Alex
who? |
|
Thanks
for visiting my website! I am Alex, 34 years old and I live in Manchester. I
have completed my PhD in Chemistry at the
University of Cambridge in 2016 and have since worked as a
Post-Doc, a science writer, a
technical author, and now work as a medical writer.
On this website you'll be able to find information on my educational background as well as work experience and examples of some of the work I carried out for two science societies. I also share a selection of art made in my spare time. On the current page I'll give a more detailed account of my education and experiences since high school. |
|
Undergraduate and Master's |
I became interested in art in
my mid-teens when I started to
design and make costumes. After graduating
high school, I
attended art school for a year where I
studied fashion design. Although I improved skills in illustration,
painting and photography and learned many new skills, I missed studying
natural sciences as I very much enjoyed this in high
school. I was therefore very
excited to be accepted to the Bachelor's programme BioMedical Sciences
(BMS)
at Utrecht University. Adapting to academic education was challenging
after having spent a year painting, drawing and designing, but halfway
through the second year of BMS I began to make great headway. By then,
I had switched to Amsterdam University (UvA) as I planned to do my
Master's there. After
obtaining my BSc. in 2009, I enrolled in a two-year
Master's programme (Medical Biology) where I obtained most credits
through research internships which gave me a lot of experience
in
cell biology and molecular biology. During this programme, I worked as a
teaching assistant on an
undergraduate course in early embryology which I combined with a
didactic research project to assess the course itself, and I provided
suggestions
for improvement. I also assessed how a newly-developed 3D computer
model could be
used during this course. As the final part of my Master's degree I
wrote a
literature thesis on prion disease and my interest in this topic grew
into a fascination!
While a student, I spent a lot of my spare time on artistic pursuits such as designing and making costumes, photography, illustration and I was also involved in the organisation of two art salon/club nights in Amsterdam and Leiden. Please check out Portfolio > Selection of artwork for some examples. |
Research assistant in Stockholm |
After
completing my Master's in
2011, I moved to Stockholm to work as a
research assistant on chromatin remodelling, a topic related to my
second-year Master's project. I also worked on a smaller project on
fibromyalgia. During this time I volunteered as an English
tutor for
the Stockholm Student Union to
help students with written and conversational English. As I very much
enjoyed science, I decided to pursue further
education and applied for PhD positions to
work on protein misfolding and aggregation since this particular field
studies
prion diseases and related disorders. I received several offers
and I decided to move to Cambridge (UK) to join Prof. Christopher
Dobson's group in the Department of
Chemistry.
|
PhD research in Cambridge |
In 2012 I moved to Cambridge
(UK) to start PhD research on misfolding
and aggregation of alpha-synuclein, the protein
involved in development of Parkinson's Disease. I learned biochemical
and biophysical techniques such as recombinant protein expression (in E. coli)
and purification, assays to evaluate the propensity of protein to form
aggregates, high-resolution microscopy and techniques to determine
secondary structure of protein.
In addition to these experimental techniques, I also learned and improved many other skills: - Finding, interpreting and organising specialist literature - Accurate record keeping of experimental details, samples and protocols - Proofreading - Writing standard operating procedure compliant with health and safety - Buying reagents, other consumables and equipment using an on-line procurement application - Planning experiments and booking shared equipment accordingly - Data collection, data organisation and data analysis using several software packages - Preparation of figures of experimental data and concepts - Preparation of presentations and posters for both specialist audiences as well as a general audience - Writing and preparation of material for conferences and publication - Presenting my research at international conferences/meetings - Taking part in group meetings/discussions - Communication with people from different backgrounds and cultures across different positions in higher education/academia |
CU science societies |
During my PhD research, I've
been active as commitee member in the Cambridge University
Astronomical Society (CUAS) and in the Cambridge
University Nanotechnology
Society. I had several tasks:
- Designing/updating the society's website - Designing promotional material - Updating the society's FaceBook page and event listings on http://talks.cam.ac.uk - Photographing some of the society's events - Designing, editing and contributing to the CUAS printed newsletter Neptune - Input on strategy, and administration Please go to Portfolio > CU societies page for examples. |
Past and current employment |
I
am still
fascinated by science but wanted to pursue a career outside of
academia, so after a brief stint as a post doc, I started looking for a
'real job'. I enjoy learning about science and new discoveries and
technologies and the challenge of communicating such information
in a clear and engaging way. I was thus very exited to start working as
a science writer at BioStrata. After finding that writing marketing
materials wasn't a good fit for me, I found the position of technical
author at Linguamatics. Here, I mainly worked on the user manual of a
complex software product that allows users to search through vast
amounts of texts (think patient records, scientific publications). After a year and a half, I
left Linguamatics to move up north and take a few months to focus on
personal projects. I was very lucky to find my current role as a
medical writer during the pandemic, first at Fishawack and now at Meridian HealthComms.
I work on a variety of deliverables such as publications, conference materials, regulatory documentation, and infographics.
Since graduation I have written content for various outlets; see Portfolio > Writing samples for my freelance/volunteering writing portfolio. |
Personality and interests |
I
am an outgoing person and I enjoy meeting new people and being able to
help others. I work hard and enjoy learning new things. I am also
creative
and have a wide range of interests such as medical/natural
sciences, fashion design, art and music. In my spare time I enjoy
artistic pursuits such as illustration, painting, photography, and working with fabrics. I also enjoy going to museums and
galleries, and hiking. |