Thread by @MinoritySTEM

I told my family from age 7 that I wanted to be a zoologist.

I am so proud of myself for all I have achieved so far and am grateful for life's opportunities everyday.

Our STEM journeys are important and I am excited to share mine with you.

I graduated in BSc (hons) Zoology from @AngliaRuskin in 2015.

I struggled, mostly with exams.

After three years, I convinced myself I would never be smart enough to pursue any post-graduate studies so I got a job at @sangerinstitute as an animal tech 🐭

I immediately fell back in love with science.

I realised that commitment and enthusiasm were just as valuable as being able to take an exam.

I learnt so much from so many and before I knew it, I was looking up papers in the evening just to better contribute to the conversations

My enthusiasm was noticed by @David_J_Adams research team. They gave me so much support and confidence that I realised, maybe just maybe I wasn't dumb after all?

And then there I was, an ASSOCIATE SCIENTIST for #CancerResearchUK Therapeutic Discovery Labs 🧪

Immune-oncology (and humans!) was entirely new to me but I've always loved to learn new things and was ready for this challenge.

My main focus was on #metastasis. I have always been interested in biological similarities throughout the natural world and cancer was no exception.

DID YOU KNOW there was evidence of metastasis in DINOSAURS? Or that our companion canines share many of the same signatures?

The animal obsession never leaves.

So, I published my first lead author publication in 2019 exploring Metastasis IN THE WILD! doi.org/10.1007/s10585…

The publication was so well recieved that I helped to co-author a follow-up opinion piece specifically focused on Man's Best Friend in the fight against metastasis 🐶

doi.org/10.1007/s10585…

In just 4-years of work, I learnt about different models, designing experiments, writing reports, and fell in love with #flowcytometry

I absolutely am smart enough for higher education and I was determined, once more, to be a zoologist.

A Dr of Zoology.

I spent months on findaphd.com scrolling for the right opportunity. I applied for many and was unnsuccessful.

Until I saw a project that was PERFECT.
I have always loved chickens and spent hours playing with them in Jordan and UK. I even had an incubator! 🐣

Here was a project focused on chicken health AND welfare! Looking for gut and immune based biomarkers to impove and monitor their lives.

I immediately saw what impact that could have WORLD WIDE.

Think how many chickens and people I can help?!

And here I am! Second year into the project with @NarbadLab.

Already I have learnt #microbiology (totally new to me), #NMR and #metabolomics, and #bioinformatics.

My mind is blown on a regular basis by the work at @TheQuadram.

I cannot wait to contribute further to science.