Profile
Robert Insall
BBC news has a piece on how cool citizen scientists are! Go BBC!
My CV
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Education:
School – Westminster, in London, from 1977 to 1984; College – Cambridge University; PhD – Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
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Qualifications:
A Ph.D. Maybe it’s time to get something else as well.
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Work History:
Cambridge; Baltimore, USA; University College London; Birmingham University
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Current Job:
Senior Group Leader at the Beatson Institute in Glasgow
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Stuff this. Let’s answer the questions people have worried about, rather than more descriptions of my work.
Q. Is it possible to be a successful science geek and have a family, etc.?
A. Yes. Here is successful geekwife (who works on the same thing as me but has a bigger, better lab) and the geekkids (in truth only one is a geek, and all are outrageously sociable and fun-loving):
Actually, here’s what they REALLY look like:
Big conclusion – you can be a scientist and have a family and enjoy yourself, all at once, if you work hard (we don’t watch too much TV; but it’s rubbish, anyway…)
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My Typical Day:
Talk with my lab members; write up what we find; read and assess work from others.
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Other related questions:
Q: Do you get to have fun, or is life just hard work?
A: Of course I have fun. I love my work, which makes the days easier, but fun gets had too:
Q: Do you have hobbies?
A: Of course! They tend to be geeky hobbies, but what did you expect? I like flying very large kites. Sometimes I put cameras in them.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I have an old but excellent microscope; I’d like to set it up as a touring show to let people see cells with their own eyes.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Animated. Geeky. Talkative.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
My first junior school asked me to leave because I didn’t fit in. I wasn’t in (much) trouble, they didn’t like me and I didn’t like them.
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Currently Lana del Rey. But I mostly listen to classical or 70’s heavy rock.
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
(1) I’d like to be able to stay a lab head and keep my ability to influence things, but work at the bench all day; (2) I’d like to be cleverer; (3) I’d like the weather in the west of Scotland to get better
Tell us a joke.
What did number zero say to number eight? “Nice belt”.
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