Profile

Photo:

Sahr Mian

    • About Me:

      I love plants and animals! I think we need to understand the world around us in order to properly conserve it and allow it to flourish. I work at Kew Gardens and study plant DNA.

    • Read more

      I love plants and animals! I think we need to understand the world around us in order to properly conserve it and allow it to flourish. I grew up in London and have lived here my whole life. I work at Kew Gardens and study plant DNA.

      I love the outdoors and go on long walks around my local parks looking for wildlife. I enjoy looking out for birds and trying to learn the songs they sing to identify them. I think I know a lot more about animals that I do about plants (even though I work at a botanic garden!).

    • Read more

      I’m a research assistant and I work in a lab. I’m a part of the Darwin Tree of Life project which aims to sequence the genomes of all native UK flora and fauna (plants and animals).

      My job focusses on the plant side of things.

      Before a plant get sent off to have its genome sequenced, some material comes to me and I use it to estimate the size of it’s genome (the amount DNA that is found in a nucleus). This is called genome sizing and I do this using flow cytometry. This let’s the other scientists know how much DNA there is in a cell and how much they will need to sequence.

       

    Candidate CV questions (extra)

    • Education:

      Education

      -School and Sixth form: Green School for Girls

      -Undergraduate: Queen Mary University of London

      -Masters: Queen Mary University/Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

       

    • Qualifications:

      Education

      -School and Sixth form: Green School for Girls

      11 GSCEs

      Physics AS Level

      Biology, Geography and Chemistry A Levels

      Gave me background knowledge in biology and helped me secure a place at university.

      -Undergraduate: Queen Mary University of London

      BSc Biology

      Equipped me with specialist knowledge in a range of subjects. By doing a broad subject like Biology I was able to pick and choose what modules I wanted to learn about. This tailored my academic experience and made my degree unique to me and what I wanted to learn.

      Masters: Queen Mary University/Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

      MSc Plant and Fungal Taxonomy, Diversity and Conservation.

      This specialised Masters gave me expertise on plants and fungi, which is a very specialised field. It gave me access to new research and allowed me to develop a research project of my own.

    • Work History:

      I’ve been working a variety of jobs since I was 16. I started in retail and hospitality until I finished my Masters and got a job in Science.

      • Hospitality – Waitress
      • Sales assistant at PC World
      • Bar tender at university
      • Sales assistant at Accessorize

      -After University

      • Research Assistant working on Chromosomes
      • Research Assistant on the Darwin Tree of Life project

    • Current Job:

      Research Assistant working on the Darwin Tree of Life project and running the Genome size lab at Kew Gardens

    • My Interview

      • What did you want to be after you left school?

        I didn't know what I wanted to do until I had finished university

        Were you ever in trouble at school?

        I think I'm meant to say no :p

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        I love Paramore and a band called Rainbow Kitten Surprise (weird name but great music)

        What's your favourite food?

        PASTA

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