1. Research in Genetics Dr. Helena Seth-Smith G and L 1987-1994 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Cambridge

2. What I’ll talk about... Science as a career Career structure in science My Ph.D. project The Sanger Institute A day in the life... Questions

3. Science as a career

4. Science as a Career

5. Interesting

6. Use your brain

7. Continue learning

8. Discover the unknown, and pursue it

9. Expert in your field

10. Freedom of research

11. Flexible work

12. Variety within work

13. Active

14. Not a traditional job for life

15. You can travel with jobs

16. You can travel with conferences

17. South Africa - Kruger

18. Zimbabwe – Victoria Falls

19. South Africa – Cape Town

20. Puerto Rico

21. Young and varied people - casual

22. Further personal development

23. You don’t do it for the money

24. Science has geeks

25. But other professions have issues too

26. Career structure in science

27. Career Structure in Science (not that you have to decide early on) Postdoctoral position Undergraduate degree Ph.D. Lectureship (Professorship) Second postdoc...

28. Undergraduate degree –Natural Sciences for choice of subjects First year: cell biology, physiology, chemistry, maths Second year: molecular cell biology, biochemistry, history and philosophy of science Third year: Genetics – Can lead to a number of careers – Need 2.1 or above for PhD – Format: lectures and practicals

29. Ph.D. –Format: research (papers and lab work) – Choose a subject you are interested in – Autonomy : planning – Social life, sport, teaching... – Produce a MAJOR piece of work (STRESS!!) – Useful skills for other jobs

30. Postdoctoral position –Continue in same field or choose to learn another –Location, location, location –2-3 years to do publishable research

31. Second postdoc... –Ditto –And maybe ditto again –Find your own niche / area of interest –Or move into industrial science

32. Lectureship –Own research group and teaching –Permanent post –More permanent location –Fewer women

33. (Professorship) –Highest level in academia –Head of Department

34. My Ph.D. Project: Microbial Degradation of RDX

35. Bacteria eating explosives

36. Explosives are dangerous......to our health

37. Explosive polluted sites

38. Explosives in bombs TNT Trinitro- toluene RDX Royal demolition explosive

39. Seeing bacteria eating explosives RDX makes the agar on the plate look white and grainy Where RDX has been eaten and removed, agar is clear

40. Up close and personal (Electron microscopes don’t show orange!) 5m5m

41. Growth curve

42. The gene I discovered Gene.....makes...Protein

43. Gene in plants Normal, wild type plants - get sicker as they are grown with more explosive Plants with my gene in - healthy when grown with explosive more explosive in the soil

44. The future

45. The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute www.sanger.ac.uk

46. The Sanger Institute AIM: To sequence and analyse genomes, for future research on human biology and disease

47. Organisms with Sequenced Genomes

48. From organism to DNA...

49. ...to sequence

50. A day in the life...

51. A day in the life

58. Conclusion Worthwhile career Plenty of time to decide Huge variety of research projects

59. Thanks for your attention! Questions…? Slides and contact details at: www.sanger.ac.uk/Users/hss/

60. DNA double helix

61. My work at the Sanger Institute

62. Comparing bacteria Nice bacterium Nasty, infectious bacterium Very similar to nice bacterium What are the differences? Can the genes tell us about infection?

63. Name a bug after yourself! Walter H Burkholder Burkholderia cepacia Degrades pollutants, infects plants, infects human lungs, helps crops