My PhD aims to understand how organs are built during development. To understand this, I am using the Drosophila (fruit fly) retina as a model system. Drosophila is a great model system with a wealth of genetic tools which enables scientists to understand the fundamental principles of morphogenesis. For instance, we can tag proteins of …
Author Archives: courtneyl7
How developmental biology shaped my career path
I have long had the idea of perusing a career in science. However, that description was broad and I had no defined path sketched out in front of me. For the majority of my peers, they too had vague plans for the future. Many of them are still no wiser even after completing a degree …
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Introduce Yourself (BIO)
I graduated from Durham University with an MBiol in biological sciences in 2020. Early on during my degree, I became immensely interested in the field of developmental biology which aims to understand how complex organisms form from a single cell. This non-trivial task requires a set of ‘instructions’ which are encoded by the genes within …
Of stripes, dots, and… body hair: The science of biological patterns
Astonishing biological patterns surround us from the stripes on a zebra to the hair follicles on our skin. In fact, you might devote a significant part of your life getting rid of body hair, but you would be amazed by the way that nature puts them there in the first place. You could even call …
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Miscellaneous
Tell me who I am – Netflix documentary (Directed by Ed Perkins, and produced by Simon Chinn) This is a gripping and remarkable documentary about the unique life of a pair of identical twins. It questions morality and highlights touching issues. What would you do if your twin lost their memory and you held the position …