Profile
Charlie Taylor
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About Me:
I’m a PhD researcher living in Cardiff (with my hamster, Thorin). I love all wildlife and am currently researching tropical frogs! When I’m not in the field, the lab, or coding, I will likely be reading my favourite books or listening to Taylor Swift 🙂
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Read more
I am from Glastonbury in Somerset and my favourite subjects in school were biology and English. I have visited many countries during my time as a biologist and love to travel and see new places. My favourite countries to stay in were Malaysia and Mauritius (after Wales, of course!). I am very lucky that my chosen research area allows me to travel so much, but I also love the work I have been able to do in Wales – although it’s much more rainy here.
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My pronouns are:
she/her
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How I use Science in my work:
I use science every day to do my research. I spend time doing laboratory work, fieldwork to collect data and samples from the amazing animals I work with, and I do coding on my computer in order to make sense of that data. Science is everywhere and I am still learning every single day!
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Education:
Secondary school: St Dunstan’s School, Glastonbury
College: Strode College, Street
University (all degrees): Cardiff University
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Qualifications:
GCSE’s
AS-Level: Chemistry
A-Levels: Human Biology, Maths, English language
Undergraduate degree: Biological Sciences (BSc)
Masters degree: Global Ecology and Conservation (MSc)
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Work History:
Shop-floor assistant at Bench (9 months, when I was 18).
Farm-hand at a small-holding for rescued and disabled farm animals (holiday job during university).
Online picker at Morrisons (3 months, after university) at the same time as I was a carpark assistant for the RSPB.
Swab tester at a COVID-19 laboratory in Newport, then I did a similar job at the Cardiff University COVID research lab (9 months overall).
Senior lab technician – testing water quality of UK drinking water (just over a year, my favourite job!).
Finally, PhD!
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Current Job:
PhD researcher! Although technically I am still a student, I get my own office space and a salary so I think it counts as a real job. I have been doing this since September 2023 and will probably be here for a couple more years. A PhD involved researching a topic and producing a long piece of work (called a thesis) at the end. If I pass the final examination (known as a viva), I get to call myself Dr Taylor!
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Employer:
Cardiff University (funded by NERC, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Natural History Museum in London, and the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation).
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Wildlife-loving Swifty
What did you want to be after you left school?
A medical doctor
Were you ever in trouble at school?
I often got detentions for being late to class (I just loved a corridor yap with my friends!), and for dying my hair
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Journalist or wildlife vet
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Taylor Swift!!
What's your favourite food?
Marmite toast
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To be able to speak every language in the world, to own a cat (or more than one...), and teleportation
Tell us a joke.
What shoes do frogs wear? Open-toad sandals!!
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