Profile
Isabel Lewis
My CV
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Education:
I went to Abbeyfield School school and then joined Moulton College before I went to the University Lincoln. Now I am a student at the Royal Veterinary College studying a PhD.
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Qualifications:
11 GCSE’s at grades A-C (9-5) and I did a young apprenticeship in sorts and coaching and got a distinction.
My GCSE results lead me to do A levels at sixth form at Abbeyfield school. However, I only did the first year As levels because I was not enjoying the courses.
I left sixth form with:
English literature- B.
Psychology- C
General Studies- C
Biology- U.I always had a love for animals and wanted to explore that so I decided to go to Moulton College to do a level 3 diploma in Animal Management and got a distinction. From this course I was encouraged to go to university.
At the University of Lincoln I studied Bioveterinary science and began laboratory research.
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Work History:
– Bar Associate at Toby Carvery
– Store Assistant at Just for Pets
– Bar Associate at Royal William IV (in Lincoln)
– Supermarket Assistant at Waitrose (in Lincoln)
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About Me:
I’m a PhD student who loves viruses and the immune system! I am currently researching a vaccine for Lumpy skin disease virus.
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I live with my partner and we both enjoy watching football, and I support Manchester United. I have a fantasy football team and get very competitive with my friends. I also enjoy baking and share my bakes with my lab group, I hope to bake a cinnamon roll soon! For me to relax I love to read and have a wide array of books, currently I am reading “What is Life” from Nobel prize winner Paul Nurse. When I need to unwind, I shamelessly sing my heart out on my karaoke machine.
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I aim to answer questions like: Does the virus stop a cell from defending itself? What viral genes (section of DNA) block the immune response? What happens if we remove certain genes from the virus?
To do this I run multiple different experiments. Sometimes I infect cattle cells with the virus (Lumpy skin disease virus) and label the cells for specific features with different fluorescent colours.
Other experiments use antibodies to label parts of the immune system and see if they increase or decrease during infection.
One focus of our research group is on Lumpy skin disease virus as it causes a significant disease (Lumpy skin disease) in cattle and costs countries a lot of money to stop the disease infecting more cattle and spreading further.
My PhD project aims to understand if a new type of vaccine for this disease is an option to help prevent cattle becoming infected.
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My Typical Day:
No two days are the same in my job. I put my lab coat and gloves on, to run different experiments from week to week. A common daily job is to check my cells I grow just like we check our house or garden plants. I chat most days to scientists in my group or in other groups which can lead to new ideas and advice on what is the best way to run an experiment. When I receive experiment results I can look at what they say, if the test needs repeating and if any changes are needed.
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I work at The Pirbright Institute in two different buildings, either the Jenner building or the Plowright building which is a high containment lab for research of exotic viruses. This high containment facility is designed to stop any virus from leaving the building.
When I work on infection experiments I work in the high containment laboratory. This means I need to enter the building with none of my possessions and put on fresh laboratory scrubs and shoes. Before I leave the building I need to shower out to stop any virus leaving with me.
My typical day will be working on experiments that take from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. Also I need to write up my methods and results and read papers from other scientists to keep up to date.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would like to create a podcast focusing on animal diseases, interviewing a wide array of people from academics to vets and zoo keepers.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Charismatic, Energetic, Chatty
What did you want to be after you left school?
Teacher
Were you ever in trouble at school?
On the odd occassion
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Florence and the Machine
What's your favourite food?
Spaghetti bolognese
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Life time tickets to the premier league!
Tell us a joke.
What did one ocean say to the other ocean? Nothing it just waved.
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