Profile
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Philippa Harding
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About Me:
I was born in Basingstoke, and now I live in South London with my partner. I am a biologist and in my spare time I enjoy yoga, reading books and travelling (I just came back from New Zealand).
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I enjoy yoga because it makes me feel calm as well as improving my strength and flexibility. When I have time, I go rock climbing with friends or my partner, mostly at indoor centres but I have been on rock climbing trips to the Peak district.
I love travelling to new countries. The best trips I have been on are to New Zealand and Japan. When I was in New Zealand I went hiking and paragliding, and I also saw penguins on the beach. My favorite part about Japan was trying different foods, like ramen and sushi.
When I’m in the UK or in new places I enjoy bird watching to see what species are around me, a hobby I picked up from my parents who are keen bird watchers and encouraged my interest in biology.
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My pronouns are:
She/her
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My Work:
I am a cell biologist interested in how we can treat eye diseases. This means I spend most of my day in the lab growing cells and trying to understand how cells of the eye allow us to see, and how to help people who are blind see.
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My work involves growing cells into “mini eyes” in dishes in the lab. We do this using stem cells, which are cells which can turn into any type of cell of the body, including cells in the eye which help us see. I then study these eye cells to look at the genes and proteins which they use to see.
I am researching what stops the cells working in people who are blind, and whether there is a way we can treat them so they can see. This might be because there is an error in someones DNA which stops the cells working properly. In the lab I can detect this using experiments, and test whether I can repair the cell using different treatments.
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My Typical Day:
I wake up around 7, have a cup of tea in bed followed by 20 minutes of yoga.
I get to work at around 9am and have a coffee while I check my emails and spend an hour searching the internet for any new scientific discoveries which have been made.
I then go into the lab and check on my cells to ensure they are healthy and growing well for experiments. I then feed my cells to help them keep growing.
Then in the afternoon I do some scientific experiments, like looking at which genes/proteins are in my cells.
I leave work around 6pm, and go to a class at the gym before going home, cooking dinner and playing video games/watching TV.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would spend some of the money (up to £100) on a big 3D model of the eye which I could use for lots of public/patient engagement events so I can show people the parts of the eye, and where the cells which can go wrong in blind people are.
I would then use the remaining £400 to set up a public outreach event, for example at a community centre or café, where we can share our research with patients and members of the public. Previously we have done events including “Stitch and Stem” where we sew pictures of cells to engage the public. I would like to incorporate coloring in to our outreach events, as this is something which can be accessible at all ages, and we can engage with people about how we see color. At these events we can also then get feedback about how members of the public feel about our research, and what they would like us to look more into in the future, so we can design our research with patients in mind.
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Education:
I went to SSJ primary school in Basingstoke, then the Abbey School in Reading. For A-levels I did biology, maths, chemistry and physics. I went to the University of Bath to study biology with a placement year. I then worked for a year in a lab in Cambridge before going to do my postgraduate degree (PhD) at University College London. Now a work in a research group in King’s College London.
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Qualifications:
GCSEs – English, Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, German, Geography, IT, Religion, Latin
A-levels – Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Physics
Undergraduate degree (BSc) – University of Bath – Biology
Postgraduate degree (PhD) – University College London
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Work History:
My first job – researching bird behavior in Cape Verde
My first job in science was during university when I did a placement year. A placement year is where after your second year of university you spend one year working before returning for a final year of studying.
For my work placement, I worked for a year as a Research Assistant for a lecturer at the university. As a Research Assistant you support research projects by helping to collect and analyze data to make new scientific discoveries.
My project was about studying how birds choose their mates. I spent 3 months doing field work on the island of Maio in Cape Verde, which is an island just off the west coast of Africa. Field work is where you go out into the “field” to collect scientific data to study. The “field” can be anywhere from forests to deserts to the middle of the ocean. The type of data we were collecting included the size and age of birds in breeding pairs, as well as taking blood samples which we could use to look at their DNA.
After collecting data for 3 months, I came back to the UK and analysed my data. We found that the birds that changed mate each year had more chicks. We then wrote these findings into a scientific paper, which is like a long essay which is published so scientists from around the world can read about our discoveries.
My second job – researching cell in a lab
The next job I had was as a Research Assistant in a laboratory (lab) in Cambridge. A lab is where scientists can do lots of experiments to make new discoveries. In this job, I was working to understand the differences between all the cells that make up the human body.
Your body is made up of lots of tiny building blocks called cells. These cells all have the same DNA. DNA is like a book with the instructions for how to live. Different cells in your body read different parts of this DNA book to do different things. The cells of your eye read parts of the book which tell them how to see, called genes. The cells of your tongue read the parts of the book which tell them how to taste.
When I was doing this work, we would take cells from different parts of the body and try to see which parts of DNA were being read by different cells, using an experiment called sequencing. Through this we found new cells of the body that we didn’t even know existed!
Back to university – studying for my PhD
Next, I went back to university to study for a PhD. A PhD is a qualification where you spend 3-5 years researching a specific topic, and then you write up everything you have done in a big book called a thesis.
In my PhD I used a type of cell called a stem cell. Stem cells are able to become any type of cell in the body. From stem cells I made cells of the eye, which I used to study eye disease.
I discovered which parts of the DNA can cause blindness when there is a mistake in a persons DNA instruction book. From this, we can find medicine which will prevent blindness in people with these mistakes in their DNA.
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Current Job:
My job now is also trying to understand how cells of the eye work. I use stem cells to make “mini eyes” in the lab. I look at how these cells grow, and what stops them working properly in blind people. I then see whether we can help the cells work again using different treatments.
In particular, my team are interested in cell therapies, where we inject healthy cells into a persons eye to help them see. We also look at gene therapies, where if there is an error in someones DNA, we replace it with a healthy copy of the gene, which allows the cells to work properly so the person can see.
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Employer:
King’s College London
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My Interview
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What did you want to be after you left school?
A penguin biologist
Were you ever in trouble at school?
I got 2 detentions at school - both for talking in class!
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Something with data analysis - I love data!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
George Ezra
What's your favourite food?
Pad thai
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Win a Nobel Prize, Spend a year travelling the world, Be able to eat as much food as I want and never feel full.
Tell us a joke.
Why do you rarely see penguins in England? Because they're scared of Wales.
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