Profile
Elin Smith
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About Me:
I am a PhD student living in Norwich. I love running and going to the gym! I like to spend my free time curled up with a good book and a nice cup of coffee!
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I love running and keeping fit and healthy! I have taken part in 2 half marathon races before, but I am now training for my first ever MARATHON!
I also enjoy reading, both fiction and non-fiction books and my favourite activity to do when I get home from the lab is to curl up and read a good book. I also enjoy doing crafts, such as making felt Christmas decorations, cross-stitch, building Lego flowers and most recently crochet! I am currently trying to crochet a mini Taylor Swift figure!
I also love travelling and exploring new places around the world and in the UK!
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My pronouns are:
she/her
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My Work:
My PhD is investigating how specific probiotic and pathogenic bacteria interact with each other in our bodies. This can help us to understand if certain probiotics can be used to reduce the impact of infectious diseases on our health.
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For my PhD project I am working with two different bacteria – Bifidobacterium (a ‘good’ probiotic bacteria) and a Listeria monocytogenes (a pathogenic bacteria that can cause a very deadly disease called listeriosis). I am working to understand how these two bacteria interact with each other when they come in contact in our guts. I am trying to understand if the ‘good’ bacteria can help us fight off some of the negative effects of the pathogen when it enters our body. This is a lot more complicated than it sounds, as both of these bacteria like to grow in very different conditions, so my work is focusing on creating a method that lets me grow them both together!
I will also be doing experiments on human cells, not yet but soon! I want to understand if these bacteria influence the immune responses of our tissues and will be using a model called an organoid (this is like a mini version of organs, that we grow in the lab) to do this.
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My Typical Day:
On a typical day I wake up early at 5am and go to the gym or for a run (it helps to clear my head in the mornings). I then have my breakfast and head to work, arriving at about 9am. I do lots of experiments in the lab and these take up most of my day. At midday, I stop for lunch with the other members of my lab group. I then either head back to the lab for the afternoon, or I will spend time on my laptop analysing my results. Each day is different, depending on what experiments I run, so sometimes I finish at 5pm and other days it’s closer to 8pm!! After work, I go home and cook dinner and then finish the day reading with a warm drink in bed.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would spend the prize money helping bring science to my local schools. I have recently been able to visit some primary schools near me and run some fun activities learning all about the gut and our microbiome – including making our own edible petri dishes with jelly and sweets!
I would love the opportunity to visit more schools and share these activities with more children. I would use this money on more resources to run these activities (more sweeties yay!), and teach more children about how fun science and research can be.
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Education:
I went to school and sixth form college in Lincolnshire, UK. I then moved to Reading where I did my undergraduate degree, during which I did a placement year at GSK Surrey. I now live in Norwich where I am doing my PhD at the Quadram Institute of Biosciences.
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Qualifications:
GCSEs: English Language, English Literature, Maths, Statistics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, French, German, Geography, Art, RE
A-Levels: Chemistry, Biology, French and General Studies
Undergraduate Degree: BSc Microbiology with Industrial Placement – University of Reading
Currently: PhD in Medical Sciences at Quadram Institute of Biosciences (associated with University of East Anglia)
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Work History:
Microbiology R&D Industrial Placement Student at GSK Consumer Healthcare (making and testing toothpaste!!)
Microbiology Technologist at Haleon (again, more toothpaste 😀 )
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Current Job:
Currently I am being paid full time to study for my PhD!!
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Employer:
Quadram Institute of Biosciences / UEA
Norwich Research Park Doctoral Training Partnership
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Fitness-loving microbiologist!
What did you want to be after you left school?
I had no idea, but I knew I wanted to do something relating to science!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Not that I can remember...
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Open my own bakery/cafe!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Taylor Swift
What's your favourite food?
Pasta!
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To cure all illnesses and diseases, for all my experiments to work first time... and to meet Taylor Swift!
Tell us a joke.
What do biologists post on Instagram? Cell-fies
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