Hi Guys! I’m Natasha, currently a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh studying cancer research. To be more specific, my project is ‘Understanding the mechanisms of acquired resistance to targeted therapies in HER2-positive breast cancers’. Don’t worry – I can never remember the full title either.

I did my undergrad degree in Biomedical Sciences at Durham University, with a year out in an NHS pathology lab, followed by a Masters in Research at the University of Liverpool. When I got to Edinburgh, I spent a year in a zebrafish lab learning lots of lovely imaging techniques, but decided it wasn’t for me and started my PhD project in breast cancer.

Most of what I do involves looking at a variety of breast cancer cells that over express the HER2 protein, making them resistant and finding the different ways they’ve found around it. I get to use lots of lovely robots and machines as a lot of my work can be high-throughput. I truly believe I am halfway to becoming a robot, if robots can get repetitive strain injuries from too much pipetting.

My aim for this blog is to pass on my experiences of PhD life, the rough and the smooth. I’ve always thought that science communication is important, and what better way to start doing that than a blog? I hope you enjoy, and if you’re interested in featuring, collaborating or just fancy a chat, get in touch!