Profile
Ben Lewis
My CV
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Education:
The King David High School;
University of Cambridge -
Qualifications:
10 GCSEs – in English, English Literature, Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Religious Studies, Music, French and ICT;
4 A-Levels – in Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Maths;
BA degree in Natural Sciences;
MSci degree in Natural Sciences (Chemistry);
MRes degree in Chemical Biology; -
Work History:
National Director at a Youth Work charity
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Current Job:
PhD Student
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About Me:
I’m a PhD student in London trying to find all the secrets of the code which built you! And the rest of the time I’m reading, watching sports and cooking!
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I grew up in Manchester, and even though I now live in London I still say I am a Mancunian! I live with my girlfriend, who is a doctor. When I am not at work, I like watching sports – football, rugby, cricket and baseball are my favourites. I also enjoy reading, playing games and cooking tasty food! I love dogs and hopefully one day soon we will be able to get one.
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One of the most important things that makes you is your DNA. Inside DNA is a code which has all the information needed to make you! The code has instructions to make every part of you. It isn’t just about what the code says, though, but how the code gets read. Normally the DNA is all twisted around – like a big spiral helter skelter slide – but we have also found it can make other shapes. These shapes change the way the code gets read and so they also change how your body works. If we can learn more about how this works, we might understand how things go right and wrong in the body and hopefully use that to do something about diseases like cancer.
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My Typical Day:
I get up very early in the morning as my girlfriend is a doctor who has to go to work in the hospital. I come into the lab a bit later and go to check on my pet cells – I have to keep them happy and healthy to study them. I then go to warm up my lasers and microscope and start looking at all the pretty and amazing pictures I can take that tell me about what is going on inside those cells.
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My work involves looking at cells a lot, so I have some cells which I grow and look after – these were once part of a cancer in someone’s body! They need feeding and attention to stay healthy for my experiments. When I am doing an experiment looking at the cells, I use a really big microscope which gives me pretty pictures of colourful dyes I put into the cells which show me the DNA I want to look more closely at. To get good enough pictures I have to use a really powerful laser and sit in the dark all day! There’s also always reading to do – it’s important to know what scientists in other places have been doing.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would like to make videos for YouTube to tell more people about DNA and all the amazing things it can do!
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Adventurous, curious and jokey!
What did you want to be after you left school?
I wanted to be a scientist then, but I used to want to try to make new medicines
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No, when I did something wrong I always got away with it!
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Right now I am listening to Billie Eilish a lot
What's your favourite food?
You can't beat sushi
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Of course I'd wish for more wishes!
Tell us a joke.
Why didn't the skeleton go to the ball? It had no body to go with...
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