Profile

I am originally from a small town in south west Donegal. I moved to Galway in 2016 to start college and my career in science. At first, I was not sure what type of science I enjoyed but as time passed, I knew I wanted to study biology and cells. After finishing my undergraduate degree and getting experience in a research laboratory I knew I wanted to continue working in research. For that reason, I am now starting out in a research lab as a 1^st year PhD student. Outside of my research and college life I really enjoy spending time with my friends and playing sport. One of my favourite things to do with friends is go for a drive or a walk to different scenic spots around the country, such as beaches or views from the top of a mountain.

After getting out of bed and getting ready in the morning I have breakfast and start preparing my lunch for the day in the lab. I usually double check my calendar to see if I have any meetings throughout the day or if I am demonstrating in any undergraduate labs. I will also check my emails in the morning as to keep up to date with what is going on in the college. After leaving the house I begin walking to NUI Galway where there is a bus that takes me to my laboratory.  Once in the Laboratory I start my day off by checking on any cells I have growing for my experiments as to ensure they are healthy and then I begin my experiments for the day. Each day in the lab varies depending on what experiments you are running. Some days I might work with a microscope or work with my colleagues discussing different problems. Other days might involve more preparation, on these days I will prepare all the solutions I might require for my experiments. Preparation days are as important, if not more important, then experiment days as it ensures you have everything that you might need ready before you start an experiment. I also spend a lot of my time reading up on different research conducted by different scientists in my field as to keep up to date with different techniques and findings. In the evenings I like to partake in different sporting activities and luckily the college has many different clubs on offer. If I am not playing a sport or exercising in the evening, I like watching movies or a Netflix series with my friends to relax. I think it is very important to have this time to relax in the evenings as some days in the lab can be so busy that you need to give your mind a rest in the evening.