By Helen Nickerson, Science and Strategy Manager at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer My existence can be, quite literally, attributed to volunteering. My parents met when my dad was on a Boys’ Brigade rota to drive a minibus of adults with learning difficulties to a social club where my mum volunteered. He quickly volunteered […]

By Andrea Robertson,  Lab Manager and Chair of the Sustainability Group at the IGC The UK research and innovation sectors have co-developed a voluntary environmental sustainability concordat with a shared ambition to continue delivering cutting-edge research, but in a more environmentally responsible and sustainable way. As part of this, the Institute of Genetics and Cancer […]

Image: Brothers Benjamin, seven, and Gabriel, three, both have ATR-X syndrome By Rebekah Tillotson, Chancellor’s Fellow at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer With Ben Harris and Jennifer Martinez-Harris, ATRX Research Alliance (a parent-led global group of families committed to accelerating research) ATR-X (Alpha-thalassemia X-linked intellectual disability) syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that affects […]

Barbara McClintock (1902-1992) shown in her laboratory in 1947  (Smithsonian Institution/Science Service; Restored by Adam Cuerden, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons) Scientist is a relatively modern word, dating back to 1834 and first used in a review of  “On the Connextion of the Physical Sciences” a work of popular science written by the Scottish mathematician […]

When I was little, we had a fridge that could be easily opened by my two-year-old self. My mother used to always have an open can of tuna in the fridge to prevent me from roaming around and touching things. I used to think that she took advantage of my aversion for the smell of […]

About Me Hi everyone! I’m Alsadeg, a fifth-year medical student at the University of Edinburgh, currently in the first year of the PhD phase of my MB-PhD. I’d like to tell you a bit about this programme and, hopefully, shed some light on why I’ll be at University for nine years and how I ended […]

Dr Waad AlBawardi is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer investigating the role of nucleosome positioning in regulating chromatin structure and dynamics. She is mentoring a student at Holyrood RC High School in Edinburgh as part of a scheme run by the national social mobility charity Career Ready, which is supported […]

There it was… I knew immediately that this was a path I wanted to take. Hello everyone! My name is Rowan and I am currently in the middle of my first year of the TRAM MB-PhD programme. I shudder slightly as I transition from saying start of my first year to middle of my first […]

By Linda Clark, outgoing BVS Facility Manager I always wanted to work with animals – being a vet was my first choice, however I did not have the qualifications that would allow me to study for this. I was at an athletics meeting with the Penicuik Harriers when I got talking to a couple of […]

With applications being sought for the University of Edinburgh’s prestigious ECAT-i programme (Edinburgh Clinical Academic Track – inclusive) by 29 October, we spoke to former and current participants to find out more about how the posts have benefited them. Paul Brennan, Professor of Clinical and Experimental Neurosurgery at the University of Edinburgh and Honorary Consultant […]