Claire Brown is a Research Technician based in the School of Biological Sciences, in the Faculty of Medicine, Life and Health Sciences. Claire trains and supports students in parasitological lab techniques.
Background
Claire’s interest in lab work was first encouraged by Dr Johnathan Dalzell who introduced her to the everyday workings of the plant parasitology lab at Queen’s.
Following this Claire started working at the Northern Ireland Public Health Laboratory (NIPHL) in 2016 as a Medical Laboratory Assistant, where she gained experienced on how a NHS lab is run, and the importance of accuracy and attention to detail.
In 2019, Claire secured a posting as a Research Technician in Queen’s working in a parasitology lab with Professor Eric Morgan. The encouragement and support that Claire has received during her time at Queen’s has motivated to undertake a BSc in Biology through the Open University.
Read more about Claire's career on LinkedIn
Current roles and responsibilities
The main aspect of Claire’s role involves training and supporting students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) in parasitological lab techniques such as Faecal Egg Counts (FECs), using equipment such as microscopes, Baermann's apparatus and centrifuges, and Claire also assists postdoctoral researchers with their experiments.
Claire is also responsible for lab maintenance and restocking of equipment and resources, and her duties are closely governed by Health & Safety protocols. As Claire works in the animal parasitology lab, she is also responsible for collecting samples from farms.
Claire also takes a keen interest in public outreach, and has participated in a number of science festivals, and has helped to organise a number of parasitology conferences.
Contribution to specific research initiative or project
Claire has been fortunate enough to be involved in a number of projects since starting her post in 2019, including one which involved looking at Toxocara canis contamination in soil around public parks.
On this project, Claire was involved in the soil processing, morphological identification of eggs, further molecular analysis, and she was also given the opportunity to contribute to the final paper, which has since been submitted for publication with Claire named as second author.