All about Katie's current role:

I knew from my placement year that I enjoyed working in the field of therapeutics and in particular antibodies and had planned to go into a bigger pharma company. When this opportunity came up, I felt like it would be a good opportunity in a smaller, research-focused company to gain a more rounded experience.

A good decision I made for my career was taking a break for a couple of months following submitting my Master’s thesis to take a step back and figure out what I wanted to do next, rather than rushing into a job that I wasn’t 100% sure about.

A typical week as a R&D Lab Technician at Fusion involves working on the internal or external project(s) that are of priority that week. This is something that I enjoy about my role as with every week-month I get to learn new techniques that are required for the project’s needs. For example, it may be the expression of an antibody for subsequent cell expression. In doing so, I would carry out the molecular techniques involved in cloning and sequencing the antibody(s) so that it is ready to be transfected into a given cell line. The lab work is something I particularly enjoy as I have always loved molecular, hands-on work.

 

All about Katie's time at Queen's:

I enjoyed my Honour’s and MSci research project at QUB. Carrying out my own research project allowed me to explore the field in a hands-on approach, create work that would be valued in the area and to the lab group (no matter how small your findings may seem), meet new people (phD students and postdocs), and learn a lot about myself and what I enjoy or don’t. I enjoyed the range of modules we got to choose from as it allowed me to focus on aspects of biology that I preferred in later years. I also enjoyed the community at SBS with the different events organised for students that allow you to get to know your classmates.

I felt the most valuable aspects of my degree were my placement year, Honour’s project and MSci project as I learned the most during these years/periods. I would advise people that if they can do a placement year to do it, and pick an Honour’s project with a supportive supervisor as it’s them who makes the project what it is. Also, if you feel like you need more research skills before entering the world of work or looking into PhDs, a MSci is a great way to do this.

 

Katie Murphy

Research & Development Lab Technician, Fusion Antibodies

MSci Biological Sciences with Professional Studies