Profile
Stephine Whiteside
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About Me:
Hi my name is Stephine (Steph). I grew up in Wales but now live in Cheshire, England with my husband and three children. I’m a University lecturer in Healthcare Science and in my spare time I enjoy running, playing netball, reading and trying to beat my children at board games!
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My pronouns are:
My pronouns are she/her
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How I use Science in my work:
For many years I worked as a Healthcare Scientist in a hospital laboratory. This involved testing samples to match up organs with patients who needed new ones as theirs didn’t work properly. For this you need a good understanding of human biology, specifically immunology. Now, I teach this to students who are training to work as Transplantation Healthcare Scientists themselves.
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My Work:
I am a lecturer who teaches students who are training to work as scientists in hospital laboratories. These students will work in Transplantation, helping patients who need new organs.
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My Typical Day:
On a typical day, I wake up at 06:00. I get myself and my children ready for work and school then drop them off at school breakfast club on the way to work. I get to work at 08:00. I spend the day either teaching students, meeting with students, planning lessons, marking work or having meetings with other lecturers. I like to get out of the office into the fresh air for an hour at lunchtime to the nearby park, where I either read, meet friends or enjoy a run. I leave work at 16:00 and pick up my children from school clubs on the way home.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would out the prize money towards designing and developing some hands-on activities suitable for primary school aged children to help them understand more about their organs, the importance of looking after these, what happens when they don’t work and how transplantation can fix this.
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Education:
I am a lecturer at the University of Manchester, which is actually where I studied for both my Biomedical Science and Immunology Masters degrees. I actually teach in the same building and rooms that I was a student in, many years ago!
When I was younger, I went to a high school in the middle of beautiful Wales, Builth Wells High School, where I studied for both my GSCEs and A levels. I was keen to move to a city for my university studies and chose Manchester. As part of my four-year Biomedical Science degree I spent 1 year gaining work experience in human biology research, in a research laboratory, which my university called ‘Industrial Experience’. For this I lived in Germany and worked in a laboratory in a pharmaceutical (medicines manufacturer) company. After graduating, I got a job as a trainee clinical scientist (a healthcare scientist specialising in transplantation) working in an NHS hospital laboratory. As part of my training I studied part-time for another year, alongside working, for a Master’s degree in Immunology. This involved learning more about the immunology involved in the testing that I was carrying out on patient samples.
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Qualifications:
I studied GCSE level Double Award Science, English, Mathematics, English Literature, Geography, History, French, Welsh, Design Technology and Religious Education.
I studied Biology, Chemistry, French, for A levels and Mathematics at AS level.
I studies a four year degree in Biomedical Science, with 1 year spent working in a laboratory in Germany.
I studied for a Masters Degree in Immunology at the same time as undertaking my scientist training. This was a part-time course which took 1 year.
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Work History:
I am a university lecturer now, but before this I worked for nearly 20 years as a Healthcare Scientist, specialising in Transplantation in a hospital laboratory..
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Current Job:
I am a lecturer in Healthcare Science, and my specialist teaching area is Transplantation.
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Employer:
I work at the University of Manchester
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Laboratory scientist teacher
What did you want to be after you left school?
Something involving medicine, but not a doctor or a nurse
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Absolutely not
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Marine biologist
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Adele
What's your favourite food?
Pasta
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
1. That I could clone myself, so that I could be in two places at the same time, 2. That I could see into the future (just by a year or so!) and 3. That I will one day live by the sea.
Tell us a joke.
What do you get if you cross a sheep and a kangaroo? A wooly jumper!
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