Doors Open Day 2023 marked the first outing of our new public engagement activity at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer – the Dark Genome Fish.    This project has been a fantastic collaboration between our research scientists, zebrafish facility staff and workshop and graphics teams. The result is a 4-foot model zebrafish (somewhat larger that […]

Rare diseases are defined by the European Union as a disease or condition that effects fewer than 1 in 2000 people within the general population. Despite their individual rarity the sheer number of rare diseases results in a much higher figure as 1 in 17 people in the UK will suffer from a rare disease […]

As a first-year PhD student with interest primarily in deciphering inner workings of cells and gene regulation, I have yet set foot outside my comfort zone MRC unit. Rare Disease Day offers a great opportunity to explore research on rare disease and cancer conducted in IGC. Brain tumors are collectives of abnormal cells that multiply […]

Above: Image by Chloe Brotherton, Pleasantine Mill’s lab   A rare disease is defined as a disease that affects less than 1 in 2,000 people in the general population, which is the equivalent of 4 million people worldwide 1. To this day, around 6,000 different rare diseases are known 1. Although a single rare disease […]

Above: From the Government Rare Diseases Framework   I knew precious little about rare disease before I started my PhD at the IGC. I was aware of the existence of rare disorders, and had heard the names of some of the better known ones, like cystic fibrosis and motor neurone disease. And that was about […]

Above: Comfy sofas for scientific discussions   In September 2023, I began my 4-year MRC Human Genetics Unit (HGU) PhD journey at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer (IGC) in Edinburgh. Despite consistently nearly being blown away by the wind, I shall still head to the IGC for my experiments and PhD training. I am […]

Above: RNAse H2 structure, predicted with AlphaFold-Multimer. The visualization of interfaces raises questions on mechanisms of action, which can then be experimentally tested in the wet lab.   Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is slowly starting to make its way into every aspect of life. In the increasingly data-driven field of Biology, tools like AlphaFold are […]

When I applied to the MRC Human Genetics Unit (HGU) PhD programme I was already working as a Research Assistant at the HGU but my path up to that point hadn’t been very direct.   When I left university with an honours degree in Cell Biology, I was ready to enter the workforce. I wanted […]

Breathing in the thin but fresh air of Himalayas, and bathed in the most dazzling sunlight besides Namtso, I was on a road trip across Tibet last summer. Right after resigning from my last job, one of my closest friends just started the career as an English teacher there, so we drove 3,000 kilometres from […]

Intro I didn’t always want to do a PhD, in fact, I didn’t always want to be a scientist! At first, I even applied to be a vet. But I quickly realised it was science that I was actually interested in, so the injured animals will have to survive without me! I then did my […]