Profile
Mary-Pia Jeyarajasingham
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About Me:
I currently live in Cambridge where I’m doing my PhD. I enjoy reading, watching films and playing music. I’m a massive Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Narnia fan – looking forward to meeting lots of you! 🤩
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I really love science (and I have so many nerdy science T-shirts I love to wear around the lab!). I enjoy music – I play the piano and violin and read a lot too. I have my own fun science blog on Instagram where I show people what I get up to in labs. When I’m not working, I enjoy going out with my friends and watching movies – fun fact, I recently spent 12 hours in a cinema watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy back to back! 😅
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My pronouns are:
she/her
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My Work:
Did you know that your cells have a ‘skeleton’ like you do? My work looks into this skeleton and what might cause it to go wrong and how we can fix this to help patients!
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The skeleton of your cell has 3 different proteins – the one I’m looking at is called ‘actin’ (like action but without the o!). There are lots of fancy molecules that can affect the skeleton in your cells and my project looks into how we can target these and stop them from behaving badly in patients with poorly cell-skeletons! I’m looking to make antibodies (Y-shaped molecules) that might be able to target the proteins going wrong in the cell and stop them from affecting the skeleton of the cell!
My main research interests lie in cancer biology and cellular and molecular biochemistry, but I do have a background in pharmacology and physiology, having done numerous modules for my MSci degree in this field.
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My Typical Day:
I normally wake up around 7 and have cereal with a mug of tea (always important!). I then get to work at 8:45 and read lots of cool science papers or do some interesting experiments. I also have lovely lunch break with my team and go for coffee / tea regularly with them too (where we treat ourselves to biscuits too). I then go back to labs and either do experiments or read until 4:30-5pm, when I go home! ☕️
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After I go home, I usually relax and watch a TV show (at the moment, it’s Stranger Things or The Big Bang Theory) whilst having dinner, take a shower and read before doing a bit of work! I’d also do some yoga before bed to help me get to sleep quicker!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I really enjoy public engagement and science communication – creating my blog has only made me love doing this more! Currently, I am planning an initiative to engage more young people, particularly girls, to get into STEM-related careers by helping them to gain more experience with current women in industry and by inviting them to listen to talks from trail-blazing, inspirational scientists. I’m also keen to help decrease both the gender and ethnic diversity gaps in STEM and research fields, particularly extending to disadvantaged schools that may not have as frequent opportunities to get students hands-on experience in labs / research areas.
I didn’t have many science-related role models growing up and I think it’s so important for young children to have these role models, to see that anything’s possible and they can have a career in STEM too! With the prize money, I aim to potentially to reach more individuals and talk to them about careers in science and how much fun they can be! 🙌
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Education:
I started my science career at a secondary school in London and got interested in science from there – I knew I’d wanted to do something science-y once I left school, just wasn’t sure whether this would be medicine or research.
I then graduated secondary school and entered St George’s, University of London to do my undergrad degree in Biomedical Science (fun fact – if you’ve ever watched the show 24 Hours in A&E, this is where it’s filmed!) (fun fact 2: if you’ve watched Strictly Come Dancing, Dr Ranj Singh who was on a few seasons ago works at my uni!). It was at St George’s that I really got to love research and met so many amazing and inspirational scientists and researchers who told me more about their research. I was also able to get into labs early on, getting hands-on with cool microscopes and interesting scientific techniques.
Graduating from my undergraduate degree, I then started my PhD at Cambridge almost immediately and I’ve been so lucky to have a wonderful lab team (both at Cambridge and the AstraZeneca branch where I’m working too). Now I’m looking forward to telling you more about my work and hopefully inspiring you to consider a career in the sciences too – it’s super fun and fulfilling!! 🙂
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Qualifications:
9 GCSE’s including Maths (A*), English Lit (A*), Biology (A) and Chemistry (A)
British College of Journalism: Diploma in Freelance Journalism
A Levels: Biology (A), Chemistry (A), Maths (B), EPQ (A*)
MSci Biomedical Sciences: 1st Class (Hons)
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Work History:
I previously worked for Oxfam for a few months
Volunteered at lots of events part-time to gain more experience working as a team and communicating effectively with people (e.g., TEDxLondon volunteer, charity events at hospitals and local church events)
Tutor for various students in Maths, English and Science (Biology and Chemistry)
Worked as a research assistant for several research teams at St George’s University
Administrative assistant for the Institute of Cancer Research
Did my industrial placement year at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
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Employer:
University of Cambridge
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
geeky, fun-loving researcher
What did you want to be after you left school?
A scientist - genuinely!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No - not that I remember!
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Musician or journalist
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Jacob Collier, Mahalia, Arlo Parks, Queen, Daniel Caesar, London Grammar, SZA, Paolo Nutini...the list really goes on. You'll never not find me with my earphones in!
What's your favourite food?
Pizza - always! 🍕
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Unlimited access to books and films. That I could travel the world with my friends. That everyone around me would always be successful and happy!
Tell us a joke.
I would, but all the good ones Ar-gon...
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