My adventure to the "big island" started almost 10 yrs ago when I was studying Biology with Biochemistry at Bangor University in North Wales. My undergraduate project involved the characterization of a novel cohesion fission yeast gene. I then went on and did an MPhil in Genetics at Nottingham University where I was studying the centromeric homologue to CENP-C protein in fission yeast (Cnp3).

My quest for employment brought me after sometime to Kent where I joined Dr Griffin's lab in October 2005 as a volunteer and that was when I got introduced to the world of cytogenetics, FISH and Quantum Dots (QDs). After working for a year I undertook the QD project at a PhD level.

The great potential behind QDs, but essentially their applications to a wide field of research, especially cytogenetics, make this PhD project appealing and exciting to me. My role will be to try and establish a QD -FISH system protocol and then apply these novel fluorochromes into the study of spermatogenesis and genome organisation. This project is funded by BBSRC and Digital Scientific.