We spoke to graduate Lilian Goodchild (BSc Biomedical Sciences, 2018) who is now working as a Medical Technical Officer in Constitutional Cytogenetics at Viapath
I obtained my BSc in Biomedical Sciences from Queen Mary in 2018. Studying a degree that so broadly covers the fundamental aspects of both molecular and cellular biology, pharmacology, physiology, anatomy, genetics and genomics has been so beneficial and has opened doors in such an array of scientific disciplines.
For my final year thesis, I was lucky enough to put my passion for cancer biology into practice and undertake a research project at Barts Cancer Institute where I investigated the mechanisms driving chromosomal instability in pancreatic cancer. After I graduated with First Class Honours, I moved straight into a cancer research internship within the Centre for Cancer Prevention at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health, where for the next 6 months I worked on a project aiming to work towards an in-depth characterisation of the pathways leading from gene methylation to specific programmes of cell differentiation.
These experiences led me to go on to work as a Genetic Technologist in Molecular Genetics at St George’s and now in my current role, I am working as a Medical Technical Officer in Constitutional Cytogenetics at Viapath. Without the opportunities that I had and the plethora of skills that I acquired throughout my studies and internship at Queen Mary, this would not have been possible. My time at Queen Mary really fuelled and strengthened my ambitions to pursue a career within cancer biology and genetics, and I am incredibly proud to be a Queen Mary alumni.