engineering enzymes.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Really curly hair
What did you want to be after you left school?
An astronaut a poet and a fashion designer (I didn't become any of these!)
Were you ever in trouble at school?
I never received a detention!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Twenty One Pilots
What's your favourite food?
My family is Italian so I have to pick homemade pasta and pizza!!
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To be able to time travel and fly and do a perfect headstand!
Tell us a joke.
When Oxygen and Magnesium started dating I was like, "O Mg!"
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