Profile
Jenny Murdoch
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About Me:
I live with my children in Egham. I am a lecturer in the nearby university. I love animals, and have cats, tortoises, and a dog! I enjoy walking in my spare time.
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I have three children, with two currently studying at university and one doing her A-levels. We all love our pets. One of our cats has just had some kittens!
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My pronouns are:
she/her
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My Work:
I am a lecturer in the Biological Sciences department at University. I teach about development of the embryo: how babies form! It’s a fascinating subject!
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I teach about development of the embryo: how babies form! It’s a fascinating subject, and is something that I spent many years investigating. My research interest was about why things sometimes go wrong during early pregnancy, and how birth defects can happen.
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My Typical Day:
I wake up early so I can take my daughter to the train station to catch the train to College! I get to the University at 8am, and spend my day doing a variety of different things, either in my office, in a lecture room, in the lab, or with others in a meeting. I go home at about 5pm.
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I teach students in the University, so part of my day is spent planning my lectures. Then I spend time standing in front of a class of students, teaching them about different things in biology. This might be about how the embryo forms, or about how the body works. Some times I am with students in the lab, teaching them how to do experiments and how to use different types of equipment. I also organise the teaching across our whole department, so I spend time working that out too!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I’d put it towards new printed displays for our open days!
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Education:
Stawley Primary School, Stawley
Kingsmead Community School, Wiveliscombe
Richard Huish Sixth Form College, Taunton
St John’s College, Cambridge University
Institute of Child Health, University College London
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Qualifications:
O-level in English
GCSEs in Maths, Additional Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Geography, French, Home Economics
A-levels in Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology
BSc Degree in Natural Science (Biochemistry)
PhD in Developmental Biology
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Work History:
My first job after I finished my degree was in London, at the ‘Institute of Child Health’. I was employed as a Research Assistant, so I was helping to do some research, in the lab. I also studied for a PhD, over 5 years – and learnt a huge amount about doing research. I spent almost all my time in the lab, and became expert in what I was doing. It was hard work, and things didn’t always go well, but it was also hugely rewarding and very satisfying when things did go well.
I was lucky that my supervisor had some more funding so that I could carry on working with him for a few more years, after I finished my PhD. We had a great team, and as a group we were really successful in making some important discoveries. We were working out what makes things sometimes go wrong when a baby is forming. This was important stuff, and really, really interesting!
After that I started my own small research group at the ‘Mammalian Genetics Unit’ in Harwell, Oxfordshire. I spent all my time doing research, and had several students and assistants working with me. It was a wonderful time!
When the position in Harwell came to an end, I applied for the job at Royal Holloway. When I first started here I was continuing my research. But I also started teaching students. I discovered that I like teaching, and have now made a ‘sideways’ move so that I’m spending my time on teaching, and no longer doing research.
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Current Job:
Undergraduate Education Lead and Senior Lecturer in Developmental Neurobiology
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Employer:
Royal Holloway University of London
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My Interview
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What did you want to be after you left school?
A doctor! And I made it - but as a doctor of science rather than a doctor of medicine.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No - I was too shy, and very serious about doing my work.
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
That's a tough one, as I love what I do. I would probably do something involving 'administration'.
Who is your favourite singer or band?
It varies from week to week... right now I like Adele, Ed Sheeran, Zoe Wees, Tate McRae.... and others!
What's your favourite food?
Roast chicken!
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To be slimmer, fitter, and more confident!
Tell us a joke.
What is brown and sticky? A stick.
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