Profile
Darren Nesbeth
has been evicted! Thank you and goodbye!
My CV
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Education:
Groveland’s Primary, Hailsham, 1980-1985, St. Richard’s, Bexhill-on-Sea, 1985-1990, Eastbourne 6th Form College, 1990-1992
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Qualifications:
1992-1995, BSc. Molecular Biology, University College London, 1995-1999, PhD Molecular Cell Biology, Imperial College
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Work History:
Mayhew Chicken, 1989-1995 (summers), McDonald’s Restaurant, 1990-1992 (while doing A-Levels), Buchanan Communications, 2000-2001, Kings College London, 2001-2004, Imperial College, 2004-2007, University College London, 2007-present
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Current Job:
Lecturer, Synthetic and Molecular Biology
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Read more
The next generation of medicines will be based on actual human proteins, DNA and cells. It is difficult to make these medicines in factories in the same way as old medicines such as aspirin. Because they are so complex they must be made in human cells, or sometimes bacteria or yeast. In order to make mass-production of these new medicines cheaper and more environmentally friendly, I am re-designing living cells so that they are better suited to making medicines at industrial scales.
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My Typical Day:
Office, lab, large-scale bio-reactors, repeat
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Read more
Often starts with jogging to work. Shower, breakfast then check emails and my agenda for meetings and deadlines. As a new Lecturer I still have some lab projects of my own to manage, as well as managing student’s lab projects and teaching. Depending on the day I’ll then go to the lab and do some DNA-based work. I use DNA to ‘re-programme’ cells to do certain things or behave in a certain way. My university also has a special building where they have the same large scale machines used by pharmaceutical businesses to manufacture medicines. After DNA work in the lab I will check the progress of experiments using large-scale machinery to test other re-programmed cells I had made earlier.
I also collaborate with colleagues who are investigating how to ‘mimic’ how things work at large scale using ultra-small devices and sometimes even nano-technology.
Finally, I will also communicate with collaborators in the business world, letting them know how my research is going and also asking them what kind of research will be most valuable to them in the future.
To summarize: Cycle, Breakfast, Emails, DNA-lab, Large-scale Industrial Machinery, Small scale ‘mimics’, Chat with business collaborators, Cycle home. -
What I'd do with the prize money:
Get an artist in to the lab.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Good finisher, determined, laid-back
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Frequently
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Leibach
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
World peace, world wealth, world health
Tell us a joke.
Q: What do you call cheese that doesn’t belong to you? A: Nacho cheese.
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