Profile
Avishikta Chakraborty
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About Me:
I live with my husband in London. I am a post-doctoral research fellow working at UCL. I am very food driven, love trying out different recipes. I also enjoy reading books, watching telly and spending time with my friends and family!
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My pronouns are:
she/her
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My Work:
My current project tries to understand what genes modulate the differences that we observe in the two sexes. I use the model organism fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, to address these questions.
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My Typical Day:
I wake up, have a litre of warm water and get to work by 8:30-9am. I spend a lot of time in the lab thorughout the day working with my flies. I break for a coffee/morning tea break around 10:30 and have a good cup of coffee with some treats. I usually have lunch with my office buddies, and back to the lab in the afternoon. I leave for home by 5:30-6pm.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would like to organise a day-in-the-life-of-a-scientist for school students, to enable them to shadow me and see what it entails. I think this would be a fantastic way to motivate and inspire young minds about research.
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Education:
High school- Delhi Public School, Ruby Park, Kolkata
Integrated Masters in Biotechnology- St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata
PhD in evolutionary biology- Monash University, Melbourne
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Work History:
High school tutoring in STEM fields
University lecturing for undergraduates, in the field of genetics, evolutionary biology, biomedical biology
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Current Job:
post-doctoral research fellow in University College London
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
food driven eco-friendly evolutionary biologist
What did you want to be after you left school?
a cardiologust
Were you ever in trouble at school?
one time for playing a game with my friend while the clss was in session, my teacher scolded me and asked us to sit at opposite ends of the classroom and not talk with anyone for the entire day
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
teaching university or school kids
Who is your favourite singer or band?
david bowie
What's your favourite food?
anything my mum cooks
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
-to live closer to my family, - to earn more money, - to make a significant difference in the world
Tell us a joke.
T-rex can't clap its hands, why is so? Because it's extinct
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