| Academic Year | 2019-2020 |
| Institution | Queen's University, Belfast |
Biography
Graduation Date: July 2024
What did your pathway to PhD look like? MSci Biochemistry with Professional Studies at Queen’s University Belfast (placement in Athens, Greece)
What made you apply to the QUADRAT DTP? An interesting project in environmental health with opportunities to enhance my suitability for non-academic careers.
What was your PhD research title? Actions of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in seabirds
Can you tell us a little bit about your PhD research? This was an ecotoxicological project to assess the health effects of plastics, utilising northern fulmar seabirds as a sentinel species. Northern fulmars are plastic bioindicator species and my work sought to investigate the health consequences of their plastic ingestion. I utilised mass spectrometry, ELISA hormone quantification, and RNA and methylation sequencing to better understand the links between ingested plastics and the chemicals present in their tissues, the corticosterone in their feathers, and biological processes and pathways.
What were the highlights and/or biggest accomplishments of your PhD? Working with ecologists, analytical chemists and bioinformaticians to embark on this ambitious project.
What part(s) of the QUADRAT programme had the strongest impact on you and your career? It’s impossible to say. The people as well as the project had a huge impact.
Please tell us a little bit about what you are doing now? I am a Senior Editor at a biomedical journal.
How did your PhD help you decide on this career path? I think that the big-picture focus on health (environmental health) along with experiences which afforded me a better understanding of the publication process and how research impacts policy, reinforced my interest in reproducibility, research ethics and quality. These are all things I can learn more about and put into active practice in my job.
What advice would you offer to current/future PhD students and applicants? Apply for something that you care about and know and value your strengths.
What is your best memory of QUADRAT? Moments with the friends I made.
Contact Christina at:
- LinkedIn: Christina Biamis
