Profile
Elizabeth Treadwell
My CV
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Education:
I went to Eastrop Infants School, then Southfields Junior School and then Highworth Warneford School. After that I went to New College in Swindon, and then to the University of Bristol.
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Qualifications:
I have 11 GCSEs (6A*s and 5As) including Biology (A), Chemistry (A*), Physics (A*) and Maths (A*).
I have 5 A levels: Maths (A), Further Maths (B), Biology (B), Chemistry (B) and Music (B).
I have a 1st Class Honours Degree in BSc Pharmacology (Hons).
I also have Grade 8 Flute and Saxophone (both at Distinction) and Grade 8 Piano (Merit).
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Work History:
Part-time Retail Sales Assistant at Cotswold Outdoor
Part-time Counter Assistant at H.A McParlands Pharmacies
Assistant Peer Review Officer at Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (UKRI) -
Current Job:
Programme Manager at Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (UKRI)
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About Me:
I’m a creative person who likes to be busy! When I am not working, I’m usually dancing, playing musical instruments or making something.
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I live in Swindon on my own normally, but have been staying with my parents and our cat called Holly, during the current lockdown.
I spend a lot of my time making my own clothes and doing painting by numbers, but I also love to bake and cook. Usually I have dance lessons (ballet and tap) but at the moment they are cancelled so I’m doing a few online classes to keep myself fit.
My favourite tv programmes are soaps and dramas, like Casualty and Holby City, but of course at the moment my absolute highlight of the week is the Great British Sewing Bee.
During lockdown I have been trying to do random acts of kindness and have been sending surprise cards and little gifts to friend and family to cheer them up. Most of the gifts are homemade so it also fuels my creativity to come up with new ideas!
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My job is to read about the science that people want to research and investigate, and help decide which science is the best. We don’t have enough money to pay for all of the science that people want to do, so we have to make sure we are choosing the best ones that are most likely to tell us something important. We get scientists to look at each others applications and comment, a bit like marking your partners work. They are much more clever and know a lot more about the detail of difference science areas than I do so they are really helpful in deciding.
The other part of my job is looking at what science is already going on, that we are paying for and that other people (like charities) are. This means we can work out where we might need to spend money in the future, if there is an area which keeps getting missed off when we give out money.
Where I work is a BIG place, we have over 2000 people in the building and across the country there are more than 7000 people! We don’t all do the same jobs, some people work with companies who make things using science ideas, and some people look after our money and how much of it we have left to spend in the year. We are also split up into different bits of science, so I work for the Biological and Biotechnology section and we look at basic biology of animals and humans. This is a bit different from the people who work in the Medical area because they look at disease and medicines for things. It can get very confusing! There are also areas working in the environment and physics and social science.
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My Typical Day:
I start the day around 8.30 and spend most of my time in the office, emailing, phoning and talking to scientists around the world. I have a lot of meetings with people I work with too, to plan and make decisions about things.
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I get up at a ‘normal’ time, probably similar to your school mornings, so around 7.30, and walk to work. This takes me about 15minutes. When I get to work I have to scan my card to let me in (because some of what we do is secret), and choose a desk. We don’t have the same desk every day so if you get in a bit late, you might have to sit a long way from your friends!
Usually my day starts with checking emails from people asking for money wanting to know what to write in their application, and from people who we have asked to read the applications. We have lots of different competitions for different ‘pots’ of money so we have to remember the rules for each different competition, and this can be confusing!
A lot of my day then is reading science and checking it is biology and that it doesn’t need to be looked at by someone in a different group. Sometimes we will offer to share an application so some money comes from us, and some comes from a different group if there is something we are both interested in.
I have to search for scientist to look at the applications, and make sure they have everything they need to make a decision. There is a lot to think about when choosing people, because we have to make sure they don’t know the people who have written it, and make sure that we are asking lots of different people; male, female, from Scotland, from England, from Bath University to Belfast. Usually we get at least 5 people to give their opinion, because that means that it is more fair and there is less arguing.
My typical day is very different every day, and I like that I don’t know what each day will be like!
I don’t have any pictures of my office I’m afraid, because we are all working from home at the moment, but I can describe it:
We have groups of 8 desks, 4 opposite 4, and we have two screens for each desk. The office is open plan, this means there are no walls or separate rooms we work in on the floor that I work on. We do have some rooms off the side, so you can have meetings in groups without disturbing everyone, and we have a ‘soft space’ (lots of sofas) that is green, and we can sit here to have quick chats about things in a more relaxed way.
The building is very big and I don’t have to go to lots of places in it, but the important places are my floor, and the restaurant where I can buy my lunch!! -
What I'd do with the prize money:
Buy some things that can be used by STEM ambassadors from my organisation (like me) to do exciting experiments and demonstrations to teach school students about science.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Organised, enthusiastic and mad!
What did you want to be after you left school?
Pharmacist
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Beautiful South
What's your favourite food?
Pasta
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To own a house, to get married and have children, to use my time better to have adventures!
Tell us a joke.
Did you know that scientists think that ants might be the cure for all viruses? Do you know why? It's because of their tiny antybodies.
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