Profile
Emily Robinson
Thank you so much for everyone who voted for me. I hope you have got as much as I have out of this amazing experience. I'm also looking forward to using the prize money to communicate more!
My CV
-
Education:
Kenton School and 6th Form College, Newcastle (1997-2004)
-
Qualifications:
University of Manchester, BSc Neuroscience with Industrial Experience (2004-2008)
-
Work History:
Student industrial placement, Eli Lilly
-
Current Job:
3rd year Neuroscience PhD student
-
Read more
Stroke is the third biggest killer in the UK, and it is also the leading cause of disability. Every 40 seconds somebody has a stroke. A stroke happens when blood is stopped from getting to part of the brain, just like a heart attack but instead of the heart not being able to get enough blood it is the brain which ends up getting damaged. It is very important to get someone to a hospital as soon as possible if they have had a stroke because there is something that can make the brain damage worse… your own body’s immune system!! We normally think of our immune system as keeping us fit, healthy and repaired, but when your brain has a large amount of damage your body goes out of control and makes the situation worse. Your body sends white blood cells into the brain to kill the problem, but because a stroke is different to an infection as there is no alien bug to kill, instead the white blood cells end up killing your healthy brain. I am currently doing a PhD looking at the early stages of this immune response after stroke, so I can hopefully target a particular chemical with a drug and reduce the damage caused after stroke. As we can’t test experimental drugs on humans straight away without knowing the consequences I use lab rats in my research. If you want to learn more about animal research please go to http://www.understandinganimalresearch.org.uk/
-
My Typical Day:
The brilliant thing about doing a PhD is that there are no ‘typical’ days!
-
Read more
In a PhD you have to organise yourself and set your own targets which means every day can be different. Some days I might be in the lab measuring things out or running assays, others I might be staining rat brain tissue for different markers of inflammation and brain damage, and then other days might be spent at my computer or on a microscope analysing data.
-
What I'd do with the prize money:
Make an interactive computer program about the risk factors of stroke!
-
My Interview
-
How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Short, Smiley, Geek!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
The boring answer is no. My main reason for getting detentions was my constant lateness. I couldn’t seem to get to any of my lessons on time, so timekeeping has never come naturally to me… I always claim that I am just ‘set at a slow pace than the rest of the world’, but these days I force myself to be on time.
Who is your favourite singer or band?
I never have been great at knowing cutting edge music, but I like what I like… Vampire weekend, The Maccabees, Mumford and Sons, Biffy Clyro etc. I can’t wait for a well earned break at Glastonbury this year too!
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
1.) To have the power to decide when it is going to be a sunny day (Manchester can be very rainy!) 2.) To have perfect hair everyday (I spend too much time and money trying to make it look good and it turns out nothing like in the magazines!) 3.) About 4 more hours in everyday… 28hrs in a day doesn’t sound too crazy.
Tell us a joke.
Why did the scarecrow win a Nobel prize?… Because he was outstanding in his field!
-