The
Brain
Specialist
Kirsty Dixon
The
high point of my day has been submitting a scientific paper
to a prominent journal for publication later this year.
If the journal accepts this paper, it will be read by scientists
all over the world. This paper has taken 1.5 years to create
(including all the laboratory work), and it took 3 hours to
upload to the journal website today.
I am a PhD student in medical research (neuroscience),
and this paper will hopefully be published prior to my PhD
thesis submission. After submitting my thesis, I will look
for a job in a prominent medical research laboratory in Europe
or Canada. This job will enable me to carry out laboratory
research to find cures for diseases, or better
ways to manage injuries (e.g. brain injury).
It looks better to prospective employers to already have a
paper published prior to applying for jobs, therefore if this
paper is accepted I will be able to find (and get) the research
job I really want.
Figure 1 – Size comparison of rat, monkey and human brains
(sagittal view). The cerebellum is on the left hand side of
each brain and looks like a cauliflower.
Figure 2 - Microscopic view (x400: sagittal view) of a neuron
filled with a red dye in the cerebellum of a rat (I took this
picture myself 3 months ago). I colour neurons with dyes to
see them under the microscope.
At school, I was interested in Human Biology, Home Economics
and a little chemistry (very basic level).
I enjoyed making links between the food we eat (and the exercise
we participate in) and the changes that occur in our body
as a result.
At university, I studied Science, which allowed me to explore
human physiology, and I found an interest in the repair of
Traumatic Brain Injury.
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