Profile
Esther Ambrose-Dempster
My CV
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Education:
I went to Uplands Community College in East Sussex years 7-13, and a primary school in Tunbridge Wells before that. I moved to London when I was 18 and did my undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at UCL. I then took a year out and then came back to UCL to start my PhD studies in 2019.
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Qualifications:
GCSEs: 6 A*s 6 As
A Levels: Chemistry (A), Biology (B), Philosophy and Ethics (A), Physics AS-level (A)
University: 1st class honours in Natural Sciences (Organic chemistry with policy, communication and ethics)
PhD: soon to be completed..!!
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Work History:
I worked at a riding stables from the age of 11 until I was 18. Started cafe work at 15 and carried this through with me to UCL where I worked at one of the cafes here. I also did various pub jobs and giving out leaflets, working festivals etc. Between my undergraduate degree and PhD I worked in medical communications which is something I had thought I wanted to do when I left. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I thought but it gave me some incredible valuable skills like attention to detail, understanding of how scientific outreach materials are created and published, and experience in an office job. I then came back to do my PhD and alongside that I’m currently working as a journalist for UCL, as well as doing bits of teaching and marking for university students. I like to do lots of different jobs in order to see what I will want to do when I finish my PhD. I’m not on a set career path and so working out what I want to do after is coming from trying things then deciding if that feels right for me.
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Current Job:
Currently I’m a PhD researcher in Chemical Biology in the Hailes group at UCL.
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Employer:
UCL
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About Me:
Hi I’m Esther, I’m a PhD researcher in chemical biology (a mix of chemistry and biology) at UCL in London. I’ve lived in the city for 8 years now and live with friends from school and uni. When I’m not in the lab, I like to run, spend time outside, socialise and love practising yoga. I also really like science communication and chatting with people about science, relating it to the our daily experiences.
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Travelling has been a bit part of my summer – I recently went to Finland to stay with some friends and before that visited Barcelona, Berlin, Rome etc. I love the flexibility with my research meaning I can decide my own hours and make time for exploring when I need a break. I find research can be quite intense and a perfect way to gather my thoughts and unwind is running or yoga (and recently swimming in the Hampstead natural ponds). Being in London for my whole adult life means I feel very comfortable here, but still absolutely love the city and am always amazed by how much more there is to discover. I’m a keen writer and have been writing articles for UCL for over a year now. My interest in science communication drives me to talk to people about popular science as well as write about it to make it interesting and accessible for all.
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My pronouns are:
she/her
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My Work:
My research looks at the breakdown of plastics using bacteria. We know there is a problem with the build up of plastic in the environment (in the oceans for example), and I’m trying to help solve some of this with my work in the lab.
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The work I do is on a small scale in comparison with the global plastic problem, but the idea is that the experiments I carry out on a daily basis will help to understand more ways we can tackle the build up of plastic in the environment. Research is a long process and takes steady consistent work to try and advance the area you’re working on. I’ve been looking at the specific bacteria to break down PET plastic (the one used for water bottles and lots of food containers) for over 3 years now, and each day we’re hopefully a little closer to making a difference.
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My Typical Day:
I cycle into and home from the lab every day as every day I will be in doing some type of experiment. There are lots of us in the lab and the office and we all enjoy a chat over coffee and lunch. My hours vary a lot – some days I’m in 12 hours, other days it can only be 6, so it keeps it interesting and I like that my routine isn’t strict.
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My days are always lab based. I wear a white coat, lab specs and gloves whenever I’m in there and then whenever I need to write up my experiments, we have an office next to the lab where I can do that. The experiments I do differ on a daily basis and sometimes I can spend all 8 hours in the lab on my feet pouring chemicals, weighing out things for my reactions. Other days I can go out for coffee in the sun in the park nearby and read some academic papers to do the background research to direct my experiments. Its very variable and we have a few different labs depending on which type of research and experiments I’ll be doing that day. Luckily everyone in my lab is really nice and also loves a chat so we have a friendly and very chatty working day most days.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
If I were to win the £500 prize money, I would like to spend it on outreach to do with encouraging people into science in a real way – whether thats science communication through journalism, making documentaries, science shows, science fairs, anything to get the relationship and relevance between the real world, daily life and science to integrate. I have trouble with the statement ‘I don’t really get science’ which I have heard a lot when telling people I’m doing a PhD in chemistry. But I think the problem is how science is framed. It should be accessible and a two-way communication kind of thing, and this is something I feel really strongly about wanting to change.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Happy, chatty plastic-breakdown researcher
What did you want to be after you left school?
Journalist
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Once or twice...
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Explorer
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Bloc party/loyle carner/fred again/fatoumate diawara... (thats just the top top)
What's your favourite food?
I do really love pizza
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
1. To eat pizza and chocolate without it being bad me. 2. A cat. 3. To go explore everywhere in the world.
Tell us a joke.
Why did the bear dissolve in water? Because he was polar...
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