Profile
Karen McCarthy
Final tomorrow-so excited! Hope everyone can join into the free chat tomorrow 12-2pm!
My CV
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Education:
Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal, Blarney (2002-2007 Leaving Certificate), University College Cork (2007-2011 B.Sc Microbiology), University College Cork & Alimentary Pharmabiotic Center (2011-Now, Ph.D Molecular Microbiology)
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Qualifications:
B.Sc (Bachelor of Science) Microbiology, hopefully soon to add Ph.D
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Work History:
My work history is mixed and laughable really – my first job was a Christmas elf in Santa’s workshop for 2 years (I was the Elf on the Shelf), followed by another 2 years working as a pharmacy assistant, one year in Dunnes Stores as a customer services assistant and then finally I was an office assistant in the School of Nursing in UCC.
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Current Job:
I’m currently doing my Ph.D (in my third year), and because I am funded by a research grant, I get paid a small amount monthly.
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Read more
I work mainly with bacterial microcompartments, which are basically tiny little shells inside bacteria. They work to speed up chemical reactions by keeping the chemicals inside the shell, and also protect the bacteria from any nasty poisons building up in the cell in the same way. My job is to try and figure out
A) how they are made
and
B) how can I use them to make the bacteria better.
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My Typical Day
My typical day – doesn’t exist! Every day in the lab is different, but here’s a snapshot.
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Usually I begin my day cleaning the lab – bacteria create a lot of smelly waste so cleaning is a must! Afterwards I typically start multiplying up DNA that I collect from, and then start chopping and changing this DNA to use for my experiments! Its sounds quite yuck but it’s actually really cool to be able to see real DNA.
A lot of my experiments use really tiny amounts of liquids, called microliters, which is 0.001 of a millilitre, which in turn is 0.001 of a liter! So, yeah really small! I need to really concentrate in the lab to work with such tiny amounts, so of course that means plenty of tea breaks…
At the moment I’m supervising some students aswell, so I have meetings with them to make sure things are going ok, plus I also demonstrate to pharmacy students, PLUS I also run an after-school science program once a week, so usually by the time I head home, I want nothing more than tea and cheesy tv shows (extreme couponing anyone?)
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What I'd do with the prize money
Science is easily the best subject in school – you can mess around and learn at the same time, but often I think we all get bogged down in learning big science words – I want to change that!
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Nerdy, Curious, Enthusiastic
What did you want to be after you left school?
An architect, I really liked (and still do) different buildings and how they’re designed. Not so good at maths though I think.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Not really, I’d like to think I was sneaky enough to stay under the radar
Who is your favourite singer or band?
I have a fairly varied taste in music, including The Beatles, Arctic Monkeys, The Smiths, Ellie Goulding, Franz Ferdinand…and Britney Spears (I will never hear a bad word against her!)
What's your favourite food?
Oh, I love food full stop. But peanut butter is probably my weakess
What is the most fun thing you've done?
I am a known prankster amongst my friends, so hacking into my friend’s Facebook and telling everyone she was moving to Africa to start a charity was a personal highlight, considering both her boss and her aunt started ringing her house in a panic. Plus people started donating money to her too. She wasn’t too impressed once she realised.
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
1. To actually write a kick-ass thesis. 2. To go travelling once I’m finally finished college 3. To have a job that makes me happy!
Tell us a joke.
Did you hear about the new designer range for babies? It’s called Gucci Goo
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