Profile
Richard Unwin
My CV
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Education:
1987-92: Kingstone School, Barnsley. 1992-94: Barnsley College. 1994-98: Nottingham University. 1998-2002: The University of Leeds
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Qualifications:
8 GCSEs (5As, 3Bs), 4 A-levels (1A, 3Bs), BSc in Biology, MSc in Oncology, and a PhD
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Work History:
The University of Manchester
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Current Job:
Proteomics Lead, Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics (CADET), Central Manchester NHS Trust, and Honorary Lecturer, University of Manchester
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Read more
In my research I use a method called mass spectrometry to study how diseased tissue differs from healthy. Mass spectrometry is a very powerful technique that can take all of the different parts of a cell or tissue, weigh and count them all, so we know what is in there, and how much (for a quick description of how mass spectrometry works, see my one-minute lecture here: http://www.engagement.manchester.ac.uk/highlights/manchester_minute_microlectures/m_cubed.html). By doing this for healthy tissue and diseased tissue, e.g. brain tissue from a healthy person and from a person with Alzheimer’s disease, we can compare the two and see what changes the disease causes, and what we can do about reversing those changes. We can then use these differences to help us to diagnose disease (sometimes even before a person feels unwell), predict how well a person might do, decide what is the best medicine for them and to find new medicines that target these differences. For example, we have used this to discover that people with diabetes get too much copper in their kidneys when they start to get kidney failure. We have used a medicine which removes that copper in experiments and shown that it can return the copper levels to normal and help the kidney to work properly again. All that remains is to try and see if the same idea works in people…
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My Typical Day:
Varied, meeting other scientists, planning experiments, fixing and running machines in the lab – all usually involving tea.
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I tend to come in and go straight to the lab and check that the experiments that have been running overnight are OK. If not, I’ll probably spend a couple of hours checking what has happened, fixing any problems, making sure the equipment is running and restarting the experiment. I used to spend all day in the lab preparing samples for analysis and analysing results but now I run a small group and my colleagues tend to do most of the lab work so unless they need help, I’ll come up to the office where I’ll spend time analysing the results of experiments, trying to work out what they mean and what experiments we should do next. I also spend a lot of time reading about what other scientists are researching to see if their work can help us to design new and better experiments, talking to other scientists and doctors to push forward existing projects or to plan new ones, and writing up the results of our experiments to be published so that other researchers and the public can see what our experiments have shown.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
Provide access to science-based school trips for underprivileged schools
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Patient. Focussed. Lethological.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Not really – although I once got detention for shouting out after someone had covered my pen in Tippex…
Who is your favourite singer or band?
At the moment Ed Sheeran. Of all time probably R.E.M.
What's your favourite food?
Roast beef and Yorkshire pud – in a pub.
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Stay happy. Stay healthy. See my work develop into a medicine that really helps people to do the first two.
Tell us a joke.
Presumably a clean one? What noise do cats make on the motorway? Miiiaaaooooowwww.
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