Profile

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David Clarke

    • About Me:

      I live in a shared house in Cherry Hinton and currently working on the NHS Scientific Training Program, which takes up the majority of my time. In my spare time I love gaming, watching YouTube gaming videos, Harry Potter and going to the gym.

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      When I was in school I was very studious and always believed in staying true to myself. I never let anyone stand between me and what I wanted to achieve. I value the striking of a work-life balance, where it is important to pursue the hobbies that give you joy. I have been gaming the majority of my life, where the ability to escape into a virtual world has been key to me achieving my goals. These include video games, board games and table top games. I have recently valued the idea of a healthy body as well as a healthy mind, where I enjoy going to the gym and cooking healthy meals to give me the energy to continue working on my current goals.

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      The Scientific Training Program that I am currently participating in is a combination of a full-time employment position and a masters degree. There are many disciplines involved however I am specializing in cancer genetics, where upon completion I will become a registered clinical scientist. The testing I perform involve understand the genetic differences between a normal, healthy cell and a cancerous cell. These differences aid in the understanding of what type of cancer is present and what appropriate treatment is available. Another part of my work is evaluating the effectiveness of a particular treatment regime that a cancer patient is undergoing. This involves measuring/estimating the number of cancer cells within a patient sample, with the lower the number the better for the patient.

    • My Typical Day:

      I wake up at 5am and get to work for 7am. I sit at a computer and work towards the completion of my training through performing analysis and researching articles online. I have a 30 minute lunch (either by myself or with friends) where I then continue with my work until I go home at around 5pm.

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      I wake up at 5am and get to work for 7am. My typical day is primarily filled with working towards the completion of competencies that constitute the completion of the STP program. These competencies are split first by cancer category (solid or liquid) and then by specific cancer types, for example lung cancer and chronic myeloid leukaemia. I am currently working towards a competency on the importance of reporting of assay results. I provide support in the analysis/reporting of clinical results for tests that I have been trained in. If I find time I work on a research project I am partaking in. I finish work around 5pm, where I go home and relax for the rest of the day.

    • What I'd do with the prize money:

      I would either give the money to a local underprivileged school or fund a Q&A session with parents/students in the local area.

    My CV

    • Education:

      Priors wood primary school – Ware

      The Chauncy school – Ware

      University of Warwick.

      University of Nottingham

      University of Manchester – current.

    • Qualifications:

      GCSEs: 4A*, 2A, 5B, 1C.

      A-levels: Biology (B), chemistry (B), physics (C), mathematics (B), IT (B), History (B) & general studies (B).

      Undergraduate: Biochemistry BSc – 2:2 with honours.

      Postgraduate: Molecular genetics and diagnostics MSc (taught) – Distinction.

       

    • Work History:

      I have had a few part time jobs in during my A-levels and when I was unemployed: I worked as a potato peeler for a local fish and chip takeaway. I also worked at ASDA as a seasonal shelf stacker for a couple of months.

      My first full time employment was after 2 and a half years of unemployment after I had finished my undergraduate degree. I was a medical laboratory assistant in blood sciences at Arrowe Park hospital on the Wirral. I worked at this position for 2 and a half years, learning about NHS laboratory practices and how important test results are for the patients’ clinical care. I left this post as I obtained my postgraduate position.

      I worked part time during my postgraduate degree as a higher medical laboratory assistant within the histopathology department of the Nottingham University Hospital. I learnt about different NHS lab practices, how tumors look within tissue sections and the effect of cancer on the tissue local area.

      After I completed my postgraduate degree I worked as a research assistant at the University of Cambridge metabolic laboratories, where I aided in their research into the genetics of obesity such as building clones of sequence variants and performing sequencing analysis.

    • My Interview

      • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

        game-loving cancer geneticist.

        What did you want to be after you left school?

        A researcher for GlaxoSmithKline working on latest pharmaceuticals.

        Were you ever in trouble at school?

        No

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        Evanescence

        What's your favourite food?

        Chicken wings

        If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

        I was less socially awkward, I wouldn't go bald and I know everything.

        Tell us a joke.

        knock knock, whose there, to, to who, to whom surely.

Questions answered by David

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