Profile

Photo:

James Lazenby

    • About Me:

      I’m originally from Sydney, Australia and moved to Norfolk with my partner and our English Staffy in 2019.

      I never intended to be a scientist, I still don’t think I am sometimes. I left school wanting to pursue a career in law and opera.

      I like music, food, reading, movies, video games and travel.

      I also volunteer to talk to prisoners (particularly gay and transgender prisoners) and advocate for social justice issues.

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      In highschool I helped my parents run their karaoke business and I still love karaoke to this day. My favourite kareoke songs are “Tainted Love” by Softcell, “You Spin Me Right Round” by Dead or Alive, “Ain’t Nobody” by Chaka Khan, and, “Take Me Home Country Roads” by John Denver.

      I like listening to music. My favourite artists are Daft Punk, Nine Inch Nails, Dusty Springfield, Dragonette, Basement Jaxx, Reve, Doja Cat, Kylie Minogue, Zedd, Dolly Parton, Kate Bush and The Black Keys.

      I like to travel and my favourite places are Prague in Czechia, Perugia in Italy, Hobart in Tasmania, and, Singapore.

    • My pronouns are:

      He/him

    • How I use Science in my work:

      I help people use microscopes, flow cytometry or sample processing techniques to understand biology. My days are quite varied. I can be looking at bacteriophages (tiny bacterial viruses) on a microscope to see if we can kill bacterial infections in a new way  or helping people look at starch granules when you cook pasta in order to make the food more nutritious.

    • My Work:

      I manage a few facilities.

      The first is a microscopy facility where we use microscopes (obviously) to examine very small things, from a fish all the way down to a virus. The next is flow cytometry where we use streams of fluid to pass cells through lasers in order to identify and count particular features of the cells. The last is histology, which is the art of preparing tissues and cutting them really thinly so we can identify structures or cells.

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      I look after the equipment, train others how to use it, help design experiments, teach the theory behind techniques, trouble shoot and design protocols and methods, help people analyse data and maintain the business aspects of the facility like accounting, health and safety and advertising.

    • My Typical Day:

      No two days are ever the same.

      I tend to get to work around 10 am (I’m not an early starter). I then answer emails then go to meetings where I discuss business issues (such as charging) or discuss issues like experimental design. I also meet with my team and go through any problems they are having.

      In the afternoons, I tend to do imaging, train people or  perform maintenance checks on the equipment.

      I then finish the day by completing orders, risk assessments and other more mundane paper work and then leave around 6:30 pm.

    CV

    • Education:

      1995-2000: Sefton High School, in N.S.W Australia.

      2001-2004: University of New South Wales, Sydney, N. S. W, Australia

      • Bachelor of Advanced Life Sciences (Hons)

      2005 – 2010: University of New South Wales, Sydney, N. S. W, Australia

      • Doctor of Philosophy (Medical Microbiology and Immunology)

    • Qualifications:

      1998: School Certificate (equivalent of GCSEs)

      1998: Statement of Attainment in Business Administration, NSW TAFE.

      I dropped out of high school after my School Certificate. I thought my friends were much smarter than I was so there didn’t seem a point in staying so I went to TAFE (Technical College) to get the qualifications I needed to become a stenographer. I realised I was actually more academically inclined than I thought so I went back to school. I still found this really useful. I learnt how to touch type, use Microsoft products and shorthand. 

      2000: Higher School Certificate

      Similar to O levels, but Australian universities don’t have prerequisites, so you just get a score. That score determines what courses you are eligible for immediately, but there is always another way.

      2004: Bachelor of Advanced Life Sciences (Hons 1st)

      2010: Doctor of Philosphy (Medical Microbiology and Immunology)

      The role of N-3-oxo-dododecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (OdDHL) in the pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

      Basically, bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) communicate with each other using small molecules (OdDHL). I looked into how they communicated with the host (us) in order to stop us from eradicating the infection.

       

       

       

    • Work History:

      1998-2004: Karaoke Host – Ultimet Karaoke.

      1998-2004: Wedding Singer – Self Employed.

      2001-2003: Sales Assistant – Dymock’s Stationery.

      2003-2005: Sales Assistant – W.C. Penfolds Stationery.

      2005-2010: Science Tutor (Immunology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Anatomy, Biology) – University of New South Wales.

      2008-2009: Associate Lecturer (Immunology) – University of New South Wales.

      2010-2011: Animal Technician – University of New South Wales

      2011-2015: Post Doctoral Researcher – University of Nottingham

      2015-2019: Post Doctoral Researcher – University of Technology, Sydney.

      2019-2021: Post-Doctoral Research – Quadram Institute

       

    • Current Job:

      2021-Now: Facility Manager – Quadram Institute.

    • My Interview

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

        I originally wanted to be an Opera Singer, but I also wanted to study Law as a backup option.

        Were you ever in trouble at school?

        All the time. I am quite loud and outspoken so I tended to get in trouble for talking. Also, I don't like mornings so I would often be late.

        If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?

        I think I would probably working in some legal field or criminology.

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        Too many to mention but at the moment I really like Raye.

        What's your favourite food?

        Watermelon... If I could I would live off watermelon. My favourite cuisine is Chinese - particularly Szechuan food. .

        If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

        I wish I had the ability to not need sleep so I could spend more time on my hobbies, I wish I had enough money so that work was a choice not a necessity and I wish I had the ability to teleport like NightCrawler in the Xmen.

        Tell us a joke.

        Why did the bacteria cross the microscope? To get to the other slide